Difference between revisions of "IT-1"
bangerland (talk | contribs) (Screenshots and minor fix to typos in notable enemy section.) |
bangerland (talk | contribs) (I think i'm done adding photos and adding information to this for now. Not sure why it wasn't moderated yet, if it's because you want me to reduce the engrish amount myself, just let me know and i will try better.) |
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The missile is a 3M7, unique for IT-1, it does not turn very well in any plane and has penetration statistics of older gen-1 missiles, but it has a notorious ability to destroy a lot of cover in one hit. The missile can be launched on a move without restrictions, so it can remove obstacles or fight while going towards its target. | The missile is a 3M7, unique for IT-1, it does not turn very well in any plane and has penetration statistics of older gen-1 missiles, but it has a notorious ability to destroy a lot of cover in one hit. The missile can be launched on a move without restrictions, so it can remove obstacles or fight while going towards its target. | ||
| − | The missile can destroy pretty much every decoration in a 30 m range from a hit point. Unfortunately, it cannot obliterate buildings completely like a bomb, but it will at least damage entire city blocks, creating a lot of cover and making enemy visible. | + | The missile can destroy pretty much every decoration in a 30 m range from a hit point. Unfortunately, it cannot obliterate buildings completely like a bomb, but it will at least damage entire city blocks, creating a lot of cover and making enemy visible. Overpressure effect from HEAT will obliterate tanks with less than 15 mm of RHA armour if the blast wave will reach their weakspots, but it must hit them directly from missile's hit spot. |
Since in AB and RB the gun sight is placed on actual missile itself, not on optics, the tank is basically invincible once it gets to ideal cover or behind an enemy dead carcass (assuming the user does not make a lot of mistakes afterwards). Do remember, though, that it is offset to the right and you might have to turn the hull in a way that gets tank exposed at some spots, at least briefly. | Since in AB and RB the gun sight is placed on actual missile itself, not on optics, the tank is basically invincible once it gets to ideal cover or behind an enemy dead carcass (assuming the user does not make a lot of mistakes afterwards). Do remember, though, that it is offset to the right and you might have to turn the hull in a way that gets tank exposed at some spots, at least briefly. | ||
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</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
| − | If missile rail or missile was damaged (it will appear as blown off the turret despite being "loaded"), you need to repair it. It might also start jamming and field repair usually does not solve this: Even "repaired" launcher might start "clicking" instead of firing and then manual repair must be started (which takes a very long time). When it can actually be fired is hard to tell, but it's usually at 1/ | + | If missile rail or missile was damaged (it will appear as blown off the turret despite being "loaded"), you need to repair it. It might also start jamming and field repair usually does not solve this: Even "repaired" launcher might start "clicking" instead of firing and then manual repair must be started (which takes a very long time). When it can actually be fired is hard to tell, but it's usually at 1/2 of manual repair duration. The missile must be intact for this to happen either way (to be present on top of the turret), as it might get shot off the turret again during repairs. |
Repairs, damage and firefighting do not reset reload timers, so as long as the missile is intact, you will be able to fire right away. | Repairs, damage and firefighting do not reset reload timers, so as long as the missile is intact, you will be able to fire right away. | ||
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;Close range engagements: | ;Close range engagements: | ||
| − | + | [[File:It-1 uses light tank remains as a shield.jpg|thumb|right|By using remains of enemy or allied tanks, IT-1 can protect its hull from HEAT and APFSDS and continue fighting at close ranges]] | |
The IT-1 is completely outclassed in close-range engagements when it is in the open, as any cannon-armed vehicle will win a snapshot competition. However, if the IT-1 can remain behind cover, such as behind ground rubble or on top of a hill, it can often outclass conventional tanks attempting to push it as it will often be able to fire first owing to its raised launcher. | The IT-1 is completely outclassed in close-range engagements when it is in the open, as any cannon-armed vehicle will win a snapshot competition. However, if the IT-1 can remain behind cover, such as behind ground rubble or on top of a hill, it can often outclass conventional tanks attempting to push it as it will often be able to fire first owing to its raised launcher. | ||
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;Long range engagements: | ;Long range engagements: | ||
| − | The IT-1 performs best at medium to long ranges while behind cover. The ATGM will easily dispatch of most enemy vehicles, and the IT-1 is very difficult to hit when it uses cover effectively. However, keep in mind that the 3M7 ATGM is not particularly fast and is much less manoeuvrable than other ATGMs, so enemies may have time to retreat to cover or simply outrun the missile's tracking ability before it reaches them. If an enemy is pushing towards your cover and a retreat is needed, the ESS can come in handy (do note, that it does not block thermal sights and will not help against BR 9 tanks). | + | The IT-1 performs best at medium to long ranges while behind cover. The ATGM will easily dispatch of most enemy vehicles, and the IT-1 is very difficult to hit when it uses cover effectively. However, keep in mind that the 3M7 ATGM is not particularly fast and is much less manoeuvrable than other ATGMs, so enemies may have time to retreat to cover or simply outrun the missile's tracking ability before it reaches them. There is also a non-zero probability of being hit by HE or hostile ATGM, if standing on the same spot for a long time. |
| + | |||
| + | Hills or mountains with a view onto a road that an enemy must use to advance are perfect for IT-1, but sometimes a good sniping spot is vulnerable to a flank attack. If an enemy is pushing towards your cover and a retreat is needed, the ESS can come in handy (do note, that it does not block thermal sights and will not help against BR 9 tanks). | ||
;Fighting in a cluttered area: | ;Fighting in a cluttered area: | ||
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* Other IT-1: It's not rare to fight your own copy in AB. Since IT-1 is one of the hardest tanks to bait out of cover, some extreme measures must be taken. First of all, if other IT-1 is busy looking at something else, try to sneak a shot into their turret, they might just explode. If that's impossible, fire at their missile once it's reloaded. This is bound to get their full attention, and now they will focus on you, often becoming somewhat predictable. After this, if they try to retreat, advance on them, as this means they gave up repairing their weapon and are an easy target. While advancing, use MG on the missile rail to further increase their weapon repair time, then obliterate them. If they do not move and instead start looking at you, fire MG at them but DO NOT leave full cover until they fired, as there is no telling how good their crew is and you might just get suddenly obliterated (a lot of people at the BR stay there for a really long time and might actually ace the crew for their IT-1). In either situation DO NOT forget to look around at all the times, as IT-1 is rarely alone and there are often at least two of them, in such case focus on the undamaged one first. | * Other IT-1: It's not rare to fight your own copy in AB. Since IT-1 is one of the hardest tanks to bait out of cover, some extreme measures must be taken. First of all, if other IT-1 is busy looking at something else, try to sneak a shot into their turret, they might just explode. If that's impossible, fire at their missile once it's reloaded. This is bound to get their full attention, and now they will focus on you, often becoming somewhat predictable. After this, if they try to retreat, advance on them, as this means they gave up repairing their weapon and are an easy target. While advancing, use MG on the missile rail to further increase their weapon repair time, then obliterate them. If they do not move and instead start looking at you, fire MG at them but DO NOT leave full cover until they fired, as there is no telling how good their crew is and you might just get suddenly obliterated (a lot of people at the BR stay there for a really long time and might actually ace the crew for their IT-1). In either situation DO NOT forget to look around at all the times, as IT-1 is rarely alone and there are often at least two of them, in such case focus on the undamaged one first. | ||
| + | |||
| + | * Glass cannon tanks: These are incredibly dangerous, as they generally are the ATGM tanks with superior ammo or multiple launchers, but they are also vulnerable to ATGM overpressure wave, which IT-1 has an insane range for. For example, if [[WMA301]] or similar tank shot your engine or threatens you from cover, launch ATGM in such a way, that blast wave hits its side hull armour and it will vaporize. | ||
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
Revision as of 22:45, 12 August 2021
Contents
Description
The IT-1 is a rank VI Soviet tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows" and was one of the first ATGM-equipped vehicles to be in the game. The IT-1 is a niche modification of the T-62 chassis with a new, low profile turret designed to carry a 3M7 Drakon ATGM launcher, which is the vehicle's only weapon system and mounted above its turret.
General info
Survivability and armour
The hull front is an angled armour similar to T-62, it will protect from "normal" rounds at medium range, but regular APDS will only be likely to be deflected at about 1.2 km, sniper APDS might still penetrate. HEAT will penetrate it regardless of impact point.
The fuel tank on the front is a sort of a shield, but since it is the only fuel tank, if it gets annihilated by APFSDS or HEAT-based bomb, the tank simply explodes, so hull shots should only be taken if necessary. There are also ammo racks everywhere in the IT-1 hull, so the faster it spends its ammunition, the less vulnerable it will be.
Hull sides are weaker and flat, but the general rules are similar if user does not get hit directly. Upper sides also can sustain attacks from autocannons below 35 mm calibre, and even those would need to use APDS. Bottom of the sides are the same weak spot with 30 mm as other soviet tanks, so knowledgeable light tanks or SPAA can destroy IT-1 if they try really hard.
Turret is a shortened round dome, housing the optics and the missile rail at the very top. The dome itself is about 200 mm thick all around, but the optics can be penetrated to push explosives into the tank, and the very roof around the rail is only 30 mm thick, same with the hull roof. While it is difficult to penetrate for medium tanks with HE, HESH might be able to breach the roof and deal damage if it hits the vulnerable part.
In case of turret penetrations, one of crew members usually dies outright, with a chance of ammo rack being hit if IT-1 didn't fire even a single shot before. If turret wasn't really penetrated, a turret ring has a tendency to jam, but fortunately its field repair time is about 3 seconds. Worst case scenario, the turret is penetrated by APFSDS or ATGM, in such case the splash damage is usually too high and IT-1 is destroyed or damaged beyond ability to save itself.
Tank should avoid standing under artillery fire, as it is way too common for it to cause overpressure damage and just obliterate IT-1. It is possible to survive a bombing run, but hit should be taken with a front and as far away as possible.
The profile of a tank is short enough to use building debris as a cover or to hide behind dead tanks completely, but if tanks turret was blown off, the dome might be exposed.
The missile itself is put high enough to poke out of medium hulldown spots without revealing anything else, in such positions IT-1 is essentially immortal, at least until it meets its match in a form of vertical or proximity ATGM tank, HE SPG or until enemy team calls its entire artillery supply on it. Firing at the missile itself will merely break the launching mechanism, but not detonate it (do note that launching missiles does not restore "missile" durability, much like with cannon barrels).
Examples of hulldown in random spots of unrban enviroment with or without exposing the turret:
Turret is exposed, but the hull is mostly protected.
Turret not exposed. Pay attention to your stance, as otherwise the hull might get exposed at some spots.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
- Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear (Slope angle) | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 100 mm (60°) Front glacis 100 mm (55°) Lower glacis |
80 mm | 45 mm (1-2°) Upper 45 mm Lower |
30 mm |
| Turret | 200 mm (19-60°) | 120 mm (23-61°) | 65 mm (21-56°) | 30 mm |
| Cupola | 40 mm (spherical) | 40 mm | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, tracks are 18 mm thick
Mobility
In arcade mode, IT-1 will generally move at 34 km/h and accelerate towards 54 km/h after a while. When climbing, it will lose most of it's speed and go at about 10 km/h and it does not like rushing steep hills, very likely sliding off them at the last moment even with a head start. The reverse is very slow with stable -8 km/h.
All in all it's like a soviet medium tank, but on a bit slower side.
IT-1 does not have neutral steering, but it usually turns fast enough to compensate the broken turret ring, so waiting for its field repair and turning to reply is reasonable. It's better to turn with a front gear if possible (might not be an option when one track was destroyed)
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 55 | 9 | 34.5 | 899 | 1,107 | 26.06 | 32.09 |
| Realistic | 51 | 8 | 513 | 580 | 14.87 | 16.81 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
The missile is a 3M7, unique for IT-1, it does not turn very well in any plane and has penetration statistics of older gen-1 missiles, but it has a notorious ability to destroy a lot of cover in one hit. The missile can be launched on a move without restrictions, so it can remove obstacles or fight while going towards its target.
The missile can destroy pretty much every decoration in a 30 m range from a hit point. Unfortunately, it cannot obliterate buildings completely like a bomb, but it will at least damage entire city blocks, creating a lot of cover and making enemy visible. Overpressure effect from HEAT will obliterate tanks with less than 15 mm of RHA armour if the blast wave will reach their weakspots, but it must hit them directly from missile's hit spot.
Since in AB and RB the gun sight is placed on actual missile itself, not on optics, the tank is basically invincible once it gets to ideal cover or behind an enemy dead carcass (assuming the user does not make a lot of mistakes afterwards). Do remember, though, that it is offset to the right and you might have to turn the hull in a way that gets tank exposed at some spots, at least briefly.
Since missiles turning ability is low, firing a vertical shot is technically possible, but not recommended at all, as each degree you are missing adds another 70 m of minimal range. So if you want to "mortar" the enemy tank, it must be standing at least 800m away. Such shot is also often clearly impossible in RB due to guidance restrictions - if you can't aim straight at an enemy after this, the missile will not fall down in RB. Even in AB, such shot should ONLY be done in a sniper scope, without leaving it until the missile hit the target, as it increases guidance precision.
Firing over hills and cover is somewhat difficult, as missile is big and often accidentally scratches your own cover and explodes. Try to be extra careful about it. For the same reason it is rather easy to shoot down with MG, as it only needs 3 hits of any MG to detonate.
Examples of aiming poorly and okay:
IT-1 aimed too low in attempt to hit a super short tank destroyer and hit it's own cover.
IT-1 fired at the same height and used sniper scope to ensure that missile doesn't curve down into it's own cover.
If missile rail or missile was damaged (it will appear as blown off the turret despite being "loaded"), you need to repair it. It might also start jamming and field repair usually does not solve this: Even "repaired" launcher might start "clicking" instead of firing and then manual repair must be started (which takes a very long time). When it can actually be fired is hard to tell, but it's usually at 1/2 of manual repair duration. The missile must be intact for this to happen either way (to be present on top of the turret), as it might get shot off the turret again during repairs.
Repairs, damage and firefighting do not reset reload timers, so as long as the missile is intact, you will be able to fire right away.
| 3M7 missile | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 15 | -9°/+17° | ±180° | Two-plane | 22.0 | 30.5 | 37.0 | 40.9 | 43.5 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 | 10.00 |
| Realistic | 14.9 | 17.5 | 21.3 | 23.5 | 25.0 | ||||||||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| 3M7 | ATGM | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 | 500 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| 3M7 | ATGM | 224 | 3,000 | 54 | 0 | 0.1 | 3,880 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 4 (+11) | 1 (+14) | No |
Note:
- Missiles are modeled individually and disappear once shot.
Machine guns
MG is usually used to check for/to remove mild obstacles like bushes or thin fences before firing ATGM as to avoid wasting a critical shot. It also can be used in AB against hostile IT-1 to damage their missile rail.
| 7.62 mm SGMT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,000 (250) | 600 | -6°/+17° | N/A |
Usage in battles
- Gameplay summary
Like most ATGM tank destroyers, being only equipped with the 3M7 anti-tank missile can put the IT-1 at a disadvantage in many situations when facing conventional enemies armed with a cannon, but it does have the capacity to excel in certain situations. The 3M7 missile itself is one of the largest at this tier, with 3.8 kg of TNT equivalent explosive mass, compared to 2.4 kg of the TOW missile and 3 kg of the HOT missile. Coupled with its decent penetration, it can take out virtually anything it will face with a single hit. In addition, the launcher can depress up to 9 degrees, making it easy for the IT-1 to take advantage of cover to become virtually untouchable, and the turret can rotate a full 360 degrees, which is pretty unique among ATGM vehicles. Finally, the IT-1 is relatively well armored compared to most other vehicles that carry ATGMs, and while it is insufficient to rely on especially against higher tier opponents, it still offers decent protection.
- Close range engagements
The IT-1 is completely outclassed in close-range engagements when it is in the open, as any cannon-armed vehicle will win a snapshot competition. However, if the IT-1 can remain behind cover, such as behind ground rubble or on top of a hill, it can often outclass conventional tanks attempting to push it as it will often be able to fire first owing to its raised launcher.
If direct combat is unavoidable, try to separate opponents and fight them one on one, at least at first. If nothing can be done, charge at the nearest opponent, destroy them, crash into their burning carcass and use it as a mobile bunker by moving it or by moving around it. Aiming with fires in the camera's face is difficult, but it is still better than being destroyed. Abuse IT-1s ability to fire on move to pounce onto opponents out of cover and destroy or spook other enemies, then hide again. Try to also hide the missile behind the newfound "cover" as some opponents might just try to disarm you out of desperation.
Needless to say, some attention must be paid to your team status as well, as sometimes an enemy might get very bold if all allies surrounding you have died, and since you only have one launcher, fear is all you have to protect IT-1 from a large tank squad.
- Long range engagements
The IT-1 performs best at medium to long ranges while behind cover. The ATGM will easily dispatch of most enemy vehicles, and the IT-1 is very difficult to hit when it uses cover effectively. However, keep in mind that the 3M7 ATGM is not particularly fast and is much less manoeuvrable than other ATGMs, so enemies may have time to retreat to cover or simply outrun the missile's tracking ability before it reaches them. There is also a non-zero probability of being hit by HE or hostile ATGM, if standing on the same spot for a long time.
Hills or mountains with a view onto a road that an enemy must use to advance are perfect for IT-1, but sometimes a good sniping spot is vulnerable to a flank attack. If an enemy is pushing towards your cover and a retreat is needed, the ESS can come in handy (do note, that it does not block thermal sights and will not help against BR 9 tanks).
- Fighting in a cluttered area
IT-1 needs to waste much less ammo than other ATGM tanks to turn area previously impossible to work with using ATGM into something reasonable. There is a town, and somewhere out there is a scary light tank, lurking behind a corner? Level the entire town district down, find the unfortunate soul and execute them while using the town remains as a cover. There are stone walls preventing your team from seeing the gank squad and they are just too busy or inexperienced too look out for it? Destroy the entire wall beforehand with just one ATGM and observe your teammates denying the sneak attack. There is a forest and it is very likely that someone camps on the other side? For a cost of 4 ATGM, it is generally possible to remove most sight obstructions and turn encounter into a regular hill battle. Just be careful to not get countersniped, as it becomes very obvious where you are when you are doing so much damage to the enviroment.
Do note, that all maps have different settings for building destructibility, and, unfortunately, on some maps you just have to deal with tanks camping behind an indestructible wall. The same goes for the enemy though, so you can hide behind such cover for as long as you'd like.
Notable enemies
- Tanks with ability of indirect attack: These are the only tanks that can hope to take out a hulldown IT-1. Generally, tanks of the same tier or below have to get close to attack IT-1 (vertical ATGM tanks, such as unupgraded BMP-1,Striker,Type 60 ATM) and often can be merely zoned out, while some tanks of the current or higher tier can outright blow IT-1 up from wherever they'd like to (proximity ATGM carriers like CM25,Dardo,M3A3 Bradley). Either way, ALL of them can attack IT-1 from complete safety and are very difficult to counter once they got into the firing range. Destroy them immediately and do not drive into their kill-zone.
- HE tanks: Another type of difficult opponents is HE tanks, as they are very fragile, but can destroy IT-1 by hitting the missile or the turret with HE and thus causing overpressure damage. While generally IT-1 needs to only be wary of SPGs, it should also be wary of it's own nation in general in AB. For example, BMP-3 can relentlessly bombard IT-1 with HE every 4 seconds at angles which are impossible to block.
- Other IT-1: It's not rare to fight your own copy in AB. Since IT-1 is one of the hardest tanks to bait out of cover, some extreme measures must be taken. First of all, if other IT-1 is busy looking at something else, try to sneak a shot into their turret, they might just explode. If that's impossible, fire at their missile once it's reloaded. This is bound to get their full attention, and now they will focus on you, often becoming somewhat predictable. After this, if they try to retreat, advance on them, as this means they gave up repairing their weapon and are an easy target. While advancing, use MG on the missile rail to further increase their weapon repair time, then obliterate them. If they do not move and instead start looking at you, fire MG at them but DO NOT leave full cover until they fired, as there is no telling how good their crew is and you might just get suddenly obliterated (a lot of people at the BR stay there for a really long time and might actually ace the crew for their IT-1). In either situation DO NOT forget to look around at all the times, as IT-1 is rarely alone and there are often at least two of them, in such case focus on the undamaged one first.
- Glass cannon tanks: These are incredibly dangerous, as they generally are the ATGM tanks with superior ammo or multiple launchers, but they are also vulnerable to ATGM overpressure wave, which IT-1 has an insane range for. For example, if WMA301 or similar tank shot your engine or threatens you from cover, launch ATGM in such a way, that blast wave hits its side hull armour and it will vaporize.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Anti-tank missile 3M7 is slightly faster than ones found on early light tanks
- Can fire on the move without restrictions
- Despite being overall weaker than ones of competition, the 3M7 ATGM has a ridiculously wide overpressure area of effect for a HEAT warhead and will often destroy "glass cannon" tanks like ZT3A2 as a collateral and clean a larger area of trees, bushes or buildings
- Good armour of a T-62, will likely survive attempts to simply use HE or even HESH on it, can brawl with a light tank or SPAA, unless they have APDS belts or know all of the weak spots
- The turret has even lower profile than usual and is hard to punish for overextension and use of low cover due to its shape and armour value, unlike Swingfire, BMP-1, M60A2 and other alternatives
- In AB and RB, the gun scope is based on a missile, and in some hulldown spots just the missile is exposed, making IT-1 basically untouchable for normal tanks
- Layout of the hull makes kinetic hits from the front easier to survive
- Relatively fast reload on any crew
Cons:
- No backup weapons, only one type of missiles, low penetration power like early ATGMs, missiles reload slower than conventional tanks and tank can only use one per reload, which makes it overall less forgiving than other ATGM tanks in direct fight
- Missile on the top of the turret can be damaged by enemy machine guns. Optics to the right of it, while hard to hit, can also be exploited to push explosives inside of the tank if operator does not move around, artillery can destroy IT-1 as well, so IT-1 is not entirely invincible even when in cover
- Movement speed of this tank is less than average - it can't chase or run from many rank VI tanks and may be forced to fight light tanks for its sniping spots
- Missile has very low manoeuvrability in flight, making it extremely difficult to hit moving targets, especially at longer ranges.
- Missile is very big and has tendency to hit your own cover when in deep hulldown, or to get shot down by enemy MG
- Like many Soviet tanks of the rank, IT-1 has only one fuel tank in the front, and any strong enough chemical shell or APFSDS will detonate it on direct hit, resulting in instant tank destruction
History
Development
The genesis of the concept of "missile tanks" came from the Premier of the Soviet Union at the time, Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev believed that missiles were the key to armour dominance, spelling the end of naval battleships and tanks. This belief led to his order that the heavy tank programs like the T-10 be cancelled in the 1950s. Khrushchev ordered that a missile-capable tank be fielded in replacement, with development starting in 1956 despite the immature technology. Though the military finds little favour with the concept, they begrudgingly carry it out by orders of the Kremlin and many facilities in the Soviet Union started on the concept.[1]
The Uralvagonzavod facility designed a missile tank labelled Object 150. The chassis was derived form the T-54/55 tanks, though the hull was lengthened for more stowage space for the missiles. The tank used the 2K4 Drakon missile system, a sophisticated machine that used a SACLOS guidance system and had a warhead able to penetrate 500 mm of armour. The missile, later designated the 3M7 Drakon, was still rife with problems and required further development. The design could carry 15 missiles, with 12 inside the vehicle's autoloader and 3 spare held in storage. The military dislike this storage as it was much lower than the 30+ rounds in their conventional tanks, but it was expected that the hit probability on the missiles would be higher to compensate. Firing tests started at the Kubinka Proving Grounds mid-1963 and was approved by Khrushchev in 1964. Then in October 1964, Khrushchev was overthrown. Without the constant urging by Khrushchev, the military delayed the Object 150 design's serial production to 1968 to prioritize on main battle tanks and to let the missile technology to develop to a more battle-worthy level. The benefit of the development of the Object 150 during this time period was that it provided a lengthened hull that would be used in the new Soviet tank design Object 165, which would be adopted as the T-62.[1]
Adoption & retirement
Object 150 finally entered production in 1968 with 220 units made between 1968 to 1970. Its purpose was to provide additional firepower to T-62 tanks. It was designated the IT-1 tank destroyer and issued to battalions at Belarus and Carpathian Military Districts, crewed by tank crews and artillery crews respectively.[1] A variant of the IT-1 was made with a turbine engine, designated the IT-1T. In the time period it spent in active-duty, it proved an unpopular vehicle. The low missile count did not sit well with the tank crews and the missiles had a dead zone of around 300-500 meters before the missiles could be guided. The IT-1 was also complicated to use and maintain compared to existing artillery vehicles, a fact that did not sit well with the artillery crews. Though the missile launcher was praised for its long-range accuracy, the IT-1 did not sit well with the overall military situation and was discontinued sometime after its deployment in 1972. The remaining missile tanks in inventory were converted to recovery vehicles.[1]
Though the missile tanks concept failed, many more attempts were made to incorporate a missile system as a secondary armament onto Soviet tanks, succeeding with the usage of missiles in the 125 mm smoothbore guns on Soviet tanks past the T-64.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
References
| USSR tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| SU-76M | SU-76M · SU-76M (5th Gv.Kav.Corps) · SU-85A |
| SU-57B | SU-57B · SU-76D |
| T-34 Derivatives | SU-122 · SU-85 · SU-85M · SU-100 · SU-122P |
| Heavy Tank Derivatives | SU-100Y · ISU-122 · ISU-122S · SU-152 · ISU-152 · Object 268 |
| SU-100P and Derivatives | SU-100P · Object 120 |
| Wheeled | YaG-10 (29-K) |
| Airborne | ASU-57 · ASU-85 |
| Rocket | BM-8-24 · BM-13N · BM-31-12 |
| ATGM | IT-1 · Shturm-S · Object 775 · Khrizantema-S |
| Artillery | 2S1 · 2S3M |
| Other | SU-5-1 · ZiS-30 · SU-122-54 |
| USA | SU-57 |
