ST-A3

This page is about the Japanese medium tank ST-A3. For other variants, see Type 61 (Family).

ST-A3

Type 61

▅M47

ST-A3

Type 61

▅M47

Japan

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:35 000

Purchase:210 000

Show in game

Description

The ST-A3 was the third and last finished prototype for the Type 61. Being part of the second phase of development for the Type 61, together with the ST-A4 it overcame the transmission problems the ST-A1/2 had, and the overall vehicle design was pretty much the same as the final production model. While the ST-A4 was a later prototype, it was completed earlier than the ST-A3, and due to the ease of manufacturing and enlarged cupola became the basis for the Type 61 MBT. This left the ST-A3 behind as a promising prototype incorporating an autoloader.

The ST-A3 was introduced in Update "Hot Tracks". While very similar to the final product being the Type 61 MBT, it comes with a 6-second autoloader with a first-stage of 11 shells, which makes it essentially a Type 61 with a 1-second faster reload regardless of crew damage. For tank combat, the ST-A3 in War Thunder has a commander cupola that is less at risk of being hit due to its small profile, the machine gun coming with a gun shield offers some spalling protection to the HMG and offers slightly higher elevation making for a better anti-air defense.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull50 / 35 / 20

Turret40 / 60 / 35

Crew4 people

Visibility96 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	45 mm (49-61°) Front glacis 50 mm (54°) Lower glaics	30 mm (30°) Top 35 mm Bottom	25 mm (13°) Top 20 mm (30°), 10 mm (59°) Bottom	12 mm
Turret	40 mm (4-78°) Turret front 80 mm (0-68°) Gun mantlet	40-60 mm (0-38°)	35 mm	18 mm
Cupola	30 mm			18 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.

Due to its weak armour nearly every tank is a serious threat to the ST-A3, as well as a number of SPAA vehicles, however fast medium tanks such as the T-44, M46/M47 Patton or Panther II which can match its mobility are a painful to avoid, while anything with heavy armour (T29, T32, T34 and Tiger IIs) forces the reliance on the M431 shell HEAT-FS to punch through frontally, requiring multiple shots to overcome.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB51 / 9 km/h

RB and SB46 / 9 km/h

Number of gears7 forward

2 back

Weight35.0 t

Engine power

AB1 240 hp

RB and SB650 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB35.4 hp/t

RB and SB18.6 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	51	9	35	1,007	1,240	28.77	35.43
Realistic	46	9		575	650	16.43	18.57

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 514 → 4 603

RB4 111 → 5 385

SB5 351 → 7 009

Total cost of modifications61 600

102 700

Talisman cost1 800

Crew training61 000

Experts210 000

Aces890

Research Aces570 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 180 / 210 %

178 / 178 / 178 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 170 Suspension Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 155 Brake System Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 155 Filters Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 210 Transmission Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 270 Engine Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 270	Improved Parts Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 170 Improved FPE Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 155 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 210	Horizontal Drive Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 170 90mm_jp_M82_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 3 100 Cost: 5 200 170 Adjustment of Fire Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 155 90mm_jp_M431_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 155 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 210 Rangefinder Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 210 Artillery Support Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 270 90mm_us_M313_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 270

Armaments

Rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

90 mm Type 61 cannon

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition40 rounds

First-order11 rounds

Reload6.0 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 13°

90 mm Type 61					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader
Arcade	40	-10°/+13°	±180°	-	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	6.00
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

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
M318A1 shot	APBC	194	190	177	162	148	136
M82 shot	APCBC	185	182	170	155	142	130
M431 shell	HEATFS	320	320	320	320	320	320
M71 shell	HE	20	20	18	17	15	14

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M318A1 shot	APBC	914	10.98	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
M82 shot	APCBC	853	10.94	1.2	14	137.2	48°	63°	71°
M431 shell	HEATFS	1,216	5.8	0.05	0.1	712.64	65°	72°	77°
M71 shell	HE	823	10.55	0.2	0.1	925	79°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M313	821	10.7	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the ST-A3

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
40	32 (+8)	20 (+20)	12 (+28)	1 (+39)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Rack 4 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 11 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 4 - 1 - 2 - 3.
• If you pack 20 (+20) shells, it will keep most of the hull empty of ammo.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 4. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition800 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-5° / 50°

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition4 500 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	800 (200)	575	-5°/+50°	±180°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,500 (250)	500	-	-

Usage in battles

As the last built ST-A project (ST-A4 was completed earlier) before it resolved into the Type 61, the ST-A3 shouldn't come as a surprise as to how similar it is to its end-product. While the turret has a different commander cupola and a .50 gun shield; the main surprise of this prototype lies in its auto-loader. Ramming shells into the breech with a 6-second reload, it achieves a faster reload rate compared to all its other brothers in pursuit to become the Type 61 and even overcome the Type 61 as it would adopt from the ST-A4 which would have more ammo load and be a less expensive tank to produce.

Because of this addition of an auto-loader, it still plays very similar to a Type 61 with a constant reload rate of 6 seconds, regardless of crew status unless the auto-loader rack of 11 rounds is empty. The ST-A3 has excellent horizontal traverse and gun depression combined with a fairly mobile chassis, making it a good choice for progressing from turret down, to hull down and firing at the opposition before retreating back to turret down cover.

Its mobility is quite good at getting it to position, where it can ambush tanks early in the game or change position when required, particularly when disengaging when its position is discovered.

Its lack of armour and the decent but not overwhelmingly powerful gun means it is not a wonderful frontline tank to hold a defensive position when the opposition knows its position, as its armour is unlike to prevent any opposition rounds from penetrating and dealing damage, leaving the user to more often than not, rely on luck when engaging opposition frontally.

The biggest issue with the Type 61 (Family) is shot selection; Should one choose the M431 shell HEAT-FS which will punch through most opposition tanks, but do little damage? Or use the M318A1 AP round, M82 shot APHE rounds for more damage, but will struggle to penetrate opposition frontally at times?

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 6 second autoloader, compared to the 7.5 second ace reload on any other ST-A or Type 61
• Fast turret rotation
• Excellent gun depression
• Good forward speed and mobility
• Good acceleration
• Shell choice:
  • Great post-penetration damage on the M82 APCBC shell
  • High penetration M431 HEAT-FS shell for tougher targets
• Smaller cupola profile in exchange for a slightly more noticeable .50 gunshield compared to the Type 61 tank

Cons:

• 90 mm Type 61 cannon can struggle to overcome certain opposing tanks frontally without relying on M431 HEAT-FS shell
• Very thin overall armour, any tank gun will make short work of the ST-A3, and even certain SPAAs can give the tank trouble
• The reverse speed of -8 km/h can hinder the tank at times
• Outer rear part of the engine deck prevent the gun from depressing
• Tall profile due to the gunshield covering the top .50 cal - taller than the Type 61

History

Following Japan's remilitarization in the wake of the outbreak of the Korean War, Japanese engineers began working on the first domestic postwar tank designs. Taking on board the experience of working with American WWII tanks in service at the time, as well as incorporating some of the lessons learned from the Korean conflict, Japanese tank designers came up with a series of prototypes in the late 1950s.

The ST-A3 was created as one of the later prototypes and was based on the previous design - the ST-A2. Featuring a 90 mm cannon coupled with an autoloading mechanism in the rear of the turret, the design was considered successful, but ultimately wasn't ordered into production due to concerns over its cost. As a result, the ST-A3 was modified into the ST-A4 by having its autoloading mechanism removed and eventually entered production as the Type 61 medium tank in 1961.

Only two ST-A3 prototypes were constructed and closely resembled the later production model Type 61 visually.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the ST-A3 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

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See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] ST-A3: The Fastest Gunslinger in the East