Waffentrager

Waffenträger

Nashorn

M109G

Waffenträger

Nashorn

M109G

Germany

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.7	5.7	5.7

Class:

Tank destroyer

Research:20 000

Purchase:135 000

Show in game

Description

The Waffenträger Krupp-Steyr mit Pak 43 is a rank III German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.71 "New E.R.A.".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	10 mm (76°), 20 mm (46°) Front glacis 5 mm (46°) Engine grille 20 mm (44°) Lower glacis 10 mm (46°) Crew ports	10 mm (25°) Top 10 mm Bottom	10 mm (26°) Top 10 mm (15°) Bottom	5 mm
Turret	20 mm (41°) Turret front 20 mm (5-46°) Gun mantlet	10 mm (22-24°)	10 mm (24°)	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 5 mm thick.
• A 10 mm structural steel plate covers the engine from the crew.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	38	8	16.3	199	267	12.21	16.38
Realistic	35	7		124	140	7.61	8.59

Armaments

Main armament

88 mm PaK43					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	30	-8°/+45°	±180°	N/A	11.33	15.68	19.04	21.06	22.40	11.05	9.78	9.01	8.50
Realistic					8.33	9.80	11.90	13.16	14.00

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
PzGr 39/43	APCBC	237	234	222	207	194	181
PzGr 40/43	APCR	279	273	252	227	205	185
Hl.Gr 39	HEAT	110	110	110	110	110	110
Sprgr.43	HE	14	14	14	14	14	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%
PzGr 39/43	APCBC	1,000	10.16	1.2	14.0	108.8	48°	63°	71°
PzGr 40/43	APCR	1,130	7.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
Hl.Gr 39	HEAT	600	7.64	0.0	0.3	1,100	62°	69°	73°
Sprgr.43	HE	820	9.4	0.1	0.5	1,000	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Waffentrager

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Recommendations	Visual discrepancy
30	26 (+4)	21 (+9)	16 (+14)	11 (+19)	1 (+29)	Right side empty: 21 (+9)	No

Usage in battles

Despite its fully-traversable turret, the Waffenträger is a classic tank destroyer. It has a fantastically powerful gun, which can defeat any heavy tank at this tier, even at long ranges. The shells have great penetration, great explosive filler, and very good velocity. The vehicle even has a better-than-average reload speed. (Note: keep in mind that the Waffenträger is not equipped with any machine guns.)

However, this vehicle also has poor mobility. It's just slow (both forwards and in reverse), especially when stock, and acceleration is poor as well. The tank struggles on slopes, and is completely unsuited for close-up brawling. Another downside to this vehicle is its poor armour setup. Although the armour protection can defend against machine gun fire, any cannon shell will penetrate with ease. The vehicle may also be hullbroken by significantly large shells. And finally, the open-top turret compartment is vulnerable to aircraft and artillery fire. Therefore, it may be necessary to work with SPAA teammates and to find cover under trees or behind buildings.

Given the vehicle's advantages and disadvantages, a good way to play this vehicle is often in a sniping play-style. Staying hidden, keeping distance, and only exposing the vehicle in order to shoot capitalizes on the strength of the vehicle's gun while minimizing the effects of its weak armour. Additionally, it is very easy to hide this vehicle behind cover in a hull-down position, since it has a low profile and good gun depression.

Alternatively, it may also be beneficial to employ a more ambush-based playstyle with this vehicle. But since this requires more close-up engagements, be careful to avoid lengthy brawls, where the Waffenträger's poor armour and mobility will hinder it greatly. Positioning is still very important. Finally, it may be sometimes possible to engage the enemy while orienting the vehicle sideways or backwards. This protects the engine and transmission from enemy fire, and prevents the protruding frontal optics ports from interfering with gun traverse and depression.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Hl.Gr 39
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		PzGr 40/43

After the Parts modification, the most useful upgrades are the Horizontal Drive, Adjustment of Fire_, and Mobility modules.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 88 mm PaK 43 gun power can destroy any vehicle it meets
• Full rotating turret with the powerful gun
• Decent -8° gun depression for hull-down positions
• Low profile construction makes the vehicle easily conceal
• Suspension and tracks cover a good portion of the lower side hull for protection
• All AP and APHE shells over-pierce the tank without dealing much damage due to the very thin armour

Cons:

• Open-top turret crew vulnerable to shrapnel, machine guns, air strikes, artillery, and such
• Gun recoil can jump the vehicle dramatically, throwing off the aim and bouncing the vehicle position
• Very thin overall armour of between 10-20 mm
• 5 mm roof armour means an aerial attack is deadly
• 5 mm belly armour makes any HE shots able to penetrate through the bottom
• Front-mounted engine and transmission means both can be knocked out with a front shot, immobilizing the vehicle
• Poor acceleration

History

Development

In as early as 1942, the German Wehrmacht was looking for a way to make large anti-tank guns easier to deploy and transport, but also should be able to fire the gun and fight on the front lines. Four major German companies (Krupp, Rheinmetall, Borsig, and Ardelt) took part in a tender of the Waffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) in 1943 for the project. Then, in April 1944, the four companies presented their prototypes. With Krupp and Steyr working together on a design, and Rheinmetall and Borsig on their own. Both designs envisaged placing the 8.8 cm PaK 43 L / 71 in a lightly armoured, upwardly open, rotatable tower mounted on a hull of a Raupenschlepper Ost (a tracked artillery mover) to keep costs down and reduce complexity. However, the decision was made for the prototype of the last company, Ardelt, therefore making the Krupp-Steyr design unwanted by the Waffenamt.

Combat usage

Towards the end of the war, only a few Waffenträger tank destroyers were fielded in the attack on Potsdam in April 1945.

Media

The Shooting Range #74 - Metal Beasts section at 00:36 discusses the Waffenträger.

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] Krupp-Steyr Waffenträger - A Deadly Surprise