Difference between revisions of "M3A3 (1st PTG) (China)"

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== History ==
 
== History ==
 
<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
 
<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
The '''Chinese Expeditionary Forces''' (中國遠征軍) was among one of the most famous unit in the CBI (China-Burma-India) Theatre of WWII; soon after the total outbreak of Sino-Japanese War (抗日戰爭) in 1937 and later southbound assault by the Imperial Japanese Forces in December 1941, the major blood line of ROC at that time, the Burma Road (滇緬公路) that were still under construction would certainly become a target of the Japanese forces. On 1941/12/23, the '''Sino-British Joint Defense Agreement on Burma Road''' (中英共同防禦滇緬路協定), leading to the establishment of the Expeditionary Forces to defend this blood line.
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The Chinese Expeditionary Forces (中國遠征軍) were among one of the most famous unit in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre of WW2. Soon after the total outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (抗日戰爭) in 1937, and the later Southbound assault by the Imperial Japanese Forces in December 1941, the major blood line of the ROC at that time was the Burma Road (滇緬公路). It was still under construction and would certainly become a target of the Japanese forces. On 1941/12/23, the Sino-British Joint Defense Agreement on Burma Road (中英共同防禦滇緬路協定) was signed, leading to the establishment of the Expeditionary Forces to defend this vital supply line.
  
After the blood bathed 1st expedition to Burma that resulted in severe causality on the Nationalist forces ''('''55k out of the 105k troops were lost''')'', the remaining troops retreated back to Mainland China. While there were some troops in India, this deemed insufficient to stop the menacing Japanese forces assaulting from Burma and into India; let alone retaking the Burma Road. A year later, with Sino-US joint command established in India with General Joseph Warren Stilwell in command, the Chinese garrison in India was then reformed as the '''New First Army''' (新一軍) with troops mobilized from Mainland China then transported to India via the Hump (駝峰航線). In October of 1943, the '''Sino-US 1st Provision Tank Group''' (中美第一臨時坦克群) was established at '''Ramgarh Cantonment''' in India with 6 tank battalions under their command; the unit was based on US Army order of battle but the battalions were composed of 3 light tank companies and 1 medium tank company instead, to fit the terrain of Burma and in view of lack of anti-tank weaponries from Japanese forces. They were first deployed in Walawbum in 1944/3/3 and successfully ran over ''(literary, it was remarked that the tank companies happened to ran over the command post of IJA forces among with most of their commanding officers)'' IJA's 18th Division ''(第18師團, which happened to be the one of the major culprits of the infamous Nanjing Massacre 南京大屠殺 on 1937/12/13)''; March 3rd is also the Armored Troops Day of ROCA due to this major victory. The joint forces then successfully reopen the Burma Road and eventually made it back to Mainland China in June of 1945, 2 months before the surrender of Japan.  
+
After the bloody 1st expedition to Burma that resulted in severe casualties on the Nationalist forces (55k out of the 105k troops were lost), the remaining troops retreated back to Mainland China. While there were some troops in India, they were deemed insufficient to stop the menacing Japanese forces assaulting from Burma and into India; let alone retake the Burma Road. A year later, with the Sino-US joint command established in India with General Joseph Warren Stilwell in command, the Chinese garrison in India was then reformed as the New First Army (新一軍) with troops mobilized from Mainland China then transported to India via the Hump (駝峰航線). In October of 1943, the Sino-US 1st Provision Tank Group (中美第一臨時坦克群) was established at Ramgarh Cantonment in India with 6 tank battalions under their command; the unit was based on US Army order of battle but the battalions were composed of 3 light tank companies and 1 medium tank company instead, to fit the terrain of Burma and in view of lack of anti-tank weaponry from Japanese forces. They were first deployed in Walawbum in 1944/3/3 and successfully ran over (literary, it was remarked that the tank companies happened to ran over the command post of IJA forces among with most of their commanding officers) IJA's 18th Division (第18師團, which happened to be the one of the major culprits of the infamous Nanjing Massacre 南京大屠殺 on 1937/12/13); March 3rd is also the Armored Troops Day of ROCA due to this major victory. The joint forces then successfully reopen the Burma Road and eventually made it back to Mainland China in June of 1945, 2 months before the surrender of Japan.  
  
 
This M3A3 delivery was the from the 2th tank of 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, numbered USA 3027869 seen in Burma as of 1945.
 
This M3A3 delivery was the from the 2th tank of 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, numbered USA 3027869 seen in Burma as of 1945.
Line 197: Line 197:
 
== Media ==
 
== Media ==
 
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->
 
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->
''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.''
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 +
;Skins
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* Skins and camouflages for the [[M3A3 Stuart (China)#Media|M3A3 Stuart (China)]] can be used for the {{PAGENAME}}.
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==

Revision as of 20:37, 17 May 2022

This page is about the Chinese light tank M3A3 (1st PTG) (China). For other versions, see M3 Stuart (Family). For other uses, see M3 (Disambiguation).
␗M3A3 (1st PTG)
cn_m3a3_stuart_1st_ptg.png
GarageImage M3A3 (1st PTG) (China).jpg
StoreImage M3A3 (1st PTG) (China) 001.jpg
␗M3A3 (1st PTG)
AB RB SB
2.3 2.7 2.7
Purchase:700 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game
STORE

Description

The ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) is a premium rank II Chinese light tank with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB) and 2.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".

A premium variant of the M3A3 on the main tech tree with the delivery of the Chinese (Nationalist) Expeditionary Forces (中國遠征軍), it serves as a small and agile vehicle to harass enemies' flanks and a good scout vehicle for the main forces of your team.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull25 / 25 / 25
Turret38 / 31 / 31
Crew4 people
Visibility89 %

Aside from the naming of this vehicle and its delivery, it is identical to its main tech-tree counterpart. Having the minimal protection of a light tank (albeit sufficient to stop anything below 12.7x108mm up front) and sides which barely stops HMG rounds at longer ranges. It has at least 2 inches (25.4 mm) armor on its all-round while its turret is 1.25 inches (31.75 mm) all-around.

But to say at least: anything with 14.5x114 mm and beyond can tear down M3A3 with ease. So it is advised NOT TO go head-on against anything with a(n) (auto)cannon, flanking is the way to keep M3A3 from being knocked down into a smoking wreckage.

Armour type:

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 25 mm (50°) 25.4 mm Top (40°)
25.4 mm Bottom (0°)
25.4 mm Top (40°)
25.4 mm Bottom (21°)
12.7 mm
Turret 38.1 mm Turret front
50.8 mm Gun mantlet
31.75 mm 31.75 mm 12.7 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB65 / 8 km/h
RB and SB59 / 7 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight14.4 t
Engine power
AB500 hp
RB and SB262 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB34.7 hp/t
RB and SB18.2 hp/t

Like its tech tree counterpart, it was powered by a Cadillac Series 42 air-cooled piston engine with 220 hp; while it might not be much at first glance, it does push M3A3 at 57 km/h; making it a good flanker and able to pull out from chaos with relative else.

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 65 8 14.4 406 500 28.19 34.72
Realistic 59 7 232 262 16.11 18.19

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB659 Sl icon.png
RB430 Sl icon.png
SB622 Sl icon.png
Crew training2 300 Sl icon.png
Experts15 000 Sl icon.png
Aces115 Ge icon.png
Research Aces320 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 40 / 40 / 40 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 112 / 112 / 112 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Mods tank reinforcement cn.png
Crew Replenishment
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Mods tank ammo.png
37mm_usa_m3_APC_ammo_pack
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics

Armaments

Main armament

Vertical stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in one plane while moving
Ammunition174 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
3.7 → 2.9 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 20°
Main article: M6 (37 mm)
37 mm M6 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 174 -10°/+20° ±180° Vertical 19.0 26.4 32.0 35.4 37.7 3.77 3.34 3.07 2.90
Realistic 11.9 14.0 17.0 18.8 20.0

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
M74B1 AP 79 76 65 54 45 37
M51B1/B2 APCBC 87 84 73 60 50 41

Like its tech-tree counterpart (and its successor, M5A1), they shared the very same ammunition- M74B1 AP and M51 APCBC shells; since this is premium, M51 would be the go-to shell.

The stock M74B1, while having sufficient penetration at its tier to cause damage to enemies' tanks, due to its nature of AP shells without any ballistic cap, this shell has high possibility to cause ricochet on targets if they have angled, leaving a very embarrassing situation for M3A3.

The second round, M51B1/2 is APCBC, which has higher penetration while improved its aerodynamic and ballistic characteristics, this will be the go-to shell for M3A3; thanks to its sufficient penetration, flanking the sides of your enemies is viable and the likelihood of a confirmed penetration is higher.

But do keep in mind that both shells are non-filler shots, meaning no explosive filler is present; thus it is demanded to hit enemies' ammunition or gunner at all cost which gives higher possibility for a confirmed kill or assist kills.

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%
M74B1 AP 883 0.87 N/A N/A N/A 47° 60° 65°
M51B1/B2 APCBC 883 0.87 N/A N/A N/A 48° 63° 71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M3A3 (1st PTG) (China)
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
174 131 (+43) 87 (+87) 44 (+130) (+173) Yes

Notes:

  • Only 144 shells are modeled in the racks 1 to 4.
  • The 1st rack contains 13 shells but empties after having fired 43 shells.
  • The 2nd rack contains 52 shells but empties after having fired 44 shells.
  • The 3rd rack contains 24 shells but empties after having fired 43 shells.
  • The 4th rack contains 55 shells but empties after having fired 44 shells.
  • To go into battle with the turret and the flanks empty of ammo, pack 44 (+130) shells (racks 1 to 3 emptied).

Machine guns

Ammunition4 500 rounds
Belt capacity250 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate500 shots/min
Main article: M1919A4 (7.62 mm)
7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle 4,300 (250) 500 -10°/+70° -60°/+15°
Coaxial 3,200 (250) 500 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

As mentioned, this M3A3 shares the very same traits of the tech-tree one; so speed is your best friend; at 58 km/h, at plains this is an advantage thanks to this top speed, as a light tank, scouting enemies' vehicles beforehand and from their flanks help your team evaluate the main forces of the enemies, giving them some time to plan ahead while you can use your 37 mm gun on-board to harass or possibly scoring some kills while flanking your enemies, weakening the enemies while buying some time for teammates to set up defenses to send the enemies back to the hanger.

Although it might deemed useless, the M1919 (.30) on the turret does actually do some damage against early propellers when they didn't dive upon you, leaving some chances to earn a surprise kill on aircrafts.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Excellent speed and agility, on par with fast tanks like BT-5 allowing it to get to critical spots quickly
  • 37 mm stabilised cannon is good for quick and accurate pinpoint of enemy crews
  • Has narrow and low profile, harder to get spotted and shot at
  • -10° gun depression is great for mountainous battlefields
  • ~50 mm gun mantlet is challenging to penetrate, allowing it to perform hull-down to some extent

Cons:

  • 37 mm solid AP lacks penetration and damage against well protected and/or spacious tanks like B1 and T-28
  • Low survivability: thin armour, and the 4 crewmen are closely packed
  • 37 mm shells tend to ricochet more when hitting sloped armour (e.g. T-50)
  • -7 km/h reverse speed is inadequate to get it out of a dangerous situation quickly

History

The Chinese Expeditionary Forces (中國遠征軍) were among one of the most famous unit in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre of WW2. Soon after the total outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War (抗日戰爭) in 1937, and the later Southbound assault by the Imperial Japanese Forces in December 1941, the major blood line of the ROC at that time was the Burma Road (滇緬公路). It was still under construction and would certainly become a target of the Japanese forces. On 1941/12/23, the Sino-British Joint Defense Agreement on Burma Road (中英共同防禦滇緬路協定) was signed, leading to the establishment of the Expeditionary Forces to defend this vital supply line.

After the bloody 1st expedition to Burma that resulted in severe casualties on the Nationalist forces (55k out of the 105k troops were lost), the remaining troops retreated back to Mainland China. While there were some troops in India, they were deemed insufficient to stop the menacing Japanese forces assaulting from Burma and into India; let alone retake the Burma Road. A year later, with the Sino-US joint command established in India with General Joseph Warren Stilwell in command, the Chinese garrison in India was then reformed as the New First Army (新一軍) with troops mobilized from Mainland China then transported to India via the Hump (駝峰航線). In October of 1943, the Sino-US 1st Provision Tank Group (中美第一臨時坦克群) was established at Ramgarh Cantonment in India with 6 tank battalions under their command; the unit was based on US Army order of battle but the battalions were composed of 3 light tank companies and 1 medium tank company instead, to fit the terrain of Burma and in view of lack of anti-tank weaponry from Japanese forces. They were first deployed in Walawbum in 1944/3/3 and successfully ran over (literary, it was remarked that the tank companies happened to ran over the command post of IJA forces among with most of their commanding officers) IJA's 18th Division (第18師團, which happened to be the one of the major culprits of the infamous Nanjing Massacre 南京大屠殺 on 1937/12/13); March 3rd is also the Armored Troops Day of ROCA due to this major victory. The joint forces then successfully reopen the Burma Road and eventually made it back to Mainland China in June of 1945, 2 months before the surrender of Japan.

This M3A3 delivery was the from the 2th tank of 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion, numbered USA 3027869 seen in Burma as of 1945.

Media

Skins

See also

Other M3A3 Stuarts

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


China light tanks
Type 63  Object 211 · Type 63 · ZTS63
Type 62  Type 62
WZ551  ZSL92 · PTL02 · WMA301
ZBL08  ZLT11
Type 86  ZBD86
WZ502  ZBD04A
ROC  M41D · M64
Type 59  QN506
USA  ␗M8 LAC · ␗M3A3 Stuart · ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) · ␗M5A1 · ␗M24 · ␗M18 GMC · ␗M41A3
USSR  ␗T-26 · T-26 No.531 · ␗PT-76

China premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  T-26 No.531 · ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) · ␗M41A3 · M64 · WMA301
Medium tanks  ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545 · ZTZ59A · Type 69-IIa · T-69 II G · ZTZ96A (P) · Al-Khalid-I
Heavy tanks  IS-2 No.402