Difference between revisions of "BT-42"
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== Usage in battles == | == Usage in battles == | ||
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' --> | <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' --> | ||
| − | ' | + | Although the name "BT" still exists on BT-42, but what's left of being a BT tank is the chassis itself; the biggest difference is the huge turret, some might even compare it to a KV-2 as they shared some similarities in terms of the angular shape. While some might think Finnish installed a medium-caliber cannon, upon closer inspection, they will know that it is not a good idea running into the QF 4.5-inch howitzer at 114 mm; although having only HE or HEAT at its disposal and flies at barely supersonic speed, a precise hit on overpressure weakspot or even a near miss from the HE shell will very likely knock down the target right away, while having more explosive content than HE, HEAT is more suitable for direct hits on heavy targets such as the infamous B1 series or KV series at higher tiers. Thanks to the excellent mobility of BT chassis, it can make sure that it would arrive at vantage points at the first place, alternatively flanking enemies from their sides and places they didn't expect. Its 13 second base reload time does give BT-42 extra time to take out crippled targets as vehicles at this tier with even larger caliber takes up to 20 seconds for the next shot. For those who didn't finish off unprotected targets in one take, the bad news is BT-42 doesn't comes with any co-axial machine guns so do make sure your shot blows the target up into pieces, else you might become the prey instead. |
| + | |||
| + | Do remember that mobility is the best friend of BT-42 and it still trades protection for its speed, showing up in front of tanks with HMG or autocannons will make BT-42 meet his miserable demise as well; due to the fact that it has a huge howitzer onboard, avoid rushing into enemies or fire before a full stop, the imbalance of the turret does affect the center of gravity and makes severe "wobbling"; a miss means at least 13 second reload and this will give enemies some time to fight back. | ||
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
| Line 148: | Line 150: | ||
* Relatively huge to its BT counterparts | * Relatively huge to its BT counterparts | ||
* Slow turret traverse | * Slow turret traverse | ||
| + | * Lacks co-axial machine gun for gunning down exposed targets | ||
== 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 BT series light tanks have been the cornerstone of Red Army in late 1930s and have been used extensively between the Interwar Period and WWII; while it has been supplied to some countries including China and Spain, some quantities of them were also captured by Axis and their allies, one of them was Finland. | |
| + | |||
| + | During the Winter War and the subsequence Continuation War, the Finnish captured some quantities of BT tanks (2/5/7) series from the Red Army where some of these tanks became the composition of Finnish's armored platoons, one of them is known as the "Christie Detachment" from the use of mostly Christie suspension-equipped BT tanks; while the tanks gained some infamy within the army due to its reliability, but the demand for assault gun battalions (''Panssaritykkipataljoona)'' for their armored units with 3 guns per platoon and the some numbers of repair-pending BT-7s led Finnish came up with an unique hybrid between BT tanks and military-aid British QF 4.5-inch howitzer: the assault gun that commonly known as BT-42, or ''15 tonnin rynnäkkötykkipanssarivaunu BT-42'' (15-ton assault gun tank BT-42). After some developments especially on the turret design, the gun was first seen in September 1942 and was finally delivered to different battalions from February 1943 with 18 of them in total; after the game-changing Battle of Viipuri ''(the site is now a part of Russia Federation after the Moscow Armistice)'' for the Soviet Union in July 1944, 9 of these BT-42s were lost during the battle and the remaining 8 were pending for scrapping.<ref>https://www.jaegerplatoon.net/ASSAULT_GUNS.htm#BT-42</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | But one of these 8 BT-42s, numbered R-708/Ps. 511-8 was saved for display and being the sole surviving example of this interesting conversion of BT tanks, now displayed at the Parola Tank Museum (''Panssarimuseo'') alongside with dozens of captured/purchased tanks. | ||
== Media == | == Media == | ||
Revision as of 16:38, 27 October 2022
Contents
Description
The BT-42 is a rank I Swedish tank destroyer with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice".
Perhaps one of the most iconic light tank in Finland service and being a "meme" tank among players due to its screen time in Japanese animation film; this captured BT-7 modified with a huge QF 4.5 inch howitzer onboard will strike fears to enemies with its fearsome firepower while still retaining the iconic fast and nimble of a BT light tank.
General info
Survivability and armour
If only looking at the hull alone, BT-42 is exactly like any other BT-7 tanks in Soviet service; but what makes it stand out among its "ancestors" is the turret- Finnish upgraded its gun with British QF 4.5-inch (114 mm) howitzer and installed it along with a new welded turret that somewhat resemble to the infamous KV-2 from Soviet Union as well. But the common feature of BT tanks still persist on BT-42, namely its poor protection; other than the mantle, any high-caliber machine guns will have no trouble penetrating its armor even at longer ranges, especially its hull. So be extra careful on where to appear at uptier battles where HMGs such as M2HB start to be common.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 5 mm (61°) Upper front glacis 20 mm (18°) Driver's hatch 20 mm (5-52°) Lower front glacis |
20 mm Driver compartment 15 + 4 mm Fighting & engine compartments |
10 mm (55°) Upper glacis 13 mm (15°) Centre plate 13 mm (58°) Lower glacis |
10 mm 4 mm Engine vents |
| Turret | 16 mm Turret front 16 mm Gun mantlet |
16 mm | 16 mm | 9 mm |
Notes:
Mobility
Finnish didn't upgrade BT-42's powerplant as it was deemed sufficient, so it retained the same Mikulin M-17T engine and transmission; for players of Soviet BT tanks, they will soon get on hand with the excellent mobility at its rank and make sure it can flank the enemies with ease.
| 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 | 11 | 15 | _,___ | 763 | __.__ | 50.87 |
| Realistic | 50 | 10 | _,___ | 400 | __.__ | 26.67 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
The most iconic feature of BT-42 is the QF 4.5-inch howitzer from Great Britain (named as 114 mm Psv.H/18 in Finnish service); although the revised turret that fits this very gun turns even slower than the original BT-7, if aimed properly, it can even hit tanks behind cover thanks to its ballistics of a howitzer.
| 114 mm Psv.H/18 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 22 | -5°/+25° | ±180° | N/A | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | 13.0 | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||||||||
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 | ||
| akr 32/41 | HE | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| hkr 42/C | HEAT | 115 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| akr 32/41 | HE | 350 | 14.4 | N/A | 0.1 | 2 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| hkr 42/C | HEAT | 357 | 13.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.55 | 62° | 69° | 73° |
The stock akr 32/41 round is an HE shell, although its velocity at barely supersonic makes it unsuitable for hitting mobile targets at some distance; but thanks to its 2 kg of explosives, if it hits the roof armor of tanks or spots that will cause overpressure, it can make sure the crew will knock-out right away, let alone a near-miss to truck-based SPAAs at its rank with minimal protection; alternatively, the curve ballistic also means a bad news for enemies who took cover at longer ranges- there are still chances of being hit from the roof.
The only researchable round, hkr 42/C is a HEAT round; while it can functionally replace the stock shell and penetrates up to 115 mm of armor at any given range, do remember that HEAT has very few spalling against heavier targets, so make sure to hit the ammunition of enemy targets.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | 17 (+5) | 12 (+10) | 6 (+16) | 0 (+22) | No |
Usage in battles
Although the name "BT" still exists on BT-42, but what's left of being a BT tank is the chassis itself; the biggest difference is the huge turret, some might even compare it to a KV-2 as they shared some similarities in terms of the angular shape. While some might think Finnish installed a medium-caliber cannon, upon closer inspection, they will know that it is not a good idea running into the QF 4.5-inch howitzer at 114 mm; although having only HE or HEAT at its disposal and flies at barely supersonic speed, a precise hit on overpressure weakspot or even a near miss from the HE shell will very likely knock down the target right away, while having more explosive content than HE, HEAT is more suitable for direct hits on heavy targets such as the infamous B1 series or KV series at higher tiers. Thanks to the excellent mobility of BT chassis, it can make sure that it would arrive at vantage points at the first place, alternatively flanking enemies from their sides and places they didn't expect. Its 13 second base reload time does give BT-42 extra time to take out crippled targets as vehicles at this tier with even larger caliber takes up to 20 seconds for the next shot. For those who didn't finish off unprotected targets in one take, the bad news is BT-42 doesn't comes with any co-axial machine guns so do make sure your shot blows the target up into pieces, else you might become the prey instead.
Do remember that mobility is the best friend of BT-42 and it still trades protection for its speed, showing up in front of tanks with HMG or autocannons will make BT-42 meet his miserable demise as well; due to the fact that it has a huge howitzer onboard, avoid rushing into enemies or fire before a full stop, the imbalance of the turret does affect the center of gravity and makes severe "wobbling"; a miss means at least 13 second reload and this will give enemies some time to fight back.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- One of the largest guns of its rank
- Fast and nimble for flanking
- Surprisingly fast reload for its caliber
- Both HE and HEAT have high explosive contents
- HEAT has extremely high penetration for its rank
Cons:
- Lightly protected
- Relatively huge to its BT counterparts
- Slow turret traverse
- Lacks co-axial machine gun for gunning down exposed targets
History
The BT series light tanks have been the cornerstone of Red Army in late 1930s and have been used extensively between the Interwar Period and WWII; while it has been supplied to some countries including China and Spain, some quantities of them were also captured by Axis and their allies, one of them was Finland.
During the Winter War and the subsequence Continuation War, the Finnish captured some quantities of BT tanks (2/5/7) series from the Red Army where some of these tanks became the composition of Finnish's armored platoons, one of them is known as the "Christie Detachment" from the use of mostly Christie suspension-equipped BT tanks; while the tanks gained some infamy within the army due to its reliability, but the demand for assault gun battalions (Panssaritykkipataljoona) for their armored units with 3 guns per platoon and the some numbers of repair-pending BT-7s led Finnish came up with an unique hybrid between BT tanks and military-aid British QF 4.5-inch howitzer: the assault gun that commonly known as BT-42, or 15 tonnin rynnäkkötykkipanssarivaunu BT-42 (15-ton assault gun tank BT-42). After some developments especially on the turret design, the gun was first seen in September 1942 and was finally delivered to different battalions from February 1943 with 18 of them in total; after the game-changing Battle of Viipuri (the site is now a part of Russia Federation after the Moscow Armistice) for the Soviet Union in July 1944, 9 of these BT-42s were lost during the battle and the remaining 8 were pending for scrapping.[1]
But one of these 8 BT-42s, numbered R-708/Ps. 511-8 was saved for display and being the sole surviving example of this interesting conversion of BT tanks, now displayed at the Parola Tank Museum (Panssarimuseo) alongside with dozens of captured/purchased tanks.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Sweden tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Strv m/41 derivatives | Spj fm/43-44 · Sav m/43 (1944) · Sav m/43 (1946) · Pvkv II · Pvkv III |
| Ikv 72/103 | Ikv 72 · Ikv 103 |
| Pvkv m/43 | Pvkv m/43 (1946) · Pvkv m/43 (1963) |
| ATGM | UDES 33 · Pbv 302 (BILL) · Pvrbv 551 |
| Other | SAV 20.12.48 · Bkan 1C |
| Norway | VIDAR |
