GAZ-AAA (4M)

GAZ-AAA (4M)

GAZ-AAA (DShK)

GAZ-AAA (4M)

GAZ-AAA (DShK)

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

SPAA

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

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This page is about the Soviet SPAA GAZ-AAA (4M). For version equipped with a 12.7 mm DShK, see GAZ-AAA (DShK).

Description

The GAZ-AAA (4M) (4M gun mount on a GAZ-AAA truck), or as the 4M GAZ-AAA, is a rank I Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory".

The first of the Soviet SPAAs, it presented a crude set-up of bolting a 4M quadruple Maxim MG mount to a 6x4 GAZ-AAA truck chassis. This Soviet improvisation would lead to the Soviet SPAA trend of attaching anti-aircraft weaponry to trucks, half-tracks, and cars in the game.

Better suited for hauling potatoes on the Russian steppes than rolling into the battlefield, the GAZ chassis of this vehicle has non-existent armour and is armed with surplus WWI-era machine guns. Besides not being suited for the rigours of ground combat (due to lack of armour), it cannot penetrate even the lightest of armour, so charging into battle is very unadvised (unless the aim is for attracting attention). Its quad 7.62 Maxim machine guns are well suited for the vehicle's job as mobile AA, most aircraft at its rank is easily swatted out of the sky by its high fire-rate and the massive amount of rounds it puts out, even without any particularly skilful aiming. The 4000 rounds of rifle calibre rounds mean there is little haste in aiming, so be quite generous in dishing out those rounds.

General info

Survivability and armour

This vehicle has extremely poor survivability. The gunner is completely exposed, and the rest of the 3-man crew is protected only by 1 mm of steel. Any machine gun can destroy the vehicle with ease, as can nearby artillery, rocket, or bomb strikes.

However, the vehicle's extremely thin armour does mean that it is possible for APHE rounds to overpenetrate, and pass through the vehicle without detonating and causing catastrophic damage.

Armour type:

• Structural steel
• Wood (Truck bed)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Driver's cabin	1 mm (1°)	1 mm (1-2°)	1 mm	1 mm
Cargo bed	15 mm (1°)	15 mm (1°)	15 mm	15 mm

Notes:

• Road wheels are 2 mm thick while the chassis was 5 mm thick.
• The truck bed is 15 mm of wood, which will probably not offer as much protection as the truck cab
• The radiator housing is unarmoured.

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	71	10	3	81	95	27	31.67
Realistic	65	9		50	50	16.67	16.67

Armaments

7.62 mm Maxim (x4)
Capacity (Belt capacity each)		Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
4,000 (1,000)		600	-10°/+45°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	52.84	73.13	88.8	98.2	104.47
Realistic	35.70	42.00	51.00	56.40	60.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.8	6.9	6.36	6.00

Belt types

Ammunition	Belt	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m
Default	AI,AP-I,AP-I,AP-I,T	10	9	7	4	2
Universal	AP-I,AP-I,T	10	9	7	4	1
API	AP-I,API-T,API-T	10	9	7	4	1
APIT	API-T	9	8	6	3	1

Ammo racks

Ammo rack of 4M GAZ-AAA.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
4	4 (+0)	4 (+0)	4 (+0)	4 (+0)	4 (+0)	Yes

Usage in the battles

Stay back from the front lines and destroy incoming aircraft. If a tank comes up to you, don't try to fight as the tanks were built to be resistant to the rifle calibre rounds the Maxim fires. Withdraw to safety if encountering any ground vehicles.

The 4M GAZ-AAA is highly vulnerable to any vehicle, from tanks to planes. An encounter will most likely end with the GAZ-AAA destroyed. Prioritize enemy aircraft, as you are significantly vulnerable to strafing and bombing due to the lack of armour.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tires		Parts	Horizontal Drive	Universal
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	API
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	APIT

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Decent anti-aircraft capabilities afforded by the armament, can do satisfactory damage to aircraft of its rank
• Turns in a tight radius like a conventional truck
• Large amount of "ready" ammunition, 4000 rounds
• Able to reasonably damage lightly armoured vehicles of its kind such as M13 MGMC or M3 GMC
• More of a threat to small, nimble aircraft than the M13 or T17E2
• 6x4 truck design is sturdier and heavier than the 4 x 2 design of the GAZ-MM (72-K)
• Has a great rate of fire thanks to the four fast firing maxim guns
• Aircraft at early ranks are very common, meaning there will be plenty of aircraft for to be picked off
• Good at setting aircraft on fire
• Unique ability to fire tracer-less rounds. This allows you to pick off enemy planes without them even realizing that they are being shot at
• The fact that you cannot kill tanks will mean that you focus on enemy aircraft rather than stray and hunt tanks

Cons:

• Non-existent armour/protection, anything will penetrate and damage the vehicle
• An average car has the same amount of protection as this vehicle, like a VW Beetle
• Very lightweight, prone to being destroyed by ramming or being overturned by other vehicles
• Crew is not afforded much protection, owing to the improvised design
• No reserve ammunition, you will only get 4,000 rounds
• Low speed of 27 MPH (43 km/h), even slower cross-country
• Gunner is exposed to all the sundry, and can easily be knocked out from a stray bullet
• Cannot be used effectively against anything other than trucks or aircraft due to its machine gun armament
• Outclassed by other AA vehicles in the same rank
• Vulnerable to strafing by enemy aircraft, especially to kamikaze attacks
• Can easily be tipped over in tight turns
• Machine guns are useless against armoured targets except for other GAZ trucks

History

Around the late 1920s, the Soviet Union was undergoing a mechanization revolution and realized that no purpose-built motor vehicles were available for them to help move cargo and materiel back and forth from point one to point two. The result was the GAZ-AAA truck, which was a truck based on the Ford Model AAA 6 x 4 truck. These trucks entered production in 1932 and were used in multiple roles in the civilian world and in the military.

In the military, the GAZ trucks were used as tractors for gun systems, fuel tankers, radio system, and even armoured cars. By 1931, an anti-aircraft version was created as well, in order to give the Soviet Union a mobile anti-aircraft system to work with. The design had four Maxim Model 1910/30 machine guns installed on a mount on the truck. This configuration was called the 4M GAZ-AAA and served as a low-altitude air defence system after being adopted in 1931.

The 4M GAZ-AAA was a crude weapon. It was simply a truck with a gun mount on the back that connected to four 7.62 mm machine guns. These machine guns could all be simultaneously fired by one operator. The operator had no protection whatsoever as he had to stand in order to fire the gun, there were also no gun shields to protect him from any incoming fire. Despite that, it served as a part of the Soviet defence against the German invasion in 1941, where it was also used in an infantry-support role by laying down a large volume of fire onto the enemy. Many were seen destroyed in German newsreels, covering the roads as German troops advanced deeper into the Soviet Union.

The vehicle was unsatisfactory for the battlefield, and even ineffective against planes due to its low calibre. A new anti-aircraft system had to be devised for the role of mobile anti-aircraft system. This led to the development of the GAZ-MM (72-K), which while still truck-mounted weaponry, had a noticeable increase in firepower with a 25 mm auto-cannon.

In-game description

This self-propelled anti-air mount based on the GAZ-AAA truck with four Maxim machine guns installed on its body was added to the arsenal in the mid-1930s and was the heaviest Soviet mount of the pre-war period. However, by the time WWII began it was no longer effective against airplanes.

Media

Skins and camouflages for the 4M GAZ-AAA from live.warthunder

Read also

[Devblog] M2A2 / 4M GAZ-AAA / BF109B-1

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

USSR anti-aircraft vehicles
GAZ-AAA	GAZ-AAA (4M) · GAZ-AAA (DShK)
BTR-152	BTR-152A · BTR-152D
Wheeled/Half-tracked	GAZ-MM (72-K) · ZiS-12 (94-KM) · ZiS-43
Radar SPAAG	ZSU-23-4 · ZSU-37-2
SAM	ZSU-23-4M4 · Strela-10M2 · 2S6 · Pantsir-S1
Other	ZSU-23-4M2 · ZUT-37 · ZSU-37 · BTR-ZD · ZSU-57-2
Czechoslovakia	M53/59
North Vietnam	▂Phòng không T-34