ZiS-43

ZiS-43

BTR-152A

ZiS-12 (94-KM)

ZiS-43

BTR-152A

ZiS-12 (94-KM)

USSR

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	2.7	2.7

Class:

SPAA

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

Description

The ZiS-43 is a rank II Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB) and 2.7 (RB/SB). This SPAAG was introduced in Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai". A 37 mm cannon placed in an anti-aircraft turret on a ZiS-42M half-track chassis, the ZIS-43 was a prototype built in November 1942 which underwent testing but never entered production.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Structural steel (Gun mount)
• Wood (Truck bed)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Driver's cabin	10 mm (20-82°) 7.5 mm Hatches and Doors	10 mm (14-27°)	10 mm (6°)	10 mm
Turret	15 mm (2-32°)	10 mm (4-6°)	N/A	N/A
Cargo bed	10 mm	10 mm	10 mm	10 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 7 mm, wheels are 2 mm thick.
• Due to the vehicle hurried construction, it is mostly a patchwork of 10mm steel plates welded onto the underlying chassis.
• The turret crew have their heads visible from the front and sides. They are fully exposed in the rear and above.

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	39	9	8.7	128	172	14.71	19.77
Realistic	35	9		80	90	9.2	10.34

Armaments

Main armament

37 mm 61-K (x1)						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	260 (5)	160	-5°/+85°	±180°	N/A	26.5	36.6	__.__	__.__	52.2	1.30	_.__	_.__	1.00
Realistic						17.9	21.0	__.__	__.__	30.0

Ammunition

• Default: AP-T · HEFI-T* - These rounds work well until the others are researched and offer the same performance as both other belts to the detriment of a halfed rate of fire.
• UO-167: HEFI-T* - These are absolutely devastating in the AA role.
• BR-167: AP-T · HEFI-T* - These are best against enemy tanks at close range and do good damage to planes.

Since every bullet is a tracer, firing makes you easily detected by enemy airplanes and tanks.

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
Default	AP-T/HEFI-T*	71	68	57	46	37	30
UO-167	HEFI-T*	3	3	3	3	3	3
BR-167	AP-T	71	68	57	46	37	30

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%
UO-167	HEFI-T*	866	0.74	0.0	0.1	34	79°	80°	81°
BR-167	AP-T	880	0.76	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the ZiS-43

Full ammo	1st rack empty	Visual discrepancy
52	1 (+51)	No

The ammunition is modeled as a single big box containing clips.

Usage in battles

Despite the vehicle potent armament, it is not built for direct front-line combat. It is poorly armoured, tall, slow and unstable. If necessary, it is possible to penetrate most vehicles sides or rear but sticking to anti-aircraft duty will yield the best results. Do not stay in spawn however, most planes will attack your teammates busy fighting instead of you.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	UO-167	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	BR-167	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 37 mm is deadly to anything it penetrates, planes or tanks
• The gun is able to shoot targets directly in front of the vehicle, unlike some of the previous AA trucks
• Most vehicles can be engaged at close range if needed
• Low armour means APHE won't always fuze
• Most light machine guns will struggle to penetrate
• Fairly high penetration (70 mm)
• Full turret rotation
• Driver and commander are protected in an enclosed driving compartment, which is well protected against small calibre machine gun rounds
• Four crew members allow you to continue with only two after taking damage
• Half-track mount gives better cross-country movement than previous trucks

Cons:

• Thin-skinned vehicle, HE rounds will destroy it
• Very tall for self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle
• Slow fire rate allows planes to fly between shots
• Open turret configuration, open to machine gun fire
• High recoil causes the entire chassis to wobble, making continuous fire extremely inaccurate
• Sluggish maneuverability
• Extremely vulnerable to 12.7 mm machine guns
• Slow turret traverse
• Needs to move forward in order to turn
• Armour protection is not sufficient to stop aircraft fire
• Vulnerable to artillery strikes
• Can be hull-broken
• Has a rather unusual tendency to wobble side-to-side when driving, making it harder to fire on the move

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground 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: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the ZiS-43 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

ZiS-43 Tank Review - NUSensei

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] ZiS-43: When You Need a Bigger Bang

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