RBT-5

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RBT-5
ussr_rbt_5.png
GarageImage RBT-5.jpg
RBT-5
AB RB SB
1.3 1.3 1.3
Show in game
MARKET

Description

The RBT-5 is a premium gift rank I Soviet light tank with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was available as a prize during the 2015 Thunder League as a giveaway prize for watching the Twitch stream, later every Dog-Tag owner who voted for Team Dislike earned one due to the "Champion" prize. It can now only be obtained via the War Thunder Market.

The RBT-5 is a regular BT-5 with the mounts to hold two 250 kg TT-250 torpedoes modified as rockets. The large calibre rockets prove hard to aim, but a real dealer to anything it hits.

This tank is quite unique. It has virtually no armour, weights only 11,5 tons and has a massive 400 HP engine (442 HP fully upgraded), giving it up to 38 HP/Ton ratio. This paired with excellent Christie suspension allows it to drive like a race car among tanks. Gun is an adequate 45 mm 20-K cannon with decent penetration and quick reload.

Do remember: the RBT-5's two rockets are quite apart from each other, and that should be taken into account when aiming. The first rocket to be fired is the one on the left side of the turret.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull13 / 15 / 13
Turret20 / 15 / 15
Crew3 people
Visibility77 %

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 13 mm (62°) Front glacis
20 mm (18°) Driver port
30 mm (62°) Lower glacis
40 mm (13°) Plate joint
15 mm (1°) 13 mm (0-59°) 10 mm
Turret 20 mm (11-43°) Gun mantlet
15 mm Turret front
15 + 15 mm 15 mm 10 mm

Notes

  • Tracks and suspension wheel are both 15 mm thick.
  • Rocket mounts provide additional spaced armour of 15 mm on the turret sides.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB57 / 12 km/h
RB and SB51 / 10 km/h
Number of gears4 forward
1 back
Weight12.1 t
Engine power
AB763 hp
RB and SB400 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB63.1 hp/t
RB and SB33.1 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 57 12 12.1 566 763 46.78 63.06
Realistic 51 10 323 400 26.69 33.06

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB570 Sl icon.png
RB358 Sl icon.png
SB285 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 / 50 % 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 ussr.png
Crew Replenishment
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Mods tank ammo.png
45mm_AP_1942_ammo_pack
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition86 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
3.8 → 2.9 s
Vertical guidance-8° / 25°
Main article: 20-K (45 mm)
45 mm 20-K Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 86 -8°/+25° ±180° N/A 15.2 21.1 25.6 28.3 30.1 3.77 3.33 3.07 2.90
Realistic 9.5 11.2 13.6 15.0 16.0

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
BR-240 APHEBC 70 68 59 50 42 35
BR-240SP AP 73 71 62 52 44 37
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%
BR-240 APHEBC 760 1.43 1.2 9 29.26 48° 63° 71°
BR-240SP AP 757 1.43 N/A N/A N/A 47° 60° 65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the BT-5
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
86 72 (+14) 57 (+29) 43 (+43) 29 (+57) 15 (+71) 1 (+85) No

Note:

  • Turret empty: 29 (+57) shells

Additional armament

TT-250 tank torpedo
Ammunition2 rounds
Vertical guidance9° / 50°
Flight speed135 m/s
Range1 800 m
Main article: TT-250
TT-250 tank torpedo
Capacity Vertical Horizontal
2 +9°/+50° N/A

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
TT-250 Rocket 101 101 101 101 101 101
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Range
(m)
Projectile
Mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
TT-250 Rocket 135 6,500 250 0 0.1 130,000 79° 80° 81°

Machine guns

Ammunition1 890 rounds
Belt capacity63 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate600 shots/min
Main article: DT (7.62 mm)
7.62 mm DT
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,890 (63) 600 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

The RBT-5 is really flexible when it comes to the usage, as it has great mobility and firepower, which is pretty much all you need for a good tank. Given its great 53 km/h top speed, it is good to use the RBT-5 as a point-capping tank at the start of the match. It is better to travel on-road to fully utilise its speed to get to the point before the enemies do. Another good tactic is to manoeuvre to the flank of the frontline / point and attack from the side. Its speed makes it possible to go the furthest with the shortest time, surprising the enemies.

Once capped, the player can either quickly ambush behind a nearby cover waiting for the enemy to re-cap it, or just drive around the battlefield and help the teammates. Its 70 mm penetration and 29 g TNT will one-shot pretty much anything around its BR. If not, the 3 second reload allows it to finish them off easily. A sudden, close encounter is a hard test to the player's skills because the RBT-5 isn't very good at turning as its tracks are quite long and narrow. Its turret traverse of around 11 deg/sec is certainly not the best. Thus those two factors can sometimes cause the death to the RBT-5 so the player must respond fast and accurate.

Enemies worth noting:

  • Pz.IIs: Although not as fast as the RBT-5, the Pz.IIs still have an average speed of around 40km/h. Also they are equipped with a deadly 20 mm autocannon that will punch holes on the RBT-5 with ease, and their rate of fire can quickly kill multiple crew. The RBT-5 has thin armour protecting only 3 crew, making it extremely vulnerable to those autocannons.
  • Sd.Kfz.234 series: These wheeled vehicles all have scary on-road speed of more than 60 km/h, so in any map with roads connecting to the points they can always get there first and set up an ambush. However, these vehicles are wheeled meaning they cannot turn in place, they are rather sluggish when trying to turn, and they have either slow turret traverse or no turret at all so the player can use this to their advantage. Wiggle / circle around them to avoid their guns and force then to turn, then aim carefully and immobile them. Note that the DT machine gun on the RBT-5 only has 10 mm penetration at most, making it almost impossible to go through their armour and kill any crew, so don't think of destroying these wheeled tanks with the MG.
  • M8 Greyhound, M3 Stuarts: These vehicles are equally fast, and the M8 can outrun the RBT-5 if it's travelling on road, allowing them to get to the point before the RBT-5 does. Therefore if America is on the other side the player might want to change their tactic and not to rush the point since low tier battles are always filled with fast tanks. The M8 has a roof-mounted .50 cal MG which easily tears the RBT-5's armour apart and kills the crew inside. Also most of them have a vertical stabiliser that works at low speed, so avoid firing on the move with them.
  • B1 bis: A heavily armoured tank for its BR, but do not panic when you see it. Don't fire at a distance unless you are directly aiming at its side armour. The best option is to try and get as close to it as possible (point-blank range is ideal) and shoot straight at its side. However sometimes due to a variety of reasons the player might be unable to flank it and has to face it frontally. If that is the case, shoot the rather vertical driver's compartment and there's a great chance of penetration, killing the driver and the commander (which is also the gunner for the turret). Or, shoot between the two guns on the turret to kill the commander / gunner. Or, shoot at the near-vertical part of the curved gun mantlet of the big gun.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 45 mm 20-K gun offers great penetration
  • 20-K gun offers a good rate of fire
  • The BR-240 APHEBC rounds deals the best damage and spalling at its rank, allowing for impressive post-penetration damage
  • Fast tank, with a good acceleration and good overall mobility
  • Front armour, although very thin, may bounce shells thanks to the decent sloping of the glacis
  • Very powerful rockets, can even instantly destroy a Maus, allowing the RBT-5 to handle even formidable foes

Cons:

  • Equipped with only 2 rockets
  • Rockets are set at a fixed angle which further complicates aiming, does not allow for zeroing targets
  • Armour can only cope with rifle caliber rounds, could also deflect a few heavy machine gun rounds
  • Very vulnerable to quick-firing autocannons like the German 20 mm or the TShN
  • Terrible crew arrangement, a well-placed, penetrating shot will automatically take out the crew
  • Rockets may overshoot at close range, due to the affixed nature of the mounting

History

Development

The BT, or Bystrokhodny tank, was the forerunner to the T-34. The tank's name translates to "high-speed tank" and it lived up to that expectation. The BT series of tank's origin lays with an American Racing enthusiast named Walter Christie, also a prolific automotive designer. When the U.S. Army Ordnance Bureau repeatedly declined to produce Christie's designs, he becomes so frustrated with them for turning their interests away from a tracked vehicle able to go 60 miles per hour, so he turned to other countries such as Great Britain, Poland, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet's were eager to purchase his designs and were able to receive two M1931 turret-less examples that were labeled as "agricultural tractors", as well as the license to build more of their own variants. The Soviets quickly produced working prototypes of Christie's tanks and made various changes and improvements at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov. The development of the Christie suspension on the tank would become the BT-2 light tank. Further development would improve the BT-2 design as the BT-5, released sometime in 1935.

Design

The Christie design was based on the concept of "convertible tanks" which was to reduce the wear of tank tracks as they were quite unreliable at the time. The tracks could be removed and instead the vehicle would run on a chain drive to allow the tank to reach high-speed on roads with just the wheels that could be steered by pivoting the front road wheels. The conversion took about 30 minutes to complete. The Soviets saw the "convertible tank" feature of the Christie design to be of little use due to the lack of paved road in the Soviet Union, which was necessary for the use of the wheel conversion. The conversion also added unnecessary complexity and weight, so this was removed from later Soviet tank designs.

The primary changes from the BT-2 to the BT-5 was its new larger cylindrical shaped turret and more powerful 45 mm 20-K cannon. The new turret was capable of housing radio equipment and gave crew more freedom to move around. The BT-5 was slightly heavier then the BT-2, but the armour was left unchanged. The 12 cylinder M5 power-plant that was based off an American Liberty aircraft engine that was adapted for use with the BT series. It allowed the tank to travel up to impressive speeds. Several variants of the BT-5 were constructed that included features such as flamethrowers, 76.2 mm cannon, and a snorkel to aid in fording waterways. Projects in extending the BT's role in other jobs also took place, such as the RBT-5, which is a rocket launcher artillery variant that mounts two large 420 mm tank torpedoes on the turret, but this did not past prototypes. During its development, it was also slowly replaced by the improved BT-7 model being produced form 1935 onward. A reported 1,884 BT-5 light tanks were produced from 1932 to 1941.

Combat usage

The BT tanks were meant to be a cavalry tank, and at the time of their introduction they were considered some of the finest tanks against other countries' tanks. They had great mobility of all available tanks, and its 45 mm gun could perform very well in combat. The only drawbacks of the design was its light armour and its gasoline engine, which caused the design to be rather flammable to improvised incendiary weapons. The BT-5's most notable combat service came against the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol. The tactics of Soviet Marshal Georgi Zhukov and the performance of his BT-5 and BT-7 tanks led to a decisive victory. It was during this battle that the BT tendency to catch fire was found, but its performance was positive against the inferior Japanese armoured forces.

During the Spanish civil war, a force of BT-5s fought with the Republican forces and performed quite well against its inferior German and Italian opponents, whom deployed lightly armoured tanks with machine guns as their armament. With the outbreak of World War II, the BT-5 was deployed against Poland and aided in the defense of Russia from the invading German army in Operation Barbarossa, though was of little use against the better German Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs. The BT-5 saw service through to the end of the war, where it participated alongside BT-7s and more modern Soviet tanks against Japanese-controlled Manchuria in August 1945.

Media

Skins
Videos

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


USSR light tanks
T-26  T-26 · T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-26-4 · T-26E
BT  BT-5 · RBT-5 · BT-7 · BT-7 TD · BT-7M · BT-7A (F-32)
T-50  T-126 · T-50
T-70  T-70 · T-80
PT-76  PT-76B · PT-76-57 · Object 906
BMP  BMP-1 · BMP-2 · BMP-2M · BMP-3
BMD  BMD-4
2S25  2S25 · 2S25M
Wheeled  BA-11 · BTR-80A
Other  T-60 · Object 685 · 2S38
China  ▂Type 62

USSR premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  BA-11 · RBT-5 · BT-7A (F-32) · T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-26E · T-126 · PT-76-57 · 2S38
Medium tanks  T-34 (Prototype) · T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-34E · T-34-57 (1943) · T-34-85E · T-34-100 · T-44-122 · TO-55 · T-55AM-1 · T-72AV (TURMS-T) · T-80UD · Т-80U-Е1
  ▂M3 Medium · ▂M4A2 · ▂T-III · ▂T-V · ▂МК-IX "Valentine"
Heavy tanks  SMK · T-35 · ▂MK-II "Matilda" · KV-1E · KV-2 (1940) · KV-2 (ZiS-6) · KV-122 · KV-220 · IS-2 "Revenge" · Object 248 · IS-6 · T-10A
Tank destroyers  BM-8-24 · BM-13N · BM-31-12
  SU-57 · SU-76D · SU-76M (5th Gv.Kav.Corps) · SU-85A · SU-100Y · SU-122P · Object 120
SPAA  ▂Phòng không T-34 · ZUT-37