AS 42
Contents
Description
The Camionetta AS 42 Tipo II "Metropolitana" (shortened as just AS 42) is a rank I Italian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Structural steel (chassis, gun breech, gun mount)
- Wheel (tires & spares)
- Gun Steel (cannon barrel)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chassis | 3 mm | |||
| Gun mount | 150 mm Gun Breech 20 mm Gunner's Seat 20 mm Elevation and Traverse Mechanisms |
N/A | ||
Notes:
- Tires are 10 mm thick. * There is a spare tire on the front and on the rear of the vehicle.
- Storage boxes, fuel containers and fenders are 3 mm thick.
- Storage Boxes and fuel Containers cover much of the flanks in addition to the chassis armour.
- The belly of the car is 3 mm thick.
The AS 42 lacks in armour and is very vulnerable to attacks from the air. While the sloped 3 mm of armour may be sufficient against standard machine guns, most heavy machine guns are able to shred this vehicle and as such it is not recommended to engage in slugging matches.
Though the armour itself is not sufficient against heavy machine guns, it is possible to use the rear engine compartment as armour to protect the crew from the heavy machine guns projectiles. The ammunition compartments at the sides of the vehicle may stop machine guns from penetrating all the way through to harm the crew, but these have dubious protection values in the long run. However, due to these extreme thin armour thickness, standard armour-piercing rounds tend to penetrate straight through with minimal damage.
The AS 42 has 2 crew with ammo located in the flanks of the car. In rare cases, the gun's armour can protect the gunner.
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 | 92 | 24 | 6 | 156 | 210 | 26 | 35 |
| Realistic | 85 | 22 | 97 | 110 | 16.17 | 18.33 | |
The tank has very high mobility with speeds exceeding 80 km/h on concrete and 35 km/h offroad.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 20 mm Breda Mod.35 | 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 | 1,200 (12) | 240 | -10°/+90° | ±150° | N/A | 30.8 | 42.7 | 51.8 | 57.3 | 60.9 | 3.90 | 3.45 | 3.18 | 3.00 |
| Realistic | 20.8 | 24.5 | 29.8 | 32.9 | 35.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: API-T · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* · HEFI-T* - The belt composition means that 75% of the shells (HEFI-T*) are useless against tanks. However, this belt is reliable against open-topped or lightly armoured targets like SPAA vehicles.
- Granata mod.35: HEFI-T* - This belt does little damage against armoured targets and should be used especially against aircraft or open-topped vehicles. The high-explosive filler is deadly to crew members.
- Perforante mod.35: API-T - This belt offers a good transition from the Default to the PzGr 40 belt. The round offers decent damage against lightly armoured tanks, especially at close range. Due to lack of high-explosive filler, however, it is better to focus on the PzGr 40 belt to maximize penetration power.
- PzGr 40: HVAP-T · API-T - Probably the belt with the best penetrating shell for the vehicle. While the damage effects post-penetration can be quite poor, the rapid fire from the autocannon can remedy this problem by following up quickly with another penetrating shot. In close combat, these shells should be used against modules and crew member to make the most of each shell. Against angled armour, however, the HVAP ammo may not be very effective.
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | 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 | API-T/HEFI-T* | 38 | 36 | 27 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| Granata mod.35 | HEFI-T | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Perforante mod.35 | API-T | 38 | 36 | 27 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| PzGr 40 | HVAP-T/API-T | 64 | 63 | 27 | 19 | 14 | 10 |
| Belt details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| Granata mod.35 | HEFI-T* | 830 | 0.14 | 0 | 0.1 | 3 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| Perforante mod.35 | API-T | 832 | 0.14 | 1.2 | 9 | 1.7 | 47° | 60° | 65° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
9th rack empty |
10th rack empty |
11th rack empty |
12th rack empty |
13th rack empty |
14th rack empty |
15th rack empty |
16th rack empty |
17th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 94 (+6) | 88 (+12) | 82 (+18) | 76 (+24) | 70 (+30) | 64 (+36) | 58 (+42) | 52 (+48) | 46 (+54) | 40 (+60) | 34 (+66) | 28_ (+72) | 22 (+78) | 16 (+84) | 10 (+90) | 4 (+96) | 0 (+100) | Yes |
Notes:
- The visual discrepancy is the rack 17. It contains 4 clips whereas only one is modeled.
- Racks 1 to 16 contain 6 clips each.
- Clips are modeled by sets of 2 and disappear from the rack after you've fired/loaded both clips in the set.
Usage in battles
- Combat tactics
The main role of the AS 42 is as an anti-air asset. Position the vehicle in an open space to be able to detect aircraft from a distance, usually near your spawn point. You can move forward and stay close to your teammates to offer the best AA support but you'll then become target to enemy tanks (especially with artillery strikes and MG fire). Engage approaching aircraft only under 1,000 m to increase your chances of hitting (ideal distance is 500-700 m) and avoid being detected too early. Your fire rate is poor for an AA gun so you have to shoot precisely and make every shot count. Your vehicle's protection is non-existent: plan to have an obstacle nearby you can use as cover (building, rock formation, etc).
You can also play as a scout car on some maps: use your speed to flank enemy forces and ambush them. Retreat and relocate after destroying an enemy. Avoid frontal engagements at all cost as your vehicle and your crew are fully unprotected. Keep in mind that you have good mobility on hard terrain (solid ground, roads, etc.) but not on soft terrain (mud, sand, snow) because of your tires. The big turn radius of the AS 42 also prevents it from sneaking through narrow passages in urban maps. Drive precisely: any obstacle will immobilize you very quickly if you don't pay attention and your mobility is key to your survival in this role.
- Notable enemies
Pretty much any enemy can destroy the AS 42 in seconds. The most lethal enemies are:
- Strafing planes. The biggest threat is enemy aircraft, as even a 7.62 mm MG can kill your SPAA in one burst.
- Vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns. They will destroy you from 1 km distance in a heartbeat.
- Tanks firing HEAT or HE shells. The blast effect is deadly to your already limited and unprotected crew.
- a majority of tanks are immune to your gun taking a many hits to take out even if flanked.
- How to defeat a AS 42
Being a vehicle without any armour, it remains a vehicle easy to destroy: the 2 quickest ways to deal with the AS 42 are MG/autocannons and HEAT/HE projectiles. But any shell with explosive filler will do. Avoid close quarters and engage from long distance to increase your armour advantage while decreasing the AS 42's firepower. You can also force your opponent to play on a terrain hindering its mobility (mud, snow, sand) to negate its main advantage. Aim for the driver or the engine to immobilize it, meaning almost certain death for a barely protected vehicle.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High top speed
- Access to PzGr 40 rounds
- Sloped frontal armour, may deflect some rounds
- High penetration for the 20 mm cannon
- Small profile helps when flanking the enemy
- Can take down aircraft in few hits
Cons:
- Small magazine for SPAA
- Virtually no protection at all, even rifle rounds will penetrate the armour
- Only has two crew members
- Crew is exposed
- difficult to hit targets with, due to slow fire rate.
History
The AS (Autosahariana) 42 was derived from the AB 41 armoured car. It was, however, unarmoured and did not have the rear driver position. Designed for long-range reconnaissance in North Africa, it had a cross country range of almost 500 miles (800 km). It was also known as the Camionetta Desertica (Desert Weapons Carrier) mod. 42, or "la Sahariana" (the Saharan). The main armament varied: 20 mm anti-aircraft cannons, 20 mm anti-tank rifles, and machine guns were common alternatives. About 200 were built and saw service in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. After the armistice, some continued in use with Fascist Italian forces and Germany, including on the Eastern Front, and in the Ardennes in 1944-5. After WW2 7 vehicles were delivered to the Italian police and painted red. They were used after the removal of the gun, tools, and jerry cans. An unknown amount were produced after the war for the police.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
| Italy anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| R3 Capraia | R3 T20 FA-HS |
| SIDAM 25 | SIDAM 25 · SIDAM 25 (Mistral) |
| Wheeled | AS 42 · CM52 |
| Tracked | M42 Contraereo · Leopard 40/70 · OTOMATIC |
| Hungary | ◔ZSU-57-2 · ◔ZSU-23-4 |
