T 80 U (Sweden)
Contents
Description
The T 80 U is a squadron rank VIII Swedish medium tank with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Fire and Ice".
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour protection of the T-80U is adequate, especially if the incoming round hits one of the KONTAKT-5 ERA plates while newer shells such as the DM53 can still frontally penetrate the hull armour at close range. The strongest parts of the tank are the turret front and a majority of the upper front plate. It does, however, have some weaker areas, the most important being the driver's hatch, the immediate areas of the turret surrounding the gun and its breech, and its lower frontal plate. These weak spots are however pretty small targets at range, and thus by hiding them properly, the risk of being hit can be minimized. Owing to its very low profile, a hull-down T-80U is a small target in itself; the weaker parts of its armour are even smaller.
Fuel tanks on either side of the driver cannot soak up some shrapnel as recent changes have added fuel explosions, and these tanks detonate dramatically. As with all Russian auto-loaded MBTs, there are only three crew members so a well-placed shot is capable of causing a crew knock-out. It's also worth noting that the placement of the ammo rack, below the turret in a carousel-style setup, leaves the T-80U particularly vulnerable to side shots causing ammunition detonation. The protection of the T-80U is very similar to the T-64B in terms of the size and placement of the weak areas. The sides of your tank should always be protected, and when engaging an enemy, your front armour should always be aligned directly towards him to reduce the risks of a shot penetrating your weaker side. The tank does, however, have some KONTAKT-5 ERA on its upper front skirts, meaning that you have some extra protection against kinetic penetrators, and a lot against chemical shells, until the ERA bricks are detonated (leaving the area vulnerable for another hit).
As mentioned above, the T-80U also benefits from the typical low silhouette Russian tankers will be accustomed to, with the vehicle being significantly smaller than its competitors. This allows the T-80U to be hidden behind small terrain deformities which other MBTs would otherwise be visible. It's also harder for an enemy tank commander to immediately tell which area is the most vulnerable. But armour cannot be relied on in any circumstance, the tank is no longer new, and weaknesses are well known. Most tankers will have a steady aim at hitting weak spots even on the move.
Armour type:
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 105 mm | 80 mm | 50 mm | 30 mm |
Turret | 180 mm | 160 mm | 65 mm | 45 mm |
Notes:
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 | 78 | 13 | 46 | 1,937 | 2,385 | 42.11 | 51.85 |
Realistic | 70 | 11 | 1,106 | 1,250 | 24.04 | 27.17 |
Modifications and economy
The T-80U has two night vision modifications. The first modification "NVD" grants access to an image intensifier for each crew member. The second modification "NVD Upgrade" replaces the gunner's image intensifier with a thermal imager.
Armaments
Main armament
The T-80U is armed with the same 125 mm cannon found in the T-80B, with its 3BM46 "Svinets" round proving adequately competitive against other Rank VII offerings (The 3BM42 round has lost quite a bit of its lustre however, and struggles with some of the more heavily armoured opponents at range, and lacks reliable post pen effect). As with previous vehicles of the family, the main gun is auto-loaded, so the loss of a crew member or an engine fire does not affect the loading times and the 6.5-second loading speed is competitive when compared to the 120 mm guns on the Leopard 2A5 and M1A1 Abrams. One notable perk of the auto-loader mechanism is that the gun will be reloaded even if the gunner is knocked out, if you're fighting a fire, or repairing. It does however also come with the drawbacks of a reload time that cannot be improved, the large ammo carousel concentric with the turret, and the chance of a single penetrating shot detonating the ammo racks. Another thing to note, since update 1.97 if the tanks battery runs out of power, the autoloader will not function and the cannon will need to be manually loaded, which is a much slower process.
Like with the T-80B and T-64B, the T-80U can launch missiles out of its gun. Unlike the previous two vehicles though, it gets the upgraded 9M119 which has 700 mm of penetration compared to the previous ATGM's 650 mm penetration. These ATGMs can prove useful for shooting over hills to hit a hiding enemy or to engage helicopters or low-flying aircraft.
125 mm 2A46M-1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
Arcade | 45 | -5°/+15° | ±180° | Two-plane | 22.8 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 42.5 | 45.2 | 6.50 | 6.50 | 6.50 | 6.50 |
Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 |
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 | ||
3BK18M | HEATFS | 550 | 550 | 550 | 550 | 550 | 550 |
3OF26 | HE | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 | 42 |
3BM42 | APFSDS | 457 | 454 | 445 | 431 | 419 | 406 |
9M119 | ATGM | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 |
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% | |||||||
3BK18M | HEATFS | 905 | 19 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.79 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
3OF26 | HE | 850 | 23 | 0 | 0.1 | 5.24 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
3BM42 | APFSDS | 1,700 | 4.85 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Missile details | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
9M119 | ATGM | 400 | 5,000 | 16.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 5.54 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
Ammo part |
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* |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
45 | Projectiles Propellants |
45 (+0) 45 (+0) |
44 (+1) 44 (+1) |
43 (+2) 43 (+2) |
38 (+7) 41 (+4) |
37 (+8) 39 (+6) |
34 (+11) 38 (+7) |
31 (+14) 37 (+8) |
30 (+15) 30 (+15) |
29 (+16) 29 (+16) |
1 (+44) 1 (+44) |
No |
The T-80U main ammo rack consists of a mechanized carousel at the bottom of the turret which carries 28 propellants and projectiles.
Machine guns
12.7 mm NSVT | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Pintle | 500 (100) | 700 | -5°/+60° | ±180° |
7.62 mm PKT | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Coaxial | 1,250 (250) | 700 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Learning to use terrain to hide the lower front plate and hull if possible is key to surviving. Like any other tank at the top rank, do not let enemies see your side armour. This is especially true for the T-64/T-80 line since their ammo is stored vertically and makes it very easy to hit. Since the Russian MBTs are relatively small, you can also use teammates as cover. The T-80U is a fantastic sniper due to the great penetration and thick turret, so that is also a viable option as long as you keep your eyes open on your flanks. The most dangerous enemy to the T-80U are helicopters, although the KONTAKT-5 will usually protect against one missile. However, it is still ERA, and will be blown off after it is detonated. Since the interior of the tank is so compact, this makes it easy for good pilots to knock you out in 2-3 rapid missile shots. To avoid helicopters, stay close to buildings or hide next to trees/large bushes and wait for an anti-air vehicle or plane to take it out. Or use the ATGM or range finder to shoot down the enemy yourself.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Effective armour against KE and chemical munitions. The KONTAKT-5 ERA mounted to the tank's frontal arc and turret means that even helicopter-launched ATGMs may fail to penetrate
- Varied and powerful ammunition available, from stock HEAT and HE to APFSDS and ATGM.
- Accurate and high muzzle velocity gun combined with the laser rangefinder provides easy long-range gameplay
- Autoloader provider a steady reload time in any situation
- Nimble tank for its size and tonnage - a fully upgraded T-80U is much more responsive than the T-80B.
- Low silhouette, a hull-down T-80U is hard to spot and harder to hit
Cons:
- Rather "easy to hit" weak spots at close medium ranges - some of them leading to turret kill or ammo detonation
- Vertical gaps between ERA plates are many small weak spots
- The cramped interior, with the crew placed tightly together, means that the tank is easily disabled if a shot penetrates
- Ammo detonation hazard from side shots due to the vertical ammunition carousel in the centre of the hull
- Spare ammunition is distributed around the hull and turret and increases the chance of ammo detonation
- Relatively low reverse speed and lack of neutral steering, makes it hard to fall back when flanked or damaged
- Poor gun depression of -5° due to the low turret height, makes it difficult to shoot over hills and other obstacles, especially on rough terrain
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: 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></ref>
, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />
. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===
, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
External links
Sweden medium tanks | |
---|---|
Strv m/42 | Lago I · Strv m/42 EH · Ikv 73 · Strv m/42 DT · Pvkv IV |
Centurion derivatives | Strv 81 · Strv 81 (RB 52) · Strv 101 · Strv 104 · Strv 105 |
Strv 103 | Strv 103-0 · Strv 103A · Strv 103С |
Strv 121/122 | Strv 121 · Christian II · Strv 122A · Strv 122B PLSS · Strv 122B+ |
Other | Sherman III/IV · T 80 U |
Finland | |
WWII | ▄T-28 · ▄T-34 · ▄Pz.IV · ▄T-34-85 |
Post War | ▄Comet I · ▄Charioteer Mk VII · ▄T-54 · ▄T-55M · ▄T-72M1 · ▄Leopard 2A4 · ▄Leopard 2A6 |
Norway | Leopard 1A5NO2 |
Squadron ground vehicles | |
---|---|
USA | M901 · M1A1 AIM |
Germany | Leopard 2 PL |
USSR | BMP-2M · T-80UK |
Britain | Bhishma TWMP |
Japan | RCV (P) |
China | Object 122MT "MC" |
France | CV 9035NL |
Sweden | T 80 U |
Israel | Magach 6B Gal |
- Ground vehicles
- Sweden ground vehicles
- Eighth rank ground vehicles
- Squadron ground vehicles
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- ATGM vehicles