Wiesel 1A2
| This page is about the German tank destroyer Wiesel 1A2. For other versions, see Wiesel (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Waffenträger Wiesel 1A2 TOW is a rank VII German tank destroyer with a battle rating of 9.0 (AB) and 9.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Ground Breaking".
A tiny tankette with a big punch, the Wiesel 1A2 allows players to utilize the vehicle's tiny profile to bring the TOW anti-tank missile wherever they wish in the battlefield, just so long as they are not seen first.
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour on the Wiesel 1A2 is more likely meant for keeping the crew members out of the weather elements than actually for protecting the crew from any form of gunfire barring the weakest rifle-calibre ammunition. The 60° slope on the front of the tank will only spare the crew from rifle-calibre machine gun fire, providing about ~25 mm of protection against projectiles. Against heavy machine gun fire and large calibres, the front plate will be pierced, and the crew and ammo will quickly take damage.
In terms of survivability, the Wiesel performs rather poorly there as well. Being a compact tank, the crew of 3 men and the ammunition are cramped together, turning any penetration of the tank into a crew knock out, if not an outright ammo rack detonation since the racks are sitting behind the commander and the gunner. The only saving grace is the frontally left-mounted engine and transmission, which on extreme occasion will absorb an incoming projectile, even a main battle tank shell, but again, this is a rare occurrence.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 8 mm (60°) | 8 mm Top 8 mm Bottom |
8 mm | 6 - 8 mm |
Notes:
Mobility
The mobility of the Wiesel 1a2 is quite excellent, boasting 30 horsepower per ton with 87HP(spaded) on a 2.9T chasse. with such acceleration the Wiesel can quickly reach its top speed on both hard road and grassland ground very fast. The Wiesel does quite well climbing hills and steep inclines when spaded. Commanders of a spaded Wiesel can expect the tank to reach a top speed of about 51 KM/H on grass dirt terrain, and about 65 on roads, although higher speeds can be achieved in prolonged straight-line dashes.| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 87 | 32 | 2.9 | 124 | 166 | 42.76 | 57.24 |
| Realistic | 81 | 30 | 77 | 87 | 26.55 | 30 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The modification acquisition order for the Wiesel differs from other tanks severely. After getting Parts and FPE, the modification that should be pursued is the TOW-2A. Acquiring this missile will allow the Wiesel to frontally engage and kill any target at its BR with few exceptions, granting the tank a significant power boost. The next modification to be acquired is the thermals, as this will allow faster target acquisition and allow for more tolerable conditions in night battles. After the previously mentioned modifications are obtained, all other modifications are to be gathered at the user's preference.
Armaments
Main armament
| BGM-71 TOW missile | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 8 | ±20° | ±45° | N/A | 26.4 | 36.5 | 44.3 | 49.0 | 52.1 | 13.00 | 11.50 | 10.60 | 10.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| TOW-2 | ATGM | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| TOW-2A | ATGM (tandem) | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 | 800 |
| TOW-2B | ATGM (OTA) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| TOW-2 | ATGM | 329 | 3,750 | 21.45 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 4.41 | 80° | 82° | 90° | ||
| TOW-2A | ATGM (tandem) | 329 | 3,750 | 22.63 | 0.4 | 0.01 | 4.51 | 80° | 82° | 90° | ||
| Missile details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| TOW-2B | ATGM (OTA) | 309 | 3,750 | 22.59 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 30 | 3 | 3.38 | 80° | 82° | 90° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 2 (+6) | 1 (+7) | 0 (+8) | No |
Notes:
- Missiles are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Missiles deplete from rack 1 then 2. Rack 3 represents the ATGM launcher.
Machine guns
| 7.62 mm MG3A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 1,000 (200) | 1,200 | -10°/+50° | -30°/+120° |
Usage in battles
The primary use of the Wiesel 1A2 should be as an ambush tank destroyer. Utilizing the ATGM's impressive depression angle of -20* to conceal the Wiesel on the tops of hills and in ditches allow the player to be all but invisible to enemy armour. In terrains that lack such features such as cities, the Wiesel is able to best fulfill its role by hiding in corners and dead ends angles so that an enemy approaching the Wiesel will not be able to react in time. Due to the long reload of the ATGM paired with the paper-thin armour, it is not recommended to brawl with this tankette. However, if the Wiesel has the element of surprise, the punchy TOW-2A can deliver a killing blow in a single hit. Another aspect to note is the insanely good power-to-weight ratio, allowing Wiesel to climb steep inclines and to access locations not often accessible to most tanks. Use this mobility to place the Wiesel in a spot where enemy tanks will not be expecting it.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great ATGM, including top-down attack modification for countersniping and NERA tanks
- Good mobility
- Small silhouette, making it easy to hide
- Can properly hulldown behind short cover and has reasonable turret depression for the hills and high ground
- Can scout while being an ATGM tank - renders smoke screens and cover useless in AB, makes it easier to call for help and to get a replacement in RB
Cons:
- Almost no armour - can be broken, bullied and destroyed by using HMG or even LMG alone, will not sustain explosive damage either
- While the crew is located low enough to survive some AP shots passing through the roof, the ammo racks are placed way too high, it is necessary to spend ammunition fast to survive
- Low ATGM count, considering it can't stand up for itself in close quarters when rearming (Usually irrelevant in AB)
- TOW-2B is a tier 4 upgrade, until then 1A2 is not much better than ATGMs of lower BR
History
The Wiesel was developed for German airborne troops due to their unadequate equipment used to fight enemy MBTs in 1970s. Requirements were that the vehicle is transportable by NATO transport planes and eventually is air droppable. Another requirement from the Bundeswehr was capability of fighting infantry and aircraft. Some prototypes were made by Porsche in 1975 but Bundeswehr stopped the project in 1978 due to lack of funds. Porsche continued developing the project cause of interest from abroad. In 1985 Bundeswehr ordered 343 vehicles. Out of these, 210 were Wiesel 1A2 armed with TOW launcher and 133 were Wiesel 1 Mk20 armed with Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 20 mm autocannon. Both variants were deployed to Somalia in 1993 as part of United Nations forces intervention.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
External links
| Germany tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Pz. I Derivatives | Panzerjäger I |
| Pz. II Derivatives | 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl |
| Pz. 38(t) Derivatives | Marder III · Marder III H · Jagdpanzer 38(t) |
| Pz. III Derivatives | StuG III A · StuG III F · StuG III G · StuH 42 G |
| Pz. IV Derivatives | Jagdpanzer IV · Panzer IV/70(A) · Panzer IV/70(V) · Dicker Max · Nashorn · Brummbär · VFW |
| Pz. V Derivatives | Jagdpanther G1 · Bfw. Jagdpanther G1 |
| Pz. VI Derivatives | Sturer Emil · Elefant · Ferdinand · 38 cm Sturmmörser · Jagdtiger |
| Wheeled/Half-track | 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl. · Sd.Kfz.251/9 · Sd.Kfz.251/10 · Sd.Kfz.251/22 · Sd.Kfz.234/3 · Sd.Kfz.234/4 · 15 cm Pz.W.42 |
| ATGM Carrier | RakJPz 2 · RakJPz 2 (HOT) · Wiesel 1A2 |
| Other | Waffenträger · M109G · JPz 4-5 · Raketenautomat · VT1-2 |
