M163
Contents
Description
The Gun, Air Defence Artillery, Self-Propelled: 20-mm, M163 is a rank V American self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB) and 7.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.63 "Desert Hunters".
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?
If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.
Armaments
Main armament
A 20 mm VADS, or Vulcan air defence system. Used initially during the Vietnam war, it was a 20 mm air-cooled minigun attached to a small turret on the M163. Dangerous to anything in the sky, it will lock on and rip through anything in its path.
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Radars
The M163 is equipped with an AN/VPS-2 tracking radar, with no search radar. The radar is fitted to the side of the turret.
|
In order to lock on you must be looking through your sight, position the crosshair over a target (within 7 km) and press the lock on key. The target must be within a 2° cone from the centre of the crosshair. |
| AN/VPS-2 - Tracking Radar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Tracking Range |
Minimum Tracking Range |
Azimuth Tracking Angle |
Elevation Tracking Angle |
Minimum target speed |
| 7,000 m | 100 m | 360° | -20°/+85° (lock between -20°/+20°) |
15 m/s (54 km/h) |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Amphibious
- Quick acceleration
- Good traverse, especially when fully upgraded
- Insane rate of fire of 3000 rpm; can literally shred incoming enemy aircraft.
- Has a tracking radar
Cons:
- Light armour
- Not keen to climbing hills until performance modules are equipped
- Relatively slow for the rank
- Slow in water
- Inaccurate/wobbly in water
- One of the longest rearm/reload times in the game
- No search radar
History
The VADS was used during the Vietnam war and onwards and was based on the chassis of the M113 armoured personnel carrier. NATO used it as an anti-aircraft gun platform.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on tank;
- other literature.
| USA anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| M3 Half-track derivatives | M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC |
| M24 derivative | M19A1 |
| M41 derivative | M42 |
| Radar SPAAG | M163 · M247 |
| Missile SPAA | ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975 |
