Pz.II F
Contents
Description
The Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf. F is a rank I German Light Tank with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB) and 1.7 (RB/SB).
Performance is similar to other low tier German tanks, but the gun makes it stand out. With careful use, it is easily one of the best low-tier German tanks, but due to slow turret traverse and long reload between belts, it is just as easy to fail in.
General info
Survivability and armour
The Panzer II F is slightly less protected than the Panzer II C coming before it, with 30mm front plating on its turret & hull instead of the 35mm on its predecessor. It still has three crew, so it is easy to one-shot knock-out with most ammo types.
Mobility
Mobility is identical to the Panzer II C, they use the same engine, transmission, and weigh almost the exact same.
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun.
The chief difference between the Panzer II F and its predecessor is the main gun. The II F uses the 20 mm KwK 38, which has almost double the fire rate compared to the KwK 30. The magazine size did not change, still limited to ten rounds of ammunition. The reload time is also identical, so while it is tempting to "spray-n-pray", it is more practical to use it like you would an autoloading tank at higher tiers and administer trigger control to make the shots count. With the Panzer II F, you do not have to worry about changing ammunition performance with every shot, which makes the "autoloader-like" playstyle more attractive, unlike similar-BR Italian Tanks using 20 mm autocannons, the AB41 and L6/40.
- The belts used by this cannon are as follows
- Default belt is 50% AP-IT and 50% HEFI-T
- Unlockable full AP-IT belt with 46 mm pen
- Unlockable full HVAP-T belt with 64 mm pen
Machine guns
Just like its predecessor, this tank has one coaxial 7.92 mm MG 34. Due to slow turret traverse common to most lower-tier German tanks, this is not a very practical weapon.
Usage in the 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).
This tank is similar to the Panzer II C, an average light tank for lower ranks with decent armour and decent mobility, but a very potent cannon. It does not work well against sloped armour due to poor normalization of APCR rounds. The higher rate of fire is actually quite punishing since it means that the normal player is continuous firing and reloading more often. If used like an autoloader tank from higher ranks, however, it becomes more accurate and effective. Do not get overconfident in this tank just because your gun shoots fast and has good penetration, unfortunately, APCR post-penetration damage is lacklustre here. Furthermore, the slightly higher battle rating of 1.3 means it can be pitted against the B1 ter which it cannot reliably penetrate from the front or the side even when utilising the APCR belt.
Furthermore, poor turret traverse means that the tank can easily be outmanoeuvred by a Stuart or BT. This relative difference is the same in both AB and RB/SB.
Find a good position, be patient, and double-check before moving in. If you wish to brawl, have others covering your flanks to mitigate slow turret traverse.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Great penetration for rank with 64 mm pen APCR belt
- Amazing fire rate for rank, identical to the Flak 38 cannon
- Decent and very trolly armour for tier against the inadequate low-end French or Japanese cannons
- Low-ish profile
- Distinctive shape means friendly fire in simulator battle is unlikely.
Cons:
- Only three crew makes it easy to take out
- Sometimes lacking post-penetration damage against anything larger than reserves
- Long-ish reload for the rank of 7.4 seconds between belts can be very punishing if you spray-n-pray
- Slow turret traverse makes it unsuited to brawling
- Many other tanks at its tier easily outspeed and out-shoot it
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read 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.
ETC.
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
