Nb.Fz.

Nb.Fz.

Nb.Fz.

Germany

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:1 750

Show in game

Description

The Neubaufahrzeug is a premium rank I German medium tank with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull20 / 13 / 13

Turret15 / 13 / 13

Crew6 people

Visibility115 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, main turret, MG turrets, cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	13 mm Turret base plate 20 mm (22-24°) Machine gunner plate 20 mm (20°) Driver plate 13 mm (76-79°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Upper-Lower glacis connecting plate 16 mm (50°) Lower glacis	13 mm Top 13 + 13 mm Bottom & Side skirts	13 mm Turret base plate 13 mm (8°) Upper plate 13 mm (43°) Lower glacis	13 mm (12°) Front 13 mm Engine compartment 13 mm (13°) + 13 mm (7°) Radiator vent
Main turret	15 mm (14°) Turret front 15 mm + 15 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	13 mm (12-15°)	13 mm (12-13°)	13 mm (11°) Front 13 mm Rear
MG turrets	14 mm (8-9°) Turret front 15 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	13 mm (19-21°)		8 mm
Cupola	15 mm (3°)			13 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick, while torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
• Mudguards are 13 mm thick.

The Nb.Fz. has an even higher survivability than Panzer III/IV tanks at similar battle ratings because of its larger crew count and vehicle size. The armour thickness is actually rather thin, despite a very imposing look and a complex internal layout. It has six crew members: a driver, two machine gunners in small independent turrets, a gunner, a loader, and a commander in the main turret where both main guns are located. The front armour thickness ranges from just 13 mm to 20 mm, making it possible to immobilize it with heavy machine gun fire frontally.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB34 / 5 km/h

RB and SB31 / 4 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

1 back

Weight23.4 t

Engine power

AB553 hp

RB and SB290 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB23.6 hp/t

RB and SB12.4 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	34	5	23.4	434	553	18.55	23.63
Realistic	31	4		248	290	10.6	12.39

The top speed of the Nb.Fz. is 28.5 km/h, which is slow for low-tier ranks. The power-to-weight ratio, on the other hand, is rather good at 11.9 hp/ton, giving it a very nice acceleration considering how large it is. But, this is relatively slow, so remember to stay in cover, because tank destroyers can destroy this vehicle's armour relatively quickly and easily.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB809

RB269

SB313

Crew training2 300

Experts15 000

Aces115

Research Aces320 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 40 / 40 / 60 %

2 × 112 / 112 / 112 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire 75mm_kwk_37_40_HEAT_ammo_pack 37mm_kwk_36_APCR_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism Artillery Support 75mm_ger_Smoke_ammo_pack

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm KwK37 cannon

Ammunition80 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

4.3 → 3.3 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 22°

37 mm KwK36 cannon

Ammunition50 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.7 → 2.9 s

75 mm KwK37					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	80	-10°/+22°	±180°	N/A	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

The Nebaufahrzeug's main armament is the KwK37 cannon, which shoots APHE, penetrating up to 52 mm of armour, 80 mm penetration HEAT, and smoke rounds. Problem is, due to the current limitations of the game, it is impossible to take more than four different kinds of shells, and for multi-gun tanks, each gun can just pick two shells in its repertoire. So the practical combinations would be either APHE+HEAT, APHE+smoke, or HEAT+smoke.

 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
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	80	80	80	80	80	80
Sprgr. 34	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
K.Gr.rot Pz.	APCBC	52	50	45	39	34	30

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	450	4.6	0.0	0.1	872.1	62°	69°	73°
Sprgr. 34	HE	420	5.7	0.1	0.1	686.0	79°	80°	81°
K.Gr.rot Pz.	APCBC	385	6.8	1.3	15.0	80.0	48°	63°	71°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
K.Gr.Rot Nb.	423	6.8	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Nb.Fz.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
80	65 (+15)	57 (+23)	41 (+39)	25 (+55)	17 (+63)	1 (+79)	No

Notes:

• Racks disappear after all shells in the rack have been shot or loaded.
• Packing 25 (+55) shells (racks 1 to 4 emptied) is a good compromise between doing well in combat and minimizing ammo presence on board.

Additional armament

37 mm KwK36					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-10°/+22°	±180°	N/A	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__

The Nebaufahrzeug also has an additional second anti-tank gun in the main turret: a 37 mm KwK36, located to the left of the 75 mm cannon. This shoots either 47 mm penetration APHE or 91 mm penetration APCR rounds. It is decent, much like the same gun on the Pz.III B and Pz.III E, but is best used as a backup to the 75 mm between reloads on that. It shoots at far higher velocities than the 75 mm, so it is more suited to long-range engagements.

 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
PzGr 40	APCR	86	77	47	26	14	8
PzGr	APHE	47	44	31	21	14	9

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
PzGr 40	APCR	1,020	0.368	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
PzGr	APHE	745	0.690	1.2	9	22.1	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Last updated: 1.101.0.44

Ammo racks of the Nb.Fz.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	41 (+9)	31 (+19)	21 (+29)	11 (+39)	1 (+49)	No

Notes:

• Racks disappear after all shells in the rack have been shot or loaded.
• Packing 21 (+29) shells (racks 1 to 3 emptied) is a good compromise between doing well in combat and minimizing ammo presence on board.

Machine guns

7.92 mm MG13 Dreyse machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 950 rounds

Belt capacity75 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

2 x 7.92 mm MG13 Dreyse machine gun

Ammunition3 900 rounds

Belt capacity75 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.92 mm MG13 Dreyse
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1950 (75)	500	N/A	N/A
Front turret	1950 (75)	500	-7°/+40°	-40°/+140°
Rear turret	1950 (75)	500	-7°/+40°	+125°/-55°

The Nebaufahrzeug also holds three small-caliber MG13 Dreyse machine guns, which are similar to the MG34 and use the same belts. At best, they're good for strafing flak trucks, but in practicality, they're almost useless since the two MG turrets have very poor turret traverse.

Usage in battles

This vehicle may look like a heavy tank, but it is anything but. The armour is far too thin to use this thing for its armour, relegating it to a support/ambush role. By binding separate keys for the 75 mm and 37 mm guns, you can "one-two-punch" just about anything you encounter.

The HEAT on the 75 mm, however, is generally inadequate against the B1 bis and useless against the B1 ter. The Valentine Mk I is a bit easier to penetrate but has a much stronger gun which you should avoid at all costs. The 37mm APCR round doesn't fare that much better against any of these targets either. Concisely, just avoid these where possible.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Hl.Gr 38B	PzGr 40
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	K.Gr.Rot Nb.
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Can chain the two guns between reloads of each
• Both guns reload in similarly fast speeds
• High survivability due to numerous and well-spaced out crew
• More mobile than one would expect for such a large tank
• Good zoom on the guns

Cons:

• Armor is deceptively thin for such a large tank
• Top speed is nothing to write home about in this rank
• Would find its options limited when against the B1 bis, B1 ter, and Valentine Mk I
• Awful turret traverse on all three turrets makes it hard to react well to multiple enemies, let alone flak trucks
• Large target

History

The Neubaufahrzeug was a prototype of what was to come with German heavy tanks. Historically, they were slow, heavy, and complicated. Not thought of as successful, only 5 were actually built. 3 of these tanks were sent to Norway at the start of the war, but only 1 of the 3 saw action. They were mostly used for propaganda.

In-game description

An experimental multi-turret medium tank. The first models were built in 1934. During construction, the tank took on the designation of Neubaufahrzeug V (Nb.Fz.V) for the first two vehicles. The second series of three tanks had the designation Nb.Fz.VI.

In German military documentation the designation Panzerkampfwagen VII is also encountered; it was later replaced by Pz.Kpfw.IVnA (Panzerkampfwagen IV new Art). During the Norwegian campaign, the tanks were also referred to in documents as Neubau-Pz.Kpfw.IV.

All three tanks of the second series were used during the Norwegian operation. They were officially part of the special tank battalion Panzer Abteilung zur besonderer Vervendung 40 (Pz.Abt1. Zb.V 40). The tanks were combined into one company under the command of Lt. Hans Horstmann.

The official name of this subdivision in battalion documentation was Zug “Plutos”, but it was most commonly referred to by its commander’s name as Panzerzug “Horstmann.” The company’s emblem was a mammoth’s head located in front of the driver’s cabin.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Nb.Fz. from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #225 - Pages of History section at 03:43 discusses the Nb.Fz..

Scariest Tank Ingame - Nb.Fz. - Sgt.Vittie (Review starts at 10:29)

Multi-turreted Tanks discusses the Nb.Fz. at 1:21 - War Thunder Official Channel

Nb.Fz. Tank Review - NUSensei

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same guns

• 75 mm: Pz.IV C / Pz.IV E
• 37 mm: Pz.III B / Pz.III E

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• T-35
• Independent
• Ro-Go

External links

• [Development] Neubaufahrzeug VI
• [Wikipedia] Neubaufahrzeug
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Neubaufahrzeug