VRCC
Contents
Description
The Vehículo de Reconocimiento y Combate de Caballería Centauro is a premium gift rank VI Italian light tank with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB) and 9.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".
General info
Survivability and armour
The VRCC-105 has enough armour to withstand attacks from machine-guns but enough to trigger the fuse in APHE type projectiles. The lack of armour however has its benefits as it makes this vehicle very agile.
Armour type:
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 15 mm (80°) Upper Glacis
35 mm (45°) Lower Glacis |
25 mm (47°) Top
25 mm (0-28°) Bottom |
20 mm (21°) | 15 mm (20°) Front glacis
20 mm Crew compartment 10 mm Engine vent |
Turret | 25 mm (19°)Turret front
40 mm (6°-51°-56°) Gun mantlet |
25 mm (18°) | 15+15 mm (12°) Left section
15 mm Right section 10 mm (85°) Turret overhang |
15+15 mm (5°) Front
15 mm Rear |
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 | 123 | 25 | 28 | _,___ | 992 | __.__ | 35.43 |
Realistic | 110 | 23 | _,___ | 520 | __.__ | 18.57 |
Modifications and economy
Armaments
Main armament
Main article: OTO Melara 105/52 (105 mm)
105 mm OTO Melara 105/52 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
Arcade | 40 | -6°/+16° | ±180° | Two-plane | 21.7 | 30.0 | 36.5 | 40.3 | 42.9 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
Realistic | 13.6 | 16.0 | 19.4 | 21.4 | 22.8 |
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 | ||
M456 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
M393A2 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
M735 | APFSDS | 353 | 350 | 342 | 333 | 322 | 312 |
DM33 | APFSDS | 408 | 405 | 398 | 389 | 379 | 370 |
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% | |||||||
M456 | HEATFS | 1,173 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,270 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
M393A2 | HESH | 732 | 14.85 | 0.1 | 4 | 4,310 | 73° | 77° | 80° |
M735 | APFSDS | 1,501 | 3.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 76° | 77° | 80° |
DM33 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 3.79 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
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) |
M416 | 730 | 11.4 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
Full
ammo |
1st
rack empty |
2nd
rack empty |
3rd
rack empty |
4th
rack empty |
Visual
discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
40 | 29 (+11) | 17 (+23) | 12 (+28) | 1 (+39) | No |
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
7.62 mm Beretta MG42/59 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Coaxial | 4,600 (200) | 1,200 | N/A | N/A |
Pintle | 2,000 (200) | 1,200 | -8°/+20° | ±120° |
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 instead 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).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Max speed 110 km/h
- Deadly armour-piercing rounds
- Thermal imager
Cons:
- Light armour
- Inadequate off-road mobility
History
The story of the VRCC-105 began in Italy during the late stages of the cold war. The Italian army during the 1980s issued a set of requirements for a new vehicle that would have equivalent firepower to the Leopard 1 MBT in Italian service at the time, but with greater combat mobility and the ability to reach greater points of strategic control. In response to this, the Italian companies known as Fiat, Iveco and Oto Melara would have joined forces in a 3-way consortium to begin developing the new vehicle requested by the Italian Army. In this joint venture, Fiat and Iveco were developing the vehicle's hull and power supply, whilst Oto Melara took care of the vehicle's turret, optics and weapon systems. The vehicle would need to be light enough to be be used for recon but also to allow the installation of the turret to not drag the vehicle down. Due to this the Centauro wouldn't be heavily armoured so it did pose a danger to the crew if they were to be hit by an enemy tank. Thankfully what it lacked in protection, meant it excelled in speed. The B1 Centauro was easily able to reach the speed of up to 105+km per hour on road. Due to this feat the vehicle became quite sought after. The B1 Centauro featured a 105mm cannon made by OTO Melara which was able to fire a multitude of NATO standard munitions, such as APDS, HEAT, HESH and APFSDS. In 1986, the final prototype of the B1 Centauro project was unveiled on Sardinia. Impressed by the B1 Centauro, the Italian Military placed orders for a number of vehicles, going in production in 1991 with the first ones entering service as early as 1992. Italy would modify the B1 Centauro during its service, for example some would feature the SICCONA battle management system, but one of the more popular modifications was the introduction of Kevlar shields around the turret which gave an increase in ballistic protection to the vehicle and crew.
Years later Spain would show interest in purchasing the vehicle to allow the Spanish army to retire their AMX-30's and M60 tanks. In total the Spanish army bought 84 units, which would be delievered from 2001-2006 in seperate batches. The first batch was fully made in Italy, however the second would have mechanical and electronic parts made in Spain, built by the Spanish CIO consortium subsidiaries (OTO-Melara Iberica and IVECO-Pegaso and Amper). Spain also would contract several of their companies to create dedicated munitions for their Centauros. Other modifications fitted also include the time Spain had upgraded their FCS of their Centauros to allow the crew to have access to Gen 2 optics. Another modification although not as common would be the additon of an add-on armour plate in front on the hull. Other than that these Centauros are virtually identical to their Italian counterparts. These Centauro's would be used by the following Spanish regiments; Regimiento de Caballería “Pavía”, Regimiento de Caballería “Lusitania” and finally Regimiento de Caballería “España” . For now the Spanish Centauros will remain in service however they may be interested in the evolution of it, the B2 Centauro, to replace them similarly to how the Italian army is doing.
Devblog
Since 2000, the Italian B1 Centauro wheeled armoured vehicle has been supplied to the Spanish army. With its new operators, the vehicle index changed to VRCC (Vehículos de Reconocimiento y Combate de Caballería - “cavalry reconnaissance and combat vehicle”), but the name itself remained unchanged. The vehicles were built in Italy and differed from the basic B1 version by a slightly modified frontal hull armour and the smoke grenade launchers, the same as found on the second Centauro series. The contract for the second batch of machines, signed in 2002, also included partial licensing of the production for the Spanish domestic market, as well as the modernization of the fire control system by installing a more advanced gunner's Thermal vision device. In addition, the armament of the VRCC Centauro was reinforced with a second light machine gun on the turret roof.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, 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
Italy light tanks | |
---|---|
Italy | |
L6/40 | L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.) |
M11/39 | M11/39 |
Autoblindo | AB 41 · AB 43 |
Fiat 6614/6616 | FIAT 6614 · AUBL/74 · AUBL/74 HVG |
R3 Capraia | R3 T106 FA |
Centauro | Centauro I 105 · Centauro I 105 R · Centauro I 120 · Centauro RGO · VRCC |
Freccia | VBC (PT2) · Freccia |
Dardo | Dardo · VCC-80/60 · VCC-80/30 |
Other | C13 T90 |
USA | ▄M3A3 · ▄M24 · ▄M18 |
Hungary | |
WWII | Csaba · Toldi IIA |
Post | ◔BTR-80A · KF41 |
Italy premium ground vehicles | |
---|---|
Light tanks | L6/40 (31 Rgt.) · Toldi IIA · AUBL/74 HVG · VRCC · Centauro RGO |
Medium tanks | M13/40 (II) · Turan II · M14/41 (47/40) · Celere Sahariano · P40 "G.C. Leoncello" · ▄Sherman I Composito · ▄Pz.IV G |
M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" · OF-40 (MTCA) | |
Heavy tanks | Tigris |
Tank destroyers | Breda 90/53 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · Zrinyi I |