SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

SPz 12-3 LGS

Germany

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The Schützenpanzer 12-3 mit Leichtgeschütz is a premium gift rank IV German light tank with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "La Royale" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season XII, "Armour Breaking Ambusher".

The SPz 12-3 LGS is a German infantry fighting vehicle, which is known to be the world's first mass-produced IFV.

Equipped with a 20 mm MK20-1 autocannon and a 106 mm M40A1 recoilless rifle, the SPz 12-3 LGS can tackle light vehicles and heavier vehicles with great efficiency.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull30 / 15 / 20

Turret30 / 15 / 15

Crew5 people

Visibility84 %

The protection of the SPz 12-3 is poor, even for that of a light tank. The armour is scarcely sufficient to defend itself against heavy machine gun fire, with the majority of the hull and portions of the turret easily ripped to shreds. However, the poor armour protection can sometimes be a benefit, as rounds may pass through without detonating.

The SPz 12-3's crew compartment is a bit strange in terms of layout, with 3 of the crew being cramped together in the nose of the vehicle near the turret and the other two being fairly separated from the pack. This can allow for players in this vehicle to take a hit and survive, with crew often able to simply change positions, provided the vehicle does not explode from its ammo storage being essentially all over the vehicle.

The one redeeming quality in terms of survivability this vehicle has is its extremely small profile. This enables the SPz 12-3 to very easily hide behind objects, and even operate its gun from behind appropriately sized obstacles with no risk of being destroyed, as the recoilless rifle sits well above the squishy body of this light tank.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	15 mm (34°) Top 15 mmBottom	20 mm (55°) Upper glacis 20 mm (45°) Lower glacis	30 mm (35°) Front glacis 10 mm Crew and engine compartments 20 mm (35°) Rear glacis
Turret	30 mm (55°) Turret front 30 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	15 mm (14-17°)	15 mm (14-15°)	30 mm (35°) Turret front 10 mm (6°) Turret rear)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 11 mm thick.
• Track undersides are 10 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB62 / 15 km/h

RB and SB56 / 13 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight16.0 t

Engine power

AB420 hp

RB and SB220 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB26.3 hp/t

RB and SB13.8 hp/t

The SPz 12-3 LGS is decently mobile with a somewhat average power-to-weight ratio. It is able to get up to 56 km/h forward and 13 km/h backward on road. The maximum speed off-road can average at 40-45 km/h, which is still decently mobile for a light tank. Although not as mobile as other contemporary light tank, this speed still allows you to reach advantageous position quickly on the map.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	62	15	16	341	420	21.31	26.25
Realistic	56	13		195	220	12.19	13.75

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 161

RB2 638

SB3 608

Crew training10 000

Experts440 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces1 340 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 120 / 160 / 210 %

2 × 190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment Smoke grenade	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire Airstrike Elevation Mechanism Artillery Support Improved optics

Armaments

Main armament

106 mm Recoilless Rifle M40A1

Ammunition28 rounds

First-order20 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

13.0 → 10.0 s

Vertical guidance-17° / 65°

106 mm M40A1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	28	-6°/+13°	±180°	-	9.5	__._	__._	__._	__._	13.00	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic					5.9	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

The SPz 12-3 LGS uses the same recoilless rifle as widely used by multiple NATO countries, Players can utilize either the M344A1 or M361A1 projectiles as their primary ammunition. The M344A1 is a shaped charge ammunition with high penetration. This is sufficient to go through anything it faces at its BR, However the damage can be mediocre as the jet travels in straight line inside the vehicle. On the other hand, the M361A1 is a high-explosive squash head round. The penetration may look disappointing when compared to the M344A1 but the main ability of M361A1 lies with its ability to ignore angled armour. However, when the M361A1 comes into contact with spaced armour, it will do no damage because of the rounds mechanism. Both rounds are chemical energy ammunition with low fuse sensitivity, this mean the rounds can explode early if they come in contact with objects such as fences, bushes or trees. Players should take care when aiming. This also mean ERA will be able to resist it and spaced armour will be able to reduce its effectiveness. However, spaced armour is rare while ERA is not common at this BR. Both rounds also have low muzzle velocity at 503 m/s and 498 m/s. Sniping at long distance can be a problem and should be avoided due to poor muzzle velocity.

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
M344A1	HEAT	433	433	433	433	433	433
M361A1	HESH	152	152	152	152	152	152

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M344A1	HEAT	503	7.96	0	0.01	1.65	65°	72°	77°
M361A1	HESH	498	7.95	0.1	4	5.04	73°	77°	80°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the SPz 12-3 LGS

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
28	25 (+3)	21 (+7)	1 (+27)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear from the rack after having been loaded into the breech.
• Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 20 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
• This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 and 2 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.

Additional armament

20 mm MK20-1 cannon

Ammunition600 rounds

Belt capacity120 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.1 → 7.0 s

Fire rate900 shots/min

Vertical guidance-6° / 20°

Horizontal guidance-100° / 100°

20 mm MK20-1						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	600 (120)	900	-6°/+20°	±100°	-	29	__._	__._	__._	__._	9.10	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic						18	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

The SPz 12-3 LGS is also armed with a secondary autocannon with a high fire rate and able to shred light vehicles. The MK20-1 comes with 2 belts, DM51A1 and DM43. Your primary belt should be DM43 as it contains 3 HVAP rounds for 1 HEI-T round in the belt. While the DM51A1 can be used to destroy extremely light or open-topped vehicles with the HEI-T rounds in the belt. Technically, players are also able to utilize the MK20-1 to shoot at low-flying aircraft, however this should be avoided due to the poor vertical traverse and poor turret rotation speed of the gun.

• DM51A1: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T
• DM43: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
5	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M8C machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition120 rounds

Belt capacity10 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.2 → 2.5 s

Fire rate300 shots/min

The SPz 12-3 LGS is also equipped with a spotting machine gun attached to the recoilless rifle. It doesn't have much use in an offensive capability.

12.7 mm M80
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	120 (5)	300	-	-

Usage in battles

In this vehicle, every other vehicle is a major threat to your existence. Cover, concealment, scouting, and striking first are essential if you want to effectively use this vehicle. Although it may be small and pack a punch like its Italian cousin, the FIAT 6614, you will not be able to speed across the map and take up positions quickly. Lying in wait, traveling beneath cover, and striking from the sides will get you the most success. The recoilless rifle mounted on this vehicle will afford you some amount of leeway in terms of shot placement, but be aware that the drop on projectiles is quite significant, and ranging may be necessary if you are not familiar with the shot arc, even at relatively close ranges.

It is a good idea to familiarize yourself with roof height obstacles and terrain. These will allow you to occupy useful positions to fire from as your weapon sits high above the roof and can expose itself worry-free while the rest of your tank remains protected behind these objects.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• 106 mm recoilless rifle with rounds that have high penetration, able to go through most vehicles at this BR
• Decently mobile. You will be able to reach your position within few minutes of the match
• 20 mm MK20-1 autocannon will shred and destroy lightly-armoured vehicles. The autocannon can also be used to quickly shred cannon, tracks and such
• The recoilless rifle is lifted high above the vehicle. Combined with the vehicle's small size, it allows the vehicle to utilize position that can cover the entire the vehicle while letting the gun sticking out

Cons:

• Poor armour, getting hit by chemical energy shells of any type will instantly overpressure your vehicle. It is also extremely vulnerable to aircraft or machine gun fire from the side.
• The 20 mm MK20-1 cannon has poor turret traverse speed and horizontal traverse, fighting aircraft with it can be difficult.
• The 106 mm recoilless rifle rounds has a poor muzzle velocity, sniping can be difficult or entirely out of question on some maps
• The recoilless rifle rounds only has chemical energy shells, fences and trees can trigger the rounds early and ERA/spaced armour can reduce the rounds' effectiveness.

History

Anti-tank modifications on the Swiss-developed HS.30 armoured personnel carriers began to be introduced to the Bundeswehr in 1966. They were built as the long-chassis APC SPz 12-3 (SPz lg) with a roof-mounted rotary mount with an American M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle. This modification was a fighting vehicle with 5 men crew to control both the 20-mm automatic gun and anti-tank rifle. Since 1971, the anti-tank SPz 12-3 vehicles have been gradually withdrawn from the regular formations of the German army and replaced with the Marder infantry fighting vehicles. A small batch of SPz 12-3 was handed over to the Peruvian army, the rest of the vehicles were dismantled, used as targets at training grounds, or placed in museums.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the SPz 12-3 LGS from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #367 - Metal Beasts section at 00:24 discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS.

Battle Pass: Armour Breaking Ambusher discusses the SPz 12-3 LGS at 2:37 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

Related development

• Schutzenpanzer Lang (Family)

External links

• [Devblog] Battle Pass vehicles: SPz 12-3