R3 T106 FA
Contents
Description
The OTO Melara R3 Capraia was a reconnaissance vehicle made mainly for the export market. The Italian army did also test it as they were interested in seeing if the Folgore regiment could have a use for it. The R3 Capraia was made in at least 7 prototypes, each with their own special configurations and armaments. Despite interest, no country ultimately put it into service due to a saturated market for light reconnaissance vehicles. The R3 Capraia was equipped with various armament options, including a 7.62 mm machine gun, a 12.7 mm machine gun, a 20 mm autocannon, and a TOW ATGM launcher.
Introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic", the R3 T106 FA is equipped with two American 106 mm recoilless rifles attached to a turret. The main munitions available are HESH and HEAT rounds; paired with its great mobility, these allow the R3 to become a very nimble tank destroyer, able to inflict serious damage to the enemy team when used with situational awareness and map knowledge. When you are by yourself you can still support your team as, unlike the R3 T20 FA-HS, this one has access to the scouting mechanic. Scouting not only will bring more points but will make victory more likely than before. The R3 Capraia lacks smoke grenades and has weak armour, but its mobility is its standout feature. As a wheeled vehicle, it can reach high speeds, allowing it to quickly pounce on enemies or rush capture zones. However, the R3's mobility can also be a drawback, as it can become unstable in turns, and may struggle on maps with snow or mud. Despite this, the R3 can also be effective at higher battle ratings. However, it does not get access to thermals, night vision devices, or a gun stabiliser, which may present an important consideration when at higher battle ratings.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Aluminum alloy 7039 (hull)
- Armoured Glass (windows)
- Wheel (tires)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 33 mm (62°) Upper Glacis 33 (56°) Lower Glacis |
15 mm (27-31°) Top 15 mm (16-20°) Bottom 15 mm Wheelwells |
15 mm (70°) Engine access panel 15 mm Lower Plate 5 mm Engine vent 15 mm (54°) Lower Glacis |
33 mm (28°) Front Glacis 15 mm Crew compartment 15 mm (20°) Engine access panel |
| Gun mount | 15 mm | |||
| Cupola | 15 mm | |||
Notes:
- All windows are 30 mm thick.
- The tires are 10 mm thick and the torsion bars are 1 mm thick.
- The belly is 15 mm thick.
The R3 T106 FA has the same chassis as the R3 T20 FA-HS. This means that it will have the same level of protection. Compared to the FIAT Chassis (FIAT 6614 / AUBL/74), the armour is a lot better. This is because the front plate is 33 mm thick, which allows it to take a few hits from .50 cals, especially if angled. However, this tank is still vulnerable to heavy machine gun fire especially from strafing aircraft. Bombs and rockets also deal heavy damage if the R3 T106 FA is standing in their destruction radius.
However, some good points in regards to the survivability is the ability to poke just the gun out of cover. This not only makes the tank very difficult to spot, but in case of a hit, only the barrel will be damaged (and often only 1 of them which allows you to fire with the other one).
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 | 128 | 33 | 3.4 | 147 | 181 | 43.24 | 53.24 |
| Realistic | 115 | 29 | 84 | 95 | 24.71 | 27.94 | |
The mobility of the R3 T106 FA is exactly the same as the R3 T20 FA-HS. Due to War Thunder's map sizes, the maximum speed that can be achieved before a turn has to be made is about 98 km/h. On regular terrain, speed will average about 60 km/h and 50 km/h when going up hills. This makes the R3 T106 FA one of the fastest armoured vehicles in the BR range. On desert maps, this tank fares much better compared to the FIAT chassis and the succeeding counterpart Centauro. It is capable of going about 30-35 km/h on desert terrain and a tad slower on snow terrain. It is faster than the FIAT chassis on all terrains and faster than famous fast light tanks like the Ru 251 on hard and medium terrain.
This excellent mobility allows you to flank very fast or go to a position even enemy fast tanks (such as the Super Hellcat) don't expect you to get to.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 106 mm Cannone da 106 s.r.M40A1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 5 | -7°/+10° | ±180° | N/A | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 13.00 | 11.50 | 10.60 | 10.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | ||||||||
The R3 T106 FA uses the same 106 mm recoilless rifles as the FIAT 6614. The gun has quite a low velocity (500 m/s), making aiming above 600 m quite difficult as your range estimation has to be very accurate. However, the presence of another gun allows you to adjust your second shot, making it quite easy to hit moving targets up to 1,000 m with your first shot. Above all that, even having a second gun has no guarantee of a hit, unless they are sitting still and not moving. The gun reloads with about 10 seconds, allowing for about 12 shots a minute (2 guns). Unfortunately, the R3 T106 FA has only 5 rounds per gun, so it is essential that the player does not waste the ammo on engagements over 1,000 m to save ammo. Instead, use the excellent mobility to flank and get closer. The gun bounces more than most tankers are used to when coming to a stop, which leads to a very long time before it is ready to be fired. This can be counteracted by its second gun as the player may miss once but still have a second shot, reducing the "fear factor" of missing when timing gun bounce. The gun rotation speed is 20°/sec which is very good in reacting to new threats which appear.
Ammunition
The R3 T106 FA gets access to both a HEAT round (400 mm penetration) and an all-out devastating HESH round (152 mm normal penetration). The HESH round often destroys enemies in one hit if used properly.
| 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
| Full ammo |
Rack empty | Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 (+8) | No |
Notes:
- The ammo rack has a capacity of 10 rounds because it is for both guns.
- You can only choose to load an even number of rounds (0/2/4/6/8/10).
- The way ammo depletes is mirrored for the primary and the secondary gun.
- Rounds are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Full ammo load should be brought for the cannon (10 HESH or 8 HESH, 2 HEAT) because running out of shells is very common in this vehicle even with full ammunition load.
- The picture shows in which order rounds are fired.
Additional armament
| 106 mm Cannone da 106 s.r.M40A1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 5 | -7°/+10° | ±180° | N/A | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 13.00 | 11.50 | 10.60 | 10.0 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | ||||||||
The left gun is fired through the "secondary armament" setting: Controls > Ground Vehicles > Weaponry > Fire from secondary guns. When you aim, remember that the gun is offset half a meter on the left. If you want to aim precisely, you can use the secondary sight: Controls > Ground Vehicles > Weaponry > Select secondary weapon. You'll also need to configure the "Reset weapon selection" setting for it to work properly.
For the ammunition and the ammo racks, see the section above.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M80 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial main gun (right) | 120 (5) | 300 | N/A | N/A |
| Coaxial secondary gun (right) | 120 (5) | 300 | N/A | N/A |
The very short clip limits the use of both machine guns to a spotting role. Both MGs are controlled via the same setting. The presence of tracers in the belt makes you easily detectable when used.
Usage in battles
Similar to most other light tanks, the best way to play this vehicle is either as an ambush vehicle or as a flanking vehicle. This helps to avoid direct confrontations which in turn masks the vehicle's greatest weaknesses which are poor fire stability (gun bounce) and poor armour. This also capitalises on its main advantage which is its insane speed. Ambushing even in highly popular pathways can be very successful with this tank due to its presence of 2 guns, reducing the chance you will be overwhelmed. Brawling can be done in this vehicle due to its fast acceleration, allowing it to duck in and out of cover to fire very quickly.
As mentioned in the armament section, using the right round can lead to great success against opponents. Knowing how to use the HESH round is imperative to success with this vehicle. Due to the nature of HESH, some tanks will require a more precise targeting for effective use, so here are some recommendations for success with HESH:
- Conqueror - Lower front plate, rear half of turret (front half is a non-penetration), cupola
- T34/T29 - Turret roof, turret ring, turret side, anywhere on hull
- M103 - Anywhere on the hull, turret side. Do not target the gun mantlet and other relatively unangled areas
- Caernarvon - Anywhere on turret except the gun mantlet (and even the sloped parts since 100% ricochet is at 80°)
- T32 - Anywhere on the hull, turret side
- T95 - Roof, upper front plate, sides, cupola
- IS-6 - Turret sides, anywhere on the hull
- IS-3- Anywhere on hull, upper half of side turret (lower half has 156 mm armour, which is more than 152 mm penetration), Turret ring
- T-54 - Turret side, upper front plate
- IS-4M - the toughest for the R3 T106 FA. The upper front plate is easily penetrated, but the angled plate and the hull sides as well as turret sides are all too tough. Even the rear is too tough except for the top half of the rear turret armour. Basically shoot the upper front plate, but anywhere else will be bounce or protected by tracks.
From the list, the recommended shot on most tanks with HESH is the turret side armour, as there is no tracks or side skirts to block your shell and armour there even on heavy tanks is usually less than 152 mm raw thickness.
Be careful when shooting an angled upper front plate of tanks, as since it is angled the HESH will send a blast downwards, which might only knock out the machine gunner and driver. However, if you aim towards the top half of the upper front plate, the shrapnel is powerful enough that it should incapacitate all of the turret crew anyways. Also, don't shoot the engines unless you have to, as a potent shot is rare and you won't one shot with a solid hit. The two guns the R3 T106 FA can allow for one shot to go for the cannon barrel or tracks first, then the second gun can lineup for a good shot on a weak spot.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful 106 mm recoilless rifles
- Insane top speed; can give the M18 Hellcat a run for its money
- Resilient to machine gun fire from the front
- Can swim
Cons:
- Will be prioritized as a target by the enemy team due to its notoriety
- Flips over very often
- Thin armour
- Can be destroyed simply by ramming it at top speed
- Even LMG fire can destroy the engine from the rear
- Takes time to aim gun due to the wobbly suspension, especially when stock
History
The Story of the OTO R3 Capraia begin during the late cold war, OTO Melara was looking to make a reconnaissance vehicle for Italy in the 1980's that would be able to be easy to manufacture and hopefully be picked up by the Italian army and put into service. During that era a lot of nations around the world would experiment with creating light, easily transportable, multi role vehicles. OTO Melara was no different and in the years leading up to this they had already some experience in the field. After some time designing the new vehicle, OTO Melara would finally first display the prototype of the R3 Capraia, (The Capraia received its production name after an island of the Tuscan archipelago.) which would be shown at an Italian Naval exhibition at Genoa in 1982. As previously mentioned they wanted a multi-role vehicle, so for this many different variants would begin to emerge. According to OTO Melara, the R3 Capraia was able to use multiple types of weapon systems, such as a TOW launcher and a dual M40 106 mm recoilless rifle (both of these versions likely weren't actually made but could be made if someone showed interest). The variant in game has access to the American made 106 mm recoilless rifle, 2 mounted on the turret. The vehicle was able to fire on the move and if there was no access to bridges, the R3 Capraia is amphibious. At the time not many vehicles of the era had the same ability. It was extensively tested by the Italian army, and even though it showed some great qualities, at the time there was not a need for that type of vehicle. It had high performance for the era mainly due to the possibility of integrating various weapon systems. Following the conclusion of its evaluation by the Italian army, the OTO R3 Capraia prototypes were put in storage inside of the OTO Melara factory.
A number of armament options were proposed by OTO Melara. These included:
- the R3 T12.7 FA, armed with an externally mounted 12.7 mm M2 HB machine gun in a turret with full 360° traverse and a maximum elevation of -10° to +50°;
- the R3 T7.65 FA, armed with an externally mounted 7.65 mm machine gun in a turret with full 360° traverse and a maximum elevation of -10° to +25°;
- the R3 T20 FA-HS, armed with an externally mounted Oerlikon KAD-B17 20 mm cannon in a turret with full 360° traverse and a maximum elevation of -10° to +60°;
- the R3 Folgore ×2 FA, armed with two externally mounted Breda Folgore anti-tank missiles and a secondary 7.65 mm machine gun;
- the R3 T106 FA, armed with two externally mounted 106 mm M40 type recoilless rifles; and
- the R3 TOW, armed with an externally mounted launcher for a Hughes TOW ATGM system. In the early 1980s, the OTO Melara company developed a new armoured car, called the OTO R 2.5 "Gorgona". Investing heavily into research and development efforts, OTO Melara continued developing the design into a "Special Task Vehicle" as part of a private venture. The resulting OTO R3, nicknamed in production as "Capraia" was first shown off at the Italian Naval Exhibition in Genoa in 1982. The new vehicle received increased armour protection around its body, protecting the crew from rifle-calibre fire and shrapnel. Furthermore, the vehicle could be armed with various weaponry, ranging from MGs, over cannons to ATGMs, depending on the version. Despite their very promising and versatile design, this family of combat vehicles were only built and used in very limited numbers. - From Devblog
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
- [Devblog] OTO R3 T106: Double Barrel Mayhem
- [Topwar.ru] OTO Melara Gorgona R2.5 and R3 Capraia armored cars
| 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 |
