M163
Contents
Description
The Gun, Air Defence Artillery, Self-Propelled: 20-mm, M163 is a rank V American self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB) and 7.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.63 "Desert Hunters".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour is not on the operator's side in the M163, as it is thin enough to be destroyed by 12.7 mm machine guns from the sides and rear, and any cannon-sized armament from the front. The turret is partially open, leaving the crew vulnerable to enemy light arms fire. If attacked, the best bet for taking a hit and surviving is to point the engine towards the enemy and hope it absorbs the shot.
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 | 70 | 17 | 11.2 | 301 | 404 | 26.88 | 36.07 |
| Realistic | 65 | 15 | 188 | 212 | 16.79 | 18.93 | |
Armaments
Main armament
The M163 is equipped with a 20 mm M168 VADS, or Vulcan air defence system. The M168 is a variant of the M61 cannon, which can be found in-game on vehicles such as the Japanese T-2, and the American F-4C Phantom II. Used initially during the Vietnam war, the M168 was a 20 mm air-cooled rotary cannon attached to a small turret on the M163. Dangerous to anything in the sky, it will lock on and rip through anything in its path.
| 20 mm M168 | 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 | 2,200 (1,100) | 3,000 | -5°/+80° | ±180° | N/A | 66.05 | 91.41 | 111.00 | __.__ | 130.59 | 26.00 | 23.00 | _.__ | 20.00 |
| Realistic | 44.63 | 52.50 | 63.75 | __.__ | 75.00 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-I · HEI-T · AP-I
- HEI-T: HEI-T · HEI-T · HEI-T · AP-I
- AP-I: AP-I · AP-I · AP-I · HEI-T
| Penetration statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | |
| Default | 53 | 50 | 39 | 28 | 20 | 14 |
| HEI-T | 53 | 50 | 39 | 28 | 20 | 14 |
| AP-I | 53 | 50 | 39 | 28 | 20 | 14 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rounds
Belts |
2200
2 |
1100 (+1100)
1 (+1) |
0 (+2200)
0 (+2) |
N/A |
Usage in battles
The M163 has an amazing rate of fire with the M168 gun, thus it has amazing damage output. In an anti-aircraft role, it is best used as a point defense SPAA, defending a group of allies/cap zone from air attack. Its range isn't as good as the M247, so it's best to keep in mind the approximate 1 km targetting zone of the M163.
The M163 wields about 60 mm of penetration, and at the 8.0 battle rating, that's enough to mortally wound/destroy many Axis-country's vehicles such as the Leopard, AUBL, and Centauro.
The high rate of fire also allows the M163 a sort of CIWS (Close-In Weapon System) type of role, as it can easily spray in the direction of an incoming bomb, thus destroying it and saving nearby allies. This is especially easy against the infamous FAB-5000 bomb from the Russian Pe-8, as the bomb is large and easy to track.
Radars
The M163 is equipped with an AN/VPS-2 tracking radar, with no search radar. The radar is fitted to the side of the turret.
|
In order to lock on you must be looking through your sight, position the crosshair over a target (within 7 km) and press the lock on key. The target must be within a 2° cone from the centre of the crosshair. |
| AN/VPS-2 - Tracking Radar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Tracking Range |
Minimum Tracking Range |
Azimuth Tracking Angle |
Elevation Tracking Angle |
Minimum target speed |
| 7,000 m | 100 m | 360° | -20°/+85° (lock between -20°/+20°) |
15 m/s (54 km/h) |
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | HEI-T | Horizontal Drive | |
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | AP-I | Adjustment of Fire |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Elevation Mechanism | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Artillery Support | NVD | |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Amphibious
- Quick acceleration
- Good traverse, especially when fully upgraded
- Insane rate of fire of 3,000 rpm; can literally shred incoming enemy aircraft, AP rounds are dangerous against lightly armoured vehicles
- Has a tracking radar
Cons:
- Light armour
- When stock, Only 32 kph while going off-road
- Not keen to climbing hills until performance modules are equipped
- Relatively slow for the rank
- Slow in water
- Inaccurate/wobbly in water
- One of the longest rearm/reload times in the game
- No search radar
- Effective range is not good for a 5th rank SPAA
- Inaccurate while approaching far targets
History
The VADS was used during the Vietnam war and onwards and was based on the chassis of the M113 armoured personnel carrier. NATO used it as an anti-aircraft gun platform.
Media
See also
Other vehicles based off the M113 platform:
External links
| USA anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| M3 Half-track derivatives | M13 MGMC · M15 CGMC · M16 MGMC |
| M24 derivative | M19A1 |
| M41 derivative | M42 |
| Radar SPAAG | M163 · M247 |
| Missile SPAA | ADATS · Imp.Chaparral · LAV-AD · XM975 |
