Begleitpanzer 57

Begleitpanzer 57

JaPz.K A2

Radkampfwagen 90

Begleitpanzer 57

JaPz.K A2

Radkampfwagen 90

Germany

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.7	9.3	9.3

Class:

Light tank

Research:190 000

Purchase:520 000

Show in game

Description

The Begleitpanzer 57 is a rank VI German light tank with a battle rating of 9.7 (AB) and 9.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.73 "Vive la France".

At first glance, the Begleitpanzer 57 may be confused for a SPAA due to the light armoured chassis and a rapid-fire 57 mm auto cannon. On the turret is also a TOW launcher that can be fired in a SACLOS manner, meaning it will automatically align itself with the cross hair in-flight.

The Begleitpanzer 57 overall construction is similar to that of the T114 with light armour all around that even heavy machine gun ammunition can penetrate through the sides. The turret's nature with its exterior gun mount also has its similarities.

As a light tank, the Begleitpanzer 57 carries a great firepower punch for its mobility despite its lack of armour. A rapid firing 57 mm cannon carries enough penetration rivaling that of the ZSU-57-2, but the addition of a TOW launcher system makes this vehicle a dangerous opponent by being able to engage a variety of target at its leisure.

While the cannon shares the calibre with the Russian 57 mm gun, it is quite different in performance. The Russian SPAA has a slightly better combined fire rate and significantly more accuracy at range. You also start to lose the penetration advantage at 1 km compared to the HE belt of the ZSU-57-2. All of this combined makes you very reliant on your ATGM, of which you only have 6. Upgrading to the better ATGM is highly encouraged, the HE belt can be completely ignored as it can not reliably perforate Russian side armour.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	11 mm (76°), 32 mm (32°) Front glacis 32 mm (31-61°) Lower glacis	15 mm (30°) Top 15 mm	11 mm (24°) Top 11 mm (26°)	11 mm
Turret	25 mm (39°) Turret front 25 mm (0-9°) Gun mantlet	15 mm (12-16°) Left side 15 mm Right side	15 mm (39°)	11 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 11 mm thick.

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	84	84	28.5	930	1,145	32.63	40.18
Realistic	76	76		531	600	18.63	21.05

Armaments

Main armament

57 mm Bofors L/70 Mk.I
Capacity		Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
96 (48)		200	-8°/+45°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	20.0	27.67	33.6	39.53	??.??
Realistic	12.5	14.7	17.22	20.87	??.??
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
15.00	15.00	15.00	15.00

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
57х438 AP-T	APCBC	125	122	107	91	77	66
57х438 HE-T	HE	8	8	8	8	8	8
57х438 HE-VT	HE	8	8	8	8	8	8
57х438 SAP-T	APHEBC	94	92	81	69	58	50

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Normalisation at 30° from horizontal	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
57х438 AP-T	APCBC	950	2.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	+4.0°	48°	63°	71°
57х438 HE-T	HE	1,020	2.4	0.4	0.1	450	+0.0°	79°	80°	81°
57х438 HE-VT	HE	1,020	2.4	0.4	0.1	450	+0.0°	79°	80°	81°
57х438 SAP-T	APHEBC	950	2.4	1.2	9.0	75	+4.0°	48°	63°	71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Begleitpanzer 57

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
96	48 (+48)	24 (+72)	0 (+96)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Racks 2 and 3 are first stage ammo racks. They total 48 shells and get filled first when loading up the tank.
• As the Begleitpanzer 57 is equipped with mechanized magazines, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
• Once racks 2 and 3 have been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the mechanized magazines. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 into rack 3 then 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
• The depletion order at full capacity is: 2 - 3 - 1.

Optics

Begleitpanzer 57 Optics
	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	X4.0	X12.1
Comparable optics	???

Additional armament

BGM-71B TOW ATGM
Capacity	Vertical guidance	Flight speed (m/s)	Range (m)
6	-6°/+20°	299	3,000
BGM-71C TOW ATGM
Capacity	Vertical guidance	Flight speed (m/s)	Range (m)
6	-6°/+20°	296	3,750

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
TOW	ATGM	430	430	430	430	430	430
I-TOW	ATGM	630	630	630	630	630	630

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Normalisation at 30° from horizontal	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
TOW	ATGM	299	18.8	N/A	0.1	2,450	+0.0°	80°	82°	90°
I-TOW	ATGM	296	19	N/A	0.1	2,080	+0.0°	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Begleitpanzer 57

Full ammo	Visual discrepancy
6	No

Notes:

• It is not possible to select how many missiles to bring into battle.
• The missiles are listed from 1 to 6.

Machine guns

7.62 mm MG 3A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)	Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
5,000 (1,000)	1,200	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The Begleitpanzer 57 is a very capable light tank and support vehicle. With proximity fuse HE shells in its 57 mm cannon, it can effectively engage air targets, and can destroy enemy IFVs and even MBTs with its high-penetration rounds. However, when shooting at enemy planes, it is best to wait until they are close before firing, since the vehicle does not have a very high ammo count. Alternatively, the vehicle carries missiles which can be used very effectively to destroy both helicopters and tanks at long ranges. The missile's travel time must be taken in to consideration, but it is nice to have when the enemy is too far away to engage with the 57 mm cannon.

The Begleitpanzer's main cannon can sometimes destroy MBTs from the front, but does damage much more consistently when shooting the enemy's weaker armoured side. For this reason, it is often wise to adopt an ambushing or flanking playstyle. This is helped by the vehicle's small profile and good mobility. It is easy to reach good firing positions and manoeuvre around the enemy quickly and without being seen. (And since the vehicle has poor armour, avoiding being seen will be very important for survival).

At the end of the day, the Begleitpanzer can be played as a light tank scout. It can't engage the enemy front-on, but it can be a valuable asset to the team and is lethal when played in the correct positions. Be sure to use the scouting ability to help friendly players locate enemy tanks. During night battles, the NVD modification will make scouting both easier to do and even more helpful to the team.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	57x438 SAP-T
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	Airstrike	I-TOW
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	57x438 HE-VT	NVD
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	Improved optics	Laser rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Effective against IFVs, MBTs, and aircraft
• Great for spotting and disabling tracks and gun barrels
• Lethal when shooting enemies from the side
• Has access to thermal vision devices
• Proximity HE shells are deadly against aircraft
• Has access to a laser rangefinder

Cons:

• Low gun elevation (45 degrees) when dealing with enemy planes
• Can easily be hull broken or destroyed by even high-calibre machine guns
• Cannot destroy many enemies frontally
• Fairly low ammunition count
• Lacks a gun stabilizer.
• Gun breech is easily destroyed
• Must stop to fire AGTMs
• Loses accuracy when firing continuously

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Begleitpanzer 57 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #73 - Metal Beasts section at 00:30 discusses the Begleitpanzer 57.

Best IFVs discusses the Begleitpanzer 57 at 3:41 - War Thunder Official Channel

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

• [Devblog] Begleitpanzer 57: Bofors/Marder united at last!