MBK pr.186 (MK 85)
Contents
Description
The MBK pr.186 (MK 85) is a premium rank IV Soviet armoured gun boat with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update 1.83 "Masters of the Sea" with the fleet release into open beta test.
General info
Survivability and armour
The MBK pr. 186 (MK 85) has significantly more armour than its predecessors all-around, and can take a fair beating as a result. The middle portion of this ship has 30 mm of rolled homogeneous armour, while the front and back have protection of 8-12 mm. This defence makes machine gun fire much less dangerous, almost a relic of the past. However, this additional armour makes this ship much heavier, and detrimentally effects the speed, as elaborated in the next section.
The 85 mm gun turrets have significantly less armour than the main tree version.
Mobility
The MBK pr. 186 (MK 85) has an abysmal top speed 35 km/h in AB. The turning speed is also terrible, and it will take more than a dozen seconds to completely turn around, however it does start the turn quite rapidly, making dodging torpedoes a reasonable option. Due to this fact, the vessel must be played with very strategically chosen movements, as becoming exposed with no quick way out is one of the most common ways to be destroyed in this ship.
Mobility Characteristics | |||
---|---|---|---|
Game Mode | Upgrade Status | Maximum Speed (km/h) | |
Forward | Reverse | ||
AB | |||
Upgraded | 35 | 13 | |
RB/SB | |||
Upgraded | 26 | 10 |
Modifications and economy
Armament
Primary armament
The MBK pr. 186 has two 85 mm guns in single turrets as its main guns. These guns fare fairly well against medium sized ships due to their reasonable calibre, and can sometimes hull-break small ships, although small enough ships are seldom encountered at this battle rating. Up until this point, HE shells were the indisputably best shell for naval combat due to the lack of armour anywhere. HE should be your usual load, although APHE shells are useful vs other armoured gunboats, and also sometimes against larger vessels.
Secondary armament
A single 37 mm autocannon comprises the secondary armament. This is the same model as the one used on the Pr.1124 (1945) and the BMO as well as the MPK-163. This gun is a fairly good secondary gun due to its calibre and good rate-of-fire, and can tackle both small to medium sized ships and most air targets.
Anti-aircraft armament
Two twin-mount 12.7 mm DShK turrets that are mounted on the sides of the command bridge at the center of the ship. As such, only one turret can engage a target at a time due to the interrupted arc of fire unless the target is directly in front or behind the ship. This is not the most desirable positioning but it will work most of the time deterring air attacks, with the help of the 37 mm autocannon.
Usage in battles
The MBK Pr. 186 (MK 85) is quite an interesting ship to play, due to its unique set of characteristics - heavy armament, good armour, and ridiculously bad manoeuvrability. With a pair of hard-hitting 85 mm cannons slapped on a hull with some anti-aircraft armament, this ship is very well suited for a certain set of playstyles and can excel in a variety of situations if used correctly.
Tactics:
The MBK Pr. 186 can work very well in certain situations, particularly longer-range engagements. This is because of its great weapons load, namely two 85 mm cannons. While they don't fire particularly fast, they hit very hard and can do a lot of damage to naval targets. Assuming you have decent accuracy, you can easily sink any ships at the Pr. 186's BR with a couple of shots. However, note that the Pr. 186 does also have access to a powerful Soviet 37 mm 70-K cannon mounted behind the bridge - this weapon is much more suited for dealing with fast vessels and aircraft, as it can fire continuously against any targets that the 85 mm guns cannot hit as easily. Finally, the Pr. 186 has access to four 12.7 mm machine guns in two twin turrets, which can serve as an effective anti-aircraft armament alongside the aforementioned 37 mm cannon.
The MBK Pr. 186 is quite survivable, with 42 crew members and armour up to 30 mm on the hull. The 85 mm gun turrets are also well-protected with 30 mm of armour, though this is less than the tech-tree version which gets up to 90 mm of armour. This armour provides the Pr. 186 with extensive protection which makes it impervious to most small-arms fire, meaning that it could potentially be used as a brawler against smaller PT boats and coastal vessels. However, the ship's survivability should not be relied upon exclusively, as the ship will easily be destroyed by the larger coastal ships and destroyers that it faces often. Instead, captains should rely extensively on available island cover to protect their ship. In the case of an open map (the conquest maps), try to stay further away from enemy bluewater vessels to maximize survivability.
Finally, the MBK Pr. 186 suffers from a rather terrible manoeuvrability, with a poor turning circle and a rather disappointing top speed of 26 km/h in RB. Thus, the ship cannot be relied upon to capture zones, as it will take ages just to get to the capture point. In general, this ship should be played as a longer-range sniper, maximising the use of its powerful armament.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 2 x 85 mm provide plenty of firepower to destroy boats
- Secondary and AA armament is on a par with the main armament of most other PT boats
- Good crew count for its size, 42 crew members
- Armour provides significant protection against machine-guns and small calibre cannon HE ammunition
- Low silhouette, making it rather difficult to hit at longer ranges
Cons:
- Slow, with a top speed of just 26 km/h in RB spaded
- Secondary armament is located in a weird position, limiting firing arcs for the 37 mm and 12.7 mm guns
- Faces early destroyers very often, where it has a significant survivability disadvantage
- Part of the bow and the entire stern is unprotected, leaving a large part of the ship's crew vulnerable
- Gun turrets are less armoured than the tech tree version
History
The MBK pr. 186 (MK 85) was a class of 38 armoured gun boats built for the Soviet navy during the latter part of the Second World War. Designed as sea-going armoured boats, the ships were fitted with a heavy armament. Upon commissioning, the ships of the class supplemented the prior pr. 161 in service and saw extensive service during the war. The ships served after the end of the war until their eventual retirement in the late 1950s. This version of the vessel represents the later-production version of the pr. 186, which featured newer MK 85 turrets.
The pr. 186 class of MBKs (armoured gun boats) were designed as large but slow armoured boats as a supplement to the pr. 161 class. The ships displaced 156.5 tons and were 36.2 m long. The ships had a relatively modest top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h) and a range of 750 miles, being powered by a pair of 500 hp piston engines. The ships had a crew of 42 officers and men.
In terms of armament, the pr. 186 was equipped with two 85 mm ZiS-C-53 cannons on MK 85 cannon mounts. Initially, the guns were mounted on S-53 mounts, which is seen in game on the tech-tree version of this vessel. However, most late-production pr. 186s were equipped with the later MK 85 mount, with less armour but dramatically-improved vertical targeting. The ships carried a secondary armament of a single 37 mm 70-K dual purpose autocannon and two dual DShK machine gun turrets. Some ships were also fitted with a mortar.
A total of 38 pr. 186 ships were built between 1944 to 1947; being late production vessels, the pr. 186 (MK 85) ships failed to see service during the Second World War. The other vessels constructed during the Second World War saw brief service in the Baltic sea, where they provided fire support for Soviet land forces. Overall, the Soviet MBKs, including the MBK-161, pr. 1124 and pr. 1125, played an important role in the Great Patriotic War. Loss rates were also high, as 90 boats were lost for roughly 300 boats of all classes built. The later MBK pr. 186s stayed in the fleet until the late 1950s, when they were retired.
Media
- Videos
By: Napalmratte
By: Napalmratte
See also
Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the ship;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
USSR boats | |
---|---|
Motor torpedo boats | D-3 · G-5 · G-5 (ShVAK) · Pr.123-bis · Pr.123K (A-10bis) · Pr.123K · Pr.183 |
Motor gun boats | TKA-412 · MO-4 · OD-200 · Pr.253L · Pr.183 BM-21 · Ya-5M |
Motor torpedo gun boats | Pr. 206 · Pr.206-M · MPK Pr.12412 · MPK Pr.12412P · MPK Pr.11451 |
Gunboats | Groza |
Armoured gun boats | BMO · MBK-161 early · MBK-161 late · MBK pr.186 · MBK pr.186 (MK 85) · Pr.1124 early · Pr.1124 late · Pr.1124 MLRS |
Pr.191 · Pr.191M · Pr.1204 · Pr.1204 late |
USSR premium ships | |
---|---|
Motor torpedo boats | G-5 (ShVAK) · Pr.123K (A-10bis) |
Motor gun boats | TKA-412 · Pr.183 BM-21 · Ya-5M |
Motor torpedo gun boats | MPK Pr.12412P |
Armoured gun boats | MBK-161 early · MBK pr.186 (MK 85) · Pr.1124 MLRS · Pr.1204 |
Sub-chasers | MPK Pr.122bis |
Frigates | Rosomacha |
Destroyers | Kerch · Ryany · Leningrad · Stroyny · Smelyi · Neustrashimy · Blagorodnyy |
Light cruisers | Murmansk · Kerch · Zheleznyakov |
Battleships | Marat |