GAZ-MM (72-K)
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Contents
Description
The GAZ-MM (72-K) (72-K gun mount on a GAZ-MM truck) is a rank II Soviet self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.
The 72-K is an autocannon, bringing a better gun to the playing field. Granted, it is still mounted on an unarmoured truck chassis, and the gun shield will only protect from light machine-gun rounds.
The main purpose of this vehicle is to destroy enemy aircraft, mostly it is used to defend friendly tanks from air attack. However, if used correctly, it can damage or even destroy tanks. The fact that the gun has to elevate to fire forward means that one should never face an enemy head-on in this truck. Whilst a player can still shoot aircraft while aiming the turret forwards, against low-flying attackers the task will be more complicated. Whenever possible, one side of this vehicle should have cover - if no targets are to the right of the truck, for instance, it would be senseless to leave the right flank exposed for nothing.
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour of the GAZ-MM (as seen in prior models) is inexistent even for shrapnel. Thus, the commander should always avoid or shoot to kill whatever enemy he sees. Not only for the fact the main gun is able to destroy the SPAA in a single shot but also because even low calibre machine gun fire is able to destroy the vehicle, specially on the vehicle turret as it is open. All aircraft will be able to get easy kills with this if the commander is unaware of aircraft existence. Being an open vehicle with a few millimetres thick armour invites all enemy players to use machine guns to kill it.
Armour type:
- Structural steel
- Wood (Truck bed)
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Gun platform)
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver's cabin | 1 mm (2°) | 1 mm (1-6°) | 1 mm (2-3°) | 1 mm |
| Cargo bed | 15 mm (2°) | 15 mm | 15 mm (2°) | 15 mm |
| Gun platform | 7 mm (11-20°) | 7 mm (2°) | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
- Wheels are 2 mm thick while the chassis is 5 mm thick.
- The truck bed is 15 mm of wood, which will probably not offer as much protection as the truck cab.
- The radiator housing is unarmoured.
Mobility
The mobility of the GAZ-MM is not exactly the fastest but is not mediocre either. When used on roads, top speeds are really high and is able to reach speeds of 80 km/h. When off-road, the GAZ-MM will struggle, not much but speed will be drastically reduced compared to roads. Mud, water, sand, and snow are the worst enemies of tires, mainly for the traction for said environments. When in maps in which sand or snow are inevitable (Sands of Sinai for example) always stay on or close to a road.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 77 | 10 | 3 | 81 | 95 | 27 | 31.67 |
| Realistic | 71 | 9 | 50 | 50 | 16.67 | 16.67 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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It is recommended to research the OZR-132 belts as soon as possible. These give the player access to a full HE ammo belt for destroying air targets. Since this vehicle has extremely poor survivability, the Parts and FPE modules are not as important as they are for other vehicles - often the GAZ-MM will be destroyed in one hit anyways.
Armaments
Main armament
The GAZ-MM is armed with single shielded 25 mm autocannons, devastating for all armoured vehicles seen at the battle rating. The calibre and penetration is not the most fearful characteristic of this weapons, the fire rate is. At first sight this may not be seen as a threat but depending on the ammunition used, the GAZ-MM is able to either play anti-tank or anti-air role. The RPM helps not only in scaring enemy planes but also to redirect fire upon missed shots. A single hit to an aircraft with this weapons will be fatal, even with the AP belt.
| 25 mm 72-K | 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 | 399 (7) | 240 | -10°/+85° | ±180° | N/A | 30.8 | 42.7 | 51.8 | 57.3 | 60.9 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.20 |
| Realistic | 20.8 | 24.5 | 29.8 | 32.9 | 35.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-T · FI-T* - These belts can fulfill both roles until the others are researched but with a lesser effectiveness.
- OZR-132: FI-T* - These are suited to the AA role but useless against ground vehicles.
- BR-132: AP-T - These are best against lightly armoured tanks at close range and still do good damage to planes.
| Penetration statistics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | |
| Default | 55 | 52 | 42 | 32 | 25 | 19 |
| OZR-132 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| BR-132 | 55 | 52 | 42 | 32 | 25 | 19 |
| Belt details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
| OZR-132 | FI-T* | 910 | 0.29 | 0 | 0.1 | 13 | 47° | 56° | 65° |
| BR-132 | AP-T | 900 | 0.28 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
Ammo racks
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| Full ammo |
Ammo type |
1st rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57 399 |
Clips Rounds |
1 (+56) 7 (+392) |
No |
Notes:
- The ammunition is modeled as 57 clips of 7 rounds
- The ammo rack is a single rack containing all clips.
Usage in battles
While it is equipped with a 37 mm cannon, playing this vehicle in an anti-tank role should be situational only and not by design. It is a SPAA and should be used as such. With a sluggish mobility off-road and a paper-thin armour, it is recommended to always stay close to cover to protect the vehicle from enemy aircraft strafing runs. Only expose the truck's platform with the gun ideally when facing aircraft and engage them with OZR-132 belt. All belts contain tracers so be aware that once you fire, enemies will know your position. Wait until the enemy aircraft is close enough to engage (below 700 m) so that it has a reduced chance to evade fire. The most difficult part is leading the target to make a successful hit, as it depends on the plane's distance and speed. The tracer bullets are helpful for that purpose. Fire short bursts of 3 to 4 rounds and correct your aim based on the visual feedback.
You can carry some armour-piercing ammunition if you risk encountering enemy ground vehicles (packing 14 AP belts should be enough). When facing ground vehicles, retreating should be the preferred course of action since your whole crew can be knocked out even with a rifle-calibre machine gun. If you can't escape in time and are forced to engage, you can hinder the enemy's mobility by targeting its tracks or wheels. Shooting the cannon barrel or the breech can be a valid tactic but is more risky since this means they already have you in their sight.
While you have a quick-firing weapon, do not waste your shots by saturating the enemy vehicle with fire. You must know where the vehicle's weak spots are (sides, rear, etc.) and target them accurately. Light tanks and open-topped tank destroyers are usually easier to take out since their protection is weaker.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good shell velocity.
- High rate of fire.
- Very short reload time.
- Decent turret rotation and elevation.
- Good acceleration, that allows it to flank slower tanks/vehicles when encountered at close-quarters.
- AP rounds with enough penetration to kill light and medium tanks that it may encounter.
Cons:
- Highly vulnerable to any HE rounds.
- Cannot shoot straight ahead due to the driver's compartment.
- No armour protection whatsoever.
- Highly vulnerable to artillery fire.
- Vulnerable to machine gun fire, aircraft strafing, and collision damage.
- Poor vehicle stability, very easy to flip upside down when driving in rough terrain.
History
The 25 mm automatic air defence gun M1940 (72-K) (Russian: 25-мм автоматическая зенитная пушка образца 1940 года (72-К)), developed in 1939-1940, was a very common anti-aircraft weapon in the Soviet Union, leading to about 4,860 units produced. It occupies an intermediate position between large-calibre anti-aircraft machine guns of the ANC and the more powerful 37 mm anti-aircraft guns of the 61-K, this vehicle was designed for an Infantry Regiment level air defence. The gun was created at the beginning of 1940 at 8th Kalinin Artillery Plant under the guidance of its Chief Designer Mikhail Loginov.
To increase mobility in the second half of 1941, the 72-K anti-aircraft machine was installed on the chassis of the GAZ-MM. GAZ–MM is a truck with a maximum usable weight of 1.5 ton. It was produced at the end of the 1930s and at the first part of the 1940s by GAZ in the Soviet Union. It is a simplified version of the Ford Model AA's Soviet licence version. At the beginning of World War II, more than 150,000 were in use by the Red Army. Tests showed the success of the design and the gun mount so it was put into serial production, called the GAZ MM (72-K). However, only 200 units were produced, as the manufacturer's factory, Kolomna Locomotive Works, was evacuated. Subsequently, the GAZ MM (72-K) was no longer produced.
In-game description
Before the Great Patriotic War began, the question of creating so-called anti-aircraft tanks was under consideration. Among projects in an early stage of development was an anti-aircraft tank with a turret-mounted 25 mm 72-K anti-aircraft gun placed on a T-50 light tank. Due to the beginning of the war, all work on this vehicle, dubbed the T-50-2, was halted.
In the second half of 1941, tests were conducted on the 25 mm 72-K Mod. 1940 cannon mounted on the back of a 4 × 2 GAZ-MM truck made by the Gorky automobile factory. The tests were successful, and this improvised SPAAG was put into mass production at the Kolomna Locomotive Works. Additional motivation to produce these vehicles came from the fact that installing 72-K cannons in these trucks did not require carriages, which were seriously problematic to manufacture. Due to the evacuation of the facility they were built in, mass production of the SPAAG ceased in December 1941 after around 200 were produced.
The anti-aircraft vehicle's crew consisted of 6 people. The primary task of the new SPAAG was to fire on air targets at a range of up to 2.4 km and a height of up to 2 km. If necessary, the cannon could also be used successfully to fire on ground targets, including light tanks and armoured vehicles.
The vehicle's advantages lay in its high mobility and ease of manufacturing. The SPAAG's disadvantages included insufficient manoeuvrability, particularly off-road, and its lack of armour plating or any kind of armour protection for the crew.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
| USSR anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| GAZ-AAA | GAZ-AAA (4M) · GAZ-AAA (DShK) |
| BTR-152 | BTR-152A · BTR-152D |
| Wheeled/Half-tracked | GAZ-MM (72-K) · ZiS-12 (94-KM) · ZiS-43 |
| Radar SPAAG | ZSU-23-4 · ZSU-37-2 |
| SAM | ZSU-23-4M4 · Strela-10M2 · 2S6 · Pantsir-S1 |
| Other | ZSU-23-4M2 · ZUT-37 · ZSU-37 · BTR-ZD · ZSU-57-2 |
| Czechoslovakia | M53/59 |
| North Vietnam | ▂Phòng không T-34 |
