PT-76-57

This page is about the Soviet light tank PT-76-57. For other versions, see PT-76 (Family).

PT-76-57

PT-76-57

USSR

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	8.3	8.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The PT-76-57 is a premium gift rank V Soviet light tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB) and 8.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced during Update "Direct Hit" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season V, "River Hunter".

Otherwise known as the PT-76E, the PT-76-57 possesses many significant upgrades, including night vision and a two-plane stabilizer. The main difference is the armament, a rapid firing AU-220 57 mm cannon fitted in a unique turret which, using the same BR-281 shells used in the ZSU-57-2, proves very effective when dealing with numerous enemies at once. Compared to the ZSU-57-2 due to the similar armament, the PT-76-57 makes up having only half the firepower by instead having a significantly faster rate of fire. On a relatively mobile and low-profile chassis, the PT-76-57 can be a true menace on the battlefield when flanking otherwise heavily-armoured foes or tearing through lightly-armoured IFVs and light tanks.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull13 / 10 / 6

Turret22 / 18 / 15

Crew3 people

Visibility94 %

Overall, armour is extremely weak, as is to be expected from the PT-76 chassis. You cannot rely on the armour to save you in any circumstance, as almost everything in the 6.7-8.7 bracket can pen you at any angle, and at any range. The turret face averages around 35mm of armour, the the upper and lower glasis averages between 23mm and 45mm, and the sides are extremely weak, at only 13mm of armour. The frontal armour and the angles will protect you from as much as heavy machine guns and occasionally the stray 20mm round, but otherwise anything can and will penetrate. Even light machine guns can kill you from the side, so if you disable an enemy's main gun, be sure to avoid showing your vulnerable sides to enemy machine gun fire.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	10 mm (79°) Top 13 mm (56°) Bottom	13 mm Top 10 mm Bottom	6 mm	5 - 6 mm
Turret	22 mm Turret front 30 mm Gun mantlet	18 - 22 mm	15 mm	6 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Amphibious

The design allows you to swim and control movement in the water

Speedforward / back

AB67 / 20 km/h

RB and SB61 / 18 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight15.0 t

Engine power

AB572 hp

RB and SB300 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB38.1 hp/t

RB and SB20.0 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	67	20	15	465	572	31	38.13
Realistic	61	18		265	300	17.67	20

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB2 189

RB2 516

SB3 056

Crew training10 000

Experts440 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces1 340 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 110 / 150 / 180 %

2 × 190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment ESS	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire Airstrike Elevation Mechanism Smoke grenade Artillery Support Laser rangefinder Improved optics

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

57 mm AU-220 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition100 rounds

First-order20 rounds

Reload0.5 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 35°

The AU-220 cannon is extremely effective in the 6.7-8.7 BR bracket, as it can destroy any light tank at ranges up to 2.5km, most medium tanks up to 2km, and can reliably destroy heavies using weak-point sniping from 1.5km. In CQB, the cannon is devastating, and the 20g of TNT filler in the round ensure catastrophic damage from a successful penetration. The cannon performs best in CQB, or at ranges of less than ~1km. At range, use your laser rangefinder and pinpoint weak points, or aim for the vulnerable sides. Some things to consider remain, though, like the relatively low velocity of the round, the low penetration at ranges at 2+km (only 87mm at 0 degrees,) and the fact that you cannot reliably destroy heavies frontally. Unlike most tanks, it thrives best in an 8.0 uptier, where you face early MBT's with poor armour. Plus, the cramped crew compartments of 8.0 tanks allow for consistent one-shots from the sides.

57 mm AU-220						Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	100	120	-5°/+35°	±180°	Two-plane	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.50
Realistic						__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
BR-281	APCBC	151	147	132	114	100	87
OR-281U	HE*	5	5	5	5	5	5

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-281	APCBC	1,000	2.8	1.2	9	20	48°	63°	71°
OR-281U	HE*	1,000	2.8	0	0.1	153	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the PT-76-57

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
100	21 (+79)	1 (+99)	No

Notes:

• As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired both shells in the set.
• Rack 2 is a first stage ammo rack (autoloader magazine). It totals 20 shells.
  • This racks gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first.
  • As the PT-76-57 is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
  • Once the autoloader magazine has been depleted, you can't shoot until the autoloader has been restocked with at least 1 shell. The restocking time is much 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 rack 1 into rack 2. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
  • The depletion order at full capacity is: 2 - 1.

Machine guns

7.62 mm PKT machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

7.62 mm PKT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,000 (250)	700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The PT-76-57 performs extremely well in the light tank support vehicle role, or as a flank-and-spank type of vehicle. In smaller maps, try to avoid face-to-face confrontations with heavy tanks, as it will quickly get you killed. Instead, try to secure a good position near a cap point, or flank to a side route to shred passing tanks. As a support tank, stick with friendly tanks, scouting and helping to repair as needed. Disable tanks for allies to kill when you can't, and destroy more lightly armored targets. This tank performs exceptionally well as a flanker as well, as it is fairly mobile and can easily kill tanks from the sides. If a more aggressive playstyle suits you better, rush a cap point, find a secure position, and destroy enemies pushing into it.

Notable Enemies:

M46, M60 - These American mediums are abundant at this BR, and cannot be reliable killed from the front. Disable the main gun and mobility first, then shoot the cupola to kill ~ 2 crew. If it is safe to push, get a sideshot for a crew knockout or ammo. Make sure not to expose your sides to machine guns.

T26, T34, T32 - These American heavies cannot be killed frontally quickly enough to avoid return fire. Either flank the sides to cook the ammo, or disable and let allies pick them off.

SPz BMP-1, BMP-1 - These fast, mobile light tanks can easily kill with the 75mm anti-tank gun, or there missiles. Luckily, they are easy to kill, as 1-2 rounds will usually either destroy the ammo or knockout the small crew.

M48 series - These tanks can be killed frontally, or from the side, or the rear of the turret. However, with powerful weaponry and decent armor, they can easily kill you. Most of them also have rangefinders, so distance is not a sure way to protect yourself.

Tiger II - This tank is heavily armored, has a powerful gun, and excellent surviveablity. Ideally, you only face them from the side, where you can easily penetrate. However, from the front, you need to go in this order: Disable the main gun, then break a track, and then knockout crew by shooting the commanders cupola. This will kill at least 2 turret crew.

Kugelblitz and Wiesel 1A4 - These German AA's can shred you from any angle and most ranges, so beware. However, you can kill them just as easily, so be aware of your surroundings. The Wiesel is exceptionally dangerous because of it's mobility and small size, so it can take key positions and show up behind friendly lines quickly.

Centurion Mk.5 AVRE - This HESH lobbing medium tank is one of your most dangerous enemies, because even a hit NEAR your tank will cause an overpressure kill. However, the long reload makes it extremely vulnerable for an extended period of time, and the commanders cupola will kill turret crew. Make sure to disable the barrel first, though, or you will see the hanger screen very quickly.

Marder A1- and DF105 - The Marder has missiles and a rapid fire autocannon - two things that don't match with the PT-76-57 very well. The DF105 has a powerful HEAT-FS round that will one shot you instantly. Again, powerful light tanks are a major threat and a top priority.

Pros and cons

Overall, the PT-76-57 is a powerful, capable, and efficient light tank. The opponents if faces it is more than capable of destroying, provided the brain of the player is used to take full advantage of the vehicle's capability. The premium status of the tank allows it to grind the USSR Tech Tree quickly, and if nothing else, the shear amount of SL the vehicle can generate when played properly makes it very worthwhile.

Pros:

• Rapid firing 57 mm autocannon can deal huge damage in a short amount of time
• Two-plane stabilizer grants it the ability to fire first, compared to most opponents which lack stabilizers
• 5-14x gunsight zoom is great for both short range and long range engagements
• Fast -17 km/h reverse allows it to pull out dangerous situations in time
• ~150 mm penetration plus 20 g TNT filler is deadly for sideshots
• Has both smoke grenade launchers (2 salvos) and ESS
• Is amphibious
• Is very capable in CQB
• Can effectively support teammates

Cons:

• Inherits the PT-76 hull, meaning extremely poor armour
• ~150 mm penetration will struggle against late/cold war heavy tanks like M103, Conqueror, Maus, etc.
• Ammunition carousel layout increases detonation risk in the event of a centre-mass penetration
• Limited -5° gun depression restricts the tank's capacity in mountainous environment
• 20 round ready rack, while replenished quickly, can get you killed when facing heavy targets
• Artillery WILL kill you regularly on capture areas
• Any aircraft can kill with machine guns, thanks to ~5mm of roof armour
• Only 3 crew, meaning a turret hit will 1 shot you
• Mobility is not the best, many light tanks and some mediums will out pace you

History

In the early 2000’s, the issue of increasing the combat effectiveness of the numerous, but outdated PT-76’s was proposed to be solved in a very non-trivial way. Engineers of the Nizhny Novgorod design bureau "Burevestnik" combined the 57mm automatic gun developed in the USSR at the end of the 70’s with a mechanized ammunition rack, combining this in a combat module for a specially created turret for light tanks of the PT-76 series. While considering possible ways to re-equip old amphibious tanks with a new weapon, the small-caliber automatic cannon, although it was inferior to other variants of larger calibers in terms of armor penetration, gained a lot in terms of the burst weight to time ratio, as well as in possible applications - from destroying armored vehicles (including a modern MBT when hit to the side) to fighting helicopters.

The AU-220 module itself, built on the basis of the Soviet S-60 anti-aircraft gun, has already been proposed for the fleet in the form of a remotely controlled shipborne mounting. For use on armored vehicles, the module was equipped with a modern fire control system with night vision devices and a laser rangefinder. The prototype PT-76 with a 57mm gun, remained at a stage as a working prototype, however, the AU-220M module continues to exist as a promising solution for the latest vehicles in the Russian army.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the PT-76-57 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #280 - Metal Beasts section at 00:27 discusses the PT-76-57.

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] Battle Pass vehicles: PT-76-57