Pz.II C
Contents
Description
so, you've decided to play low tier germans? good for you! the Pz.II C is the first in it's lineup, and can be distinguished from the Ausf. F by it heavier frontal armor. another distinguishing feature is it's trademark 20mm automatic cannon, which can be a curse for new users and a gift for players who know how to use the vehicle well.
the Pz.2's biggest misconception is it's autocannon, which lures players into assuming it's a close quarters vehicle. the reality is much different - at close ranges, you may be able to utilize your 280RPM rate of fire and PzGr.40 APCR to great effect on a single target, but the reload time and capacity of 10 rounds per magazine will betray you if faced against more tanks than you have ammo for in a single magazine.
General info
Survivability and armour
for armor, you have (on the surface) decent frontal armor, with a total of 35mm for your upper mantle, a section of heavily sloped 30mm armor, and then your lower mantle has the same as the top. your sides are a paltry 15mm, and the back, top of your hull and turret sides are all the same. the front turret face is 30mm, and despite appearances, does not overlap, meaning no chance of an enemy shot ricocheting off a sliver that constitutes 60mm!
generally speaking, you do not have enough armor to defend yourself unless the enemy is engaging you from extreme range (which most early tanks can't reasonably do well) or are facing SPAA who are only using HE, as well as some early french tanks.
put shortly - do everything in your power to ensure that you are not hit, because even 1 well placed shot in the crew compartment will likely OSK you. (one shot kill).
Mobility
mobility wise, the Pz.II C is actually better than most (27.2mph), but the BT series tanks(33mph) and M3 Stuarts(34mph) will still outrun you quite easily. reguardless, you can get around the battlefield quite respectably, and the vehicle's power to weight ratio makes for easier going up hills than larger, heavier vehicles. reguardless, odds are that you are not going to outrun the enemy team, therefore locating good cover is immensely useful.
Armaments
Main armament
the main armament of this little devil is the KwK-30, 20mm Automatic Cannon.
with the ability to access APCR capable of penetrating 64mm at point blank, this thing will go through enemy armor like it is fabric.
it's biggest problem is, you only have 10 round magazines, with a 7.4 stock reload time, meaning that you may successfully take out 2-3 enemy tanks with controlled bursts, but are likely to be taken out during your reload. it's second biggest problem is also it's biggest Pro, and that's the PzGr.40 ammunition, which has great pen statistics out to 200-300 yards, but does not maintain velocity beyond those distances as well as the standard PzGr. found in it's own belt as well as the standard belts.
Ammo Statistics -
| Type | Composition | 0(yd.) | 500 | 1000 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default | API-T/HEFI-T/API-T/HEFI-T | 46mm | 33mm | 23mm | 11mm |
| PzGr. | API-T/API-T/API-T/API-T | 46mm | 33mm | 23mm | 11mm |
| PzGr.40 | APCR/APCR/APCR/APCR | 64mm | 26mm | 8mm | 1mm |
Machine guns
mounted opposite to the 20mm Automatic is an MG-34, loading AP-I/AP-I/AP-T in 50 round belts. at 13mm of maximum pen at point blank, this gun's 800rpm ROF will make short work of unarmored vehicles like the truck based SPAA as well as exposed Tank Destroyer crewmen.
Usage in the battles
your goal as a Pz.II C player, should be to support friendly tanks with pushing the cap, a second line tank if you will. use short (2-4 rounds ideally) bursts to disable enemy vehicles by targeting points like their transmission or turret crew, then use your remaining ammo to take out the rest of the enemy crew, or let your friendly tankers take them out to earn multiple assists. you lack the mobility to disengage and run from tanks like the M3 Stuarts or BT series tanks, but if you can take out their transmission, driver or tracks (all of which are visible from the front in both cases) you may buy yourself enough time while they repair to scurry back to friendly lines, simultaniously luring those enemy tanks towards your team.
the biggest threat to you is tanks that put all their points into armor, to an extent that mobility was hindered, but not neccissarily firepower;
the Valentine, FCM 36 and Matilda are examples of tanks that will easily defeat your shots with even the PzGr.40 loaded, either due to their impressive frontal hull and turret armor, or just because they are so slow that you are forced to engage them at ranges that render your muntions ineffective. if you spot one of them trundling along in the distance, do not bother taking shots because you are not likely to even scratch them, while drawing attention to yourself due to you shooting at them, and the tracer fire revealing your location.
generally speaking, if the target is smaller than a 1 dollar US coin when looking at it on max zoom in the gunner's sight, do not bother firing.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- small, easy to manuver through narrow passages that wider vehicles may find impassable
- gun will easily dispatch most vehicles you encounter in the 1.0-2.0 battle rating range you will face
- your odds of being mistaken for an enemy tank by your team are effectively nil
- due to it's use of an automatic cannon rather than a traditional cannon or howitzer, you can prospectively eliminate 3-4 enemy with the 10 rounds available if you use adequate trigger discipline.
Cons:
- your top speed is slower than the fastest tanks you will encounter, and they are a very common encounter.
- players used to the Flakpanzer 1 and Gepard (38t) will be annoyed by the 10 less rounds per magazine situation
- because of how much of a danger it is to the enemy team and what little armor you have, the enemy team will see you as an easy target.
- it's relatively cramped interior makes it easy to be 1 shotted due to there only being 3 crew, and they are surrounded by fuel tanks and ammunition.
History
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Media
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Read 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.
ETC.
Sources
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