Soukou-Tei No.4
| This page is about the Japanese armoured gun boat Soukou-Tei No.4. For other versions, see Soukou-Tei (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Soukou-Tei, Soukou-Tei No.4 (also known as the AB-4) was the first production model Soukou-Tei/AB-Tei which was ready by 1933. After the successful operations of the earlier AB-1 'Sakigake' and AB-2 'Kachidoki', the armament was updated with Japan's newest equipment switching the machine guns to dual 7.7 mm instead of 6.5 mm and upgrading the 37 mm Type 11 infantry gun to the 57 mm Type 97 tank gun. The armour was more efficiently welded which provided the same or better armour values with reduced weight which, along with the conversion to a diesel engine, also allowed it to reach higher speeds than its predecessors.
It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy". The AB-4 plays similarly to its earlier prototype the AB-1 'Sakigake' but is improved in all departments. The AB-4 has better performance, mobility, and firepower than its predecessor, but it still suffers from the limitations of its design for open sea combat. The AB-4 is equipped with two 7.7 mm Type 89 'special' machine guns in dual mounts and a 57 mm Type 97 tank gun that is also used on the I-Go and Chi-Ha. The AB-4 can operate more independently than the AB-1, but it may still benefit from the assistance of other vessels for towing or escorting. The 7.7 mm machine guns can deal considerable damage to lightly armoured targets, such as patrol boats and aircraft, but have limited range. The 57 mm tank gun can deal excellent damage, but it has accuracy and velocity issues that make it difficult to hit fast-moving or distant enemies.
General info
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Survivability and armour
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Mobility
Modifications and economy
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Armament
Primary armament
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This boat is equipped with the 57 mm Type 97 tank gun, which is functionally very similar to that found on the I-Go Ko and Chi-Ha tanks, though it has some slight ballistic differences. For the Soukou-Tei though it's a fairly underwhelming weapon. It will do significant damage to smaller boats when the shot lands but landing a shot is the hardest part. It comes with three different rounds:
- HE - Decent damage output over a fairly wide area
- HEAT - Decent damage output over a condensed area, slightly lower velocity
- APHE - Very little damage potential
Secondary armament
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The Soukou-Tei is also equipped with two twin 7.7 mm turrets. They have very little damage potential against enemy ships unless engaging at very close range. They come with three belts-
- Universal - A mix between armour piecing and incendiary tracer rounds
- AP - Majority armour piercing
- API - Majority incendiary tracer
Overall the incendiary tracer rounds do the most consistent damage overall to vessels and aircraft, the damage itself is fairly poor, but if you are in a situation where you find yourself needing to use these guns, the API belt is the way to go. Unlike the previous Soukou-Tei model the turrets on this variant have double the elevation, meaning than can be used more effectively against aircraft, a good burst will knock one out.
Usage in battles
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This vessel's playstyle is very very similar to the previous model, the 1927- and in much the same vein, because of all the various drawbacks this vessel has, it's hard to pinpoint a truly effective way to play it, as it just does not excel in any capacity. A safe, and arguably effective way to play it is by using it as an escort for some of the larger ships on your team, this works in theory, but in practice a lot of the large support vessels around this battle rating are almost twice as fast as you, so you'll likely be left lagging behind the group.
In any case though aiming to stay close to friendlies is the best way to keep yourself afloat, you can't take much fire, so you'll need a buffer from your team to help you out, in a one on one engagement you'll likely lose, as you just don't have the accuracy to be able to quickly sink enemy boats at long or close range. You can however, aid some of the larger ships in sinking enemy boats, try to aim for the same targets as your team to contribute to knocking them out. The 57 mm is a fairly damaging weapon, so aim to take out the compartments of the enemy boats you come across, the fire rate isn't terrible, and if you have the range you can finish off an enemy boat in 3 or 4 good hits. Even though this boat is an upgrade firepower wise from the Model 1927, being more aggressive and fighting one on one is still a largely inconsistent tactic, and you should still aim to support your friendlies.
Because most if not all friendly vessels will outpace you, try to aim to reach some cover around some commonly traveled areas of the map first, and then team up with any large friendly ships that come close to you afterwards, this allows for you to stay relatively safe for as long as possible. Try not to stray too far from cover or friendlies, you can't reliably engage past 1,000 m anyway, and if an enemy starts engaging you at range and you're not in cover, there's nothing you can do as you're just too slow to retreat, and lack the consistent firepower to cause much damage. It's important to note here that this boat is largely more effective in AB mode as opposed to RB mode, as the main tedium of playing this boat is aiming the gun, and AB ranges automatically, it still won't excel, but you'll likely notice much better results when playing this mode.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High damage from the main gun
Cons:
- Very inaccurate main gun
- Incredibly slow
- Fairly weak, despite the armour
- Can't hit anything in wavy waters
History
No.3 being lifted
No.3 Cruising
No.3 Cruising
No.3 Cruising
No.7 + No.4 docked
No.7 + No.4 docked with infantry praising banzai
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Media
- Skins
- Images
Soukou-Tei opening fire
Soukou-Tei & I-Go sharing the same tank gun
Soukou-Tei fighting while coming out of a smoke screen
Soukou-Tei's window opened with visible captain
Soukou-Tei full side-shot of the river boat
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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.
| Japan boats | |
|---|---|
| Motor torpedo boats | Type T-1 · Type T-14 · Type T-14 (mod. 1) · Type T-38 · Type T-51a · Type T-51b |
| PT-802 · PT-808 · PT-15 | |
| Motor gun boats | Ha-Go (mod. 1) · Type 4 (mod. 2) · Type 4 (Mod 4) |
| Asagao (YTE-01) · PG 02 | |
| Armoured gun boats | Soukou-Tei · Soukou-Tei No.4 |
| Gunboats | Chidori |
