AMX-30 ACRA
| This page is about the French medium tank AMX-30 ACRA. For other versions, see AMX-30 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The AMX-30 Anti-Char Rapide Autopropulsé (ACRA) is a unique modification of the AMX-30B (Model 1972), which is the second variant of the AMX-30 main battle tank family. The ACRA research and development program was initiated in France in 1961 and was designed as a supersonic anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) that could be deployed in any of the French Army's tanks. Due to the large associated expenses, state financing for the program was terminated by the last stage of testing the laser guiding system (which was the first of its kind in the world). GIAT, on the other hand, continued work at its own expense, hoping for future government orders. Engineers chose the AMX-30B (1972) as the missile's platform. Among the main turret equipment were a new smoothbore tank gun launcher, a sight, and an electronic guidance device. By 1974, field testing of the weapon platform was successful, but it was not accepted and placed into service. The key concern is the expensive cost of missile targeting technology, as well as the difficulties of using guided missiles in the absence of a tank gun. Instead, the HOT ATGM system, which was nearing completion at the time, was given priority.
Introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack", the AMX-30 ACRA is a special tank that can fire barrel-launched ATGMs, a characteristic not often found in Western main battle tanks. It is incredibly difficult for the enemy to avoid getting hit by the ACRA ATGMs due to their fast flight speed. However, as the ACRA ATGM requires the player to provide continual guidance during flight, the enemy may have a longer time window to return fire. Furthermore, while the fast flight speed of the ACRA ATGMs makes playing on larger maps much easier, firing at close to mid-range targets may be a little challenging due to the difficulties of making corrections in mid-flight. Nonetheless, it is a unique vehicle for players to experience when playing the French Army ground forces.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Cast homogeneous armour (front glacis, turret, cupola)
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides, rear & roof)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (76-79°) Upper glacis - Top 79 mm (68°) Upper glacis - Bottom 79 mm (45°) Lower glacis - Top 30 mm (75°) Lower glacis - Bottom 57 mm (35°) Hull over the tracks |
35 mm Top - Front 57 mm (35°) Top - Hull widening 35 mm (35°) Top - Centre 35 mm Top - Rear 30 mm Bottom 25 mm (70°) Belly |
30 mm (10°) Upper plate 30 mm Hull over the tracks 30 mm Lower plate 25 mm (70°) Belly |
79 mm (22°) Front glacis - Front 50 mm (11-14°) Front glacis - Rear 15 mm Rear 8 mm Radiator vents |
| Turret | 57-79 + 60 mm (19°) Gun mantlet 60 mm (19-24°) Turret front 30 mm (cylindrical) Telemeter |
41.5 mm (19-47°) 30 mm Telemeter 41.5 mm Cupola well |
30 mm (spherical) 20 mm (54-64°) Turret underside |
30 mm (2-20°) Gun mantlet 20 mm (2-21°) Turret |
| Cupola | 60 mm (cylindrical) | 60 mm Outer ring 20 mm Centre | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 73 | 73 | 38 | 1,085 | 1,374 | 28.55 | 36.16 |
| Realistic | 66 | 66 | 619 | 720 | 16.29 | 18.95 | |
The gun is mounted on the well-proven AMX-30 chassis, providing adequate mobility slightly slower than the Leopard 1.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
The AMX-30 ACRA mount as we saw before a 142mm laser guided gun, capable of launching ACRA missile and High Explosive round. It can carry 36 rounds, 16 in the turret and 20 in the hull, next to the driver, so you have the possibility to get a higher survivability from hull shots by removing these 20 rounds. The gun reload is 15.6 seconds with a level 1 crew and can be upgraded to 12 seconds with a max crew.
The ACRA missile is pretty fast, making the tank very useful on large maps and sits at a battle rating where nothing will be able to resist the missile. Be careful when shooting at the sides of enemy tanks, the missiles function like a HEAT round and tends to be absorbed by the tracks if hit directly. Also like a HEAT round, don't try to shoot missiles through walls, fences, big bushes, or trees.
Another good point with the gun is that you don't need to stop the tank to fire. However, the missile is guided with a laser mounted with the gun, which is not stabilized. This means your missiles will bounce up and down as you guide them if you are moving. This also means you cannot fire over obstacles like you can with wire guided missiles, as the laser needs constant line-of-sight to the back of the missile.
| 142 mm ACRA | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 36 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 15.60 | 13.80 | 12.72 | 12.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| MP ACRA | ATGM | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 | 700 |
| MUC | HE | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| Missile details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | ||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| MP ACRA | ATGM | 500 | 3,800 | 25 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 3.28 | 80° | 82° | 90° | ||
| MUC | HE | 700 | - | 23 | 0 | 0.1 | 3.58 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 20 (+16) | 1 (+35) | No |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 800 (200) | 577 | -10°/+20° | N/A |
The M2HB coaxial heavy machine gun is a good anti-aircraft asset, it will shred any low-flying aircraft thanks to the extra 20 degrees of elevation. The only drawback is that the MG is coaxial, meaning the turret must rotate to track the targets. The .50 cal can also deal with armoured cars and SPAA vehicles when they're up close.
| 7.62 mm A-A-F1N | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 2,100 (100) | 900 | -10°/+45° | ±120° |
The small calibre of the A-A-F1N machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good mobility
- Fast flight speed of the ACRA ATGM, it is next to impossible to dodge it for an opponent
- Can fire ATGMs on the move
- ATGM has high penetration for the BR
Cons:
- Does not have heavy frontal armour nor adequate side hull armour, so most medium tanks will penetrate it in single shot and it will not scare away light tanks
- Gun scope is not stabilized, the ATGM's flight can be effected by the vehicles movement
- Tank has to keep itself exposed while guiding the ATGM, giving the enemy a larger window to return fire
- High speed of the ACRA ATGM can make corrections at mid-range difficult
- Reload is around twice as long as most tanks of this battle rating, so it is recommended to retreat into cover for the duration of your reload after firing
History
The AMX-30 ACRA was a prototype modification of the AMX-30 main battle tank developed in the late 1960s for the French army. Similar to the American M551 Sheridan, the prototypes were fitted with a 142 mm cannon to fire the prototype missile "Anti-Char Rapide Autopropulsé" (Self-Propelled Rapid Anti-Tank Missile), or ACRA in short. The vehicle was also fitted with an enlarged turret capable of fitting larger-calibre cannons of 120 mm. The prototypes were cancelled in 1972 due to rising development costs for the ACRA missile, which was later replaced by the HOT ATGM.
The AMX-30 was a highly successful French main battle tank (MBT) of the 1960s and 1970s with over 3,000 vehicles built in total. The AMX-30 family served as the main French MBT until the introduction of the Leclerc MBT in the 1990s; as well, a myriad of variants were created including anti-tank and anti-aircraft versions (such as the AMX-30R Roland missile battery). One of the most unique anti-tank variants was the AMX-30 ACRA, centred around the ACRA ATGM.
The ACRA, or Anti-Char Rapide Autopropulsé (Self-Propelled Rapid Anti-Tank Missile) was a prototype French anti-tank missile system designed to destroy enemy tanks. The missile was fired from a 142 mm smoothbore gun and accelerated to a speed of over 2520 km/h during flight. The weapon could be fitted with a 2 kg shaped charge warhead or a similar high-explosive warhead for use against personnel.
An AMX-30 was specially modified with an enlarged turret to fire the ACRA missile, along with a 142 mm smoothbore cannon that could also fire HE ammunition. The vehicle's enlarged turret could've also accommodated larger cannons such as a 120 mm cannon. Despite this, the weapon system had key limitations - primarily, the cost of the ACRA missile had skyrocketed to over 1 million francs per shot. As well, the missile could not be fired from helicopters, further limiting its effectiveness in battle. As a result, the ACRA missile system was cancelled in 1972, marking the demise of the AMX-30 ACRA. The role of the ACRA missile system would be fulfilled by the HOT, a more versatile ATGM fired from both ground vehicles and helicopters.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Other comparable gun/launcher tanks
External links
| Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX) | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | |
| AMX-13 | AMX-13-M24 · AMX-13 (FL11) · AMX-13 · AMX-13 (SS.11) · AMX-13-90 · AMX-13 (HOT) |
| Armoured cars | AMX-10RC |
| Medium tanks | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) |
| MBTs | |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 (105) · AMX-32 · AMX-40 |
| Heavy tanks | AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé |
| Tank destroyers | ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch |
| SPAAGs | AMX-13 DCA 40 · AMX-30 S DCA |
| Export | AMX-13 |
| France medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Derivatives | M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50) |
| AMX-50 | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40 |
| Leclerc | Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR |
| Other | D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t |
| Germany | Panther "Dauphiné" |
| USA | ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26 |
