BTR-80A (Italy)
| This page is about the light tank BTR-80A (Italy). For the other version, see BTR-80A. |
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Contents
Description
The ◔BTR-80A is the main Hungarian APC (Armoured Personnel Carrier). Hungary acquired the BTR-80 after buying more than 500 from Russia between 1996 and 1999 to modernise its fleet of old BTR-60s and 70s at a good price, since at the time Russia was struggling financially and had a lot of Soviet surplus military equipment lying around. A few dozen BTR-80As were sold to Serbia in 2024, while the rest remained in the Hungarian Army. As the years passed, most units were modified and modernised to the modern Russian BTR-80 standard, with stabilizers, improved optics, and modern communication systems. Others were repurposed as MED-EVAC vehicles or for NBC missions.
Introduced in Update "Sons of Attila" as part of the Hungarian branch of the Italian tech tree, the BTR-80 is a "jack of all trades, master of none" type of light tank. It can do a lot of support work, including damaging critical weakspots of tanks and being a makeshift SPAA, but it has too many flaws to excel in any given role. The BTR can be very persistent, and if it somehow manages to get behind your lines, anyone can fall victim to a sudden autocannon burst. The vehicle is excellent at incapacitating enemy units while also being able to engage light tanks, IFVs, ATGM carriers, or SPAAs. With its good mobility and amphibious capabilities, it can cause havoc amongst the enemy back rows, destroying its support units and making its frontline vulnerable to flanking manoeuvres or air attacks.
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour of BTR is unreliable and quite bad. While 12.7 mm HMG can't penetrate the turret, it can penetrate crew compartment hull at below 200 m range. The sandbags on the sides protect the gunner, but can't protect the driver or commander. Even so, area around wheels can be hit instead to hit the crew anyway.
HESH will obliterate the BTR via overpressure, even if it hits sandbags, so relying on armour is not worth it. As a consequence of thin armour, APHE rarely detonates upon contact, but due to the compact crew placement, any direct frontal hit will destroy the entirety of the tank with kinetic damage alone.
Back compartment is somewhat empty, but any hit coming there will damage or destroy transmission, so while abusing it may net several seconds of survival, it will also paralyze the tank. This is extremely difficult to pull off in a frontal engagement as well due to the mediocre tank speed, as shells often clip the gunner or the ammo rack anyway.
For worst case scenarios there are 3 smoke groups mounted on the turret. These smoke grenades are aerosol type, so they will blow up midair and screen the tank away within 2 seconds. They can be used for both defence and offence, to cause as much chaos as possible.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
Mobility
While quite large and somewhat heavier than most other light IFVs such as the Wiesel, the BTR-80A boasts a very high top speed of 87 km/h (97 km/h in arcade) which can be reached quite quickly on roads and trails. The downside of the 8 wheel design is its poor off-road mobility, where it can barely keep up with the USSR medium tanks, first driving at 40 km/h, then begrudgingly accelerating to 60 km/h. It is still quite persistent and may reach these speeds even on rough ground if given time to accelerate.
All in all, it is quite obvious that BTR-80A does not have the usual high speed typical of light tanks, being only somewhat better than comparable armoured bus Ratel 20.
It is very common to see BTR-80s rushing caps due to their high maximum speed; they can capture points quite safely and then reposition to either scout or ambush enemy light/medium armour. Alternatively, they can use the road to ambush enemy tanks early to cause more damage, but their reliance on a road reduces the amount of opportunities they have.
The chassis can swim, if necessary.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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About 80% of tank power is locked behind upgrades, arguably the most important ones are in the Tier IV modifications. First priority should be improving turret handling by researching horizontal drives, then adjustment of fire to make it able to reliably damage enemy cannons. After this, getting a special AP ammo belt could be useful for destroying and/or annoying tanks and airstrike upgrade could be very beneficial in AB to research BTR through air superiority. At that point researching parts makes at least some sense, as tank will now be at least somewhat useful in real combat situations. Continue down the ranks by researching anything cannon and mobility related, as FPE and NVD are quite useless on this IFV. Optionally, take crew replenishment instead of movement upgrade in Tier III if playing in AB, as it may allow to sustain more damage. Upon reaching Tier IV modifications, research APDS belt immediately, then go for mobility upgrades and pick any utility tools you feel necessary.
Armaments
Main armament
The cannon is a rather slow firing 30 mm found on some Soviet tanks, such as BMP-3. The turret is rather sluggish too, being unable to keep up with the IFV when it is driving fast, even when fully upgraded, even in AB with good crew.
The elevation angles are absolutely atrocious and if the BTR is angled even a bit, it will not reach short tanks. Even when the chassis are not angled, it will be unable to aim at the bottom of Soviet tanks until about 100 m away. Even if, by some miracle, it can aim at their bottom weakspot, the gun recoil will make the gun aim higher anyway, so it is better to aim for crippling shots, rather than try to destroy enemies outright.
NATO tanks should be easier to deal with, as they are much flatter and taller, but driving over a random rock may still screw the IFV over as it has no stabiliser. There also isn't any special cruise control setting for driving at "just the right speed", with CC1 being only somewhat tolerable and allowing to keep firing at the same spot on the tank that you already aimed at, but it is still too much to aim at gun barrels (basically requires BTR to stop infront or directly on the side of it) or to properly side-strafe anything in RB (as the turret will fail to turn fast enough to adjust). Since driving at 35 km/h in already poorly armoured vehicle is quite a terrible idea, most of the times it is better to just stop and disable the adversary, then finish them off.
| 30 mm 2A72 | 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 | 300 (150) | 330 | -5°/+70° | ±180° | - | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 1.30 | 1.15 | 1.06 | 1.00 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-T · HEF-I* · AP-T · HEF-I*
- 30 mm HEI: HEF-I* · HEF-I* · HEF-I* · AP-T
- 30 mm APT: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF-T*
- 30 mm APDS: APDS · APDS · APDS · APDS · HEF-T*
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| HEF-I* | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| AP-T | 65 | 63 | 53 | 44 | 36 | 29 | |
| HEF-T* | 9 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| APDS | 82 | 81 | 79 | 75 | 72 | 69 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| HEF-I* | 960 | 0.39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 75.46 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| AP-T | 970 | 0.4 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
| HEF-T* | 960 | 0.39 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 17.86 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
| APDS | 1,120 | 0.3 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
The belts may consist of AP (pure AP, not API) or HE. A special belt consisting of APDS can be researched, but only one can be carried at any time.
AP shells deal quite low damage and they only damage what they hit directly, so aiming for fuel tanks and crew specifically is required. In terms of penetration, side armour is only "maybe penetrable" on NATO medium tanks. The very back of medium tank turret, turret neck of heavy tanks or the engine deck and exhaust vents are generally a better target.
APDS elevates "maybe will penetrate" into a "very likely to penetrate", but only on direct flat angle hits. APDS also can overpenetrate enemy tank engines to hit crew and ammo racks, generally resulting in explosions in 2 to 5 shots, giving BTR a reliable way to destroy enemies.
HE shells can deal fatal damage to planes, but due to the poor tracking of the turret it is difficult to land even a single hit. They do nothing to actual tanks.
Machine guns
| 7.62 mm PKT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,000 (250) | 700 | - | - |
Usage in battles
- Arcade mode
This vehicle is quite at a disadvantage in AB, as not only it takes a slot away from more capable vehicles such as C13 T90 or even ZSU 57-2 , but it is also shunned even further into mediocrity by practically everything else being faster than it. The stock grind is also a chore, being only tolerable due to airstrikes giving research points to a corresponding tank that called it in.
Stock BTR is only really useful for supporting someone else, as it is very slow and weak. Shoot cannon barrels (aim for the tip or fire directly from the side, as flat as possible) and tracks, try to blow up fuel tanks (tanks with fuel tanks on the front-right explode really easily when attacked from the side), bait shots for others with the back if you must, try to flank light tanks and SPAA and try to shoot them dead before they turned to destroy you. Never face enemy with the hull directly, try to angle as much as feasible to minimize crew damage.
If you get a chance to disable a heavy tank, drive up to it and try to find any openings in turret ring or even a ventilation hatch (generally, the part which is currently fuming with smoke as the tank tries to keep up with you) that allows to fire directly into the turret compartment. You will be very surprised to find out that even tanks that are considered borderline invincible like IS-4M have a lot of exposed vents, and even a few shots directly into the hatch will end them for good. Tanks that do not have an exposed vent may have a hole between engine and radiator, so it is possible to destroy them by squeezing a 30 mm through the hull back (pay attention to the "penetration camera").
As per usual in Italy tree at the rank, be extra careful to avoid USA tanks, as those can machine gun BTR within 200 m range. In general, avoid direct fights with SPAA, as they have overwhelming fire rate. Avoid pissing off other italian hulldown tanks and do not attack artillery vehicles that are staring at you, as armour will not sustain overpressure damage at all. Tanks that have ATGM as a backup weapon are also dangerous, but most early ATGM tanks have to deal with the fact that their missiles are fired up and then come back down at about 150 m range, so attacking them in melee range sometimes might just work.
After getting tier IV modifications, you will finally have some mobility and enough penetration to bully medium tanks and SPG, so you can start actually playing aggressively. It is now possible to destroy most medium tanks by firing at their sides (aiming for fuel tanks or the very back is still the best, as penetration and ammo ignition is often not guaranteed) and the light tanks will no longer randomly survive your shots. Sneak using super low ground and hills, scout enemy and then "disappear" and circle around enemies. The dynamics won't change too drastically, but you will definitely feel like you aren't a burden to your team anymore and are able to at least neutralize snipers. Try to conserve the APDS belt by firing default or AP belt at random aircraft and when not firing to destroy, as 150 shells isn't very much and the resupply on a capture point takes a long time.
If you are very good at sneaking, you want to get behind enemy lines and get exactly behind enemy MBTs to line them up and then fire at their engines or turret backs, then laugh at the explosions. This is easier said than done, as majority of players at natural BR prefer spawning heavy tanks, and those that do not are generally faster than you and will be already entrenched and on overwatch, but it is still worth attempting. Here are some examples of successful flank:
By staying out of sight you can sneak around and catch complacent players off guard. Sometimes works multiple times.
Ideal scenario - you managed to drive around enemy arriving on a cap without being seen. Prioritize paranoid enemies.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Reasonably good 2A72 30 mm autocannon, actually able to destroy armoured tanks unlike 20 mm alternatives of other nations
- APDS is great for fighting against light vehicles and can overpenetrate MBT engines
- Fairly mobile on road, so it is decent for playing around capture points
- Amphibious
Cons:
- Poor survivability due to thin armour, minimal crew number and poor average speed
- -5° gun depression and slow gun handling make it awkward to use against tanks and quite bad as a makeshift SPAA
- Has no stabiliser and the gun is too weak to ignore the wobble
- Low power-to-weight ratio, rather slow when not on a road
- Majority of similar tanks have ATGM or simply better fire rate, difficult to fight against them
- In AB, often not worth picking over other italian tanks unless circumstances demand it (has enough alternatives unlike Soviet counterpart)
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Italy light tanks | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| L6/40 | L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.) |
| M11/39 | M11/39 |
| Autoblindo | AB 41 · AB 43 |
| Fiat 6614/6616 | FIAT 6614 · AUBL/74 · AUBL/74 HVG |
| R3 Capraia | R3 T106 FA |
| Centauro | Centauro I 105 · Centauro I 105 R · Centauro I 120 · Centauro RGO · VRCC |
| Freccia | VBC (PT2) · Freccia |
| Dardo | Dardo · VCC-80/60 · VCC-80/30 |
| Other | C13 T90 |
| USA | ▄M3A3 · ▄M24 · ▄M18 |
| Hungary | |
| WWII | Csaba · Toldi IIA |
| Post | ◔BTR-80A · KF41 |
