Type T-38

Type T-38

Soukou-Tei No.4

PT-802

Type T-38

Soukou-Tei No.4

PT-802

Japan

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.7	1.7

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:11 000

Purchase:22 000

Show in game

Description

The Type T-38 is a rank II Japanese motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

General info

The Type T-38

Survivability and armour

The Type T-38 doesn't have any armour protection, just 40mm of wood in the construction of the hull. This boat's crew is made up of only 7 members, all contained in the front portion of the vessel, this makes the T-38 very susceptible to being knocked out due to lack of crew. There's very little negative space in this boat, meaning that the vast majority of incoming shots that land will be striking a critical component, either disabling the boat, setting it on fire or cutting down it's crew percentage. All of this combined makes the Type T-38 a very weak vessel, to the point where even small caliber munitions will be able to quickly score fatal damage.

Mobility

The speed and overall mobility of the Type T-38 is fairly average overall, it can reach a maximum speed of 51 km/h (31 mph) in RB, which is on the slower side for contemporary MTBs and even some light gunboats. It's not amazingly responsive to input either, and will take a decent amount of time to come to a stop, or make a 180 degree turn. It's faster than the large sub chasers and really dangerous ships, so it's mobility and speed is enough to get out of trouble if need be, but not really enough to outrun some lighter vessels, or turn tail and escape if you advance too far. This coupled with it's poor survivability makes it's mobility a rather underwhelming asset.

Armament

The Type T-38 engaging an He-111

Primary armament

The T-38 is equipped with a single 25 mm Type 96 autocannon, which makes the boat a bane against any boats/ships around its BR range. The HE type rounds this gun fires will have no trouble knocking out PT boats and even larger support vessels, sometimes even wiping out an enemy boat in one magazine. The cannon has a great fire arc, being able to traverse 360 degrees, which makes knocking out ships sneaking up on your rear a lot easier. Additionally due to the HE this boat can engage targets at range and still do damage. However, the gun is not stabilised and will bounce around a lot in rougher seas, and this combined the slow rate of fire means a lot of your shots will commonly miss, but when a shot lands it will do a lot of damage, this cannon can also cause critical damage to aircraft with only a single hit. The cannon comes with three belts: universal, APT belts and HEI belts.

• Universal belts: good balance between firepower and tracer contents, useful for newcomers to the Japanese 25 mm autocannon.

• APT belts: Full of AP shells, it's recommended to take a few belts of AP in case you meet a Russian armoured river boat.

• HEI belts: Trades tracer rounds for extra firepower and stealth. Recommended for those who got used to the gun. Very good at destroying PT boats.

Torpedo armament

The Type T-14 is armed with two Type 2 torpedoes, they will easily destroy any large vessel at the lower ranks, but as the maximum range is only 3 kilometers you'll need to get a bit closer to the target or choke point than you would with other torpedoes.

Special armament

This boat can carry six Type 95 depth charges, which can be dropped to maim other naval targets, they have rather limited viability though as most MTBs will be able to outrun the explosion, however they are useful for sneaking up on the larger ships, as if you can reach them unnoticed one or two of these depth charges will sink the vessel.

Usage in battles

The Type T-38, engaging a Russian MO-4

In the trifecta between survivability, mobility and firepower, the Type T-38 can only rely on one- Firepower. This means it's a good idea to aim to nullify the drawbacks of it's terrible survivability, and unimpressive mobility, so try and avoid situations where these aspects come into play. Try not to engage at too close a range, as even vessels with underwhelming armament can cause critical damage to you fairly quickly, mid range is where this boat works best, the 25mm is fairly hard to aim, it has a low muzzle velocity and fires very slowly, because of this you're going to want to get as many shots on target as possible as to not waste potential time on target. At long range your shots will likely miss, and at close range you're going to be taking too much damage, despite how easily you'll be able to aim the gun. Mid range is a good mix between the two distances, as it allows you to land shots somewhat accurately, while also taking less damage. Your mobility wont do you any favors at close range either, other MTBs will be able to outmanuver you very easily, and chances are you wont be able to outrun them.

Due to your 360 degree fire arc you can fire at an enemy from all angles, if you find yourself sailing towards an enemy, turning around and sailing away would be a good choice, you really don't want to be taking hits, and staying further away will minimize the damage you take, while sailing away you can still fire back on whatever vessel is behind you, engaging like this will also somewhat protect your crew compartment as it's in the front, which is the most vulnerable part of the boat. You will likely suffer damages to your engine for engaging like this, but that can be repaired, whereas your crew can't be replenished.

Try playing around islands and avoid sailing in the open with no cover around you, flitting between islands and sight lines will allow for you to be able to retreat into cover when necessary, playing this way will also allow for you to get the jump on enemies, you're going to want to start firing at a ship before it starts firing at you especially when playing the T-38 as it's so weak, and staying out of sight until the last second is a great way of dealing a good initial portion of damage before the enemy returns fire.

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping		Unsinkability		Firepower
I	Dry-Docking		Tool Set		25 mm APT belt
II		Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	Smokescreen	25 mm HEIT belts
III	Propeller Replacement				Primary Armament Targeting	Depth Charges
IV		Engine Maintenance	New Pumps		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent 25 mm gun, can destroy opponents in several direct hits
• Full 360 degree firing arc
• Can cause damage to large, armoured vessels
• 25mm cannon can take out aircraft in a single shot potentially

Cons:

• Unimpressive mobility
• Poor survivability, even from small caliber rounds
• Small magazine size

History

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Media

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See also

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External links

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