BT-7M

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Revision as of 03:43, 17 December 2021 by AUJason (talk | contribs) (Main armament)

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This page is about the Soviet light tank BT-7M. For other versions, see BT-7 (Family).
BT-7M
ussr_bt_7_m.png
GarageImage BT-7M.jpg
BT-7M
AB RB SB
2.0 2.0 2.0
Class:
Research:5 900 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:6 300 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The BT-7M is a rank I Soviet light tank with a battle rating of 2.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike".

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull20 / 15 / 13
Turret15 / 15 / 13
Crew3 people
Visibility84 %

The armour of the BT-7M features noteable improvements over the preceding BT-7. The frontal hull and the frontal half of the side hull are now 20mm, which makes it more effective at deflecting bullets/autocannon shells when angled and/or at a distance. Vehicles such as M16 MGMC and Flakpanzer 38 now might be somewhat less threatening due to your increased hull armour. The turret, however, keeps the same armour, which is 13-15mm all-round. This is inadequate to stop HMG bullets and any AP or even HE shells at any distance. It can only resist rifle caliber bullets from vehicles like Light AA Mk I. Overall, despite the thickened hull, the BT-7M is still protected in a light tank style and should not risk to take any hits. 

The post-penetration survivability is just as poor as the other BT models. The only 3 crew are closely packed, with the gunner and commander right next to each other in the turret, and the driver directly in front of them. Any penetrating shots, regardless of explosive or solid, will have no issue taking out most/all of them. The weak armour also leads to the crew being vulnerable to over pressure damage. Vehicles with large caliber guns like the Sturmpanzer II and M4A3 (105) will easily destroy the BT-7M with a single HE shell. The only positive aspect is the large fuel tanks at the rear hull sides, outside the engine. These fuel tanks protect the engine by absorbing poorly aimed shots although they might be set aflame, thus keeping the BT-7M driveable for a few more seconds. 

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 20 mm (18°) Upper plate
15 mm (61°) Middle plate
20 mm Lower plate
20 mm Forward
15 mm + 4 mm Rearward
10-13 mm 10 mm Roof
4 mm Radiator grilles
Turret 15 mm Turret front
15 mm Gun mantlet
15 mm Forward
13 mm Rearward
13 mm 10 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 15 mm thick.
  • Belly armour is 6 mm thick.

Mobility

The BT-7M's mobility is just as classic as the other BT tanks. Although it is heavier than the earlier BT, at 14.2 tons, it is now driven by a powerful engine with a whopping 500hp, giving it a power/weight ratio of ~35. This allows it to pick up speed extremely fast and reach its top speed relatively easy. On hard surfaces like dirt/concrete road it can easily hit ~50 km/h, while on softer terrain it is usually ~40 km/h. This makes the BT-7M one of the fastest tracked vehicles in game, allowing it to get to any position quickly.

The reverse speed, at 11 km/h, is just enough to reverse you back into cover if you did not peek out far enough, if too far it will still be dangerously slow. The hull traverse is somewhat sluggish when the tank is stationary, often needing a short forward/backward jerk before turning. It does not lose a significant amount of speed when turning at high speed. 
Speedforward / back
AB69 / 12 km/h
RB and SB63 / 11 km/h
Number of gears3 forward
1 back
Weight14.7 t
Engine power
AB954 hp
RB and SB500 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB64.9 hp/t
RB and SB34.0 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 69 12 14.7 775 954 52.72 64.9
Realistic 63 11 442 500 30.07 34.01

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB249 → 320 Sl icon.png
RB286 → 368 Sl icon.png
SB359 → 462 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications5 940 Rp icon.png
4 500 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost410 Ge icon.png
Crew training1 800 Sl icon.png
Experts6 300 Sl icon.png
Aces75 Ge icon.png
Research Aces135 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
20 / 20 / 30 % Sl icon.png
106 / 106 / 106 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
230 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
330 Rp icon.png
Cost:
250 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
330 Rp icon.png
Cost:
250 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
640 Rp icon.png
Cost:
480 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
640 Rp icon.png
Cost:
480 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
230 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
330 Rp icon.png
Cost:
250 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement ussr.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
230 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
45mm_AP_1942_ammo_pack
Research:
300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
230 Sl icon.png
55 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
330 Rp icon.png
Cost:
250 Sl icon.png
60 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
380 Sl icon.png
90 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
640 Rp icon.png
Cost:
480 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

The BT-7M is equipped with the common 45mm 20-K cannon found on most early war Soviet tanks. The cannon is very beginner friendly, as it has a rather fast reload speed of ~3 seconds, allowing you to quickly fire more shots if the first shot failed to hit/one-shot. The velocity is adequate and the trajectory not too curved, meaning distant/moving targets are too worth a try.

The gun depression of -5° is worse than that of the BT-5 so now you will not be able to perform hull-down at certain spots, or you must expose more of your hull to do so. But since the BT-7M is not a large tank, it can still use this gun depression in some hilly terrains. The turret rotation can be a bit slow especially when you need to target tanks at diferent directions, but traversing the hull will generally help.

Note: you do not have a shoulder stabiliser like some other early war tanks, so if you suddenly encounter an enemy while driving at high speed it might be a good idea to just keep driving until you are in cover, instead of instinctively breaking to a stop and try to aim. Most vertically stabilised tanks like Pz.II will certainly complete the targeting process before you and shoot before you do which can be fatal. 
Ammunition188 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
3.8 → 2.9 s
Vertical guidance-5° / 20°
Main article: 20-K (45 mm)
45 mm 20-K Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 188 -5°/+20° ±180° N/A 15.2 21.1 25.6 28.3 30.1 3.77 3.33 3.07 2.90
Realistic 9.5 11.2 13.6 15.0 16.0

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
BR-240 APHEBC 70 68 59 50 42 35
BR-240SP AP 73 71 62 52 44 37
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
Mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
BR-240 APHEBC 760 1.43 1.2 9 29.26 48° 63° 71°
BR-240SP AP 757 1.43 N/A N/A N/A 47° 60° 65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the BT-7 (identical).
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
7th
rack empty
188 174 (+14) 162 (+26) 147 (+41) 135 (+53) 123 (+65) 108 (+80) 89 (+99)
8th
rack empty
9th
rack empty
10th
rack empty
11th
rack empty
12th
rack empty
13th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
73 (+115) 57 (+131) 41 (+147) 25 (+163) 13 (+175) (+187) No

Notes:

  • Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
  • Turret empty: 147 (+41) shells.
  • Turret and side racks empty: 89 (+99) shells.

Machine guns

Ammunition1 890 rounds
Belt capacity63 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate600 shots/min
Main article: DT (7.62 mm)
7.62 mm DT
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,890 (63) 600 N/A N/A

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

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

  • Upgraded engine compared to the previous BT-7
  • Fast-firing gun
  • Exceptionally nimble, being able to turn its hull very quickly

Cons:

  • Sits at a higher BR than the previous BT-7
  • Armour remains thin, with heavy machine guns being able to penetrate and knock out crew members
  • Only 3 crew members
  • Oversteers at high speed, leading to it spinning out and/or drifting and loosing its speed

History

The BT-7M was an improved version of the Soviet BT-7 light tank developed before the Second World War. The main improvement was in terms of the powerplant, and at the time it was built no other tank in the world could reach the same speeds.[1]

Development

Development of a version of the BT-7 light tank began in the Soviet Union in 1938 with the construction of four prototypes at the Kharkov Locomotive Plant called the BT-8, which used a V12 diesel engine which was developed from the Hispano-Suiza 12Y aircraft engine. After the BT-8 was tested against the BT-7 it was determined to continue its development which resulted in the production version, designated BT-7M.[1][2]

Design

The BT-7M had the 500 horsepower V12 engine which was actually chosen partly due to greater fuel efficiency. The hull was reinforced with braces and some of the fuel storage was removed due to the higher fuel efficiency of the engine. The BT-7M’s engine also proved to be much safer in that it caught on fire much less often when hit by enemy fire. The BT-7M was proven to have a top speed of 62 km/h on tracks and 86 km/h with just wheels. Other than these changes, the BT-7M was fairly similar to the regular BT-7.[1][2]

Production and Service

The BT-7M entered production in 1939, replacing all earlier BT-7 variants on production lines. It was the last BT-7 variant produced with production lasting until 1941. Approximately 788 BT-7M tanks were built during that time period, being superseded on production lines by the T-34 medium tank. The BT-7M did end up seeing some combat during the Great Patriotic War.[1][2]

Media

Skins
Videos

See 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.

External links

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  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.

References


USSR light tanks
T-26  T-26 · T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-26-4 · T-26E
BT  BT-5 · RBT-5 · BT-7 · BT-7 TD · BT-7M · BT-7A (F-32)
T-50  T-126 · T-50
T-70  T-70 · T-80
PT-76  PT-76B · PT-76-57 · Object 906
BMP  BMP-1 · BMP-2 · BMP-2M · BMP-3
BMD  BMD-4
2S25  2S25 · 2S25M
Wheeled  BA-11 · BTR-80A
Other  T-60 · Object 685 · 2S38
China  ▂Type 62