CCKW 353 (M45)

CCKW 353 (M45)

ZSD63/PG87

CCKW 353 (M45)

ZSD63/PG87

China

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.3	2.3	2.3

Class:

SPAA

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

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Description

The CCKW 353 (M45) is a rank II Chinese SPAA with a battle rating of 2.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Hot Tracks".

General info

Survivability and armour

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

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

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	70	10	8	134	179	16.75	22.38
Realistic	65	9		83	94	10.38	11.75

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

12.7 mm M2HB (x4)						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	3,600 (200)	576	-10°/+90°	±180°	N/A	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic						__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

Ammunition

• Common: API-T · I · AP · API-T: These rounds work well until the others are researched.
• API: API-T · AP-I · API-T: These are absolutely devastating in the AA role with slightly less performance against enemy tanks than AP.
• AP: AP · AP · API-T: These are best against enemy tanks at close range and do good damage to planes.
• APIT: API-T: Better than API in all regards but not as good against tanks as AP, this is the belt of choice in almost all situations. Since every bullet is a tracer, it makes destroying aircraft much easier and detectability is not greatly increased over AP-I, however is increased a bit over AP.

Penetration statistics
Belt	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Common	31	30	26	22	18	15
API	30	29	24	20	16	13
AP	31	30	26	22	18	15
APIT	30	29	24	20	16	13

Belt details
Belt	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
APIT	API-T	929	0.04	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	56°	65°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
18	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

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).

It is not recommended to bring out the CCKW 353 at the very start, because unlike certain SPAAs, this truck is not fast.

For anti air duty, find a spot somewhere between a friendly spawn and a cap point. This way you can react to unexpected situations effectively: if frontline teammates collapse, you can quickly retreat to spawn; if teammates advance, you can also keep up easily. Do not stay too close to the frontline, as you do not want to face enemy tanks. Unlike the similar M16 MGMC which can resist rifle-caliber bullets, the CCKW 353 does not offer any protection to anything, therefore to protect the two exposed drivers, you might want to find a hard cover, point the truch sideways to only expose the back turret and hide the drivers behind cover. This way strafing planes cannot hurt the drivers, increasing your survivability. Once enemy aircraft spawn, shoot sparse salvos towards them to draw their attention. Do not fire continuously yet, disguise yourself as a slow-firing SPAA (eg. Sd.Kfz.6/2) which is less fearsome in the minds of pilots. Upon seeing your tracers, most pilots might choose to go for a headon with SPAAs, knowing that most SPAAs are easy targets. As they dive towards you, fire a long burst and lay a stream of bullets in their flight path, remember to also aim up a little. A few hits from the .50 cals is enough to damage critical components such as cooling systems, control surfaces or even pilots. Keep firing prolonged bursts even when the target aircraft bank away, as they are now low and slow. If a plane drops bombs at you, immediately move back to cover.

Watch out for remaining ammunition. The CCKW 353 has 200 rounds each gun but reloading is very slow, making the CCKW 353 and the team vulnerable in the worst moments. Ammunition of less than 130 rounds (total of 4 mag) should be emptied and replaced with full magazines.

For anti tank duty, only target the ones you can penetrate, including armored cars, SPAAs, light tanks, tank destroyers, etc. With the quad .50 cals it is very easy to wipe out these targets with a short burst. Against tanks, you are very much defenceless but if you are in a safe position, shoot at their tracks or gun barrels. Although this might not damage anything, the hits will grant you assists when they are killed by your teammates.

Relocate immediately if the red "artillery fire" notification flashes. Shrapnels from nearby explosions can badly damage the truck's tires, transmission and crew.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tires		Parts	API	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	AP	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	APIT	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful quad .50 cals that can shred planes with well-aimed bursts within 1 km, and have a good chance of setting aircraft on fire
• AP shells are powerful enough to damage or even destroy enemy light tanks and other SPAAs such as LVT (A)s, and Flakpanzer I
• .50 cal bullets have nicer velocity and accuracy than some cannons
• Nice vertical traverse of -10/+90 degrees, giving it great terrain adaptation
• Large ammo capacity, each magazine holds 200 rounds, allowing for prolonged firing
• Fast on flat ground or on road
• Good acceleration on hard surface
• Fast turret traverse allows following aircraft easily
• Due to its lower gun mount, it is a lower target comparing to the similar M16 MGMC
• Is a narrow vehicle, can squeeze into tight spots

Cons:

• Extremely low survivability: the truck provides absolutely no protection to the crew, even against light MG, nearby bombs, artillery strikes, let alone cannon shells
• Open topped design makes it vulnerable to strafing planes, especially cannon-armed ones such as He 112 A-0
• Guns cannot depress and aim towards the front as they are obstructed by the driving compartment. This can be lethal in a frontal encounter
• Cannot hurt conventional armoured vehicles like M3 Stuart due to its low penetration
• Awful mobility on muddy, snowy and desert areas, for example in White Fortress, Frozen Pass and Sinai
• Long reload time of around 15 seconds makes it defenceless for a long time in an intense battle
• Engine catches fire easily when hit
• No weight to pull: Towing or pushing allies is nearly impossible unless it is a lighter vehicle
• Only 1 spare crew member
• Cannot turn on the spot, as it is fully wheeled
• Entire crew is exposed; a plane ramming you can knock out the crew

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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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

China anti-aircraft vehicles
Radar SPAAG	PGZ09
Gun and Missile SPAAG	PGZ04A
Other	ZSD63/PG87 · WZ305
Germany	␗Sd.Kfz.222
North Vietnam	Phòng không T-34
USA	CCKW 353 (M45) · ␗M42
USSR	Tor-M1