Marder A1-

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This page is about the German light tank Marder A1-. For the other vehicles named Marder, see Marder III and Marder III H.
Marder A1-
germ_marder_1a1.png
GarageImage Marder A1-.jpg
Marder A1-
AB RB SB
7.7 7.7 7.7
Class:
Research:95 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:270 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The SPz Marder A1- is a rank V German light tank with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Red Skies".

Being the first true German IFV in the tech tree, the Marder A1- offers some unique options to its operator with regards to dispatching its opponents, no matter if they come on the ground or in the air.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull32 / 15 / 11
Turret25 / 15 / 15
Crew3 people
Visibility86 %

Overall, armour on Marder A1- is to be expected from an IFV; thin armour that relies heavily on slopes for protection. However, the turret is unmanned and coupled with a great gun depression of -17°, allowing for a hull-down really well.

From the frontal arc, the armour can shrug off most heavy machine guns and autocannons up to 23 mm calibre, like those found on Shilkas. Be wary though as lucky shots can get through the turret ring or shatter on the driver's optics, sending shrapnel inside the fighting compartment.

From sides and rear, even .50 cal will do some serious damage to the vehicle and crew, so keeping the front of the armour towards the enemy is the key for survival from MG fire.

With only three crew members available, the Marder can't afford to take any hits. When looking at Marder from the front, the driver on the right side is protected only by an 11 mm thin armour plate angled at 73°, so expect the driver to die first a lot to enemy fire. Meanwhile, both commander and gunner sit side by side below the unmanned turret, protected by transmission and engine (similar to Merkava tanks). While that won't protect them from rounds with explosive filler or modern kinetic penetrators, it can negate shrapnel from older chemical and HESH rounds. Commanders and gunner survivability are thus significantly higher than that of a driver, allowing to fire back at the opponent in most cases.

The last thing to note about the armour is that the roof armour is only 11 mm, making the Marder heavily vulnerable to air attacks if the gun isn't trained on the attacker.

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 11 mm (76°) top

32mm (21°) bottom

15 mm (32°) top
15 mm (0°) bottom
11 mm (22°) 11 mm
Turret 15 - 25 mm turret front
11 mm gun mantlet
11- 15 mm 11 - 15 mm 11 mm
Cupola 11 mm 11 mm 11 mm 11 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick

Mobility

Reverse gearbox
Forward and backward movement is possible at the same maximum speed
Speedforward / back
AB84 / 84 km/h
RB and SB76 / 76 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
8 back
Weight29.2 t
Engine power
AB1 145 hp
RB and SB600 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB39.2 hp/t
RB and SB20.5 hp/t

The mobility of Marder is really, really good, allowing it to rush favourable positions at the start of the battle or flank effectively. With a reverse gearbox, it can move backwards as fast as going forward, making disengaging from an enemy or retreating from unfavourable situations an easy task.

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 84 84 29.2 930 1,145 31.85 39.21
Realistic 76 76 531 600 18.18 20.55

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB2 763 → 4 401 Sl icon.png
RB3 299 → 5 255 Sl icon.png
SB4 494 → 7 158 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications77 900 Rp icon.png
129 800 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 000 Ge icon.png
Crew training78 000 Sl icon.png
Experts270 000 Sl icon.png
Aces1 100 Ge icon.png
Research Aces670 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
110 / 160 / 200 % Sl icon.png
190 / 190 / 190 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
350 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
1 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement ger.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
350 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
20mm_rh202_AP_ammo_pack
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods night vision device.png
NVD
Research:
3 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
5 200 Sl icon.png
165 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods tank laser rangefinder.png
Laser rangefinder
Research:
3 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 800 Sl icon.png
155 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
6 700 Rp icon.png
Cost:
11 000 Sl icon.png
350 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics
Research:
5 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 400 Sl icon.png
270 Ge icon.png

Since the Marder A1- is already powerful in the firepower department thanks to its MILAN ATGMs, even in its stock configuration, it should have no problems dispatching your enemies. After Parts and FPE, one can either start upgrading its mobility or go for a fuller APIT belt to have better chances when fighting light vehicles.

Since it can't engage enemies at longer ranges with the autocannon and MILANs are SACLOS-guided, getting a laser rangefinder is not a priority when playing solo. Instead, going for optics upgrades and smoke grenades might be preferable. Night vision devices could be also considered, but night battles on this BR are uncommon.

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder
Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Main armament

20 mm Rh202 cannon
Ammunition1 200 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate801 shots/min
Vertical guidance-17° / 65°
Main article: Rh202 (20 mm)

The Marder A1- is armed with a dual-feed Rh202 20 mm autocannon. This gun can also be found as a secondary weapon on the KPz-70 and Leopard 2K; the difference being it gets dedicated belts on Marder instead of being limited only to multipurpose stock belts.

Rh202 has fantastic gun handling. Even though it is not equipped with a stabiliser, it's barely noticeable even when firing on the move, allowing to successfully engage enemies without stopping at close range.

With a great rate of fire (noticeably faster than 30 mm found on BMP-2s), it can shred light vehicles, low flying planes and helicopters to pieces in a matter of seconds. Even heavier tanks are not safe since it is able to disable their critical components with a well-aimed burst, crippling their main and secondary armaments and tracks, making them easy kills for its MILANs or more-heavily armed teammates.

With 65° degrees of gun elevation, it can even work ad hoc as makeshift SPAAG. This is especially useful against helicopter rushes, which are common at the start of the round when chances of friendly SPAA being active are low. Even planes are not safe when the Marder is around, since it is able to successfully engage low flying aircraft with enough practice.

Rh202 operates on 200 round belts, Marder can take 6 of them in total and you can switch between different belts with ~1-second delay. An empty belt is reloaded after 8 seconds when Aced.

20 mm Rh202 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 1,200 (200) 800 -17°/+65° ±180° N/A 57.1 79.1 96.0 106.2 112.9 10.40 9.20 8.48 8.00
Realistic 35.7 42.0 51.0 56.4 60.0

Ammunition

  • Default: HVAP-T · HEFI-T - The stock belt consists of HVAP-T and HEFI-T rounds in a ratio of 1:1. It works but can have problems penetrating lighter vehicles due to the occasional chance that it won't hit a critical component with an HVAP-T round.
  • DM51A1 HEI-T: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T - Stock belt that consists of HEFI-T and HVAP-T rounds in a ratio of 3:1, this belt would be of great use against infantry but have no use in vehicular combat.
  • DM43 API-T: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T - Tier I modification, this belt consists of HVAP-T and HEFI-T rounds in a ratio of 3:1. This belt should be the primary type of ammo for Rh202, since not only has best available penetration, but HVAP-T rounds have the same explosive filler as HEFIT rounds.
Penetration statistics
Belt Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
Default 57 52 37 24 15 10
DM51A1 HEI-T 57 52 37 24 15 10
DM43 API-T 57 52 37 24 15 10

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Marder A1-
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
6 (+2) (+5) (+6) No

note:

  • Due to the Marder's belt feed design, the third ammo rack is connected directly to the gun. For the third ammo rack to be emptied, the tank must run out of ammunition.

Additional armament

MILAN ATGM
Ammunition4 rounds
Belt capacity1 rounds
Fire rate5 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 20°
Horizontal guidance-30° / 30°
Fire on the moveup to 5 km/h
Main article: MILAN

The Marder A1- is armed with a MILAN ATGM launcher with SACLOS guidance. It's an older missile, lacking a tandem warhead, but since composite and reactive armour is a rare sight at the battle rating, it works wonders. It is the main weapon of choice when engaging targets beyond 200 m and when engaging anything heavier than a light tank or SPAAG. The Marder only gets 4 of those, so firing them recklessly can leave it unable to dispatch heavier opponents. Frequent visits to capture points are a must in order to keep fighting.

To fire them, the Marder A1- needs to be going slower than 5 km/h, which can be disadvantageous against enemy tanks with stabilisers - be sure to distract the enemy first with the autocannon fire or make sure the enemy doesn't know at all from where the Marder will be striking.

Also, be aware that the launcher can't depress as much as the autocannon - this is of utmost importance when fighting in hilly terrain. While it is possible to fire and hit an enemy, the missile needs a few seconds and distance to correct itself, making close-range shots impossible without considerable skill and practise (for some theory on this, visit Striker wiki page).

MILANs are guided in a SACLOS manner, meaning they follow the crosshair, making them much easier to use than older missiles such as SS.11 or Malyutkas. The Marder is also one of the earliest vehicles to get SACLOS missiles, together with Ratel 20 and BMP-1, and unlike BMP-1, the Marder is equipped with it stock.

The last thing to note about these is their limited range - just 2 km. Most of its engagements do happen inside this range, but on larger maps such as Maginot Line, it won't hurt checking enemy distance with the laser rangefinder before firing.

As SACLOS missiles, they can be used with some success against ATGM helicopters hovering on the battlefield, but again, checking their range is necessary in order not to waste the few missiles it has.

MILAN missile Reloading rate (seconds)
Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Full Expert Aced
4 ±5° N/A N/A _.__ _.__ _.__ _.__

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
MILAN ATGM 530 530 530 530 530 530
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Range
(m)
Projectile
Mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
MILAN ATGM 200 2,000 6.55 0.05 0.1 1,830 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

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

Machine guns

Ammunition4 600 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 200 shots/min
Main article: MG3A1 (7.62 mm)

The Marder is armed with two MG3 machine guns. One is coaxial to the Rh202, second is in a small independent turret above the troop compartment.

The MG3 is the standard machine gun for current day Germany. While having a nice rate of fire, they are rifle-calibre and thus have very low penetration, useful only as a deterrent against low flying aircraft and helicopters and to clear obstacles in front of the vehicle. They are almost useless against enemy tanks, and only pose a threat to few open-top vehicles.

One thing of note is that the second MG3 in its independent turret can only turn in a 90° degree arc on the back of the Marder, thus making it even more useless than the coaxial. It can be used to paint enemies that manage to sneak up on to you from behind, or, if you turn your back against incoming aircraft or helicopters, to increase your firepower against them. Other than that, it only blocks your Rh202 from depressing on the back of your vehicle.

7.62 mm MG3A1
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 4,500 (1,000) 1,200 N/A N/A
1,000 (1,000) 1,200 -15°/+55° ±90°

Usage in battles

Marder A1- is a pretty decent IFV for its rank, but it is not designed to fight enemy tanks head on.

Best strategy is to either rush favourable positions near capture points in order to spot and counter enemy light vehicles rushing them while occasionally firing your ATGM at high-value targets.

Another good strategy is to go for flanks - most of the time, you will meet enemy light vehicles flanking, and your autocannon shreds them like cheese, denying enemy flanking routes and funnelling them towards your allied tanks. Keep spotting, and save your ATGMs for self-defence, since you will be away from capture points in this scenario and thus unable to rearm. That doesn't mean you can't take out high value targets such as top tier tanks which happen to drive into your sight line.

If forced to CQC or brawl, try to stick to your allies and support them. As soon as you see enemy tank fire, rush him and disable his gun and tracks, making him an easy target for your team mates.

If there are no allies in close proximity, then your speed and ability to fire on the move can be exploited in aggressive pushes, but narrow corridors and streets often present major disadvantages for your lightly armoured IFV; so sticking to ambush tactics might be preferable.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 20 mm cannon is very effective at quickly destroying aircraft, SPAA, and lightly armoured vehicles
    • High fire rate - 800 rpm
    • Plenty of ammo
    • Very fast turret rotation
    • 17 degrees of gun depression, 69 degrees of gun elevation, with very fast vertical traverse speed
  • Effective MILAN missile
  • Very manoeuvrable, top speed of 84 km/h and high power-weight ratio

Cons:

  • 20 mm gun is largely ineffective against a large majority of ground vehicles you will face
  • Only 4 MILAN missiles
  • Thin armour
  • Rather tall

History

Background

The Marder (German for "marten") is a German infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the Panzergrenadiere (mechanized infantry) from the 1970s through to the present day. Developed as part of the rebuilding of Germany's armoured fighting vehicle industry, the Marder has proven to be a successful and solid infantry fighting vehicle design. While it used to include a few unique features, such as a fully remote machine gun on the rear deck and gun ports on the sides for infantry to fire through, these features have been deleted or streamlined in later upgrade packages to bring it more in line with modern IFV design (the MG has been moved to be a coaxial, the gun ports entirely welded shut and uparmored). It is overall a simple and conventional machine with one large rear exit hatch and three top hatches for mounted infantry to fire from. The Marder is currently being replaced by its successor, the Puma.

Development

Development of the Marder ran from January 1960, when the first development contracts were issued, to 7 May 1971, when the first production vehicles were given to the German army.

The vehicle was intended to be an improvement over the Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30. The main requirements were:

  • A capacity of 12 infantrymen.
  • A more reliable 20 mm cannon.
  • The infantry must be able to fight from within the vehicle or dismounted.
  • Protection from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Initially, development contracts were awarded to two groups of companies: the Rheinstahl group (Rheinstahl-Hanomag, Ruhrstahl, Witten-Annen, Büro Warnecke) and the second group comprising Henschel Werke and the Swiss MOWAG company. This resulted in the production of seven prototype vehicles. A second set of eight prototype vehicles were built between 1961 and 1963. Development priority was then switched for a while to the development of the Jagdpanzer 90 mm Kanone.

In 1967, after military requirements were finalized, a third and final set of ten prototypes were built. Final development work was completed by the Rheinstahl group, and 10 pre-production vehicles were built and completed troop trials with the German army between October 1968 and March 1969. In May 1969, the vehicle was officially named the "Marder" and in October Rheinstahl was chosen as the prime contractor. Maschinenbau Kiel AG (MaK) hands over the first Marder to the Bundeswehr on 7 May 1971. Marder on maneuvers in 1986.

The first production Marder was handed to the German army on 7 May 1971. Production of the vehicle continued until 1975, with 2,136 vehicles being completed.

Combat Usage

With the first unit delivered in summer 1971, the Marder IFV remained untested in combat for 38 years until July 2009 when they defended a German combat outpost against the Taliban in Chahar Dara district of Afghanistan's Kunduz Province, killing and wounding scores of insurgents. Since then, the Marders have been involved in heavy fighting several times. The vehicles have proved to be extremely useful and have been praised as a great tactical asset by German troops. However, the crews have been subject to great physical stress as none of the vehicles are equipped with air conditioning systems. Two Marders were damaged by Improvised explosive devices in the course of a German-led offensive on Taliban insurgents in Quatliam, on 31 October 2010. Later in the battle, code-named by the Coalition "Operation Halmazag", a single Marder beat off a Taliban attempt to outflank positions held by German paratroopers. In June 2011, a German Marder was destroyed near Kunduz by a 200 kg (440.91 lbs.) IED, killing one soldier and injuring five others.

The Marder was also deployed during the Kosovo War as part of the German peacekeeping forces sent as part of NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR).<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marder_(IFV)</ref>

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


Germany light tanks
Pz.II  Pz.II C · Pz.II C (DAK) · Pz.II C TD · Pz.II F · Pz.Sfl.Ic
Sd.Kfz.234  Sd.Kfz.234/1 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 TD
Marder  Marder A1- · Marder 1A3 · Begleitpanzer 57 · DF105
  PUMA
Wheeled  Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) · Class 3 (P) · Radkampfwagen 90
Other  Ru 251 · SPz 12-3 LGS
Argentina  TAM · TAM 2C · TAM 2IP · JaPz.K A2
Czechoslovakia  Pz.35(t) · Pz.38(t) A · Pz.38(t) F · Pz.38(t) n.A. · Sd.Kfz. 140/1
France  Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK
Lithuania  Vilkas
USA  leKPz M41
USSR  SPz BMP-1