Pvlvv fm/42
Contents
Description
The Pansarvärnslavettvagn fm/42 is a rank I Swedish SPAA
with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/SB) and 1.7 (RB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Pvlvv fm/42 is a fairly weak vehicle in terms of survivability, it features no meaningful protection from any angle, with only 10mm of armour protecting the front of the hull and 16mm of effective armour protecting the gunner. This armour is superficial really, as even heavy machine guns will have no trouble getting through the armour of the vehicle, and seeing as it's only manned by two crew, a shot through the flat armour of the drivers port will easily knock the vehicle out of action. Additionally as it's open-topped it's very vulnerable from the air, the gun can't angle directly upwards, meaning the gunshield can't be used to protect against enemy aircraft. This vehicle may survive a poorly placed shot, but most of the time the armour is not in any way reliable.
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 | 55 | 7 | 6 | 121 | 162 | 20.17 | 27 |
| Realistic | 50 | 6 | 75 | 85 | 12.5 | 14.17 | |
The mobility and speed of the Pvlvv fm/42 is fairly effective, it won't outpace many enemy light vehicles around this battle rating but it is fast enough to get where it needs to be in the map without much trouble. Off-road it can cruise at a max of 54 / 38 km/h (AB/RB), making it one of the fastest Swedish ground vehicles at its rank. It can change direction and manoeuvre well enough, and has a reverse speed of -6 km/h, which isn't vastly impressive, but is enough to occasionally get you out of trouble. However, as the engine is fairly weak it will struggle to climb steep hills, so try to approach these obstacles at an angle to increase the friction on the tracks.
Armaments
Main armament
The Pvlvv fm/42 is equipped with the m/40B 20mm cannon, which sports effective performance against tanks and aircraft if the rounds hit, and especially regarding aircraft- that's not an easy task. The cannon can only elevate to 45 degrees, which commonly isn't enough to get an attack angle on most aircraft as they will be flying too high up, making this quite a tedious anti-air vehicle to use in its intended role. It comes with three belts-
- Default - A 1 to 1 mix of HE and AP rounds, an effective, versatile belt.
- slsgr m/42 - A pure HE belt, Ineffective against ground vehicles but adequate for aircraft.
- slpgr m/42 - A pure AP belt- Very effective against ground vehicles while still being able to damage aircraft.
A further drawback of this vehicle's armament is the total ammo count at only 108 rounds with the possibility of taking 3 belts, this hugely limits its performance especially against aircraft as acquiring the lead will usually take a fair few shots, so by the time you've landed a critical shot most of your ammo will likely be gone. For this reason its not recommended to take a magazine of the full HE belt, as this will take up a third of your total potential ammo, meaning a third of your shots will have no effect against enemy ground targets, and given that attacking ground vehicles is a more adept method of play for this vehicle you're going to want to maximise its anti-tank ability, the AP belt can cut through a max of 42mm of flat armour, so at close range you'll have no trouble knocking out the majority of enemy vehicles.
Once unlocked it's recommended to take either three belts of AP rounds, or two belts of AP rounds with one Default belt for engaging aircraft, as the belt is still effective against both types of targets. You can switch between this belt easily as well as the reload for changing belts is only 1.3 seconds.
Usage in battles
Despite being classed as an SPAA vehicle, it truly excels at fighting ground vehicles. The lack of elevation for the cannon makes engaging aircraft tricky and sometimes impossible if the map is quite flat, as to engage aircraft this vehicle needs to be positioned on high ground or at an angle on the terrain. In general its not recommended to attempt to engage aircraft unless you're very confident you can take them out in one burst, as if an aircraft enemy notices you, they'll also likely know you can't elevate your gun very high, so they will simply dive right down on top of you to strafe out the crew, which is a fairly easy task as from the top the crew have no protection.
As this vehicle has very little ammunition engaging ground vehicles allows you to potentially maximise your shots on target, engaging aircraft usually results in lots of missed shots, which largely isn't too much of a problem generally for SPAA as they're usually equipped with lots of ammunition, but as this vehicle isn't all of your shots need to count, and as leading your shots on ground targets is much more consistent that is the recommended way to play.
At close range the AP belt will be able to deal with most enemy vehicles easily, though it will struggle with some french vehicles such as the B1 Bis, S.35, and even some of the reserve vehicles. It's important to know your enemy and only engage if you're certain you can cause critical damage you don't want to waste shots or waste your life, so learning the general armour layout of your enemies is an important factor here.
Aim to play around close range sight-lines if possible, in these locations your shots will be easier to aim and your rounds will have more penetration which is important to consider as their penetration performance drops off considerably at distances, at 500m the shots can only cut through 30mm of flat armour which isn't enough to deal with most enemies quickly if at all.
Luckily as this vehicle is quite small it's fairly easy to slip around the map unnoticed, and allows you to be able to hide in nooks and corners to ambush your enemies, waiting in ambush at close range; around a cap or watching a corner is the safes, most consistent way to play. Although if you're confident you can simply drive around in a manner similar to that of a conventional tank, due to the autocannon you can spray enemies down at close range without necessarily aiming, as it's quite likely you'll disable them before the can fire back at you, playing this way is certainly possible but due to how weak this vehicle is it's only recommend if you're very confident and have the vehicle fully upgraded. Do also be mindful of playing around very combat heavy areas, as these locations are commonly rife with artillery fire which this vehicle is hugely weak to, so aim to engage at close range still, but try to avoid the bulk of combat, utilise side roads and pathways out of the way to creep up to enemies on their sides. Additionally, if possible try to play close to friendly cap points, as you can use them to replenish your ammo supply which will be vital in long matches.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Decent mobility
- Fast reload
- Effective Anti-tank performance
Cons:
- Low ammo count
- Poor survivability
- Insufficient elevation for the cannon
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
Pvlvv fm/42 in desert livery
Pvlvv fm/42 in standard livery
Pvlvv fm/42 engaging an LVT
See also
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| Sweden anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| SPAA | Pvlvv fm/42 · Lvtdgb m/40 · Pbv 301 · Lvkv 42 |
| Radar SPAA | VEAK 40 · Lvkv 9040C |
| SAM | Lvrbv 701 · ASRAD-R |
| Finland | L-62 ANTI II · ▄ZSU-57-2 · ItO 90M · ItPsV 90 |
