Stormer HVM

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Revision as of 09:40, 12 April 2021 by bangerland (talk | contribs) (Ammunition: I assume this is how it is supposed to be, but i do not have in-game ATX with me here, so double-check before approving)

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RANK 4 FRANCE
Somua SM PACK
Stormer HVM
uk_stormer_hvm.png
GarageImage Stormer HVM.jpg
Stormer HVM
AB RB SB
10.3 10.3 10.3
Class:
Research:300 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:830 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The FV4333 Stormer HVM is a rank VII British self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicle with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull25 / 13 / 13
Turret13 / 13 / 13
Crew3 people
Visibility188 %

This tank uses the chassis of Scorpion, which you might be familiar with since Striker. As before, it can only take punishment from the front and it's best to avoid anything more serious than autocannon armed light tanks or KPz-70, since most 9.0+ tanks have at least 100 mm gun along with their coaxial weapons.

The launcher on the back was replaced with a turret carrying Starstreak HVM and search optics. The usually small camera next to commander cupola now has heavy optics and is much bigger as a result. The turret is much higher than the old launcher and is very hard to hide.

The missiles do not have any protection this time around and user should avoid being bombed and shot by artillery at any cost. Even a 7.62 mm machine gun can ignite missiles on a good hit. Even close artillery or HE miss might set off Starstreaks and cause the entire rack to explode, annihilating the carrier and probably taking it's allies nearby with it in process. Even if missiles did not explode, it is very likely that the hull will take enough overpressure damage to take out the crew.

The missile carrier has very short burnout time, so even if it survived a strafe run from a gunship while just being set on fire, it will burn fast and explode in about 8 seconds.

As such, Stormer should avoid fighting anything directly, if possible. To ensure not a single aircraft knows about its presence, an IRST system is used instead of radar - not even best helicopters around can detect it. In arcade mode, they can still see the Stormer, but the optronic system will allow the tank to destroy them before they have even a chance to aim at it.

Mobility

Reverse gearbox
Forward and backward movement is possible at the same maximum speed
Speedforward / back
AB87 / 87 km/h
RB and SB80 / 80 km/h
Number of gears7 forward
7 back
Weight13.5 t
Engine power
AB477 hp
RB and SB250 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB35.3 hp/t
RB and SB18.5 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 87 87 13.5 355 477 26.3 35.33
Realistic 80 80 221 250 16.37 18.52

As with Striker, the Stormer HVM is capable of driving both forward and backwards relatively fast even with no upgrades. The ability to drive forward and turn around at same time still relies on driver being maxed out, so your crew must be very high level.

The more you upgrade the chassis and engine, the more obscure position you can climb and take over in order to avoid being spotted and destroyed by other tanks.

Do not race against Japanese Type 93 and Italian scout tank Centauro ROMOR, they are much faster.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB4 527 → 6 871 Sl icon.png
RB4 481 → 6 802 Sl icon.png
SB5 132 → 7 790 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications239 900 Rp icon.png
408 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 900 Ge icon.png
Crew training240 000 Sl icon.png
Experts830 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 100 Ge icon.png
Research Aces1 140 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
160 / 200 / 240 % Sl icon.png
238 / 238 / 238 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
18 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
28 000 Sl icon.png
410 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
300 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
21 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
33 000 Sl icon.png
480 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
21 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
33 000 Sl icon.png
480 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
5 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
28 000 Sl icon.png
410 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement uk.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
300 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
18 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
28 000 Sl icon.png
410 Ge icon.png
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Research:
15 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
23 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
300 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
300 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
300 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
21 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
33 000 Sl icon.png
480 Ge icon.png
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics
Research:
21 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
33 000 Sl icon.png
480 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.
Thermal imager
Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition16 rounds
First-order8 rounds
Belt capacity1 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
1.3 → 1.0 s
Fire rate60 shots/min
Vertical guidance-10° / 60°
Fire on the moveup to 12 km/h
Main article: Starstreak
Starstreak missile Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 16 -10°/+60° ±180° Two-plane __._ __._ __._ __._ __._ _.__ _.__ _.__ _.__
Realistic __._ __._ __._ __._ __._

The Stormer HVM uses surface-to-air Starstreak missiles and their unique properties make it hard to use them for anything else. There are 8 of them mounted on the turret and there are 8 more spares in the back of the tank.

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
Starstreak HVM SAM 30 30 30 30 30 30
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%
Starstreak HVM SAM 1,400 7,000 0.5 0.1 1,570 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

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

Usage in battles

It is best to hide from sight of others when using this SPAA - move around battlefield and use terrain and caves as a hiding spot for yourself. Exploit mobility upgrades to stand on mountain edges, if necessary.

Avoid participating in direct combat with medium tanks at any cost, as you definitely will not help in winning the fight directly and they might use the gigantic ammo rack as a way to destroy your allies. The only logical exception is if you are supporting allied ATGM tank by removing hostile tank ERA and turning their attention towards you, then immediately retreat. Any attempts to do sneaky shots on medium tanks should only be done if you are sure it's worth it.

In case if you managed to spot hostile SAM, you can try to remove them by igniting their missiles to help your team achieve air superiority. Remember, you cannot fire on move, so if they will also notice you and have actual guns, the tables will turn immediately. At long range you can fire at least three times before missiles of most other SAM tanks would reach you.

Using forests as cover is less reliable than just using terrain, as IRST will likely fail to detect your opponents through trees, unlike radar which only get its signal halved in power.

In case if you have nothing better to do at the moment or spotted an enemy tank, you can scout it from a remote location. Do not try to scout if enemy team is actively searching for you.

Msg-important.png Be aware, that while Stormer HVM itself is nigh undetectable in RB, it still uses laser pointer to guide missiles. Some modern helicopters and some tanks have Laser Warning System and will receive attack alert on launch, and probably will try to dodge. Do not expect every static target to never move.

General missile behavior and ground targets:

First Launch

The carrier missile drags the actual missiles away from Stormer at a speed of about 800 m/s and unleashes them at about ~580 m range. Until that point, the missile can be used as a weak form of HE ATGM and if it hits enemy light tank or SPG weak spot or suspension wheel it can do some damage.

Carrier missile does shrapnel-like damage and it will deteriorate after hitting any obstacles, so it is necessary for an explosion to hit the target directly, almost like with HESH. The explosion range also seems to be halved compared to HE. Anything, including simplest forms of side skirts, will block SAM from destroying an enemy tank. Most of BR 9-10 tanks have not just side skirts but either ERA or NERA screens all over them and will not take any damage from single missile and hitting those randomly is going to only damage machine guns and the screens.

At short ranges other SPAA, SPG and light tanks are fair game and it is preferrable to try and destroy them via overpressure damage if they try to attack Stormer HVM, as simply running away from them is rather difficult.

After ~580 m

Three missiles disassemble from carrier missile and start increasing their speed to the extreme, easily reaching 1400 m/s. To not lose control over their movement due to speed, they constantly spiral. Despite spiralling, they are extremely agile and will instantly react to any scope movements, so aim them using sniper mode. Be quick and precise, if possible. Each one of them can be approximately counted as 105 mm HE with reduced shrapnel amount.

They have minimal penetration and, mostly due to their spiralling nature, aiming them at ground forces is practically pointless, unless you try to disintegrate tanks which have little to no armour, like other SPAA or ATGM tanks - in the case of such tanks, if you somehow hit their weak spot, they still can be destroyed by smaller missiles, so it is worth trying.

Medium tanks will shrug off Starstreaks and usually it does little more than just annoy them.

Make sure there aren't any trees around or the lock will become unstable.

Against air targets:

To helicopters, the missiles usually are fatal, as they are almost bound to get hit by at least one of Starstreaks, and explosion either tears off the tail or knocks out the pilot. However, even in the case of this missile, there are cases when Support helicopters somehow survived a direct hit, so you might want to launch another one if you aren't sure that they are done for.

To use the missiles against moving aircraft (mainly, planes) properly, you need to lock on to an aerial target. The IRST system cannot tell you where the targets really are, just the direction they're in. Instead of wasting time while looking for them manually, simply lock onto any target on your "radar" display via hotkeys like with Chieftain Marksman and turret will near instantaneously turn towards them by itself.

Stormer HVM hit with weird lock-on data.jpg

As could be seen on the screenshots, in full IRST mode sniper crosshair tries to imitate the drag of missile as it tracks the aircraft, and by keeping sniper crosshairs on plane or helicopter you can guide your missiles towards an aircraft. Keeping an actual missile on target is more important, however, as system accuracy is generally far from stellar and it shouldn't be trusted too much.

Msg-important.png "Targeting" and "leadership" on your crew should be maxed out. This SPAA cannot track targets properly without it and should not be used by a level 1 crew. You have been warned.

Do note, that a plane approaching at a sharp angle will mess with turret automatic guidance, due to it passing by too fast.

Stormer HVM has huge gaps in optics: 10-40X optics, which can be manually adjusted during AA duty, simply hitting "maximum zoom" will probably result in a miss at some angles of attack.

Since it is extremely inconvenient to toggle zoom level every time, one can remain in sniper seat and use radar display to lock-on to targets around. Quickly spin turret into the direction of the hostile plane, as seen on the radar display, and press lock-on as soon as your turret pointer hits them. Targeting device should be able to do the rest for you.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Invisible to anti-radar - helicopters do not receive 'radar' alert from it in RB, greatly reducing the chances of it being detected and targeted with rockets or missiles
  • Unique anti-air missiles - triple missile with one of the highest speeds in-game
  • While triple missiles only explode on contact, they also maneuver at mach speeds and always spiral, which allows them to bypass rocket walls, Vulcan gun fire and other countermeasures. Proximity missile attack from ADATS, ZPRK 2S6 and other such SAM SPAA in same circumstances would fail due to their missiles getting a false positive and exploding without reaching the target (which subsequently results in their user being hit by a rocket rain)
  • Good speed of chassis
  • X10-40 optics and powerful thermal scope allow it to track enemy until the very end
  • Can scout as well, when isn't busy

Cons:

  • High profile of ammo rack, which is also a weak spot, which can be ignited even by 7.62 machine guns or close artillery miss. Any damage to the missiles causes entire vehicle to explode, unlike with Striker
  • On top of high profile, ammo racks visually remind players of ADATS and will likely make ground forces drop everything and immediately attack it - stealth approach is required at all times
  • Hull defences are inadequate against tanks and aircraft with weapons bigger than 20 mm autocannon, even if your ammo rack happened to be empty
  • While technically invisible, Stormer HVM will still trigger laser Warning Systems on launch, potentially spooking away targets which have LWS (though usually they only have a second to react before missiles hit them)
  • Lock-on does not provide a 100% accurate targeting solution - turret and the optical system sometimes fail to track planes properly, relying on the crew and operator skills to compensate, especially noticeable when the inappropriate zoom level is used
  • Lock-on can become unstable around trees and immediately breaks if visual contact is lost
  • Due to a huge gap in optics zoom levels, the operator is often required to manually adjust scope, instead of just hitting "maximum zoom" button, and to lock on different aircraft without leaving the sniper seat
  • After dispersing, triple missiles constantly spiral, making precise long-range aiming at ground forces pointless, not to mention that most tanks in its natural battle rating range are immune to triple missile attack unless hit at a perfectly flat angle and they can only overpressurize light tanks or other SPAA when to hit them in a weak spot

History

In the mid-1980's it became clear that supersonic aircraft and strike helicopters proved to be dangerous against ground troops. To counter these threats back in 1986, the British Ministry of Defence began development of the "Starstreak HVM" (High-Velocity Missile) anti-aircraft missile system. The production was done by the Shorts Missile Systems company. On the 1st of September in 1997, the famous Starstreak anti-aircraft missile system had been put into service by the British Army. Initially, it was developed in 3 different variants: portable, stationary and mobile, although later they additionally developed an air version but it didn't find a practical application.

The armoured personnel carrier Stormer was created by using the propulsion system, the transmission and chassis of the light scouting FV101 Scorpion tank for the mobile version of the system. In 1975 on the base of this armoured personnel carrier, the self-propelled anti-tank missile system FV102 Striker was created. Since the vehicle proved itself well, it was decided to additionally create the self-propelled anti-aircraft system Alvis Stormer HVM on its platform.

- From Devblog

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


Britain anti-aircraft vehicles
Crusader AA  Crusader AA Mk I · Crusader AA Mk II
Wheeled  Staghound AA · AEC AA
Radar SPAAG  Chieftain Marksman
Missile SPAA  Stormer HVM
Other  Light AA Mk I · Falcon
Canada  Skink
South Africa  Ystervark · Bosvark · ZA-35