ZT3A2

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RANK 4 FRANCE
Somua SM PACK
uk_ratel_zt3.png
GarageImage ZT3A2.jpg
ZT3A2
Research:81 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:450 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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Description

The ZT3A2 Ratel is a rank VI British tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike".

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull20 / 10 / 10
Turret12 / 10 / 10
Crew4 people
Visibility84 %
Even a single lucky hit of a 35 mm KDA cannon can obliterate ZT3A2, so try to be careful

Armour of this vehicle is absolutely negligible as its launchers are not protected and any ATGM or HE shell detonation next to it will at the very least set the ammo rack on fire or detonate it, taking the tank out in process. Frontal hull armour might sustain some MG fire from 500 m away, but it has way too many weak spots with 10 mm or even 6 mm RHA protection to be of any use.

The most glaring weak spot is the gunner sight, as even 7.62 mm rounds sometimes can penetrate it and hit the gunner. Unfortunately, the commander of the ZT3A2 cannot take control of the weapon to fire, meaning that literally anything and anyone can disarm the ZT3A2 with a well-place shot.

Another spot relatively easy to hit is the launcher ammunition. The launcher counts as an active ammo rack, so even hitting missiles with MG can cause them to detonate. Even worse, the ammo rack reappears in the middle of the reload, even though the tank cannot fire yet, so the operator must turn the launcher away if attacked.

One might argue that the ZT3A2's long hull might confuse enemies, but overpressure damage and missile ammo racks placed along the entirety of it make the spaced armour argument irrelevant in most scenarios. Any ATGM landing next to it will instantly destroy it, particularly the ones with 4 kg explosive mass. An IT-1 can do that even by hitting the top of the tree 20 m away from it.

Aircraft strafing the ZT3A2 often prefer to fire at it from the top and focus fire in the middle of it, so cannon based airstrike might fail to destroy the ZT3A2, but any rockets will obliterate the entire hull due to overpressure damage.

Artillery will obliterate this tank even with a 20 m miss and any artillery warning should be a cue to leave for anyone using the ZT3A2. Sometimes the shells land far enough to only cause minor overpressure damage, but crew will only endure 4 hits at best.

Both commander and gunner are located in the turret, which must be exposed to fire in most cases, which makes this tank very easy to disable if not destroy outright. Sometimes, one of them will survive if tank took a glancing hit of APFSDS.

The ZT3A2 has smoke grenades, but these are outdated old smoke grenades and there is only one group of them. Smoke grenades are launched very high up in turret direction, so it takes 4 seconds for them to hit the ground and then 5 seconds to set in. Therefore, they must be used long before the enemy reached your position, not when it is already too late.

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

Speedforward / back
AB115 / 20 km/h
RB and SB106 / 18 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
2 back
Weight18.5 t
Engine power
AB538 hp
RB and SB282 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB29.1 hp/t
RB and SB15.2 hp/t

In arcade battles, the stock ZT3A2 drives at 30 km/h offroad and 60 km/h on dirt roads, slowly accelerating towards the 77 km/h mark. When using paved road, it will accelerate towards 100 km/h instead. An upgraded ZT3A2 does not drive much faster due to the engine only working at 1,700-2,000 RPM almost all the time, but it will reach 40 km/h almost as fast as it reached 30 km/h before and will reach its top speed on paved roads far more reliably. The maximum speed does not really change at all.

Arcade mode: a ZT3A2 climbed an impossible mountain spot in order to deny enemy access to C point.

The ZT3A2 tends to have a lot of momentum in its movement and will keep its speed for some time after going offroad, but also should be driven carefully to avoid losing speed by accidentally ramming something. Its mass is also not enough to plow through thick trees, so they must be avoided.

This tank also has an uncanny ability to drive uphill at very sharp angles, which may slow it to 5 km/h but won't stop it entirely. This, combined with "Tires" upgrade, allows it to climb even certain mountains. The tank can also easily climb rocks and other objects, which tend to be impossible for regular tanks to get over. Unfortunately, this ability is rarely of any use in RB due to its low camera depression, so it is mostly used in AB to sneak shots into players not expecting a missile tank firing from weird positions.

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 115 20 18.5 401 538 21.68 29.08
Realistic 106 18 249 282 13.46 15.24

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB4 177 → 5 872 Sl icon.png
RB4 782 → 6 723 Sl icon.png
SB5 065 → 7 121 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications128 100 Rp icon.png
227 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 400 Ge icon.png
Crew training130 000 Sl icon.png
Experts450 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 000 Ge icon.png
Research Aces890 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
160 / 210 / 250 % Sl icon.png
214 / 214 / 214 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new wheels.png
Tires
Research:
9 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
370 Ge icon.png
Mods new car suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
8 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
14 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
9 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
9 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
370 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
3 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement uk.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
8 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
14 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
9 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
9 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
370 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
8 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
14 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
127mm_uk_zt3_ingwe_ammo_pack
Research:
8 800 Rp icon.png
Cost:
14 000 Sl icon.png
340 Ge icon.png
Mods tank laser rangefinder.png
Laser rangefinder
Research:
9 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
9 200 Rp icon.png
Cost:
15 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png

You can skip researching "Adjustment of fire" at tier 2, as it does nothing noticeable to improve missile guidance. Research "Brakes" instead to improve the ZT3A2s ability to fire fast. "Elevation mechanism" in theory could help, but isn't necessary and can be skipped as well. Research "Tandem missile" as soon as possible, as it will help fight tanks of higher BR. Mobility upgrades might make the ZT3A2 faster, but their usefulness is very limited, with "Tires" and "Engine" bringing the most noticeable benefit. "Smoke grenades" might help the ZT3A2 to survive in between reloads or if it got caught in a crossfire, so it might be a good idea to research them first instead. Researching "Horizontal Drive" might make controlling missiles in RB slightly easier and will allow the user to respond to sudden flank attacks.

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.
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
Ammunition15 rounds
Belt capacity3 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
19.5 → 15.0 s
Fire rate60 shots/min
Vertical guidance-5° / 15°
Fire on the moveup to 5 km/h
Main article: ZT3

There are two main missiles on the ZT3A2, The ZT3A1 and ZT3A2. Both missiles are immune to jamming by ICRM, so the AMX-30B2 BRENUS will not be able to escape them. Both missiles have very strong vertical drive and rather sluggish horizontal drive.

The missiles are loaded in magazines of 3 missiles with 4 magazines or 12 missiles total. They aren't reloaded if the launcher is damaged.

The ZT3A1 can be treated like a MILAN 2 with 40 more km/h speed on it. It often fails to break through light tanks and will only destroy ERA screens, but not break through them in most cases. Regardless, they are still very strong and there are 3 of them at once, so it is possible to destroy an entire tank squad if they are not paying attention to their surroundings.

The ZT3A2 has a tandem warhead, which allows it to penetrate one obstacle (primarily, ERA of Soviet or French tanks) without wasting the HEAT payload, and it in general has more penetration than most of rank VI British ATGM, easily breaching and obliterating any tanks they land on. Unfortunately, some light tanks like the TAM can still somehow survive a direct hit, so aiming at weak spots is still recommended.

Both missiles are easier to aim by using sniper scope, even in arcade mode and at point blank range. This is due to the sniper scope overriding the conflicting controls from "MG" and "launcher", making the aim far more consistent.

ZT3 missile Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity (Belt) Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 12 (3) -5°/+15° N/A Two-plane 35.2 48.8 59.2 65.5 69.7 19.50 17.25 15.90 15.00
Realistic 23.8 28.0 34.0 37.6 40.0

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
ZT3A1 ATGM 650 650 650 650 650 650
ZT3A2 ATGM (tandem) 800 800 800 800 800 800
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%
ZT3A1 ATGM 240 4,000 26 0 0.01 3,580 80° 82° 90°
ZT3A2 ATGM (tandem) 220 5,000 28.5 0.4 0.01 3,580 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

Ammunition2 000 rounds
Belt capacity250 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate500 shots/min

The MG in the turret is used in-game as a makeshift aiming device and there is no way around it, as switching towards launcher camera below launcher itself disables horizontal turret drive. Unfortunately, this also means that it is impossible to correctly fire missiles at certain targets, particularly up close, in RB, and even in AB it will sometimes cause random turret jitter, throwing off the user's aim. AB aim assist also will not work, as misaligned weapon will make launcher aim into the ground instead of your target.

The MG itself fires way too slowly to be of any combat use, but if the ZT3A2 is attacked by a hostile ATGM, it should be fired at the incoming missile with an about 5% chance of shooting it down mid-air.

7.62 mm Browning MG4
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle 2,000 (250) 500 -10°/+20° ±180°

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).

Arcade mode

It can be used on a map with a road leading off your spawn towards capture point to quickly take over a strong defensive position. Do note, that it will only reach maximum speed if uses asphalt road and it might need a head start for that anyway. Any position that enemy has to attack into and cannot attack indirectly is worth taking over like this. For example, on the map "Middle east" it can rush into north capture point and fall down into cover of a bunker before being sniped. This position is well protected, and also allows it to abuse simplified AB ATGM controls to deny any access to the capture point for the enemy team, as it has strong vertical missile control and can snipe attacking enemy tanks by just pointing sniper scope at them after firing out and over cover.

It can also be used to drive to the side of attacking enemy to sneak shots into them. You can also do this in more provocative manner by hiding behind buildings next to them, but be aware that you then have to rely on your team to act as a distraction and you should avoid being seen and especially avoid or destroy light tanks to not get unnecessary attention. While sneaking in AB is difficult, it is still rather easy to sneak upon Soviet players and heavy tanks in general as long as you understand the game mechanics. Do note, that in AB the ZT3A2 does not have the constraints of "gun depression" and is able to fire off any kind of ground spikes, therefore it might be a good idea to climb any weird ground formation or rocks if it allows you to fire over buildings or other enemy cover, or at least give you a second before the enemy can process what is going on and react.

There is also a possibility of using the ZT3A2's tall profile to fire through the openings of indestructible buildings at the tanks standing on the other side, for example big tall windows of churches, which can allow you to capture a point with minimal effort. It is also possible to fire through some street corners, as many of them have generally no hitboxes, such as ones on south side of Port Novorossiysk domination mode, when there can be at least 6 tanks waiting for you to rush them. This tactic is usually successful, as at close range it is impossible for regular tanks to fire back, and at long range your launcher is such a small target, only a specialist will be able to notice and hit you back. Be aware, that due to a random turret behavior you might hit a wall, but as long as you can see a piece of an enemy tank in your sniper scope, the shot should be possible.

It can be used as a sniper tank, with main advantage of it being able to obliterate enemy cover with first unguided missile, which is immediately followed by a guided missile hitting their turret and a third being sent over cover if target managed to survive the first hit. Likewise, it is possible to just send all 3 missiles through forest in hopes that they will be able to brute force the foliage and hit enemy tanks anyway. It is also technically possible to drive missiles into enemy ATGM tanks over hills when they are reloading, but it might be too difficult to time correctly. Remember to immediately hide after such attacks and in general fire into enemy tank sides to avoid being countersniped. Three shots can also be used to snipe three tanks simultaneously, but low missile speed will not allow you to attack moving tanks like that, so think whom you want to take out first before firing.

In any case be very wary of your reload timings - locate targets, gain as much of unfair advantage over them, like short cover you can fire over and they cannot, as possible, then fully commit to your attack when they seem to lose focus. Each shot forces a 0.6 second "reload" and in that time you must point missile on your first target and decide who needs to be destroyed next, then fire next missile. After firing three shots, back off into cover before anyone decided to fire back. If enemy managed to destroy the launcher, turn around and make a complete retreat, especially if it was already empty, as repair will take at least 5 seconds and reload after this will take from 15 to 20 seconds, making you unable to recover from that kind of damage fast enough.

Overall, in AB the ZT3A2's efficiency depends on a lot of factors outside of players control - if everyone will focus on it, you will not be able to do much, especially from long range, as it takes just one or two good hits of virtually any weapon to destroy the ZT3A2, but you should be already used to play around enemy with aim assist at this point.

Notable enemies

  • Proximity missile carriers: Avoid gaining attention of the M3A3 Bradley and the Dardo since their missiles can explode in proximity of enemy tanks and the ZT3A2's armour is too thin to survive overpressure damage. Destroy them immediately, if you can, or run very far away, as simple cover of a hill or a wall won't save against them.
  • XM-1 (GM): This tank has NERA screen in the turret, and is as fast as a light tank. Try to hit it in the hull, if you must fight it.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Is able to use tandem missiles, which penetrate ERA at almost any angle of attack and generally deal fatal damage to light tanks
  • Has three shot launcher, which is a step down from the Striker, but still one more shot when compared to type 89 and similar tanks
  • Missiles are immune to jammers
  • Can relocate very fast on maps with a lot of paved roads after having researched mobility upgrades
  • Missiles have very strong vertical mobility, which technically allows them to directly attack tanks from low/high ground and/or over obstacles with enough user skill (though this is mostly impossible to pull off in RB due to camera depression and various graphical issues)
  • While clumsy, the ZT3A2's chassis are able to climb at very sharp angles (60-70 degree inclination even when stock in AB) and it can get on top of certain objects the Striker or other ATGM tanks would not be able to climb
  • Tall profile allows it to fire directly over certain cover which other tanks normally use as a full cover, for example, destroyed building debris, potentially surprising some enemies

Cons:

  • Missiles do not turn well in horizontal plane and are especially unresponsive in RB
  • Missiles give off annoying bright red flare instead of normal yellow light and tend to have graphical glitches upon reaching the target on most graphical settings, making them difficult to control
  • Camera placement is imperfect and requires to make corrections if using cover or firing at close range, which is especially bad in RB, as the closer the target is the more inadequate the camera behaviour becomes. The only way to get rid of collision is to switch weapon control towards launcher itself, which has no control over horizontal turret traverse for some reason
  • Vertical depression is non-existent on the launcher and the huge hull is not easy to angle to compensate, which is absolutely abysmal for RB (is only a minor inconvenience in AB as long as missiles can be guided with mouse pointer instead of sniper crosshairs)
  • Hull must be exposed to make a direct shot and almost any responding shot to the launcher on top of the hull will destroy weapon, ammo rack, or enough crew to count as crew knockout, even a single glancing hit from ZSU-57-2 may be enough
  • Slow when drives offroad and in general drives more like a bus rather than a tank or a regular armoured car
  • Must make a complete stop to fire, which makes it incapable of fighting any kind of light tanks or SPAA directly
  • Missiles are only 20-40 m/s faster than MILAN and hostile ATGM tanks generally use missiles that are 2 to 5 times faster, SAM tanks can even make a very late response and still win the duel
  • Reloads only after spending all three shots (but reloads all three at once), does not automatically reload during rearm like the Striker
  • Has obsolete smoke grenades and only has one group of them
  • Has a lot of upgrades which do nothing to improve its fighting capabilities (like adjustment of fire)

History

Devblog

In the early 1960s, the South African military already identified the need for anti-tank missile capabilities. Subsequently, this led to South Africa procuring the MILAN ATGM in the early to mid 1970s. However, early use experience with the MILAN highlighted the weapon's unsuitability for the African tropical conditions.

Being a wire-guided missile, the MILAN's control wire had a tendency to get caught up in the thick African bush and get severed, causing the missile to go off target and making engaging moving targets even more challenging. As a result, the decision was made to procure a laser-guided missile. However, as international arms embargoes were imposed on South Africa, simply acquiring an existing weapon off the export market wasn't possible. Therefore, South African engineers at the Kentron company went about designing their own laser-guided ATGM in the late 1970s.

The result of this undertaking was the creation of the ZT3 missile system. By the time the ZT3 system had been ready for production in 1986, plans were being drawn up for a modified Ratel 20 housing the newly developed ZT3 missile launcher in a modified Ratel 60 turret. The modified Ratel with the ZT3 missile system was developed in order to supplement the Ratel 90s in anti-tank operations as the latter often struggled to engage heavy armour in direct combat.

The Ratel ZT3-A1 entered production in 1987 and around 90vehicles of the type had been built by 1993. The ZT3-A2 was introduced in 2008 and continues its successful operation with SANDF units till the present day.

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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 tank destroyers
Infantry tank derivatives  Archer · Gun Carrier (3-in)
Light tank derivatives  Alecto I
M10 Achilles  Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.)
Centurion derivatives  FV4005 · Conway
ATGM  Swingfire · Striker
Other  Tortoise · ▄M109A1
Canada  QF 3.7 Ram · ADATS (M113)
South Africa  G6 · ZT3A2