The ZiS-30 is a Soviet tank destroyer. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. It is a lightly armoured tank destroyer mounting a gun that is very powerful for its rank.
The highlight of this tank destroyer is its ridiculously powerful gun for its rank, which is capable of destroying most tanks of a similar rank in one shot. The ZiS-30 serves mainly in a support role, firing from the rear of the line at spotted targets. Despite this, the ZiS-30 can feasibly serve as a lone sniper or a hit-and-run vehicle, due to its powerful gun and impressive speed. Although the ZiS-30 is a powerhouse in terms of speed and firepower, it is quite fragile and can easily be taken out by enemy tanks. Due to the near nonexistent armour of the ZiS-30, the crew is extremely prone to damage and it takes very few shots to knock them out. A proven tactic is to fire at preoccupied enemies so that they cannot react fast enough to fire back. Often it helps to set up an ambush position on a ridge and wait for the enemy to enter your line of fire. After taking several shots (2-4), it is advised that a new position be found, as other enemies may have noticed you by that time.
The ZiS-30 possesses three main advantages – small dimensions, great speed and manoeuvrability, and a fantastic gun for its rank. With its good top speed and acceleration, it can move very quickly across the map. It is also comparatively a very small vehicle, so it can be a very hard target to hit especially at long range. Its gun has virtually no problems when penetrating anything on the given BR spread and features a (relatively) fast rate of fire and flat trajectory, making the vehicle a suitable long-range sniper. As the gun is mounted onto the roof, the vehicle has a reasonably tall profile. This is both an advantage and disadvantage – it compromises your cover which allows you to be spotted easier, but at the same time, you can shoot over lower obstacles while exposing only the gun shield.
Obviously, there are disadvantages as well. The gun's recoil is rather strong for the small chassis and the sway is large enough to cause you to lose track of your target, hence requiring realignment every time you take the shot. The vehicle also carries a very small ammunition supply. Most importantly, however, the vehicle's armour is practically nonexistent and even armour piercing rounds from rifle calibre machine guns can pierce your frontal armour at close range. The crew of the gun are protected only by the gun shield. Otherwise, it's exposed and thus very vulnerable. However, many armour piercing rounds will just pass through the gun shield without detonating, significantly reducing the damage. That being said, it is advised to use HE rounds when facing the ZiS-30.
Given its advantages and disadvantages, the ZiS-30's performs best when used as a highly mobile, long-range sniper. Race to a position using your speed and then conceal your fragile hull and then wait for the enemy to stumble in your sights. Use your high rate of fire to take several well-aimed shots, then quickly relocate.
Ammunition | Type | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
APHEBC | 145 | 142 | 128 | 112 | 98 | 86 | |
HE | 12 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | |
APHE | 145 | 140 | 118 | 95 | 77 | 62 |
Belt | Belt filling | Armor penetration (mm) at a distance: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1000 m | 1500 m | 2000 m | ||
AP-I/API-T | 13 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
Mobility | |
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Protection |
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Firepower | |
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