CATI 90 --- ASU-57s Belgian brother with HEAT

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The CATI 90 (Canon Antitank d’Infanterie 90 mm) was a Belgian light tank destroyer based on their old Loyd carrier stocks that they wanted to put to use.

The result was a cheap and efficient tank destroyer capable of taking on most threats back in the 1950s. Belgian company MECAR developed a new low-weight low-recoil 90 mm gun to put on those light vehicles, as it wouldn’t take anything with a heavier recoil.

The cannon fired a potent 90 mm HEAT-FS shell but had a relatively low muzzle velocity as a consequence. Also, as a consequence of the vehicle’s small size, only 18+1 rounds can be taken into battle, which is just enough for most people, but you should still aim carefully if you want to last long, since the quick reload speed will make you run out of ammo if you’re not careful!

The Loyd chassis it is based on did not receive any additional armor which will stay quite weak at only 7 mm at the front, but it will keep a good power-to-weight ratio, also thanks to the low weight of the gun.

The CATI 90 would go on to serve a few years in the Belgian army before getting replaced by Belgian modified AMX VCIs with ENTAC missiles.

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Specifications - CATI 90

Armament:

MECAR 90 mm cannon (Ammo: 18)
90 mm HEAT-FS: 350 mm at 0°, 633 m/s
Reload speed: 6 s
Vertical guidance: -13 / 15°
Horizontal guidance: 22°

Armor:

7 mm RHA

Mobility:

Ford V8 8-cylinder engine (90 hp)
Max. speed: 48 km/h
4-speed transmission
Power to weight ratio: 18.75 hp per ton

Crew:

4 (Driver, Commander, Gunner, Loader) (Gunner can drive the vehicle)

Dimensions:

Mass: 4.8 t
Length: 5.7 m
Width: 2.06 m
Height: 1.42 m

I reckon this could be a very fun vehicle to play, decently mobile, quick-firing HEAT cannon, decent depression and a very low profile easy to bush up, it could also be very not fun to face!

As the title says, it’s a bit like an ASU-57 but with HEAT shells, i personally can’t wait to find it in a possible Benelux tree, although it could also find its way in a Belgian subtree in France or as a British premium since it’s based on a British chassis.

Sources

Jane’s Armoured Fighting Vehicle Retrofit Systems 1993-94

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Wake up honey, new rat tank just dropped. +1

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+1 for BeNeLux

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+1 in a subtree for France

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UPDATE

So i didn’t expect to learn anything new about this vehicle, but fortunately there is a CATI 90 in the Royal Military Museum in Brussels and i noticed something walking around it;

While the driver is on the right, there are also driver controls on the left!

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That means that when the driver is knocked out, the crew member on the left can immediately reverse and get away!

But wait, who is the crew member on the left?
That’s right, the gunner can aim and fire the cannon, load shells that are just behind him and drive the vehicle.

Spoiler

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Sooo… new one crew vehicle?

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Wow, that’s awesome! Casemate tanks usually get shot flat-on either on the left or right front plate, taking out the crew on that side. Being able to still control the vehicle and not be a sitting duck, especially in a casemate, is going to drastically improve the survivability of this vehicle.

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And the very small target it provides!
This vehicle is interesting - it could be an excellent sniper, low-profile, no penetration loss with distance, easy to bush up, two drivers, but then at the same time it’s held back by the mediocre muzzle velocity and ammo count, i’m having trouble thinking of a good BR for it!

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BR wise, It would probably be at most 6.0, but likely around 5.0. Comparing it to another 90mm casemate vehicle, the German Jagdpanzer 4-5 sits at 6.3 and has better armor and ammunition capacity, and probably a higher velocity gun, so it shouldn’t go above that in rating I would imagine.
It does have a small size to its advantage, and the duplicate steering controls, but these don’t feel like they would affect its BR rating particularly much. Although very nice to have once you need them.

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True, but then you also have the Ikv 103 with 400 mm of pen at 4.0 for some reason