- Yes
- No
Background
The FV432 MISER 120mm WOMBAT was a means to increase the firepower of an attached infantry section and offer a means of engaging enemy armour built in April 1969. The 120MM WOMBAT X7 was a modified 120mm MOBAT or Mobile BAT, a modded L2 BAT (Battalion Anti-Tank) Recoilless Rifle. The WOMBAT (Weapon Of Magnesium Battalion Anti-Tank) was tested on Landrovers, and APCs and considered for a variety of other roles and was lighter at 650lb.
The MISER mount made by the now defunct Revell Engineering UK allowed the weapon to be fired from the vehicle or taken down and out and used as an infantry support piece. It’s worth noting the 432 was designed from its earlier mockup days to have enough room to carry a WOMBAT and the wooden mockup was tested with this in mind.
This particular vehicle is a bit spicier in that it also has an additional Carl Gustav 8.4 cm recoilless rifle attached to it for an extra bit of punch and on top of that it has a .50 spotting rifle. The Gusty has a velocity of 951 fps and can perforate up to 450 mm of steel. The firing angles for the Gusty are weird and it can fire forwards and out at odd angles and can be extended from the hull side.
The 120 mm WOMBAT will defeat 150mm of steel (often quoted as 400 which is patently inaccurate) however HESH when it impacts sends the shock perpendicular to the angle of the plate. LOS thickness is more or less ignored up to around 70° and indeed HESH is most effective hitting angles between 28° to 60°
The WOMBAT has a traverse of 30° to the LEFT side only! If a target appears to the right, use the Gusty or turn the hull, the weapon is otherwise locked to a narrow fire arc.
The WOMABT has an elevation of +20° and depression of just -3° It’s accurate out to around 1000-1200 yards and has a muzzle velocity of 1515fps and the 60lb round has a 28lb warhead. 13 rounds are carried inside. 2 on a ready rack and 11 on a rack on the inner left side, no listings for how many gusty rounds were carried so Gaijin can be creative.
Why you should play it and why Gaijin could add it.
The latter bit is easy, it’s cheap. The main hull exists in the 438 swingfire so it’s a much quicker job for the modelling team to model it and slot it in before the 438.
As for playstyle thats a bit trickier, the speed is average, the armour is non-existent, and the size is average, a good .50 burst and you’re back in the garage as it were. On the other hand, it’s able to quite easily double-tap any other vehicle out of the game with a click or two. The HESH will knock out most threats even with its wonky behaviour and if that doesn’t a quick follow-up with the HEAT round will. Just remember there are limited rounds available. This vehicle cannot brawl at all. It’s a steel lunchbox. So careful positioning or ambushing where vehicles will pass will favour it far more, on a side note Gustav’s weird mounting will allow for some quite devious trick shots to be taken exposing very little of the hull. Incidently like many 430 variants it could swim with flotation screens if they so wished but nobody cares for that in the game.
WT timelines are not known to be the best but given its age of introduction so given its actual timeline and the tiers around 7.3 to 7.7 seems logical before FV.438 swingfire.
Tech Specs
Hull (as in-game 432/8)
Armor 12 mm over the cab
Max Speed 52.3 kph
Max offroad speed 40.2 kph
Max reverse speed 5.39mph
Flotation speed 3.5 mph
Ground pressure 11.30lb/sq in
Maximum vert obstacle 2 ft
Max gradients 35°
Weapons
1 x 120mm WOMBAT RR
Ammo 13 rounds
1 x 84mm Carl Gustav RR
Ammo - unlisted
1 x .50 spotting rifle
1 x 7.62mm GPMG or -
1 X .50 HMG - cupola mounted - optional
A regular non spicy korma WOMBAT 432
Sources:
WO 32 216122 development of AFV’s post-1980
FV430 series user workshop manual
FV432 Maintenance workshop manual
Carrier personnel Fully Tracked FV.432 Owners Manual
WO 341/79 5th Tripartite conference notes
WO 194 162 Divisional Liaison report notes
FV.432 WOMBAT users supplement
WO 36210 RARDE annual report
DEFE 15326 Development of HESH by CEAD
WO 194.591 Firing trials of 120mm WOMBAT from a FV432
