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TL;DR: Fast indigenously developed car. Recoilless rifle.
Note: This is the only picture I could find of this vehicle. If you have any other significant information, please let me know.
History:
After WW2, Germany was split into two halves, East and West. The end of WW2 also brought about NATO and immediately after the signing of the treaty that brought it into existence, the question about West Germany’s entrance into the organization was brought up. West Germany’s entrance into NATO would essentially mean that Germany would be allowed to rearm itself, which wasn’t a popular decision with many parties for obvious reasons, however, it was eventually reasoned that German engineers were some of the best in the world and if led properly, they could become an incredibly strong ally. The West would enter NATO on May 9th, 1955, and rearmament measures immediately began. Not wanting to fall behind, the USSR would found the Warsaw Pact a few days later on May 14th, 1955, with the East being a founding member and subsequently rearmed. Part of this rearmament would be the creation of a dedicated border guard, the Grenztruppen der DDR, who would be identified by a standard East German land forces roundel surrounded by a green circle. Though not as heavily armored as the main land forces, the Grenztruppen would still utilized several armed vehicles to ensure order. That being said, most of these vehicles were things like armored cars fitted with machine guns. Effective against softer targets, sure, but completely helpless against heavy armor. To provide these troops with something to deal with these potential threats, the Grenztruppen would receive the SPG-9, a light and very portable 73mm recoilless rifle that fired the same rounds as the BMP-1, the only difference being the propelling charge. This gave them the ability to defeat armor up to 300mm. While the SPG-9 was great and super portable, it was still a stationary weapon that generally needed to be deployed before firing, which could be undesirable for a force that may need to move across long spans of border quickly. At the same time, East German paratroopers just so happened to be facing a similar problem and were looking for a mobile and hard-hitting vehicle that could also fit into their transport helicopters. The solution the East Germans came up with was rather simple. Mount their SPG-9 onto a car. They chose two cars for this. The UAZ-468B, which saw a supposed 500+ conversions, and the much lesser known IFA P3, a completely domestically developed 4x4 off-road-capable light utility vehicle, whose conversion has only been photographed, seemingly, a single time in service with the Grenztruppen. The ultimate reason why the East Germans decided to diversify their platforms in this way isn’t known, however, it is possible the reason was to have some level of independence from the USSR as all of the parts for the IFA P3 were manufactured in East Germany, making things like maintenance and replacement much more streamlined. What is known is that this was a much more simple and straightforward conversion compared to what was done with the UAZ-469B as it appears to simply be an SPG-9 mounted on the open-topped version of the IFA P3 where as the UAZ-469B needed to be majorly modified to allow for adequate operation of the weapon. This ease of conversion could have also been the reason why the IFA P3 was chosen as a platform.
Place In War Thunder:
Recoilless rifle carriers are a classic sub-class in War Thunder, especially the small and fast ones that can pop up and disappear in an instant. Their high-risk high-reward playstyles bring about a satisfaction not really found in many other vehicle classes. The IFA P3 (SPG-9) would be another fine addition to that roster. Its small and fast profile combined with the familiar and well-liked performance of the rounds found on the SPG-9 would surely draw a sizeable fanbase. It’s also an almost entirely domestically produced East German vehicle, the only non-domestic part being the weapon, which could provide a breath of fresh air into an otherwise “copypaste” dominated sub-nation. Playstyle wouldn’t be anything players haven’t experienced, playing similar to the Type 60 SPRG (C) found in the Japanese tree, although with one less gun and worse off-road performance. Out of sight and out of mind is the name of the game. Use your speed to rock up to a nice early game position, fire off a few rounds, and run away before repeating the process. It may also be possible to cosplay as a map object and catch the odd MBT off guard. Since the IFA P3 (SPG-9) was a service vehicle, it stands to reason for its addition to be in the tech tree, potentially between the M109G and leKPz M41 at 6.3, however, due to its obscure nature, it would also be adequate as a squadron or premium alternative to the to the presumably more common UAZ-469B (SPG-9).
Specifications:
Armament: 73mm SPG-9 recoilless rifle
Dimensions: 3.71m, 1.95m, 1.95m (L,W,H)
Weight: 1908~kg
Armor: None
Crew: 3 (4 if co-driver is included)
Ammunition: HE-FRAG and HEATFS
Speed: 95~kph
Horsepower: 75hp
Picture:
Normal IFA P3 Interior:
Normal IFA P3 Side View:
Basic Artistic Depiction:
Sources:
SPG-9 - Wikipedia
IFA P3 – Wikipedia
https://www.kfz-regiment2.de/pkw-p3/
Sachsenring-P3
https://p3-freunde.de/gelaendewagen-p3/
https://mr-aug.livejournal.com/1660125.html
Bewaffnung
Landfahrzeuge
GAR-7 Halberstadt
Raketen- und Waffentechnischer Dienst (RWD) - PKW gel. UAZ 469
https://themator.museum-digital.de/dokumente/21181814607.pdf
https://themator.museum-digital.de/dokumente/21182346281.pdf