[Would you like to see this in-game?]
- Yes
- No
0
voters
TL;DR: A casemate M113 equipped with a 105mm howitzer.
History:
In the Early 1970s, the German military had begun accepting large numbers of the new Marder 1 IFV, which, in turn, had begun to replace the aging M113 APC. This meant that an ever increasing number of M113s were being packed away into storage. Eventually, it came to a point where they were, quite frankly, hoarding space. It would be a shame to simply scrap them all so, in 1977, Krauss Maffei and Rheinmetall, in cooperation with FMC, decided they were going to attempt to repurpose some of the stored M113s and make some money at the same time. To do this, they decided to attempt to revive the idea of a casemate assault tank and mix it with modern doctrines. What they came up with was the M113 Fire Support Combat Vehicle, also sometimes called the M113 STUG. Based on a heavily “squished” M113 hull, the FSCV sported an XM103 105mm howitzer in a mount with zero horizontal traverse and a pintle-mounted MG3. The vehicle was advertised as a being capable of taking on several duties, from anti-tank to reconnaissance, making it a jack-of-all-trades. To facilitate this, the FSCV inherited amphibious and troop transport capabilities from its M113 roots. Three weapon ports were available for traveling dismounts. Alas, interest in employing the M113 FSCV, domestically or otherwise, simply did not exist. While it was advertised as a jack-of-all-trades, this also made it a master of none. Its armor was far to thin to provide frontline fire support and there were far better options on the market when it came to armed APCs, artillery vehicles, or reconnaissance platforms. It is unknown what happened to the sole prototype.
Place In War Thunder:
There a very few vehicles currently in-game that use the hull aiming mechanic. Yes, it may be a tad buggy, however, this isn’t an excuse to exclude the addition of vehicles who could make use of it. The M113 FSCV is one such vehicle. Its small size combined with its high speed would allow for an aggressive, yet still cautious, playstyle. You’d want to speed into a covered position overlooking a sightline at the beginning of the game and lay in wait for targets. You’d want to keep your gun’s low velocity in mind and compensate accordingly. After killing an enemy, you’d want to reposition and repeat the process. Alternatively, you could simply rush in and meme on people with the HESH round that you cannon can fire. Since the M113 FSCV was a one-off prototype, it has no place in the tech tree. It likely wouldn’t be too terribly useful either and it would be a chore to grind modifications for. It would fit best either as a GE premium or battlepass vehicle.
Specifications:
Armament: 105mm XM103 Howitzer and 1x MG3
Dimensions: 4.63m, 2.69m, ?.??m (L,W,H)
Weight: 12000~kg
Armor: Proof against on the front 14.5mm front and 7.62mm on the side
Crew: 2
Ammunition: HE, HEAT, HESH, Smoke
Speed: 67~kph (land) 6~kph (water)
Horsepower: 275hp
Pictures:
Front View:Elevation/Depression:Vehicle Profiles:Internal View:
Sources:
M113 armored personnel carrier - Wikipedia
https://read01.com/AzQ8A7L.html#.YiG07MnMJPZ
Fire Support Combat Vehicle (FSCV)
TM 43-0001-28, Artillery Ammunition
Sheridan: A History Of The American Light Tank Volume 2 by R.P. Hunnicutt
