BECAUSE Otomatic uses a entire coastal fleet weapon in a vehicle chassis with minor adjust for begin able to be used in the OF-40 platform,
In other hand ONLY the cannon (Au-220M) is used in coastal fleet ships in case of the 2S38, the firing system Bajkal was made specifically for ground vehicles like the BMP-3,
And also, Otomatic had only 2 prototypes and never entered service, but, 2S38 entered service by the last year.
At least Otomatic has APFSDS because if it was really that accurate, probably (I don’t know), this one would be shooting SAPHE on main battle tanks.
But something that not many see is that no matter the type of round, the autoloader can store apfsds and HEVT, if the loading line did not support apfsds, you would need some manual loading method,But if it supports the apfsds,and it could not be a problem with the chamber, the length is not a problem, if a projectile were to enter ,it would only have to have some space to fit,Then the system pushes the projectile into the chamber and fires, the recoil removes the case, loads another and fires, it is not a design limitation, it is a mechanical limitation,The Otomatic could carry APFSDS projectiles in the turret or hull without problems, those are not spaces so closed that they could not fit,In conclusion, the charger supports the apfsds without any problem, and the storage of these should not affect the number of apfsds that can be carried,It is a mechanical limitation that should not be there, Maybe it should be limited in APFSDS because it is a 76 mm weapon, but I don’t see the same in other vehicles of the same type, but many other vehicles have better capabilities ,While the Otomatic is limited, it cannot carry out its main function, and cannot defend itself from attackers, mobility is good, but not so much that it has to be so limited.
I believe the issue you are having is because of the class of vehicle. The 2S38, HSTV-L, and STRF 9040s are light tanks, and it makes sense for them to be able to carry full APFSDS from a balance standpoint. The OTOMATIC is an SPAA and being able to bring 90 APFSDS rounds in an SPAA is crazy because then you just get a tank destroyer for much less cost. Add to that that you have 300mm+ pen on those APFSDS and it makes sense why they limit it. Looks like a similar sitation as the Gepard with the APDS being limited to the secondary magazine.
There are some SPAA that are limited by how much ammo they can take and what type. The M247 can take 4 belts of default ammo, but has to only take 2 belts of anything else so you can’t take a full load of just SAPHE or HE-VT. I would love for it to be able to carry 4 belts of HE-VT, but then it would be a huge adtamtage for the vehicle.
The HSTV-L has FLIR tracking so it can take out both tanks and aircraft, and it has HE-VT rounds to facilitate that. The Strf’s are the closest of those mentioned thus far, since it doesn’t have any method of tracking (the HSTV-L currently doesn’t either in game, but it should).
But having it limited to 12 total is way too restrictive. It should bare minimum should be able to carry 30 (especially since it’s at 11.3!).
I am aware that the 2S38 is actually an anti aircraft platform, but all the vehicles mentioned in my reply are all classed as light tanks. It doesn’t make sense to me why the 2S38 is classed as such because it clearly shouldn’t be, but it is what it is.
I get that, but it is one of the very few SPAA that can defend against vehicles with armor. Not saying it’s right by any means, just that it is how it is right now. I honestly think this is another case of an armor piercing round pushing up an SPAA to unusable battle ratings.
OTOMATIC is modelled wrongly in the game. Irl it has double autoloader, the main one for anti-air shells (+theoretically for SAPOM) and an additional for anti-tank shells (APFSDS). The “12 apfsds” limitation comes from 3 ready to fire shells in the additional autoloader + 9 shells in the first-order ammo rack next to it, although nothing stops from carrying additional apfsds shells in the hull ammorack near driver.
Then i dont see any reason why 2S38 shouldnt have its APFSDS limted…ohh i know why, because it left testing phase last year, we know jack poop about it so Gaijin just made things up. How do we know what it isnt limited to AP rounds. What if the HEVT isnt HEVT but a timer fuze. WE pretty much know nothing about it
If they make it an AA in game (which it is IRL) I would be fine with it’s APFSDS being limited. Though, the LVKV9040C is the same BR and and it gets unlimited APFSDS, frontal protection vs 30mm, a search radar, and is classified as an AA, and I never see anyone complain about it.
And speaking of search radars, how little is known about the 2S38 publicly also hurts it in some ways, as an example I’m fairly certain these sensors on the base of the turret are small PESA search radars, either as part of a MAWS system or more likely for detecting and slewing the turret to targets. If that ever gets published, they could give it a search radar in game.
Well, for one the LVKV9040C only has 143mm penetration compared to 2S38’s 225mm.
Those extra 82mm could make the difference between penetrating the weakspot (breech, turret ring, side skirt) or not. This makes 2S38 much more capable of engaging MBTs from the front.
Turning the turret around on the LVKV9040C can feel a bit clumsy in the AA role. Meanwhile the 2S38 has almost double the traverse speed (56.4 vs. 32.8) in RB with expert crew.
2S38 also has superior elevation of +75° compared to LVKV9040C’s +50°
Well, fire rate means very little when the first-order ammunition rack only holds 24 rounds. You’ll be out in no time.
IIRC the 2S38 has 20 ready shells, but with a larger calibre of 57mm this difference is not great.
Secondly, the 2S38 doesn’t need an armored turret when it has something better - an entirely unmanned one. That is one of the vehicle’s chief advantages.
It’s small size is a huge advantage however if you hit the ammo in the turret it dies instantly, even with 20mm rounds you can ammo rack it pretty consistently. I’m not disagreeing with you, I think the 2S38 is extremely strong, it’s just that I also feel that way about the CV90, and I think the main reason the 2S38 gets singled out is because it’s more popular, and the usual Le Russian Bias stuff
The issue is Gajin has not made the OTO the way it operates IRL. The APFSDS rounds should be in a 3 round drum on the side of the gun. The APFSDS rounds do not go through the auto-loader. What they did is make the OTO like the Gepard which either one has nothing alike.
