Type 87 RCV (P)

Description

The Type 87 RCV (P) is the prototype stage of the Type 87 RCV and differs primarily in the turret. While the prototype boasts only a 20 mm autocannon, it does come with an expensive stabilizer which wasn't retained in the main production version.

It was introduced in Update "La Royale". Offering the same great mobility as its main production model, its firepower is dampened due to its smaller calibre and is lesser damage and penetration as a result. The safest way to utilize the Type 87 RCV (P) is by playing in its intended role: as a reconnaissance combat vehicle. Scout out targets from vantage points, and use the 20 mm purely for self-defence and against softer targets that are doing the same recon role.

General info

Survivability and armour

Most of the survivability will result from the lack of armour, most of the vehicle is covered by 10 mm armour with some frontal plates at 20 mm protection. It will be easy to be penalized by machine gun fire if spotted but, if the bullets/shells hit in empty spots from the side, the shells will go clean through without any damage to crew or components.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret)

Notes:

• Wheels are 10 mm thick
• Has some external modules like fuel cans, mud flaps & optics all at 4 mm thick
• Radiators are 10 mm thick

Mobility

As a wheeled reconnaissance vehicle, it is able to get to positions rather fast especially when keeping on roads, allowing for easy flanking and getting on vantage points to scout out the enemy team.

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

With the armament the Type 87 RCV (P) gets, it's most suitable as a support vehicle that can deal with lightly armoured vehicles and low-flying aircraft. Even the improved APDS belt will lack in damage output due to its small calibre and relatively little penetration at 66 mm.

Ammunition

• Default: HVAP-T · HEFI-T
• DM51A1: HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HEFI-T · HVAP-T
• DM43: HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HVAP-T · HEFI-T
• DM63: APDS · APDS · APDS · HEFI-T

Ammo racks

Machine guns

Usage in battles

The Type 87 RCV (Prototype) is a specialized vehicle that is designed for reconnaissance and light combat support. RCV stands for Recon Combat Vehicle, which indicates its main function of scouting the enemy positions and engaging targets that are vulnerable to its 20 mm auto-cannon. The auto-cannon can fire at a high rate and is effective against infantry, low-flying aircraft and lightly armoured vehicles such as trucks, APCs and IFVs. However, the auto-cannon has limited penetration and damage against heavily armoured vehicles such as tanks and SPGs. The auto-cannon can only disable the tracks or barrels of these vehicles, but it would require a lot of ammunition and time to do so. Therefore, it is not advisable to use the Type 87 RCV against armoured targets, but rather to report them to the team and let them handle the threat. The Type 87 RCV should be used on wide flanks, where it can exploit its mobility to find advantageous positions and spot out enemy vehicles. It can also destroy or suppress enemy snipers such as ATGM carriers and soft SPGs that are hiding in the rear. The Type 87 RCV should avoid direct confrontation with the enemy, but rather focus on providing intelligence and fire support for the team.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• From the side on:
  • Crew spaced out enough to not die in a single shot
  • Because of light armour, it is able to take shells without much damage from spalling
• Decent rate of fire
• Great mobility
  • Able to reach 100 km/h on roads with ease
  • Fast enough to reach 50 km/h off-road
• High-speed gun stabilizer

Cons:

• Relatively high profile for a recon vehicle
• High chance of getting knocked out by a single shot frontally
• Belts leave much to desire
  • Stock HVAP only penetrates 57 mm
  • Better APDS only penetrates 66 mm
• Very lightly armoured
• Only 2 reverse gears allowing it to reach -20 km/h

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Type 87 RCV (P) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Related Development

• Type 87 RCV

Vehicles of similar configuration

• XM800T
• R3 T20 FA-HS
• U-SH 204 GK

Vehicles with similar weapon systems

• Wiesel 1A4
• Ystervark
• AMX-10P
• Marder A1-
• SUB-I-II

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.