Wiesel 1A2

Description

The Waffenträger Wiesel 1A2 TOW is a rank German tank destroyer with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Ground Breaking".

A tiny tankette with a big punch, the Wiesel 1A2 allows players to utilize the vehicle's tiny profile to bring the TOW anti-tank missile wherever they wish in the battlefield, just so long as they are not seen first.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour on the Wiesel 1A2 is more likely meant for keeping the crew members out of the weather elements than actually for protecting the crew from any form of gunfire barring the weakest rifle-calibre ammunition. The 60° slope on the front of the tank will only spare the crew from rifle-calibre machine gun fire, providing about ~25 mm of protection against projectiles. Against heavy machine gun fire and large calibres, the front plate will be pierced, and the crew and ammo will quickly take damage.

In terms of survivability, the Wiesel performs rather poorly there as well. Being a compact tank, the crew of 3 men and the ammunition are cramped together, turning any penetration of the tank into a crew knock out, if not an outright ammo rack detonation since the racks are sitting behind the commander and the gunner. The only saving grace is the frontally left-mounted engine and transmission, which on extreme occasion will absorb an incoming projectile, even a main battle tank shell, but again, this is a rare occurrence.

Armour type:

Notes:

Mobility

The mobility of the Wiesel 1A2 is quite excellent, boasting 30 horsepower per ton with 87 hp (spaded) on a 2.9t chassis. With such acceleration, the Wiesel can quickly reach its top speed on both hard road and grassland. The Wiesel does quite well climbing hills and steep inclines when spaded. Commanders of a spaded Wiesel can expect the tank to reach a top speed of about 51 km/h on grass dirt terrain, and about 65 km/h on roads, although higher speeds can be achieved in prolonged straight-line dashes.

Modifications and economy

The modification acquisition order for the Wiesel differs from other tanks severely. After getting Parts and FPE, the modification that should be pursued is the TOW-2A. Acquiring this missile will allow the Wiesel to frontally engage and kill any target at its BR with few exceptions, granting the tank a significant power boost. The next modification to be acquired is the thermals, as this will allow faster target acquisition and allow for more tolerable conditions in night battles. After the previously mentioned modifications are obtained, all other modifications are to be gathered at the user's preference.

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Wiesel 1A2

Notes:

• Missiles are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Missiles deplete from rack 1 then 2. Rack 3 represents the ATGM launcher.

Machine guns

Usage in battles

The primary use of the Wiesel 1A2 should be as an ambush tank destroyer. Utilizing the ATGM's impressive depression angle of -20° to conceal the Wiesel on the tops of hills and in ditches allow the player to be all but invisible to enemy armour. In environments that lack such features such as cities, the Wiesel is able to best fulfill its role by hiding in corners and dead ends angles so that an enemy approaching the Wiesel will not be able to react in time. Due to the long reload of the ATGM paired with the paper-thin armour, it is not recommended to brawl with this tankette. However, if the Wiesel has the element of surprise, the punchy TOW-2A can deliver a killing blow in a single hit. Another aspect to note is the insanely good power-to-weight ratio, allowing Wiesel to climb steep inclines and to access locations not often accessible to most tanks. Use this mobility to place the Wiesel in a spot where enemy tanks will not be expecting it.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great ATGM, including top-down attack modification for countersniping and NERA tanks
• Good mobility
• Small silhouette, making it easy to hide
• Can properly hulldown behind short cover and has reasonable turret depression for the hills and high ground
• Can scout while being an ATGM tank - renders smoke screens and cover useless in AB, makes it easier to call for help and to get a replacement in RB

Cons:

• Almost no armour - can be broken, bullied and destroyed by using HMG or even LMG alone, will not sustain explosive damage either
• While the crew is located low enough to survive some AP shots passing through the roof, the ammo racks are placed way too high, it is necessary to spend ammunition fast to survive
• Low ATGM count, considering it can't stand up for itself in close quarters when rearming (Usually irrelevant in AB)
• TOW-2B is a tier 4 upgrade, until then 1A2 is not much better than ATGMs of lower BR

History

The Wiesel was developed for German airborne troops due to their inadequate equipment used to fight enemy MBTs in 1970s. Requirements were that the vehicle is transportable by NATO transport planes and eventually is air droppable. Another requirement from the Bundeswehr was capability of fighting infantry and aircraft. Some prototypes were made by Porsche in 1975 but Bundeswehr stopped the project in 1978 due to lack of funds. Porsche continued developing the project cause of interest from abroad. In 1985 Bundeswehr ordered 343 vehicles. Out of these, 210 were Wiesel 1A2 armed with TOW launcher and 133 were Wiesel 1 Mk20 armed with Rheinmetall Mk 20 RH-202 20 mm autocannon. Both variants were deployed to Somalia in 1993 as part of United Nations forces intervention.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Wiesel 1A2 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

• M113A1 (TOW)
• M113A1 (TOW) (China)
• CM25
• UDES 33
• Pvrbv 551

External links

• [Devblog] Wiesel armored vehicles: MK20/TOW/2 ADWC
• Wiesel AWC