The Tank Bible

Ever stopped to wonder why you spent a full minute making sure there was absolutely no one behind you and as soon as you looked away you got shot? Or why as soon as the map switches to Hill 400 your team goes from 5 full tank squads to 1 solo? Why are enemy infantry more OP than enemy tanks for crying out loud? This phenomenon is what experienced tankers like to call “getting AT’d in the ass” and is how most novice tankers meet their ends on the battlefield. To fix that, I have compiled a complete section on everything you need to know about all forms of AT—rockets, guns, bombs, mines, satchels, shells, and rifles—to help you understand what can happen in the field and how to react to it.

Let’s start with the AT rockets and rifle first. Below are the individual damage values of each team’s AT rockets and rifle against enemy tanks. Knowing the damage values of each of these off the top of your head will allow you to get a better idea of when you are safe as a tank and when you are in imminent danger.

The “Bazooka” is a decent anti-tank weapon that can do the job if the AT player wielding it knows what they are doing. Update 10 has standardized a lot of the tank engagements, as we will see below in the tank section, and the “Bazooka” is no exception. The “Bazooka” has exactly the same firepower as an M5 Stuart light tank or an M8 Greyhound recon vehicle. Below are the hits to kill all German tanks in each location:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

Notes:

• For the Puma, aim at the dead center of the body.

• For the Panzer II, the front plate and turret mantle (which obscures the entire turret when looking at it from the front) are impenetrable. Aim for the side of the tank.

• Panther and Tiger can only be killed from the rear.

As the data above clearly shows, the “Bazooka” is effective at dealing with German recon vehicles and light tanks, but heavy tank hulls can only be penetrated from the rear. Shooting the tracks of the Panther or the Tiger will only result in disabling those tracks without doing any actual hull damage. That being said, here are some things good AT players can do to give you a bad day:

• As mentioned in section 2.10, the engine of the Panther and the Tiger can be disabled by shooting through the tracks and into the engine block towards the rear of the tank (the green outlines in Figure 15). The “Bazooka” cannot kill you by using this technique, but if they land the shot correctly, they will be able to disable both tanks’ engines in 2 shots, leaving you completely immobilized until the engine is repaired and allowing them to secure the kill by shooting your rear or placing a satchel.

• The Panther and the Tiger can also be shot right down the barrel by the “Bazooka” (though this is now a harder shot to hit in Update 10 since you have to be looking straight down the barrel to land it), disabling the turret and subsequently your coaxial MG.

• American AT can disable your tank faster than you might think. If hit in the rear, the engine of the Panzer II is disabled in 1 shot and the engine of the Tiger is disabled in 2 shots, while the Panther is killed outright in 2 but the engine is not disabled with the first shot. This means that although the Panzer II and the Tiger actually take 2 and 3 “Bazooka” rounds to the rear to kill respectively, effectively once their engines are destroyed they are dead. Perhaps there is a small chance you can get out and kill the AT hounding you, but you would then have to repair the tank to 100% engine to be operational again.

Currently, the only AT loadout that includes the “Bazooka” gives that player 2 rockets. This means that like the “Panzerschreck”, you will be able to effectively ignore American AT players if they miss their first shot in a medium or heavy, because they cannot kill you or destroy your engine. In fact, if an AT player has shot all of their rockets, it’s better not to kill that AT player so that they do not have a chance to respawn with more ammunition. As a whole, only the back plate is a viable option for dealing substantial damage to German medium and heavy tanks with a “Bazooka”. This fact allows German tanks to be a bit more lenient with their positioning as well as their infantry support. For more on dealing with AT rocketeers, see section 3.8.

Figure 16: “German Anti-tank Soldier (circa 1944, colorized)”

This bad boy packs a significantly stronger punch than its American counterpart. After extensive testing, the “Panzerschreck” seems to most closely resemble a slightly weaker version of the Panther’s main gun in that it can penetrate most of the same areas but does less damage to those areas.

Below are the damage values for the “Panzerschreck” against all American tanks:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

Notes:

• For the Greyhound, aim at the dead center of the body.

• For the Stuart, the front, side, or rear plates are the place to go for. The turret will absorb more rockets than you have ammunition for in one life, so therefore is sub-optimal.

• The Sherman medium can be penetrated in the tires hanging off the front armor for 2 shots. Anything else from the front, including the turret mantle, cupola, and slanted portions of the turret, will ricochet (see the Panther section for pictures of where to shoot the front plate). Shooting the side and rear are also 2 shot kills, but the first shot will not disable the engine. Do not aim for the turret, best case scenario you will take 4 shots to the side or rear turret.

• “Jumbo” 75mm and 76mm can be penetrated in the side and rear of the tank for a 3 shot kill. These do 45% hull damage, so 2 of them do 90% hull and 3 kill.

• Testing on tanks that took more than 10 rockets to the tracks was not pursued.

That’s all fine and dandy, but what about the Soviet forces introduced in Update 10? How does the “Panzerschreck” fare against their tanks? Here are the stats:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

Notes:

• Hopefully you have started to notice the pattern here in Update 10—the different classes of tanks have largely the same armor with only minor differences, and the American tanks perform very similarly to Soviet tanks against German AT.

• For the BA-10, aim at the dead center of the body.

• The T-34/76 can be penetrated anywhere in the front plate for a 2 shot kill if you hit perpendicular to the plate. Hitting the turret mantle will ricochet, and aiming for the turret is a bad idea anyways since even when you can penetrate in the side or the rear of it, the best case scenario is a 4 shot kill. Shooting the side and rear plate are also 2 shot kills, but the first shot will not disable the engine.

• The IS-1 can actually be penetrated in the front the same way the Panther can penetrate the IS-1 in the front (Figure 17), in the two slanted portions of the front armor that connect to the side armor (to see the detailed breakdown of this exact shot, see the section on the Panther). In addition, the IS-1 can be penetrated in the side and rear of the tank in 3 shots. These do 45% hull damage, so 2 of them do 90% hull and 3 kill.

• Testing on tanks that took more than 10 rockets to the tracks was not pursued.

Figure 17: “The ‘Panzerschreck’ Penetrating IS-1 Front Armor”

The “Panzerschreck” is a more serious threat than the “Bazooka” to American tanks and to Soviet tanks but especially their mediums. This is because the “Panzerschreck” can penetrate every part of the mediums including the front plate—in other words, all a German AT player has to do is peek out of cover and shoot a rocket at the dead center of the medium’s front plate to do significant damage to it. Even if you are ready for him and kill him immediately as he peeks, a lot of times the AT player can still get a shot off. As for the “Jumbo” variants of the Sherman and the IS-1 heavy tanks, they fare similarly against German AT rockets, with one notable exception. The front plate of the “Jumbo” Shermans is impervious to damage, while the front plate of the IS-1 can be hit but requires some amount of expertise to land. The sides of allied heavy tanks are a 3 shot kill (the same as the rear plate). This effectively means that both sides and your back plate are vulnerable spots that you need to have protected by cover or by infantry support thereby forcing you to take more conservative positioning than in the German tanks.

The following is a list of strategies that skilled German AT players can employ to disable and destroy your tank in the field:

• As outlined above, the “Panzerschreck'' can penetrate both the red and green sections of the Achilles Heel weak spot on Soviet and American medium and heavy tanks. This means that the engine compartments of all of these tanks can be destroyed from the side of the tank, and the “Panzerschreck” in particular is powerful enough to (if aimed between the tracks of Shermans or the IS-1) do hull and engine damage from the side as well, leaving you dead in 2 shots in American and Soviet mediums and with your engine disabled in 2 shots (and therefore helpless) in heavies.

• All tanks mentioned above can also be shot right down the barrel by the “Panzerschreck” (though this is now a harder shot to hit in Update 10 since you have to be looking straight down the barrel to land it), disabling the turret and subsequently your coaxial MG.

• German AT can disable your tank faster than you might think. If hit in the rear, the engine of the Stuart is disabled in 1 shot and the engines of the “Jumbo”s and IS-1 are disabled in 2 shots, while the Sherman Medium and T-34/76 are killed outright in 2 but their engines are not disabled with the first shot. This means that although the Stuart, “Jumbo”s, and IS-1 actually take 2, 3, and 3 “Panzerschreck” rounds to the rear to kill respectively, effectively once your engine is destroyed you are dead. Perhaps there is a small chance you can get out and kill the AT hounding you, but you would then have to repair the tank to 100% engine to be operational again.

• Because of the ability of the “Panzerschreck” to penetrate the front and sides of most tanks it comes up against, good Panzerschreck players will not risk getting all the way behind you for a flank, opting instead to engage you head on and die to get more ammunition. This is problematic because it is undoubtedly more difficult to surround yourself on all sides with friendly infantry support as opposed to just the rear, for example.

The good news is that currently, the only loadout that is equipped with the “Panzerschreck” carries only 2 rockets. This means that if for some reason one rocket misses, you can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that (assuming you are in a medium or a heavy tank) you are no longer in immediate danger of exploding unless there are multiple AT players near you. It’s useful to keep a mental note of which AT players around you have how many rockets left for this reason. For more on how to deal with annoying AT players, see section 3.8.

The PTRS-41 is a unique anti-tank weapon in Hell Let Loose because it is the only anti-tank rifle in the game. In fact, the Soviet forces do not currently get any type of rocket launcher—instead, they get this rifle. The PTRS itself is a semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle that shoots armor piercing rounds and can penetrate tanks in certain locations. It makes a very distinct and very audible sound on the battlefield which, after a bit of practice, will easily be noticeable from almost any location on the map. It has no damage drop off at range either, and despite having no optic can be fired accurately by a skilled shooter at over 400m.

But how does it do against German armor? The following table shows its effectiveness in the field:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

Notes:

• For the Puma, aim anywhere in the body, don’t hit the wheels.

• For the Panzer II, hitting the front plate or turret mantle (which obscures almost the entire turret from the front) will not penetrate. Instead, you can penetrate the side and rear. If hitting the rear, the PTRS kills its engine in 4 shots, allowing you to finish the job from there.

• The Panther and Tiger can only be hit from the rear and the tracks. The tanks cannot be killed through the tracks either, only disabled, so if you want to kill these tanks you need to find a good place to hunker down and unload magazine after magazine into their rears. The Panther takes 5 shots to kill the engine, and the Tiger takes 6. If they turn around before then, you are out of luck, but if you manage to kill the engine, you can basically keep unloading until you blow it up.

The Soviet loadout that fields the PTRS carries 8 enbloc clips of 5 rounds each for a total of 40 rounds. Since the Tiger can be killed in the rear in 18 rounds, one Soviet AT player can in theory carry enough ammunition to kill 2 Tigers and still have 4 rounds left (the equivalent of 6 “Bazooka” rockets!). This fact, coupled with the high semi-automatic fire rate, allows PTRS players to disable and even destroy German tanks relatively quickly despite the large amount of shots required to do so. Unlike the AT rockets of other teams, the PTRS’ main bottleneck is not ammunition or reload speed (although you do need to reload every 5 rounds), but rather mobility. Soviet AT players need to go prone and deploy the bipod of the PTRS on a surface in order to even fire the gun, meaning they can’t just point and shoot while on the move like the AT rocket launchers of other teams.

In addition to every other AT element in the game, the PTRS can also take advantage of the Achilles Heel to pierce the engine block of German tanks from the side. It cannot penetrate the side plate of a Panther or a Tiger, but it can penetrate the tracks in the green sections of Figure 15 for engine damage. This means that even if you do not see the rear, good PTRS snipers can disable the engines of Panthers and Tigers (in only 5 and 6 shots respectively) if they know where to shoot.

To prove this, here I am landing this shot on a Tiger with relative ease on Kursk at 320m (Figure 18):

Figure 18: “PTRS-41 Achilles Heel Shot at 320m”

And here is what that shot looks like from the Tiger’s perspective (Figure 19):

Figure 19: “PTRS-41 Achilles Heel from Tiger’s Perspective”

The PTRS is a particularly well-suited AT weapon to capitalize on the Achilles Heel because of the large amount of ammunition at the Soviet AT’s disposal—even if they miss a few shots, they can keep hammering away at it until they succeed. For the Panther specifically, in theory all it takes is 1 magazine of rounds to kill the engine from the Achilles Heel (and rear), making the PTRS even more dangerous in the hands of a skilled player since the Panther is not awarded a few extra seconds of time to turn due to the PTRS being reloaded.

Anti-tank guns are probably the most misunderstood pieces of tank-related armament in Hell Let Loose. Every tanker from level 1 to 1000 has an opinion on where to hit enemy tanks, but most people don’t have a clue where or how to aim these things. The answer to this mystery is simple: they are functionally identical in terms of damage to their team’s medium tank variant. That’s right, the M1 American AT gun is equivalent to the Sherman Medium, the Pak 40 German AT gun is equivalent to the Panther, and the ZiS-2 Soviet AT gun is equivalent to the T-34/76. Below are the hit to kill values of all three for reference (even though they are exactly the same as the medium tank values shown further down in this document):

The M1 57mm American Anti-tank Gun

The Pak 40 German Anti-tank Gun (V.S. American Tanks)

The Pak 40 German Anti-tank Gun (V.S. Soviet Tanks)

The ZiS-2 Soviet Anti-tank Gun

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

For more on specialty shots and how to hit them, see the medium tank sections that correspond to each AT gun in section 4.

In addition to just their raw firepower, AT guns have some perks when compared to their medium tank counterparts. First off, they are cheap, costing only 50 supplies. This means that an AT player with the loadout to build an AT gun and a support player is all you need to build one of these things, even in enemy territory. They are able to be built very quickly, within a manner of seconds, and with a loader they can also fire faster than medium and even light tanks. Additionally, since they are located on the ground and have legs that extend into the dirt for recoil support, AT guns do not really move horizontally or vertically between shots. If you have set up the gun and have aimed it at a particular spot of an enemy tank and you hit that spot, you don’t have to readjust the gun even if you fire it, switch seats to load a shell, and come back (this is not true for tanks). On top of all that, AT guns seem to shoot straighter than their medium tank counterparts with less shell drop, making aiming at targets easier.

With so many pros, what are the cons? Well, AT guns can be killed in 1 shot by any tank’s cannon with both AP and HE rounds. They also rotate slower than tanks do, even when both the gunner and loader are turning. They are immobile, so once they are found by an enemy tank they are pretty much dead, and the players themselves are not invulnerable while manning the gun from small arms fire.

So as a tanker, how do you deal with AT guns? In public matches, as mentioned earlier, no one on Earth knows how to shoot these things so usually they will end up shooting a surface that will deal no damage. Anyone who has read this guide and practiced a little bit, however, may be a challenge to deal with. AT guns are small in size and can be hidden rather cleverly, so you are chiefly going to be relying on your spotter to spot enemy AT guns as they are built or as they try to shoot at you. Your friendly infantry on the ground can also be utilized to spot and mark enemy AT gun emplacements for you. A good way to identify an AT gun when you’re being shot by it is to notice the firing speed. With a loader and a gunner, the AT gun can fire much faster than most other tanks you might be facing in the field. If you are consistently taking shots quickly then there’s a good chance it’s an AT gun.

Ah, mines. The erstwhile bane of every tanker’s existence. Luckily for us tankers, the developers have heard our pleas and have decided to bestow upon us greater protections against these terrible monsters. In Update 10, as mentioned in this guide already, a lot of interactions between AT explosives and tanks has been standardized based on class, and mines are no exception. All mines in the game from all factions now act exactly the same way and deal the exact same damage to all tanks based on their class. Here is the breakdown:

There are now two ways mines can interact with tanks. If a tank runs over a mine with its track only, it will blow up and deal damage to the track and the hull. If the tank runs over the mine with its body (or chassis), the mine will still explode, and deal much more damage. Mines in Update 10 do not deal proximity damage, so tankers can breathe easy knowing that they cannot get hurt by a mine even if it is placed right under or next to them and blown up with a grenade. Only if the tank itself moves can it get damaged by mines.

Additionally, medium and heavy tanks do not die with 1 mine anymore, instead requiring 2 or more. This makes dealing with mines relatively simpler, because you can stop the tank and repair it before continuing. Despite this, tankers should be aware that enemy infantry can still place two mines one right next to the other to kill you instantly, but that should also make them more visible. Mines cannot be shot with any small arms fire either, including tank MG’s, so if you want to blow up a mine in your way you must shoot the main cannon at it.

Below are pictures of each team’s AT mines for reference:

The American mine looks like a can of tuna with a steering wheel on top of it (Figure 20), the German mine is known as the “pancake” mine (Figure 21), and the Soviet mine looks like my old lunchbox from grade school (Figure 22). As you can tell from the pictures, the American mine sticks out of the ground more and is a dark color, meaning that it is easier to spot for the most part than the German or Soviet ones, especially in muddy environments. Sometimes mines can be exceedingly hard to spot especially while thinking about other things, so tank crews have to be extra vigilant (Figure 23).

Figure 23: “Try to Find the Mine”

There are several ways to protect against death by mine. The first is simple: avoid roads. Most sensible engineers or AT players drop their mines on a road because that is what is likely going to attract the most traffic as well as what will create the highest likelihood of hiding mines (especially double mine placements) because of the muddy environment. If you avoid roads as a tank it may take longer to get to the objective, but dying to a mine will make you take a lot more time to get to the objective. If you’re not going to be avoiding roads (for instance if you’re playing on a forested map or Carentan) then you have to be on the lookout for mines. Go slow if you have to, but unless you are engaging something both the driver and gunner should both be looking at the road for mines. Once you get good at it, you should be able to spot most of them. Make sure you immediately tell your driver (who should always be ready to stop at once) and make sure there are no friendly infantry nearby when you destroy it (it has a huge blast radius). Lastly, you can also have infantry support push up and sweep for mines on the roads themselves so that you can focus on more important things. This last option is rare and typically is only performed by dedicated tank support squads, but it is an option nonetheless.

New in Update 9 but expanded upon in Update 10, satchels are now arguably one of the strongest anti-tank weapons at the disposal of regular infantry in Hell Let Loose. Satchels can be placed on any part of the body of any tank in the game and, if it explodes, can kill that tank with 1 blast. Some satchels are powerful enough to kill medium and heavy tanks without even needing to be placed on the tank itself through proximity damage. When going for a kill, care must be taken not to place a satchel on the tracks of a tank (on the ground next to the tracks will still work though), as this will not instantly kill that tank but instead simply damage the tracks.

Proximity damage to tanks from satchels starts from as far as 20m and increases linearly as the satchel gets closer and closer to the tank. For mediums and heavies, no matter where the proximity satchel is placed with respect to the tank, only hull damage is incurred. Unlike mines, satchels are not all the same either. While the Soviet and American satchels are functionally identical, the German satchels are slightly more powerful. This is reflected in the following tables showing the maximum distance (in meters) at which satchels will destroy full-health tanks in 1 blow:

Soviet and American Satchels V.S. German Armor

German Satchels V.S. Soviet Armor

German Satchels V.S. American Armor

A - The satchel needs to be attached directly to the body (not tracks) of the tank

0m - The satchel can be placed on the ground directly under the tank in addition to on the tank itself

The German satchels are marginally more powerful than the Allied satchels in that they can blow up mediums from 4m away as opposed to 2m away, and they can even destroy heavies by being placed on the ground under the tank instead of strictly needing to be placed directly on the tank. If you were to place an Allied satchel under a Tiger’s chassis, however, it would deal 99% hull damage but not directly kill the tank.

It’s worth noting a strange occurrence in the data. During testing, mediums and even some heavies would explode to satchels placed on the ground near them, but light tanks and recon vehicles would not, no matter what the distance or where those satchels were placed in relation to the tank. The only way to kill a light tank or recon vehicle with only one satchel’s blast is to place it on the tank itself. The damage done by proximity satchels also seemed to vary for light tanks and recon vehicles. During testing, these types of tanks would take track damage and hull damage from proximity satchels instead of only hull damage like the mediums and heavies.

Bombing runs and artillery shells in Hell Let Loose have gone through many iterations during the development of the game, at times being utterly devastating to tanks and at others being laughably ineffective. In Update 10, they lean more towards the latter. Both German and American bombing runs can destroy any tank instantly, including heavies, if the individual bombs of the assault manage to land directly on top of that tank, but they do not do proximity damage at all. It can also be very tricky to get the bombs to land directly on top of a tank because the bombs themselves land in a zigzag pattern towards the edges of the column, a bit like a zipper, meaning that if a tank is between the bombs as they land or indeed right in the middle of the bombing run itself, it will survive (Figure 24).

Figure 24: “Crude MS Paint Drawing of a Bombing Run”

As you can see by my amazing MS Paint skillz, the bombs drop in the green circles and the red outline is what the bombing run looks like on the map. This means that even if the bombing run is right on top of you there is a significant chance that you will survive simply through sheer luck. Conversely, if you want to make sure you kill a tank with a bombing run as a commander, you have to avoid dropping it right on top of the tank but rather offset towards the edges of the column so that the bombs actually have a chance of hitting the tank.

As for artillery, Update 10 has significantly reduced if not outright eliminated the threat that it poses to tanks in the field. Artillery’s dispersion has been increased to 20m, meaning that the shells have a random deviation from the target up to a maximum of 20m in any direction of where the shell was aimed. This makes artillery such a poor tool for damaging tanks that we could not even test how much damage it does to a tank if the shell lands directly on top of said tank—after about 15 minutes of continuous shelling directed at a stationary tank, none of the shells landed on said tank, and we concluded the test (needless to say, artillery deals no proximity damage to tanks). If artillery is anything like Update 9 damage levels, the shells will only do around 66%-75% hull damage depending on class (medium or heavy), so even if they do hit you once in a blue moon, they won’t kill you.

What about the new toy, the Katyusha strike? The Soviet bombing run counterpart is similar to artillery in that it is problematic to test. The rockets land within a large circle seemingly randomly, and we could never get a single rocket to hit a tank directly. All we know for sure is that there is no proximity damage to tanks, like bombing runs and artillery. If a rocket hits you directly, it’s likely you will not die, though this has not been confirmed.

So what is the lesson here regarding non-tank related explosives? For the most part in Update 10, you can ignore them. If you are scared that a bombing run is coming towards you and you want to make sure you will not die, then you can move a few meters out of the direct blast zone and you are completely safe. If artillery comes down near your position you can feel free to let out a chuckle knowing that those idiots are wasting time and munitions on your tank.

With all of the above information having been learned, what tactics can tankers employ to stay clear of enemy anti-tank infantry? The first step is to learn the above statistics by heart. Yes, I mean it. Knowing the exact damage something does to your tank can help you identify what just shot you before you can visually see it. For example, say you’re in a non-German heavy tank (such as the IS-1 or a “Jumbo” Sherman) minding your own business and suddenly you take a little less than 50% hull damage but no engine damage from something. The only thing that deals exactly 45% hull damage but no engine damage to an IS-1 or “Jumbo” in 1 shot is a “Panzerschreck” to the side armor. (a Tiger shot does more than 45%, for example, and a “Panzerschreck” to the rear will also do engine damage). Knowing this as a spotter, you can much more easily find the target by looking at one or both of the sides allowing you to turn the tank accordingly and save your life. Another example of this is if you are in a Panther and you take exactly 50% hull damage and some engine damage, you can be sure that a “Bazooka”, (or Stuart/Greyhound since they do the same damage) is on your rear right at that moment, since those are the things that can do that type of damage to you, and they can’t do that type of damage to you anywhere except the rear plate. Note: The exact specifics of the damage components take for each individual tank is outside of the scope of the Tank Bible, but if you want to look at some tables that detail most of the component damage statistics, here is a good set of them:

EASY 506 PIR’s Tank Statistics

The general rule of thumb for mediums and heavies is that if you take engine damage, you should turn around 180° because you are being shot either in the Achilles Heel or the rear plate, and turning around will prevent the AT player from hitting either of those shots. If you took hull damage but did not take engine damage, then you were either penetrated in the front or side plates (see the sections above on AT rockets to see what AT weapons can penetrate where for which tanks). If you lose more than ⅔ of your hull in 1 shot, and you were not moving, then most likely you were just shot by an enemy tank or AT gun.

Another tip is not staying in one location for too long. You may be having a great run killing tanks and infantry in a certain spot, but once you piss off enough people you will eventually start drawing a large amount of unwanted attention. This can mean getting pinged by enemy infantry and therefore increasing the chances enemy tanks can see you before you see them, enemy infantry building AT guns with the express purpose of killing you and you only, or die-hard AT hunters whose only purpose in life is to shoot you in the ass. If you move around every so often you can reduce the likelihood of death related to these threats by a surprising amount.

Probably the most important piece of advice regarding AT is the driver’s observational skills. Obviously it’s the spotter’s job to look around and take note of all the threats in the surrounding area, including the rear, and good spotters make it easy to respond to threats no matter where they are—but sometimes the spotter is looking at something else when AT is coming behind the tank and it becomes the driver’s responsibility to save the lives of the crew. As soon as the driver sees that their tank has taken damage from an AT player, he or she need not wait for a command or spotter confirmation to turn the tank 180°. Since turning the tank (not running away, for example) is the best way to deal with flanking AT rocketeers, the driver should be ready to take quick and aggressive action. Incidentally, this is also why it’s best for drivers to keep their tanks in 1st gear or reverse while stationary, so that they can turn as fast as possible in an emergency—if the driver does not take this action right away, your tank is dead. So how can you know what you are taking damage from as a driver? Here are some tips:

• AT rockets travel much slower than shells of a tank or AT gun, so with enough practice you can learn to hear the time between when the shot was fired and when the shot hits your tank. In addition, AT guns and tanks make a particular sound, more of a loud “BOOM”, and AT rockets make more of a “fwooooosh” sound when fired.

• If you are not engaging anything directly in front of you or to the sides, then you can assume the threat is at your rear until your spotter confirms otherwise.

• As mentioned before, specific damage values can be a telltale sign that you are getting shot by an AT rocket as opposed to a tank or that you were shot from a rear angle. This is something you will learn through experience over time. Know your hit to kill values.

• The PTRS specifically does a miniscule amount of damage per bullet but can shoot rather fast and has a distinct sound, so it should be obvious when you are getting pelted by this thing.

Lastly, positioning is a very important skill for everything with regards to tanking but especially surviving AT rockets. Especially on urban maps and forest maps, you can get surrounded easily because your mobility is severely restricted when compared to that of the enemy infantry. For this reason it is advisable to be near friendly infantry at all times because they will naturally act as a screen for enemy AT rocketeers trying to attack you. Even if the friendly infantry are not a dedicated tank support squad, they will naturally kill any enemy they see (like bots), thus covering your flanks. Check your map frequently to see where your friendly infantry currently is and where they are going, as well as where their outposts are. If they start moving in a direction away from your tank, you need to either move up with them or retreat to a different position, both of which are viable options. This strategy has strong bonuses other than flank protection as well, such as the close proximity of engineers to repair your tank as well as the possibility of repair stations, not to mention the fact that you can clear enemy infantry out easily for a friendly infantry push thereby significantly increasing the chances that you can capture or defend a point. Positioning is half the battle in a tank—bad positioning is responsible for a majority of tank deaths, while good positioning is how games are won.

Below is the meat and potatoes of this study: the tank stats. The following measurements were done using AP rounds at a distance of 100-200m. In Update 10, as in previous updates, the distance between the tank that is firing and the target tank has no effect on damage.

Before we get into the individual tank sections, it’s important to note one important thing about Update 10. As I have mentioned before in this guide, tanks have been standardized based on class (barring a few exceptions which are mentioned below). This means that for the most part, heavies kill other heavies in 2 shots anywhere in the body or turret and kill mediums, lights, and recons with 1 shot anywhere in the body as well. Mediums cannot penetrate heavies from the front, typically kill other mediums in 2 shots to the body and can kill lights and recons in 1 shot anywhere in the body. Light tanks and recon vehicles can only penetrate heavies and mediums in the rear, but can penetrate other tanks of the same class in their bodies. This standardization has helped remove a lot of the buggy hitboxes we have seen in previous iterations of the game, which means the stats below are reproducible and accurate.

A quick note on trucks—all trucks in the game can be killed by medium and heavy tanks with just 1 AP shell anywhere. They can also kill trucks with 1 HE shell in the engine compartment and 2 HE shells everywhere else. Light tanks and recon vehicles can blow up trucks with 1 AP or HE shell in the engine compartment and 2 AP or HE everywhere else (the only exception to this is the Panzer II, which shoots smaller projectiles. It can kill a tank with 2 shots in the engine compartment and 4 shots everywhere else).

As a result of the standardization brought about by Update 10, all recon vehicles in Hell Let Loose are functionally identical, both in terms of how other tanks interact with them and how they interact with other tanks. For this reason, I have saved everyone time by putting all 3 recon vehicles in the same section.

All recon vehicles share the same basic features--quick turn speed, automatic transmission, high top speed, a weak main gun, and paper-thin armor. This makes them great for maneuvering and flanking around the battlefield but not much else. Their firepower leaves a lot to be desired, and they can only do damage to enemy medium and heavy tanks from the rear. Before we get into the general statistics, let’s take a look at the characteristic features that will allow you to spot these easily in game:

Figure 25: “The M8 Greyhound”

The M8 Greyhound has the following discernible features (Figure 25):

• An elongated body with a very small turret.

• A white star in the middle of the front and side plates.

• Wheels instead of tracks.

Figure 26: “The Puma”

Here is what the Puma looks like (Figure 26):

• A small but elongated body.

• A long barrel relative to its turret, complete with muzzle brake.

• A green-beige forest camouflage pattern on the hull.

• Wheels instead of tracks, 4 on each side.

Figure 27: “The BA-10”

Lastly, here’s what makes the BA-10 stand out (Figure 27):

• A 1940’s style car shape.

• A turret right above the trunk.

• 3 wheels on each side with a spare wheel between them.

• Various red army stars on the sides and turret.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the damage these things can do. Since they are functionally identical, the following table is an accurate generalization of their performance versus other recon vehicles as well as light, medium, and heavy tanks:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging another recon vehicle:

• Aim for any part of the body—try not to hit the turret or tires since the other recon vehicle can also kill you in 1 shot.

When engaging a light tank:

• Shooting the front plate or turret mantle will ricochet.

• Shooting the side or rear plates will kill it in two shots, and if hitting the rear, the engine is disabled in 1 shot. This is almost always the best option.

• The side or rear of the turret can be utilized to kill in 3 shots.

• Care should be taken to avoid the turret and tracks if possible, as hitting these will take longer to kill the tank.

When engaging a medium tank:

• Hitting any front plate, side plate, or turret shots will always ricochet. There is no reason why you should be aiming for these anyways.

• The tracks can be completely disabled in 2 hits, but this will deal no hull damage and you cannot kill the tank this way.

• You can penetrate the Achilles Heel as per section 2.10 in the green outline but not the red outline (Figure 15). If you wish to disable the engine, you need to land 2 shots in a row in the green outline. If you miss even once, you will disable the tracks and will not be able to penetrate through the tracks to get to the engine any longer.

• It is inadvisable in general to engage a medium tank unless you can see it’s back plate or you are confident you can hit both shots on the Achilles Heel to kill the engine. The back plate will kill it quickly, but requires getting around it in the first place.

When engaging a heavy tank:

• Any shots to the front plate, side plate, or front, side, or back of the turret will not penetrate.

• The tracks cannot be used to kill the heavies. You may disable the tracks in 3 shots, but none will do hull damage. This is not advantageous to do even if the heavy does not see you or cannot otherwise see you. A good heavy crew will figure out where you are and wipe you off the face of the earth with 1 shot because you have given your position away.

• The Achilles Heel shot applies. Only the green section will penetrate the engine, but because the heavies are more resilient, you can miss one shot and still disable the engine with the 3rd shot through the tracks (Figure 15).

• You should only engage a heavy if you can see its back plate or Achilles Heel. With the recon vehicle’s quick reload speed, you should be able to kill its engine relatively quickly and then finish the job.

Opinion: Because all recon vehicles are identical, their purposes on the battlefield are the same—to provide reconnaissance of enemy tanks, trucks, garrisons, and infantry positions for your team, as well as work in tandem with heavier friendly tanks to flank, disable, and destroy those tanks and trucks. This is a very high-risk, high reward playstyle--even just a light sneeze is enough to make a recon vehicle’s armor fold. On the other hand, if you can break through the enemy infantry and tanks and get around to the flank you can provide massive value to your team in the form of disruption of the enemy backline. Trying to play recon vehicles like you might play a medium or a heavy tank by locking down an area and shelling infantry will get you killed.

The M5 Stuart light tank is a small and mobile tank that can run circles around heavier tanks like the Panther. Although its firepower is weak in comparison to even the Sherman Medium (as mentioned before it has equivalent firepower to the “Bazooka” and the M8 Greyhound), its mobility and versatility allow this tank to rise to the top of a lot of veteran tankers’ preferences.

That being said, what does a Stuart look like? The Stuart has the following outstanding features (Figure 28):

• A small overall build—this tank is one of the smallest in the game.

• The plate towards the back and sides forms a boxy shape behind the turret.

• There are curved plates over the tracks on either side of the front plate.

• Yellow letters and numbers on the side.

• A striking resemblance to Thomas The Tank Engine (Figure 29).

Figure 28: “The M5 ‘Stuart’ Light Tank”

Figure 29: “Thomas The Tank Engine”

Below are the amount of rounds required to kill various enemy tank types with the Stuart:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim for any part of the body—try not to hit the turret or tires since this will take longer to kill it, and it may be able to run away to safety because of its quick speed.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Shooting the front plate or turret mantle (which covers the whole turret from the front) will ricochet.

• Shooting the side or rear plates will kill it in two shots, and if hitting the rear, the engine is disabled in 1 shot. This is almost always the best option.

• Care should be taken to avoid the turret and tracks if possible, as hitting these will take longer to kill the tank.

When engaging a Panther:

• Hitting any front, side, or turret shots will always ricochet. There is no reason why you should be aiming for these anyways.

• The tracks can be completely disabled in 2 hits, but this will deal no hull damage and you cannot kill the tank this way.

• The Stuart can penetrate the Achilles Heel in the green outline but not the red outline (Figure 15). If you wish to disable the engine, you need to land 2 shots in a row in the green outline. If you miss even once, you will disable the tracks and will not be able to penetrate through the tracks to get to the engine any longer.

• It is inadvisable in general to engage a Panther unless you can see it’s back plate or you are confident you can hit both shots on the Achilles Heel to kill the engine. The back plate will kill it quickly, but requires getting around it in the first place.

When engaging a Tiger:

• Any shots to the front plate, side plate, or front, side, or back of the turret will not penetrate.

• The tracks cannot be used to kill the Tiger. You may disable them in 3 shots, but none will do hull damage. This is not advantageous to do even if the Tiger does not see you or cannot otherwise see you. A good Tiger crew will figure out where you are and wipe you off the face of the earth with 1 shot because you have given your position away.

• The Achilles Heel shot applies. Only the green section will penetrate the engine, but because the Tiger is a heavy tank, you can miss one shot and still disable the engine with the 3rd shot through the tracks.

• You should only engage a Tiger if you can see its back plate or Achilles Heel. With the Stuart’s quick reload speed, you should be able to kill its engine relatively quickly and then finish the job.

Opinion: In conclusion, the M5 Stuart light tank is a very interesting specimen. Depending on your playstyle as a tanker this could be the best tank in the game or the worst. The Stuart’s strengths lie in getting behind enemy lines and around enemy tanks, as well as destroying enemy garrisons and trucks in the backline, much like the Greyhound. It differs from the Greyhound however in that it has greater armor all around, which means that the Puma and Panzer II cannot damage it in the front plate or front turret, it takes 2 “Panzerschreck” AT rockets to kill, and can take 2 shots instead of 1 from the Panther if it happens to shoot the Stuart’s turret (not to mention that it cannot use HE to kill the Stuart except from the rear). This greater protection does come at a small cost to maneuverability, but the Stuart’s low weight can be used to mitigate this through the agility techniques outlined in section 2.6.2. The high top speed, good turn rate, better protection than a recon vehicle, and quick reload speed of the Stuart lets this tank keep enemies on their toes. Flanking is the soundest strategy, as a frontal assault against any other tank will get you killed 99% of the time. This is not a tank that should be used to sit in a position like the Shermans and lock down an area against enemy infantry. You have mobility, use it!

The medium Sherman is arguably the weakest tank in the game without many discernible strengths (other than it costing 0 fuel) yet with many serious deficiencies such as light front armor, a gun that cannot penetrate enemy Panthers’ front armor, and a turn speed the likes of which your grandma would make fun of.

First thing’s first. How do you recognize the Sherman medium amongst the billions of other types of Shermans? The Sherman medium sports the following features (Figure 30):

• A smooth cylindrical barrel with no muzzle brake on the end.

• Rounded off edges on the front and side body plate.

• A white star on its side armor and side of the turret.

• A bunch of tires, equipment, and other junk on the front, which other Sherman variants do not have.

Figure 30: “The M4A1 Sherman Medium”

The Sherman medium has the slowest turn speed of any tank in the game, and the slowest maximum speed of any medium tank in the game.

The following is the amount of shots it takes to kill enemy tanks of different types when shooting rounds from a Sherman Medium:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

Based on these statistics, we can extrapolate the optimal place to hit each tank as follows.

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You may use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Make certain to hit anywhere in front, side or rear plates, as it is always a 1 shot kill.

• Make certain NOT to hit the tracks or the turret, as this can increase the shots it takes. The turret mantle is also impenetrable.

• Since the Panzer II cannot do any real damage to you in a Sherman medium, it is not a foe you should be worried about.

When engaging a Panther:

• Any shots to any part of the front plate will always ricochet. This may result in shots bouncing from the hull into the turret, but that is relatively rare.

• Trying to kill the Panther by hitting the tracks is impossible from the front and inadvisable from the side, as it takes many shots to do so and the turret or side takes less shots to kill.

• Hitting the turret is the only approach to killing a Panther whose body is facing you as a Sherman Medium. The mantle will always ricochet, and the cupola will not penetrate, so there is only one particular spot you can aim—the sides of the turret that are to the left and right of the mantle itself, forming a triangle between the top of the mantle and where the turret meets the chassis (Figure 31). Affectionately nicknamed the “cheeks” of the Panther, hitting this area 3 times will result in the Panther’s death. The shot is relatively hard to pull off and requires some practice, especially at longer ranges, but it can be done consistently (Figure 32).

• The rest of the turret is also a 3 shot kill.

• If you want to engage a Panther, try to position yourself so that you can hide your front plate and only show your turret. Your turret cannot be penetrated by the panther from the front, so you will have free reign to shell away at the Panther’s “cheeks”. Hard cover or elevation differences on maps like Foy will allow you to do this.

• If you have the opportunity to hit the side of the Panther, care must be taken not to hit the side skirt that extends over the tracks. There is a thin metal plate that when hit counts as a track hit and not a side hit. Instead, you need to hit the slanted portion of the side plate that is above this skirt. Note: because this side armor is slanted, the chance for ricochet is high. In order to penetrate the armor for a 2 shot kill, you must be at an angle less than 45 degrees to the perpendicular of the side armor.

• The Achilles Heel shot is viable. Since the Sherman medium can penetrate the side plate of the Panther, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle—aim for the top half of the first divider line of the side skirt and shoot.

• As with any other medium, 2 shots to the back plate at most angles will kill it. The first shot disables the engine.

Figure 31: “Panther ‘Cheeks’”

The following is an example of the “cheeks” being shot by the Sherman medium. The trick is to aim a little bit off the side of the Panther turret—if you aim too far left you will hit the mantle, if you aim too low you will hit the body (Figure 32).

Figure 32: “Panther ‘Cheeks’ as Seen by the Sherman Medium”

When engaging a Tiger:

• Any shots to the front plate, front of the turret, side of the turret, or back of the turret will ricochet at any angle. Even if the round does not bounce, no damage will be done to the hull itself.

• If you are lucky enough to be in a position where you see the side armor of the Tiger, 2 shots will kill the tank as long as the projectile lands at an angle less than 45 degrees to the perpendicular of the side armor. A greater angle than 45 degrees will bounce.

• If the Tiger is facing directly towards you so that a side shot is not possible, your only viable option is to run to the nearest cover and hope the Tiger misses.

• The Sherman medium can hit the Achilles Heel shot to kill the Tiger’s engine instantly. Both the green and red sections of the shot work, and the red section in particular—which is just the side skirt of the Tiger towards the rear of the tank—deals hull and engine damage at the same time and is really straightforward to hit. Since the Tiger turns quickly in 1st gear and can kill the medium in 1 shot, the Achilles heel is the recommended way to engage Tigers if you are at the correct angle so that they do not have the chance to turn around.

• The back plate is a 2 shot kill at any angle. The engine will die with the first shot, making securing the kill super easy.

Opinion: In conclusion, the Sherman medium is perhaps best used as an anti-personnel tank with which to lock down an enemy location. While it can hold its own against a Puma, a Panzer II, and in some situational cases even a Panther, it does not stand a chance against a Tiger unless it can catch said Tiger off guard. It is outclassed by the heavier tanks, and it is out-maneuvered by the lighter tanks, so its role seems to best be suited for infantry control and AOE zoning. That being said, the Sherman medium does not excel even at this role because of its slow mobility and turn speed as well as German AT’s ability to penetrate its armor practically anywhere.

The 75mm “Jumbo” Sherman, like its 76mm counterpart, boasts a thicker, more slanted front armor as well as a bigger and sturdier turret than it’s medium variant. It is equipped with AP, HE, and 8 rounds of a special smoke variety. These rounds can be used in a support role to precisely dump a large amount of smoke for a friendly push or obscure the vision of an enemy tank, among other uses. The greater tenacity as well as the support equipment allows this tank to fill a variety of roles on the battlefield, from infantry support to AOE lockdown and zoning.

So what does the 75mm Sherman “Jumbo” look like? How do you recognize it in the field? The 75mm can be recognized by spotting these features (Figure 33):

• The color of the paint on the hull is a lighter green than other Sherman variants.

• The front of the hull is nice and tidy—no extra equipment is strapped to the front plate

• The barrel is short, stubby, and features no muzzle brake.

• The “Jumbo” variants of the Sherman can be recognized by its more boxy look and its slanted front plate, as well as the sharper edges of the body.

• The sides of the plate and the turret of the 75mm “Jumbo” both have a bunch of equipment strapped to them.

Figure 33: “The M4A3E2 Sherman ‘Jumbo’ 75mm”

Both “Jumbo” variants have identical transmissions and engines, meaning their turn speed and maximum speed are the same, and they drive exactly the same. They have a slow maximum speed, but in stark contrast to the Sherman medium, the “Jumbo”s have the highest 1st gear turn speed of any tank in the game.

Once again, here are the amount of shots it takes to kill various types of enemy tanks using the 75mm gun. The “Jumbo” 75mm has the exact same gun as the Sherman medium.

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. Try to use an HE shell because you have many more HE than AP shells.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Make certain to hit anywhere in front, side or rear plates, as it is always a 1 shot kill.

• Make certain NOT to hit the tracks or the turret, as this can increase the shots it takes. The turret mantle is also impenetrable.

• Since the Panzer II cannot do any damage to you in a “Jumbo” 75mm, it is not a foe you should be worried about.

When engaging a Panther:

• Any shots to any part of the front plate will always ricochet. This may result in shots bouncing from the hull into the turret, but that is relatively rare.

• Trying to kill the Panther by hitting the tracks is impossible from the front and inadvisable from the side, as it takes many shots to do so and the turret or side takes less shots to kill.

• Hitting the turret is still the only approach to killing a Panther whose body is facing you as a “Jumbo” 75mm. The mantle will always ricochet, and the cupola will not penetrate, so there is only one particular spot you can aim—the sides of the turret that are to the left and right of the mantle itself, forming a triangle between the top of the mantle and where the turret meets the chassis (Figures 31 and 32). Affectionately nicknamed the “cheeks” of the Panther, hitting this area 3 times will result in the Panther’s swift death. The shot is relatively hard to pull off and will require some practice, especially at longer ranges, but it can be done consistently.

• The rest of the turret is also a 3 shot kill.

• Unlike the Sherman medium, you can position yourself much more liberally when engaging a Panther since it cannot penetrate you anywhere in the front plate or turret. This allows you to fire away at its “cheeks” without fear of death.

• If you have the opportunity to hit the side of the Panther, care must be taken not to hit the side skirt that extends over the tracks. There is a thin metal plate that when hit counts as a track hit and not a side hit. Instead, you need to hit the slanted portion of the side plate that is above this skirt. Note: because this side armor is slanted, the chance for ricochet is high. In order to penetrate the armor for a 1 shot kill, you must be at an angle less than 45 degrees to the perpendicular of the side armor.

• As per section 2.10, the Achilles Heel shot is viable. Since the “Jumbo” 75mm can penetrate the side plate of the Panther, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle—aim for the top half of the first divider line of the side skirt and shoot.

• 2 shots to the back plate at most angles will kill the Panther. The first shot disables the engine.

When engaging a Tiger:

• Any shots to the front of the plate, and front, side, and back of the turret will very likely ricochet. Even when they do not bounce, these rounds will not penetrate the hull and will do 0 damage. Under no circumstances should you aim for any of these parts.

• If you are able to get an angle on the side plate, you can kill a Tiger in 2 shots assuming your angle is at a maximum of 45 degrees with respect to the perpendicular of the side armor. If the angle is more shallow than this, you will ricochet.

• If the Tiger is facing directly towards you so that a side shot is not possible, your only viable option is to disengage. The “Jumbo” 75mm has a leg up on the Sherman medium when it comes to disengaging from enemy armor, namely its smoke rounds. Simply load smoke and fire it at the enemy Tiger to temporarily blind them. To ensure your survival, load a second smoke shell and aim it at the floor between you and the Tiger to obscure your own tank in case the Tiger drives out of the smoke, then proceed to back away from the engagement into hard cover.

• The “Jumbo” 75mm can hit the Achilles Heel shot to kill the Tiger’s engine instantly. Both the green and red sections of the shot work, and the red section in particular, which is just the side skirt of the Tiger towards the rear of the tank, deals hull and engine damage at the same time and is really straightforward to hit. Since the Tiger turns quickly enough in 1st gear to deny the 75mm’s ability to kill it, the Achilles heel is the recommended way to engage Tigers if you are at the correct angle so that they do not have the chance to turn around.

• The back plate is a 2 shot kill at any angle. The engine will die with the first shot, making securing the kill super easy.

Opinion: The Sherman “Jumbo” 75mm works great as an infantry support/anti-personnel tank that has greater tenacity versus enemy infantry and enemy tanks than its Sherman medium variant. Its amazing 1st gear turn speed, allowing it to quickly react to flanking enemy tanks and AT rocketeers, coupled with its heavy armor, makes this tank a pain in the ass to properly get rid of without a Tiger’s cannon. The smoke rounds allow the 75mm to provide cover for friendly infantry to push a point, disengage from any tank engagement, or obscure enemy tanks to allow for a flank. With all that being said, the 75mm is still very vulnerable to enemy Tigers, and a Tiger crew can destroy it in 2 shots to the front or turret, while not letting you do very much to retaliate. This tank fills a similar role of infantry zoning and area lockdown to the Sherman Medium, except that it can take positions that are slightly more risky thanks to the harder armor.

The Sherman “Jumbo” 76mm tank is the 75mm’s big brother in terms of firepower and is the American answer to the fortress on wheels that is the Tiger tank. While the armor is effectively identical to that of the 75mm “Jumbo” Sherman, the AP rounds fired are far superior. By all accounts, this is the best tank that the Americans have to offer in Hell Let Loose.

So what does she look like? Well, the 76mm can be distinguished from other Shermans by noticing the following features (Figure 34):

• The most important feature that is easily noticeable about the 76mm is the muzzle brake on the end of the barrel. No other Sherman tanks have this muzzle brake.

• The “Jumbo” variants of the Sherman can be recognized by its more boxy look and its slanted front plate, as well as the sharper edges of the body.

• The barrel is much longer than the “Jumbo” 75mm or the Sherman Medium.

• There is a white star with a circle around it between the two tracks.

Figure 34: “The M4A3E8 Sherman ‘Jumbo’ 76mm”

Both “Jumbo” variants have identical transmissions and engines, meaning their turn speed and maximum speed are the same, and they drive exactly the same. They have a slow maximum speed, but in stark contrast to the Sherman medium, the “Jumbo”s have the highest 1st gear turn speed of any tank in the game. Here are the driving stats for reference:

Below are the amount of rounds required to kill various enemy tank types with the 76mm slugger:

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. Try to use an HE shell because you have many more HE than AP shells.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Aim anywhere except the tracks—they will take more than 1 shot to kill.

When engaging a Panther:

• Shooting the front plate, side plate, or rear plate obliterates this thing in 1 shot.

• The turret will take 2 shots before the Panther explodes, and this can be done from any angle. This method should only be used to kill Panthers that are only visible by their turret. If you can see the body, shoot it in the body and do not waste your time.

• The turret’s cupola and the inside of the barrel are penetrable but deal no hull damage—shots to those areas will just kill the turret module.

• Going for the tracks is inadvisable because of the sheer number of shots required to kill the tank.

• While the Achilles Heel shot is technically possible, it is not recommended to go for this shot since hitting the side plate will kill it in 1 shot anyway.

When engaging a Tiger:

• This is where the 76mm “Jumbo” Sherman really shines. This is the only American tank that can actually pierce the front armor of a Tiger tank, and it can blow the Tiger up in 2 shots anywhere in the front hull plate. This is the go-to method for destroying a Tiger tank.

• The 76mm “Jumbo” has a much faster reload speed than the Tiger (6 seconds compared to 8.2 seconds). This means that even if you do not land the first shot in an engagement with a Tiger, you will still end up winning if you shoot your first shot within 2 seconds of the Tiger shooting its first shot. Assuming all shots land, you will be able to fire your 2nd shot into the Tiger before it has a chance to fire its second shot.

• The second spot that is very effective against a Tiger is the sides, which can be hit twice for a kill even from a very shallow angle. In fact, if you can see the side at all then you can penetrate it. This is a strictly inferior method to hitting the front though because there is less surface area, so only do this if you can’t hit the front for some reason.

• If for some reason the front and sides of the body are obscured or otherwise inaccessible, the turret is the next best place to hit. It takes 2 shots to kill the Tiger if you shoot it in the front mantle, or the sides and rear of the turret. This means that if the Tiger is looking directly at you, the flat plates on either side of the barrel are where you want to aim, and hitting other surfaces will likely ricochet. Care also must be taken not to hit the barrel or the cupola instead of the plates on the turret, as these will only destroy the turret and not damage the hull.

• Under almost no circumstances should you be hitting the tracks of a Tiger tank given the aforementioned methods of dispatching the tank, as it takes three times as long in the best case scenario (by that time you’d be dead).

• The “Jumbo” 76mm can hit the Achilles Heel in both the red and green sections. This can be useful to mitigate the potential for the Tiger to turn around and land a shot in your plate, since the engine dies in 1 shot, but in general if the 76mm has the angle to hit the Achilles Heel it will kill the Tiger before the Tiger can kill it.

• The rear plate of the Tiger is still a 2 shot kill, just like the front and sides, except the engine gets disabled after the first shot.

Opinion: The Sherman “Jumbo” 76mm brings a lot of firepower to the table on the American side. While the armor is the same as the 75mm, the bigger gun allows the 76mm to take on a more offensive role. This tank’s responsibility is to engage and destroy enemy tanks of all kinds, but especially Tiger tanks—the 76mm holds the advantage in a head on engagement against the Tiger due to its faster reload speed. Because all of the other tanks on the American side are put in more of an anti-personnel/support role, and because those other American tanks cannot engage enemy Tigers with any sort of proficiency, the 76mm is left to do the job. With the quickest 1st gear turn speed in the game, the 76mm can easily turn and react to German AT and flanking tanks of all kinds as well. It’s armor allows it to take more aggressive positioning when compared to the other American tanks, and a good crew can easily dominate the battlefield with this thing. All of these factors contribute to the “Jumbo” 76mm being the best performing tank in the current iteration of the game.

The following chapters on German tanks will be somewhat longer to cover both engagements with American tanks and engagements with Soviet tanks, since the German force can be seen on western front as well as eastern front maps.

The Panzer II is the light tank on the German side in Hell Let Loose. This little guy is equipped with a 20mm autocannon that fires HE rounds in a continuous fashion for a limited time until it has to be reloaded. The nature of only having HE available makes this tank unable to penetrate most American or Soviet tanks, even in the rear. Update 10 has however introduced buffs to the Panzer II, allowing it to penetrate certain parts of Stuarts and most surfaces on enemy recon vehicles, while adding protection to its front plate from light tanks, recon vehicles, and AT rockets and rifles. Additionally, this tank is agile and can put out a tremendous amount of anti-personnel firepower in a short time because of the autocannon’s continuous fire, not to mention the fact that its small overall stature and fast speed allow it to hide behind bushes and low buildings. It should be noted, however, that the Panzer II does not have a hull MG.

“Ok, so it can’t kill me, but I want to kill it anyway! How do I recognize it?” Good question. Here are its defining features (Figure 35):

• A forest tricolor camouflage pattern on the hull.

• A really tiny cannon. We’re talking -TL- tacotastic level pecker.

• A German white and black cross on its side.

Figure 35: “The Panzerkampfwagen II”

Below are the statistics for hitting American tanks with this thing:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Greyhound:

• The top half of the front plate ricochets, but the bottom half will penetrate for a 2 shot kill. Because of the speed of the Panzer II canon, this happens very quickly.

• The sides and rear also penetrate for a 2 shot kill.

• Because of the nature of HE in Update 10, the tracks will never kill the tank, only disable the module after 2 shots.

• The turret is 4 shots to kill, but the mantle will ricochet.

When engaging a Stuart:

• The front and side plates ricochet, and the turret at any angle ricochets.

• Hitting the rear will kill the tank in 4 shots, and 3 will disable the engine.

• Because of the nature of HE in Update 10, the tracks will never kill the tank, only disable the module after 4 shots.

When engaging everything else:

• If you have a shot on the tracks and the tank doesn’t see you, you can disable the tracks. Otherwise, don’t bother.

• The Panzer II cannot take advantage of the Achilles Heel.

Next, we have the Soviet tanks:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#D - # shots to disable module (no hull damage), after which becomes non-penetrating hit

When engaging a BA-10:

• Aim for anywhere in the front plate. Incidentally this also damages the engine since the BA-10 is an armored car. The sides and rear also penetrate for a 2 shot kill.

• Because of the nature of HE in Update 10, the tracks will never kill the tank, only disable the module after 2 shots.

• The turret is a 4 shot kill anywhere.

When engaging everything else:

• If you have a shot on the tracks and the tank doesn’t see you, you can disable the tracks. Otherwise, don’t bother.

• The Panzer II cannot take advantage of the Achilles Heel.

Opinion: The Panzer II has a unique place in the range of tanks that Hell Let Loose has to offer. It is the only tank that can fire automatically, and a very large amount of ammunition (8 belts of 20 rounds each, for a total of 180 shells). It has a high top speed and a decent turn rate, with the ability to absorb enemy “Bazooka”, PTRS, Stuart, Greyhound, and BA-10 fire from the front without taking damage. That being said, its purpose is solely to engage enemy infantry and lock down areas of effect while hiding behind solid cover. If you try to flank in this thing you will not be able to get any value, since it cannot actually kill any medium or heavy tanks and is still quite vulnerable behind enemy lines, not to mention the unique and easily discernible sound of its auto cannon. On the other hand, picking a safe position and forcing enemy tanks to come to you while you engage enemy infantry is the best strategy with the Panzer II.

The Panther easily ranks as the best medium tank in the game, bringing high top speed, strong armor with respect to other mediums, and a cannon that can penetrate the front armor of enemy mediums and even the IS-1. When manned by a capable crew, the Panther can do a lot of infantry damage as well as hold its own in a larger amount of tank engagements than other medium tanks.

The list below shows the unique features that can be used to recognize a Panther in the wild (Figure 36):

• A tricolor green/beige/purple camouflage over the entire tank.

• A very long barrel with a muzzle brake on the end.

• A thin side skirt that extends over about a third of the tracks.

• A slanted front plate two thirds of which slants towards the turret, and one third of which slants towards the grown in the opposite direction.

Figure 36: “The Panzerkampfwagen V ‘Panther’”

The Panther enjoys the highest top speed of any medium tank in the game (only a few km/h slower than the recon vehicles) but has a relatively slow turn speed at all gears.

Below is the interesting bit—the amount of shells it takes to kill enemy tanks—starting with the Americans:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Greyhound:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells, but care must be taken if doing so not to hit the top half of the front plate, it will ricochet. If you are worried about missing, just load AP.

When engaging a Stuart:

• Hit it anywhere in the body for a 1 shot kill. Take care not to hit the tracks or turret, although it’s not the end of the world if you do.

When engaging a Sherman medium:

• The front plate can be penetrated for a 2 shot kill, but care must be taken to shoot it dead center of the plate below the turret (Figure 37). A good place of reference to aim is the tires stuck to the front of the hull, they will always penetrate (Figure 38). If you aim left or right of the tires, where the spare tracks are situated, the shell will bounce. If you hit below the tires at the transmission (where the white star is) you will also ricochet (Figure 39).

• Shooting the turret from the front will not penetrate anywhere, including the mantle and the cupola. You can shoot the turret from the side or rear for 3 shots, but this is inadvisable unless that is all you can see. If a Sherman medium is engaging you by only showing you its front turret, then your only course of action is to disengage.

• Shooting the side plate above the tracks for a 2 shot kill is also a viable option, and can be done from a relatively shallow angle with respect to the front plate.

• Shooting the tracks is almost never advisable given the much better aforementioned options.

• As outlined in section 2.10, the Achilles Heel shot is a potential tool in the Panther’s arsenal. Shooting the red or green sections will both work, killing the engine with 1 projectile (Figure 15). In order to land a shot in the red section, you need to aim between the tracks and hit the hull.

• The Panther can penetrate the Sherman medium in the back plate for a 2 shot kill. The first shot kills the engine.

Figure 37: “Penetrable Spots on the Sherman Medium”

Figure 38: “Panther Penetrating Tires on a Sherman Medium”

Figure 39: “Where Not to Hit a Sherman Medium as a Panther”

When engaging a Sherman “Jumbo” 75mm/”Jumbo” 76mm:

• Shots to the front plate and all sides of the turret ricochet 100% of the time, and thus are inadvisable to aim for.

• Hitting the side will kill a “Jumbo” in 2 shots. This can be done at a relatively shallow angle of about 20 degrees with respect to the front plate.

• The Achilles Heel shot is viable. Since the Panther can penetrate the side plate of the “Jumbo”s, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle--aim at the large gap between the last and 2nd to last cog in the tracks and penetrate the side. This is a great way to cripple enemy “Jumbo” tanks, allowing your teammates in Tigers to dispatch them easily or opening them up for a flank, and is one of the few counterplay maneuvers that a Panther can employ against a “Jumbo”.

• Hitting the tracks is inadvisable since it takes a long time to kill them, and if the “Jumbo” turns around to face your tank, you lose the opportunity to kill it through the tracks.

• Shooting the back plate is a 2 shot from any angle if you get the opportunity to do so. The first shot kills the engine.

Having said all that, let’s move on to the Panther’s performance against the Soviet tanks. This area of the game is probably where the most interesting tank vs tank engagements occur because of the deviation from the Update 10 standardization. Here is the table:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a BA-10:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a T-34/76:

• The T-34/76 can be penetrated anywhere in the front plate for a 2 shot kill provided the shot is either perpendicular to the front of the tank or within 35° degrees from the perpendicular. If the T-34/76 angles between 35° and 40° with respect to the Panther, the majority of the front plate and the side will not penetrate but rather ricochet. Even in this scenario, however, the part of the front plate between the tracks that is angled towards the floor is still penetrable. To illustrate this dynamic, see Figure 40.

• Shooting the turret of a T-34/76 in a Panther will kill it in 3 shots except in the mantle. Because the mantle ricochets and because it takes up the majority of the front of the turret, penetrating the turret from the front can be a challenge. There are two ways to go about this. The first shot consists of the sides of the turret that stick out to the left and right of the mantle in triangular shapes, also known as the “cheeks”. Because of the small profile of the T-34/76 turret, this shot is exceedingly hard to land at any distance over 100m and is generally not advised. The second shot is the part of the turret that is directly above the mantle. This area, known as the “forehead”, is a very thin line above the mantle that, if hit, will penetrate the turret. Any higher than that small area will go over the tank, and any lower will ricochet off the turret (Figures 41 and 42). Although the “forehead” seems like a harder shot than the “cheeks”, because of the way the hitboxes of the turret are constructed, at ranges longer than 100m it is actually an easier shot to hit. As for the sides and rear of the turret, all hits here penetrate for a 3 shot kill.

• Shooting the side plate above the tracks for a 2 shot kill is also a viable option, but as mentioned before will only start penetrating at a 45 angle with respect to the side’s perpendicular.

• Shooting the tracks is almost never advisable given the much better aforementioned options.

• The Achilles Heel shot is possible, but the T-34/76 has no area where you can damage the engine and the hull at the same time by shooting through the tracks. Shooting anywhere in the green section will kill the engine with 1 projectile (Figure 15).

• The Panther can penetrate the T-34/76 in the back plate for a 2 shot kill. The first shot kills the engine.

Figure 40: “Angled T-34/76 and Where To Hit It”

Note how at the critical angle of 35° to 40° with respect to the Panther, both side plate and most of the front plate ricochets Panther shells. Only the small front plate between the tracks penetrates at this angle.

Figure 41: “Penetrable Spots on the T-34/76 Turret”

Figure 42: “Panther Penetrating the T-34/76 ‘Forehead’”

When engaging an IS-1:

• The Panther can actually shoot the IS-1 in the front in a very specific spot, and it is the only medium that is able to penetrate a heavy from the front. The way it works is this: there are two slanted portions of the IS-1’s front plate under the turret that connect to the side plate, known as the “shoulders”. Those can be penetrated for a 2 shot kill (Figure 43). The catch is that, based on the angle, only one of the two areas can be hit at any given time, the other will always ricochet. If the IS-1 is angled as little as 2° with respect to the Panther, the side that is closer to the Panther will always penetrate and the side that is farther will always ricochet. On top of that, if the IS-1’s body is directly facing you down to the exact numerical bearing, neither of these two front plates will penetrate. To illustrate this, see Figures 44, 45, 46, and 47 below. Any other part of the front plate will ricochet at any angle.

• In public matches, most engagements with IS-1’s will be at some angle, allowing you to hit these shots. That being said, the best IS-1 tankers will turn to directly face your Panther if they are penetrated, making it impossible for you to penetrate a second time and forcing you to have to reposition. One way of getting around this is working with another friendly tank to secure the kill. Since the IS-1 cannot face towards two tanks at the same time, at least one of the tanks will be able to take advantage of this shot.

• Despite being able to penetrate the front, the IS-1 can still kill you in the Panther with 1 shot to the body. If you want to engage an IS-1 front on, make sure you are engaging somewhere where only your turret is showing and where you can easily back out and repair if shot, such as the top of the hill at windmills on Kursk. This will force the engagement to 2 shot vs 2 shot scenario, similar to the normal dynamic of a Tiger against an IS-1.

• Hitting the side will kill an IS-1 in 2 shots. This can be done at a relatively shallow angle of about 20 degrees with respect to the front plate.

• The turret is impenetrable everywhere.

• The Achilles Heel shot is viable. Since the Panther can penetrate the side plate of the IS-1, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle—aim at the large gap between the last and 2nd to last cog in the tracks and penetrate the side. This is a great way to cripple enemy IS-1 tanks, allowing your teammates to dispatch them easily or opening them up for a flank.

• Hitting the tracks is inadvisable given the aforementioned shots.

• Shooting the back plate is a 2 shot from any angle if you get the opportunity to do so. The first shot kills the engine.

Figure 43: “Where to Penetrate an IS-1 in a Panther, A.K.A. ‘Shoulders’”

Figure 44: “Angles Needed to Hit ‘Shoulders’ on IS-1 as a Panther”

If your tank shell lands anywhere within the two obtuse angles illustrated above, it will penetrate the tank. Note that because of the nature of the angles, you can never hit both at the same time. Additionally, if you are directly facing the tank, you will not be able to hit either of them.

Figure 45: “IS-1 Angled 2° to the Left with Respect to the Panther”

Figure 46: “IS-1 Angled 2° to the Right with Respect to the Panther”

Figure 47: “IS-1 Directly Facing the Panther”

When the IS-1 is angled to the left with respect to the Panther, only the right “shoulder” penetrates. When the IS-1 is angled to the right with respect to the Panther, only the left “shoulder” penetrates. When the IS-1 faces directly toward the Panther, neither the left nor the right “shoulders” will penetrate. This means that spotters and gunners in the Panther have to be able to quickly discern which of the two “shoulders” is closer to them based on the orientations of both tanks, and make a judgement call in the moment as to which one to hit. As you can see in the above figures, there isn’t a very large difference between angles only a few degrees apart, so this may take some practice.

Opinion: In conclusion, the Panther holds an interesting position in the German armament. It can only be penetrated by other mediums in a very specific area of the turret for a 3 shot kill, yet it can easily penetrate their front plates for 2 shot kills. It can even go toe to toe with the IS-1 heavy tank under the right circumstances. These facts, as well as its high top speed, large and balanced ammunition supply, and cheap 200 fuel cost make the Panther the best medium tank in Hell Let Loose and one of the most versatile tanks in general. Against the Americans, the Panther should hold a more defensive posture, focusing more on locking down enemy infantry positions, preventing pushes, and catching any enemy tanks off guard as they push. You can flank with this thing due to its fast maximum speed, but is not recommended because of the Panther’s abysmal turn speed—if you get caught out by enemy AT players you will likely be unable to react quickly. The Soviets are a whole different ball game. Since a good Panther crew is a threat to both T-34/76’s and IS-1’s, it can take a more aggressive stance, allowing it to actively seek out enemy tanks instead of just locking down infantry behind cover. Ideally this is done in pairs or with the help of a Tiger to ensure at the very least a trade occurs. Flanking is an even more inadvisable strategy against the Soviets, since the PTRS can disable your engine extremely quickly with just 1 clip. As a whole, unlike the Sherman medium or the T-34/76, the Panther is worth taking even into the late game when you have heavy tanks running around.

The Tiger I tank is the most formidable mobile armor the Germans have to offer. It boasts a main cannon that can penetrate every tank in the game on almost any surface, armor that can only be penetrated by other heavy tanks, and a quick 1st gear turn speed.

But what does it look like? The Tiger is unmistakable on the battlefield, and can be spotted by looking for these features (Figure 48):

• Size. The Tiger is the widest and longest tank in the game.

• There is a beige/dark grey camouflage pattern on the hull that looks somewhat like a tiger’s stripes.

• A very long main cannon with a muzzle brake on the end.

• A front hull with a spiked section in-between the two tracks.

Figure 48: “The Panzerkampfwagen VI ‘Tiger I’”

Here are the driving stats. As you can see, the Tiger has a good 1st gear turn speed but poor 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear turn speed, while its top speed is in line with that of other heavies.

Now for the fun part—how it performs against enemy tanks! Let’s start with the Americans:

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Greyhound:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a Stuart:

• Hit it anywhere in the body or turret for a 1 shot kill. Take care not to hit the tracks, although it’s not the end of the world if you do.

When engaging a Sherman medium:

• The Sherman medium is a 1 shot kill anywhere in the body. Don’t overthink it and don’t waste your time.

• If you for some reason cannot hit the body, shoot the turret anywhere twice for a kill. Ricochets are hard to do here, so don’t discriminate.

• Do not hit the tracks.

• As outlined in section 2.10, the Achilles Heel shot is possible, but practically useless since you can kill it in 1 shot to the side armor.

When engaging a Sherman “Jumbo” 75mm/76mm:

• You can kill these tanks in 2 shots to the front plate. Care must be taken to avoid the rounded portion of the transmission towards the bottom of the hull between the tracks because that will ricochet. (Figure 49).

• Another very viable 2 shot kill strategy is aiming for the side plate. Even if you can see only a sliver of the side plate, you can land the shot. You should only do this if you cannot see the front plate or turret mantle for some reason.

• The difference in cannons between the 75mm and the 76mm “Jumbo” Shermans drastically changes the urgency of the engagement. The 76mm can kill the Tiger in 2 shots almost anywhere, and has a faster reload speed than the Tiger meaning it can win more engagements head on. The 75mm, on the other hand, cannot penetrate the Tiger’s front armor or turret. This means that you can take your time when engaging the 75mm and it's not the end of the world if you miss a shot, but landing both shots and quickly destroying the 76mm is imperative. If a 76mm lands the first shot on you, the best course of action is to immediately disengage to cover.

• Shooting the turret from the front in the mantle is a 2 shot kill, but if you hit the slanted portions of the turret to either side of the mantle or the top of the turret itself, you will ricochet. The cupola also ricochets. If you can only see the side or rear of the turret, you can still penetrate for a 2 shot kill, but it’s easy to ricochet here since the turret itself is round.

• As outlined in section 2.10, the Achilles Heel shot is not just viable, but the recommended way to deal with “Jumbo”s provided you are at the correct angle. If you are able to see the side of a “Jumbo”, you likely already have the kill secured since you can shoot the first shot, but killing the “Jumbo”s engine guarantees that it will not be able to shoot back and damage your tank, forcing you to repair. Both the green and red sections are penetrable in the Tiger, but hitting the red section by aiming between the tracks is optimal since it does hull damage as well as engine damage (Figure 15).

• Of course, 2 shots to the back plate at any angle will kill it, with 1 shot killing the engine.

Figure 49: “The “Jumbo” Sherman Transmission Ricochets”

Now, onto what we can learn from engagements with the Soviet tanks:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a BA-10:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a T-34/76:

• The T-34/76 can be 1 shot anywhere in the front, side, and rear plates. It cannot save itself even if it angles the body, so shoot away.

• The mantle of the T-34/76’s turret will ricochet even Tiger shots. Shooting any other part of the turret of a T-34/76, including the “cheeks” and “forehead” outlined in Figure 41, will kill it in 2 shots.

• Do not hit the tracks.

• The Achilles Heel shot is possible, but practically useless since you can kill it in 1 shot to the side armor.

When engaging an IS-1:

• The Tiger can 2 shot kill an IS-1 in the large flat front plate between the tracks as well as the smaller flat front plate right below the turret under the barrel (Figure 50). If you connect with the long part of the front armor that faces upwards, perpendicular to the other plates, you will ricochet. This may result in the shell ricocheting into the flat part of the front plate anyway and penetrate that, but if you want to reliably destroy IS-1’s, make sure to avoid aiming for that area.

• With regards to the IS-1’s “shoulders”, the Tiger’s ability to penetrate them is the same as the Panther’s ability to penetrate them. The “shoulder” that is closer to the Tiger will penetrate, and the farther one will ricochet. If the IS-1 is directly facing the Tiger, both “shoulders” will ricochet. For more on this, see Figures 43-47 in the Panther section. That being said, is not recommended to even aim for this shot, since the other body shots are much more reliable.

• The trick to engaging an enemy IS-1 from the front is landing the first shot. Since the Tiger and the IS-1 both have the same reload speed, the first crew to land the first shot will be the first crew to kill, assuming all subsequent shots land.

• Hitting the side will kill an IS-1 in 2 shots. This can be done even if you only see a sliver of the side from the front, but is not recommended since the aforementioned shots are superior.

• The turret can be killed in 2 shots as well, but is a little finicky. This is because the entire turret, including the mantle, is rounded off, meaning the vast majority of shots aimed here will ricochet. Only a very small square on either side of the barrel, where the mantle’s curvature makes it flat enough with respect to the Tiger’s shell to pierce, can be penetrated (Figure 50). Everywhere else will ricochet.

• The turret’s cupola and the inside of the barrel will penetrate, but will never do hull damage. Instead, they simply disable the turret.

• The Achilles Heel shot is applies. Since the Tiger can penetrate the side plate of the IS-1, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle—aim at the large gap between the last and 2nd to last cog in the tracks and penetrate the side. If you are at the right angle you should always take this shot so that the IS-1 does not have the opportunity to turn around and damage your tank, forcing you to repair.

• Hitting the tracks is inadvisable given the aforementioned shots.

• Shooting the back plate is a 2 shot from any angle if you get the opportunity to do so. The first shot kills the engine.

Figure 50: “Where to Penetrate the IS-1 as a Tiger”

Opinion: The Tiger is one of the most solid main battle tanks in Hell Let Loose. If the crew of the Tiger is competent, they can deal with everything the Allies can throw at them, all the while decimating enemy infantry. The thick armor forces enemy AT players to go all the way around to the rear of the tank to kill the Tiger, and its high 1st gear turn speed allows it to react to those AT players, as well as enemy flankers of all kinds, very quickly. Being a heavy tank, the Tiger forces the enemy team to bring their own heavies to deal with it, and if they don’t, wipes the floor with everything else. That said, the Tiger also has a very slow top speed and its rear end is bigger than Old MacDonald’s farmhouse barn, making it tough to maneuver in tight spaces. Additionally, the slower reload speed compared to the 76mm “Jumbo” Sherman puts the Tiger at a disadvantage during frontal engagements with it. Given these facts, the main role of the Tiger is three fold: (1) to seek out and engage enemy heavy tanks to keep them off friendly infantry and friendly tanks, (2) to provide an impenetrable defensive position against advancing enemy infantry/armor, and (3) to provide mobile cover and covering fire for advancing friendly infantry. The Tiger is perhaps best suited to sitting in a position and locking down a zone against enemy tanks and infantry in order to force the enemy to spend resources to get you to leave or attempt a different route of attack, however it can also be used as a spearhead to push a point. With friendly infantry behind it, the Tiger can waltz right up to the hardcap without fear of getting rocketed in the rear or getting penetrated by enemy tanks in the front, letting it survive long enough to destroy enemy garrisons/outposts and capture the point.

The T-34/76 is the Soviet medium tank, and like other medium tanks in Hell Let Loose, it combines relatively fast maximum speed with a decent main gun and decent armor. Its main strengths are its relatively high 1st gear turn speed, the ability to angle its armor, and its cost (there are 2 naturally spawning T-34/76’s in Update 10, and all naturally spawning tanks are free).

Let’s take a look at what the T-34/76 looks like:

• A short barrel and a small turret relative to the body.

• Angled plates on the front, sides, and rear.

• Boxes, wooden crates, and other garbage on the side of the tank.

• A “box-like” shape to the body, complete with corners where the front plate meets the side plate.

Figure 51: “The T-34/76”

So how does it drive? Well, the T-34/76 has the best 1st gear turn speed of any mediums, as well as a comparable top speed. Interestingly, its 3rd gear turn speed is the same as its 1st gear turn speed, which is unique to the T-34/76.

Here’s the amount of shots it takes the T-34/76 to kill German tanks:

R - Ricochet or non-penetrating hit

#* - # shots can only be achieved under specific circumstances or in special areas

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Make certain to hit anywhere in front, side or rear plates, as it is always a 1 shot kill.

• Make certain NOT to hit the tracks or the turret, as this can increase the shots it takes. The turret mantle is also impenetrable.

• Since the Panzer II cannot do any real damage to you in a T-34/76, it is not a foe you should be worried about.

When engaging a Panther:

• Any shots to any part of the front plate will always ricochet. This may result in shots bouncing from the hull into the turret, but that is relatively rare.

• Trying to kill the Panther by hitting the tracks is impossible from the front and inadvisable from the side, as it takes many shots to do so and the turret or side takes less shots to kill.

• Hitting the turret is the only approach to killing a Panther whose body is facing you as a T-34/76. The mantle will always ricochet, and the cupola will not penetrate, so there is only one particular spot you can aim—the sides of the turret that are to the left and right of the mantle itself, forming a triangle between the top of the mantle and where the turret meets the chassis (Figure 31). Affectionately nicknamed the “cheeks” of the Panther, hitting this area 3 times will result in the Panther’s swift death. The shot is relatively hard to pull off and will require some practice, especially at longer ranges, but it can be done consistently (Figure 52).

• The rest of the turret is also a 3 shot kill.

• If you want to engage a Panther, the optimal strategy is to try to position yourself so that you can hide your front plate and only show your turret. Your turret can be penetrated from the front, but it is a much harder shot than where the Panther can penetrate you in the body. Hard cover or elevation differences such as those that exist on Kursk will allow you to do this.

• Another option to increase your survivability against a Panther in the absence of hard cover is to angle the T-34/76 relative to the Panther. If you are turned between 35° and 40° left or right of where the Panther is, both your side plate and the top ⅔ of your front plate will ricochet. At this point, all the Panther can do to penetrate your hull is hit the part of the front plate between the tracks that is angled the opposite way to the rest of the front plate for a 2 shot kill, or the turret in very specific spots for a 3 shot kill. In a public match, it is unlikely that any tanker will know these spots, so you will be able to survive most engagements provided you pull off the correct angle. Against skilled players, however, you may need to find some kind of low bearing object or hill to cover the lower front plate with, and angle the tank to protect the rest. In this niche example, you would force the enemy Panther to have to shoot you in hard-to-hit turret shots and even out the engagement. To illustrate this dynamic, see Figures 53 and 54. To see the Panther’s perspective of this angle, see Figure 40 in the Panther section.

• If you have the opportunity to hit the side of the Panther, care must be taken not to hit the side skirt that extends over the tracks. There is a thin metal plate that when hit counts as a track hit and not a side hit. Instead, you need to hit the slanted portion of the side plate that is above this skirt. Note: because this side armor is slanted, the chance for ricochet is high. In order to penetrate the armor for a 1 shot kill, you must be at an angle less than 45 degrees to the perpendicular of the side armor.

• The Achilles Heel shot is available. Since the T-34/76 can penetrate the side plate of the Panther, both the red and green outlines are penetrable and both will disable the engine in 1 shot (Figure 15). Hitting the red outline is relatively simple, provided you are at the right angle—aim for the top half of the first divider line of the side skirt and shoot.

• As with any other medium, 2 shots to the back plate at most angles will kill it. The first shot disables the engine.

Figure 52: “Panther ‘Cheeks’ as Seen by the T-34/76”

The above video is an example of the “cheeks” being shot by the T-34/76. Just like the Sherman medium, the trick is to aim a little bit off the side of the Panther turret—if you aim too far left you will hit the mantle, if you aim too low you will hit the body (Figure 52).

Figure 53: “Angling the T-34/76 from the Driver’s Perspective”

This is the driver’s perspective of the angle you need to protect your tank against enemy Panthers (Figure 53). The barrel is directly facing the enemy Panther (bearing 193 in this example) and the driver’s bearing is 156 (with the MG pointed at the middle of the screen), exactly 37° left of the Panther. In this configuration, both the side plate and most of the front plate will ricochet. Note that the Panther itself is not visible from the driver’s viewport, so drivers that wish to pull this off have to work with their spotters to get an accurate bearing on the enemy Panther, quickly add or subtract 37° (to be safe), and rotate to that bearing. “Eyeballing” this is going to be unreliable.

Figure 54: “Angling the T-34/76 from the Top Down Perspective”

The red lines are the angles where a Panther’s shell can penetrate your front and side plates. If you want to make sure both plates ricochet, the Panther’s shell needs to land between the yellow lines.

When engaging a Tiger:

• Any shots to the front plate, front of the turret, side of the turret, or back of the turret will ricochet at any angle. Even if the round does not bounce, no damage will be done to the hull itself.

• If you are lucky enough to be in a position where you see the side armor of the Tiger, 2 shots will kill the tank as long as the projectile lands at an angle less than 45 degrees to the perpendicular of the side armor. A greater angle than 45 degrees will bounce.

• If the Tiger is facing directly towards you so that a side shot is not possible, your only viable option is to run to the nearest cover and hope the Tiger misses.

• The T-34/76 can hit the Achilles Heel shot to kill the Tiger’s engine instantly. Both the green and red sections of the shot work, and the red section in particular—which is just the side skirt of the Tiger towards the rear of the tank—deals hull and engine damage at the same time and is really straightforward to hit. Since the Tiger turns quickly in 1st gear and can kill the T-34/76 in 1 shot, the Achilles heel is the recommended way to engage Tigers if you are at the correct angle so that they do not have the chance to turn around.

• The back plate is a 2 shot kill at any angle. The engine will die with the first shot, making securing the kill super easy.

Opinion: The T-34/76 is a mediocre medium tank. It has to jump through a trillion hoops just to avoid getting pounded in the front or side plates by any chump in a Panther, and even after it successfully jumps through those hoops it only evens out the engagement. Tiger’s obliterate it without a second thought, and even AT rocketeers can penetrate this thing anywhere in the front, side, or rear plates. As a result, you should avoid using this tank for anything other than infantry engagement and light tank disposal unless you have multiple T-34/76’s working together to take down targets. The ideal positioning and use for the T-34/76 is behind a hill or hard cover and far away from any enemy AT infantry or enemy tanks, and its optimal use is defensive shelling of a hardcap. You will not be able to flank with this thing because of its slow maximum speed and weak armor combination, and the eastern front maps that it shows up on are not really conducive to flanking in general. The only upside to the T-34/76’s use on the Soviet side is that two of them spawn naturally at the start of the game and replenish for 0 fuel after those ones explode, meaning in theory that there can be more T-34/76’s on the map any any given time than other mediums, allowing them to work together to trade kills with a Panther.

The IS-1 heavy tank is probably the poorest performing heavy tank in several different metrics. It has the weakest armor of any heavy tank and the slowest 1st gear turn speed of any heavy. That being said, it is still a heavy tank, and outclasses most other tanks in the field.

How can you differentiate the IS-1 from the T-34/76? Here’s a list (Figure 55):

• A long, smooth, cylindrical cannon.

• A round turret with a rounded mantle.

• Big white numbers spanning the side of the turret.

• Slanted front armor pieces that smoothly connect with the side plate.

• A series of big cylinders hanging off the side of the tank towards the rear.

Figure 55: “The IS-1”

The IS-1 has a slow top speed, and turn speeds equal or slower to that of the T-34/76.

Here’s the table on hit-to-kill values:

When engaging a Puma:

• Aim anywhere except the tires—they will take more than 1 shot to kill. You can use an HE shell if you wish to conserve AP shells.

When engaging a Panzer II:

• Aim anywhere except the tracks—they will take more than 1 shot to kill.

When engaging a Panther:

• Shooting the front plate, side plate, or rear plate obliterates this thing in 1 shot.

• The turret will take 2 shots before the Panther explodes, and this can be done from any angle. This method should only be used to kill Panthers that are only visible by their turret. If you can see the body, shoot it in the body and do not waste your time.

• The turret’s cupola is penetrable but deals no hull damage--it will just kill the turret module.

• It is important to note that a good Panther crew can shoot you from the front if you are not careful. Always keep an eye out for where enemy tanks are and could be soon, and when a Panther shows up, make sure to work with your spotter to face the IS-1 in its direction (down to the exact bearing). This will make it so the Panther is not able to penetrate your front armor or turret anywhere (You can also do this for AT, though it’s harder since they are moving around).

• Going for the tracks is inadvisable because of the sheer number of shots required to kill the tank.

• While the Achilles Heel shot is technically possible, it is not recommended to go for this shot since hitting the side plate will kill it in 1 shot anyway.

When engaging a Tiger:

• Penetrating the Tiger’s front armor is possible anywhere as an IS-1, and will kill it in 2 shots. If you see the front, shoot it.

• The trick to engaging enemy Tigers from the front is landing the first shot. Since the Tiger and the IS-1 both have the same reload speed, the first crew to land the first shot will be the first crew to kill, assuming all subsequent shots land.

• You can also penetrate a Tiger in the sides, which can be hit twice for a kill even from a very shallow angle. In fact, if you can see the side at all then you can penetrate it. This is a strictly inferior method to hitting the front though because there is less surface area, so only do this if you can’t hit the front for some reason.

• If for some reason the front and sides of the body are obscured or otherwise inaccessible, the turret is the next best place to hit. It takes 2 shots to kill the Tiger if you shoot it in the front mantle, or the sides and rear of the turret. This means that if the Tiger is looking directly at you, the flat plates on either side of the barrel are where you want to aim, and hitting the other surfaces will likely ricochet. Care also must be taken not to hit the barrel or the cupola instead of the plates on the turret, as these will only destroy the turret and not damage the hull.

• Under almost no circumstances should you be hitting the tracks of a Tiger tank given the aforementioned methods of dispatching the tank, as it takes three times as long in the best case scenario (by that time you’d be dead).

• The IS-1 can take advantage of the Achilles Heel as per section 2.10 in both the red and green sections. This can be useful to mitigate the potential for the Tiger to turn around and land a shot in your plate since the engine dies in 1 shot, but in general if the IS-1 has the angle to hit the Achilles Heel it will kill the Tiger before the Tiger can kill it.

• The rear plate of the Tiger is still a 2 shot kill, just like the front and sides, except the engine gets disabled after the first shot.

Opinion: As mentioned in the introduction, the IS-1 leaves a lot to be desired when compared to the other heavy tanks. It can be damaged by the Panther and the Tiger from the front, sides, and rear, and can even be shot by enemy AT players in the front if they know where to shoot. This creates a problem for the IS-1 on Stalingrad—the urban environment makes it very easy for AT to peek out of cover, shoot you, and run away, all while laughing at your puny attempts to defend yourself. That being said, the IS-1 has formidable firepower and can use it to destroy both Panthers and Tigers relatively easily. In the battlefield, the Soviet heavy tank’s role is just that—to engage enemy tanks and remove them from the battlefield—but you should know the limitations of your armor. IS-1 crews simply have to work a little harder to make sure they are not being outplayed by enemy Panthers or AT guns, and that they are not being surrounded by enemy AT rocketeers, which can sometimes be a lot of things to juggle at the same time.