Marder III: Ultimate Glass Cannon?

[Edmund Kemper]

Hey guys!

Introduction
In this thread I want to talk about the Marder III, a tank destroyer on the German tech tree. I think it's the perfect definition of a glass cannon. It's a fun vehicle nontheless!

This is not a guide. Please do not post comments stating that this thread is in the wrong place.


Reference Video
Here is a reference video to which I'll be referring several times throughout this post (Should be available in 1080p soon). That way it is easier for me to describe what I mean with certain situations. Support at my channel is always appreciated!: http://www.youtube.com/user/imjustacowlol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg72GKfyg84

Pros and Cons
Pros:
-Insanely good cannon
*It's more powerfull than the M18 Hellcat cannon (see video at 01:00)
-Very accurate cannon (see video at 18:30)
-Fast reload rate
-Reasonably good acceleration

Cons:
-It's a paper tank. The Germans were really good at origami (see video at 19:40)
-The gun only has a limited shooting-field
-Literally anything can kill it
-The ammo is all around the vehicle, making it a walking - or rather driving - time bomb (see video at 06:15)
-It's ugly


Strategy
I really don't have a strategy for this thing. What I usually do is I just go wherever I feel like going and I shoot whatever is in my path. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt :)

I'm definitely excited to see what you guys think about this vehicle! Please don't hestitate to join the conversation!


Why do I make such topics, with a video in it?
People have recently been accusing me of trying to advertise my channel on the WT forums & Steam forums. I want to go ahead and say that this is not true. I have been doing YouTube for nearly 2 years now, and I have only got 355 subscribers. If I would have done it for the fame, or for the views, I would've made sure that I had gotten more subscribers.

The reason that I make such topics, is because I enjoy talking with you guys. I like to learn more about the vehicles I play, I like to see what strategies you guys have, I like to hear about your opinions. It's just something that appeals to me: discussing with you guys.

Hopefully this clears some things up. Cheers!

[PyroPaul]

Would help if you did a little research.

the PzGr 39 is a type of munition - not a specific munition of a specific caliber. The Pz. III out of it's 50mm Gun fires PzGr. 39, the Pz. IV out of it's 75mm gun fires PzGr. 39, and the Tiger II fires a PzGr. 39 out of it's 88mm gun.

as for the gun itself - it is a Russian cannon which was captured (over 1000 of them where captured during Germany's initial push into Russia) however the Ammunition itself is German made - as the Soviet Army didn't field the ammunition types provided to the gun.



To this:

*It's more powerfull than the M18 Hellcat cannon (see video at 01:00)

No.
Very no.

Alll Kinds of No.

While the default APCBC ammunition has a higher value of penetration then the M18's default ammunition - the Hellcat has a much higher rate of fire and has access to an APCR round that can penetrate more then 200mm at 500 meters, while the Marder III can't manage that even at point blank range.

Not only that - Successful penetartions by the M18's 76mm gun using the M62 round causes more damage - as it has nearly 3 times the explosive filler then the 76mm on the Marder III.

What it is, is very powerful for it's Bracket - sitting at a BR of 2.7 and being the only 76mm AT gun at that ranking, making it capable of frontally penetrating nearly everything it can run into.

Fast reload rate

No. It has a reload rate of 9.3 s. That is above average and actually slightly slow for german tanks at that ranking. The average Reload for the BR2.0-3.0 range is ~5 seconds. (StuG III A - 4.3; Pz. IV F1 - 4.3; Pz. III J - 5.3)

Even in the +3.0 Bracket that is still on the slow side - as the 75mm gun all have a reload of 7.3 seconds (Marder III h, Pz IV F2, StuG III F)



As to strategies.

It is a mobile field gun and should be played very similar to how the 75mm M3 Half Track should is played. Player conservitively and keep your enemies in front of you.

[Edmund Kemper]

Publicado originalmente por Pyro Paul:

Would help if you did a little research.

the PzGr 39 is a type of munition - not a specific munition of a specific caliber. The Pz. III out of it's 50mm Gun fires PzGr. 39, the Pz. IV out of it's 75mm gun fires PzGr. 39, and the Tiger II fires a PzGr. 39 out of it's 88mm gun.

as for the gun itself - it is a Russian cannon which was captured (over 1000 of them where captured during Germany's initial push into Russia) however the Ammunition itself is German made - as the Soviet Army didn't field the ammunition types provided to the gun.



To this:

*It's more powerfull than the M18 Hellcat cannon (see video at 01:00)

No.
Very no.

Alll Kinds of No.

While the default APCBC ammunition has a higher value of penetration then the M18's default ammunition - the Hellcat has a much higher rate of fire and has access to an APCR round that can penetrate more then 200mm at 500 meters, while the Marder III can't manage that even at point blank range.

Not only that - Successful penetartions by the M18's 76mm gun using the M62 round causes more damage - as it has nearly 3 times the explosive filler then the 76mm on the Marder III.

What it is, is very powerful for it's Bracket - sitting at a BR of 2.7 and being the only 76mm AT gun at that ranking, making it capable of frontally penetrating nearly everything it can run into.

Fast reload rate

No. It has a reload rate of 9.3 s. That is above average and actually slightly slow for german tanks at that ranking. The average Reload for the BR2.0-3.0 range is ~5 seconds. (StuG III A - 4.3; Pz. IV F1 - 4.3; Pz. III J - 5.3)

Even in the +3.0 Bracket that is still on the slow side - as the 75mm gun all have a reload of 7.3 seconds (Marder III h, Pz IV F2, StuG III F)



As to strategies.

It is a mobile field gun and should be played very similar to how the 75mm M3 Half Track should is played. Player conservitively and keep your enemies in front of you.

The Marder III doesn't use APCBC as ammo, rather than APHE. With more powerfull than the M18 cannon I referred to 1 single shot, not several shots in a row. Reload rate doesn't say anything about how powerfull a cannon is, rather than how efficient a cannon is.

As of the ammo: You are completely right. I already showed in the video that I was not 100% sure how it worked, but that I thought that it had something to do with a modified version/different caliber. But thank you for that info, I did not know that :)

As of the reload rate: For such a powerfull cannon at such a low BR I think the reload rate is quite adequate for what you get for it. The StuG III A, Pz IV F1 and Pz IIIJ don't have as powerfull cannons (once again, powerfull as in penetration with the APHE ammo in a single shot, as HEAT rounds generally aren't the best type of ammo to use.)

[PMA]

i had alot of problems, with these guys destroying my tank..... v_v

[slayerfar]

I enjoy it a lot. I bring it out early to avoid the Fighters swarming around later in the game, and then seek out a nice hill overlooking a chokepoint. The trick then is to back off enough that you can still fire on the enemy, yet only expose the top of the gunshield.

The enemy will then try to hit you with their Cannon, but more often than not, they'll just clip the shield or superstructure, but do VERY little damage, whereas you can fire you big, awesome gun and hit their entire tank.

What WILL kill you is the enemies that know your weakness, and rake you with MG fire. The American 0.50 cal especially will ruin your day. You can't back up or get away, so make your fire count. With a good gunner, you can engage at 750 m+ without breaking a sweat.

I've tried using it stand off in Urban Maps, but it just isn't suited for the job. Big silouhette and slow reload.

[AttackerCat]

N-n-n-necro breaker!

[Blitzkrieg Wulf]

Publicado originalmente por slayerfar:

I enjoy it a lot. I bring it out early to avoid the Fighters swarming around later in the game, and then seek out a nice hill overlooking a chokepoint. The trick then is to back off enough that you can still fire on the enemy, yet only expose the top of the gunshield.

The enemy will then try to hit you with their Cannon, but more often than not, they'll just clip the shield or superstructure, but do VERY little damage, whereas you can fire you big, awesome gun and hit their entire tank.

What WILL kill you is the enemies that know your weakness, and rake you with MG fire. The American 0.50 cal especially will ruin your day. You can't back up or get away, so make your fire count. With a good gunner, you can engage at 750 m+ without breaking a sweat.

I've tried using it stand off in Urban Maps, but it just isn't suited for the job. Big silouhette and slow reload.

Please don't necro threads where the last comment is more than a month old.

Locked.