T20 Guide <Downloadable>

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World Of Tanks Guide for US VII tier T20 Medium Tank


Historical info:
Designing and building fighting vehicles, most times, means you don't just go from design board, to production, to use in the field. Often trial and error is involved while different configurations of turrets, guns, engines, suspensions, etc. are tried before a production model is built. For the lineage of the Pershing several models were tried out. They were the T20, T22, and T23 medium tanks. They were the proving ground for not only what later became the Pershing but also for some features that ended up in the M4 Shermans.

Characteristics:

Purchase Price  1,340,000 credits    
Research Price  55,000 xp
Hit Points  1,000 / 1,100
Weight  28.89 t
Crew  (5) Commander, Gunner, Driver, Radio Operator, Loader
Engine Power  520 / 560 hp
Speed Limit  56 km/h
Traverse  37 / 37 deg/s
Hull Armor  63-50-38 mm (front-sides-rear)
Turret Armor  88-63-63 / 88-63-63 mm (front-sides-rear)
Turret Traverse   44 / 42 deg/s
Gun Elevation Arc  -10/+25 deg
View Range  370 / 390 m
Research Tree and Module Performance:



Gun & Turret
The 2nd  tier VI M1A2 gun (and tier V 105 mm short barrel gun) can be researched coming from the Sherman tanks and I recommend to do so, before buying T20. The first two 76mm guns despite their rate of fire, their penetration value (128) is weak for any tier VII medium tank. The research for the tier VII 90mm gun should be the main priority for this tank, meaning that you need to buy the 2nd turret and then go for the 90mm M3 gun, which once mounted it will provide superior alpha damage capabilities for its class – major fun! Mind that the T20D2 turret is much heavier and you need to upgrade the suspension first. It doesn’t provide better armor but it will increase your hit points to 1,100 and your view range to 390m, traditionally above average for its tier like most US tanks. View range and gun depression (down to -10 deg. for all guns available) is once again an advantage going through this US tree, extremely useful in a multi-role tank like T20. 90mm M3 gun also provides good accuracy, long distance shots are no problem for this gun as long as it’s not aiming a commander’s hatch from 200m! 160mm av. penetration and 240HP av. damage is excellent  for a tier VII medium tank so in a good battle expect around 2000 and more dmg from this little beast. Carrying some APCR shells with you will help against tanks of higher tiers.





T20 main gun specs:

tier       name       ammo     dmg        penetration          ammo price                rof       acc.     aim
VII 90 mm Gun M3
48 240/240/320 HP 160/243/45 mm 255  /10  /255   6.38
r/m 0.38
m 2.3
s


Suspension

This is the first upgrade required (tier VII suspension HVSS T51) in order to mount the 2nd turret which leads to the M3 gun. 37deg/s may not seem much but in game it proves itself just enough, with relatively low terrain resistance which makes T20 quite agile overall. Anyhow, T20 certainly could use more traverse speed.


Engine

Stock engine Ford GAA (520 hp) provides good agility to help you earn xp in battle, as T20 is a light armored 29 ton tank. Ford GAN 2nd engine at 560 hp will make this tank really fast and fun to drive. 20% chance of fire is something to notice in these gasoline type engines so be aware or your rear,  although because of its agility it should not be a problem very often - fire extinguisher recommended.


Radio

Stock tier VI radio SCR 508 has small range of 395m but tier IX SCR 506 (615m range) can be researched in the previous Sherman tanks so no worries here, you most probably already have it.



Research Tree Upgrade Guide:

I strongly recommended to have the M1A2 gun and SCR 506 radio already researched in previous tier. If you ‘re willing to sell your tier VI Sherman, you can select to send the modules to depot and mount the above two in T20. Then your module research order should be like this:

Suspension (HVSS T51 : 8,000 xp)  > Turret (T20D2 : 8,050 xp)  >  Gun (90mm M3 : 14,000 xp) >  Engine (Ford GAN : 11,500 xp)





Suggested Equipment:


1.  Medium caliber tank gun rammer is a must to improve the M3 gun heavy tank-like rate of fire.

2.  Vertical stabilizer mk1 is only available in T20 and Comet in this tier so take advantage of this, very suitable for any medium tank. It vastly improves aiming time and accuracy on the move (by 20%).

3. Improved ventilation class 2 (or Coated Optics / Binocular Telescope). Vents will improve general performance including rof and view range above all,  together with gun rammer you improve rof by 15%. Coated optics will make T20 a decent scout tank exploiting the good view range even further and will help to earn more xp in battle. Beware that you don’t have 100% camo value on the move like light tanks do, but you have a low profile and so a decent camouflage factor for a medium tank that will help scouting. Binocs is good for passive scouting (that also takes advantage of the excellent view range) and sniping purposes, plus you can easily demount/mount on any tank.

So depending on game play style and account economy this equipment can make T20 an excellent multi-role medium tank, just be careful,  this one can’t bounce incoming shells.



Suggested Consumables:


1.  Small repair kit, for tracks and ammo rack repair mainly.

2.  Small first aid kit / Large first aid kit, crew isn’t very well protected by the light armor.

3.  Manual fire extinguisher, 20% chance of fire make shots at the rear of the tank dangerous.

As other MTs with weak armor, your crew and ammo rack can be easily shot, so be careful not to expose your sides and rear too much. I personally didn’t find it necessary to buy Wet Ammo Rack but rather have a small repair kit ready.




Crew Training:

Your may be already training certain skills/perks for your crew, but I will recommend what I think it’s most suitable, in my opinion, for this tank and US MT tree.



Commander  

Sixth Sense is always helpful, suitable for MTs that can’t take a lot of damage and don’t get many bounces. In my case I did very good without it and retrained my commander only when I got Pershing (I had Mentor before that). You can live without it, because US tanks have great view range, this means not only they can spot at greater distance but you can spot the enemy before he spots you, because of the game engine. However if you feel you need/like it then it’s good for a 1st perk because 2nd perks/skills take much longer to complete. That makes Recon a good 2nd skill that doesn’t not need to reach 100% like a perk does, to start using, which takes advantage of the good view range of T20 and other US tanks,  helps take the first shot over the enemy and earn more xp by detecting enemy tanks. Brothers In Arms is a valid choice as well.

Gunner

I always train Snap Shot to improve aiming time,  it helps when playing medium tanks and also be to be faster than USSR heavies. Combined with Vertical Stabilizer will make aim ultra fast. For 2nd skill/perk Brothers In Arms is good to improve the crew.

Driver

I like agility in MTs so I first  trained Off Road Driving it helps to get that extra acceleration/speed in soft terrain and out-maneuver HTs, scout and flank. Reduced terrain resistance also helps vehicle traverse. It helped me in M4 and M4A3E8 and it certainly helps T20, Pershing and Patton down the line to be more agile.  Smooth Ride helps aim time and improves vertical stabilizer even more, maybe redundant after accuracy buff in 8.6 but enhances shooting on the move experience anyway, your choice. Brothers In Arms is also suitable to improve the whole crew.

Radio Operator

I have Situational Awareness as 1st skill, to improve view range which is always helpful. Brothers In Arms 2nd, but of course you can change the order.


Loader

Adrenaline Rush I think is a good choice or Brothers In Arms depending on what you have chosen for the rest of the crew. Safe Stowage perk can help to deal somewhat better with the easy ammo rack hits, but you won’t need it that much if you continue down the line and buy Pershing, it’s very likely you are going to want to retrain your loader.


Mind that with Recon (+2% view r.) + Situational Awareness (+3% view r.) + Vents (+5%) , you already have +10% view range, add only 2 Brothers In Arms (complete) and you have +12% view range (in a 5 crew tank every single member with Brothers In Arms adds 1% skill to all crew members). 390*12%=46,8  which means  390+46,8=436,8m view range,  not bad. Consider that maximum spot range is 445m and maximum view at 500m.
If you trade Repairs for Brothers In Arms and combine maybe with large repair kit , it will help repair those tracks faster and keep your tank moving or choose it as the 3rd skill.

Crew training can begin at M3 Lee (one of two gunners will be sent to barracks though) and M4 Sherman. From M4, to T20, and up to M46 Patton (tier IX) the crew layout is the same. M48A1 Patton (tier X) has 4 crew members, where the Loader is the Radio Operator as well, so any radio man specifically trained skills/perks will be unusable at this point.


More info about skills & perks:
http://wiki.worldoftanks.com/Crew#Skills_and_Perks



Damage Per Minute Chart for VII Tier Medium Tanks

• Comet 2153.2
• VK 30.02 D 2063.6  (88mm gun)
• T-43 1999.8
• KV-13 1830.6
• Panther/M10 1799.55
• Panther 1687.5
• T-34-1 1612.5
• T20 1531.2

T20 low rof and dpm means you must not be a sitting duck for the top performers, so they can’t use their high dpm effectively against you. 2nd  highest alpha (240) means more stopping power though. T-34-1 has the highest alpha at 250 and 160 av. pen. (same with T20), 3rd   is VK 30.02 D  88mm gun with 220 av. dmg,  but only 132 av. penetration.







Camouflage Factor Chart for VII Tier Medium Tanks

                                      stationary            moving
• T-34-1 18.8 13.5
• KV-13 15 10
• T20 12.5 7.5
• T-43 12.5 7.5
• Comet 12 9
• VK 30.02 D 10 5
• Panther/M10 8.5 3
• Panther 7.5 2.5

T20 low profile should give the tank a better camo factor, which strangely, is the same with the taller tier VI Shermans and much worse than T-34-1. Stationary camo factor for the latter is closer to a light than to a medium tank (T-50-2 has 20/20 & M24 Chaffee 19/19). Overall T-20 is quite decent among its competitors, in this area.



General Impressions and Role In Battle:

  T20 is a support, flank and scout tank with the former two emphasized. It can be a big PITA for the enemy when used correctly, and that is:  you must not allow the enemy to take easy shots at you because of your low armor, survival is key, the longer you survive the more damage you will do. As it’s fast you can easily defend a cap, change flank, run to cap or scout when possible. Even the front armor is very weak so choose your fights/shots very carefully.
  Where you go with this tank is how good you will perform. You can support HTs being just next to them but always have cover from terrain or another HT tank and shoot the enemy at his reload time. You will be a strong extra gun to the fight if you know where to shoot. Many LFP and other frontal weak spots can be easily penetrated with 160mm av. penetration. If there’s too many enemy tanks and you can’t base your attack on darting in and out of cover in their reload time, you must flank them. T20 is quite fast to do that with success and it will penetrate almost every tier VII & VIII HT in the side with ease, driving to the opponents’ sides and rear should be common in this tank. The turret is placed in the very front of the hull, so you can easily expose a small part of your tank from the corner of a building to shoot and fast reverse to cover again. Changing place often to hide and confuse the enemy in city maps can have an important effect in battle performance. Warning:  trying to run circles around heavies is tricky because the traverse is not (or barely) enough, so you can end up moving in a wide circle moving away and become an easy target.
  You also must get used to the new and much slower rate of fire coming from the previous 76mm guns which reload very fast. This tank has a different feel and pace, it’s wise to try not to waste (especially close) shots as the reload time won’t allow many mistakes. You also must use your speed to reach tactical map positions before the enemy, use your view range and take the first shot, it works like a charm in this tank.
  After I bought the 90mm gun it was so much fun. With engine upgrade it’s even more fun and because I have experience with paper armor meds, I was able to use this tank well and earn easily 900-1000 xp in winning battles, when I got used to it. Remember to try to make it hard for the enemy to hit you, spot and be close to nearest cover if not always hidden from enemies facing you. Don’t exchange shot for a shot, use your agility and have patience. Help your teammates and HTs is what this tank does well, never fight alone, except with lower tiers and if you have full HP, even tier V guns can penetrate you. Have you heard the phrase “don’t rely on armor in WOT”?  This one is the best example.



Pros:

- High penetration gun with excellent depression angle
- Good agility
- Excellent view range
- Vertical Stabilizer in tier VII
- Turret in the front of the hull helps peek-a-boom tactics


Cons:

- Weak armor
- Wide flat turret is a large target that doesn’t bounce many enemy shells
- Crew and ammo rack can be easily hit
- Low DPM




I hope this guide helps you in battle, happy hunting!


Originally written by guderianic