T-43 Guide

Soviet T-43 Medium tank (tier VII)

Main characteristics
Hitpoints
1000 stock / 1100 with upgraded turret.

Experience price (just T-43):
22 200 from KV-13
53 000 from T-34-85

Credit price:
1 355 000 credits, but as a tier 7 tank it is available at half price (677 500 credits) during specials.

Top speed
51km/h

Traverse
36 degrees/second stock
38 degrees/second with upgraded tracks

HP/ton
15,70 Stock
18,11 Best engine, lightest load
17,22 Fully upgraded.

View range
360 stock
370 with upgraded turret.

Crew
Commander
Gunner
Driver
Loader, doubles as Radio Operator

Armor and weapons:
Armor
Hull 75 front, 75 side, 75 rear
Stock turret 80 front, 80 side, 60 rear
Improved turret (requires improved tracks) 90 front, 90 side, 90 rear

Spoiler:

Weapons

85mm ZiS S-53

Damage: 160 AP / 160 APCR / 280 HE
Penetration: 120 AP / 161 APCR / 43 HE
Rate of Fire(100% crew): 12 rounds/minute, 12.5 rounds/minute with improved turet
Accuracy (100% crew): 0.42
Aim time (100% crew): 2.9 stock turret, 2.3 with improved turret

122mm U-11

Damage: 450 HE / 370 HEAT
Penetration: 61 HE / 160 HEAT
Rate of Fire(100% crew): 5.26 rounds/minute, 5.36 rounds/minute with improved turet
Accuracy (100% crew): 0.57
Aim time (100% crew): 2.9 in both turrets

85mm D5T-85BM (Requires improved turret)

Damage: 180 AP / 180 APCR / 300 HE
Penetration: 144 AP / 194 APCR / 44 HE
Rate of Fire(100% crew): 11.11rounds/minute with improved turet
Accuracy (100% crew): 0.37
Aim time (100% crew): 2.3 with improved turret

Review
General
T-43 is a solid tier VII medium tanks. It has no great strenghts, but no weaknesses either. It is a all-around tank, which should always have some edge over similar tanks, and can in a pinch do any tasks required. T-43 is most versatile when the player knows the opposing tank's weaknesses, and can exploit them. However, it can be a challenging tank to play

Advantages
As noted, the tank does not have one single clear strong point. For example it is better armored then T20 but not quite as fast and nimble. It is heavier armored and armed then Comet, but slower.It is faster and more nimble then Panther, but not as well armed/armored.

T-43 has better then average gun depression which helps when getting in hull down position, and thicker side armor that makes angling easier without exposing weak sides. The turret is also the soviet round design, meaning more bounced shots from hits on the edge of turret.

Disadvantages
The side effect of not being bad in anything is that the tank is not good at anything. It might be hard for starting player to learn how to play tank that has no obvious strong sides. Understanding what is your edge in each situation is a skill that takes time to develope. A such T-43 might not make a good first tier VII tank; it can lead to frustration if player does not have a enough experience of other tanks. The tank also requires some situational awareness to find your role in each battle, as it can change a lot. However, you should always be able to do something useful in any battle.

Playstyles
For tier VII tank the 85mm D5T-85BM has a bit low pen, requiring flanking or premium ammo when encountering higher tiers. However, the damage is quite a lot more then 75mm guns have, while still having similar RoF. The gun has enough penetration against most equal and lower tier targets, and even some tier VIII tanks. Carrying few premium shells for those tough places is not a bad idea, but using them regularly is not mandatory. Shooting from front is adviced only against un-angled targets, lower tiers and weakspots. If you find yourself in shootout situation against strong front armor, withdrawing to regroup is a good option. 85 mm ZiS S-53 plays much the same way, but is a bit weaker. It has no benefits over D5T-85BM, so should only be used while the D5T-85BM is not available.

The 122mm is more inaccurate and slow firing, and the premium HEAT shells have only 160 penetration. Given the T-43 mobility this is not too much a problem, allowing the tank to flank enemies. Those with less credits can still be useful with the HE shells, but the effectiveness is reduced. Flanking is still a good idea to increase the damage caused. HE can also cause module damage, cripling tougher tanks and enabling friendly tanks to kill them. It can also be very effective against TD:s and arty, when player manages to hit flanks and rear armor.

Upgrade paths
Players coming from T-34-85 have the advantage of having (possibly) researched everything except tracks and turret (and one engine, more of this below) in the T-34-85. I advice this, as the improved equipment will help also researching T-43 when playing with T-34-85. Players coming from KV-13 will also lack the engines and radio, unless they have picked those up from TD line.

If player has the guns researched, tracks and turret can be obtained for about 15000 free exp. However, if player wishes to use the 122mm U-11 gun, this is not needed as the gun can be mounted in the stock turret.

Players coming from KV-13 should consider using free exp on the radio, if they don't have it. It only costs 4040 exp, and stock radio only has 325 range. This can fall short in flanking, or when there are only few tanks left in team, depriving player of arty support, or valuable information on enemy location.

Using free exp for engines is not efficient. Improvements are small (+40HP, less the 8% increase), and the experience cost is high(17000 and 19000). Given their high cost I suggest leaving them last, unless the tank feels too slow.

Notice that the Top engine is available in T-34-85, while the mid engine is not. If the top engine is researched in T-34-85, there is no need to research the mid engine at all. It is the stock engine in T-44, and will become researched when T-44 is unlocked. This can save you 17000 exp.

Suggested crew skills
Crew skill selection is always a matter of preference and personal use. The following is mainly a giudeline of guide writers opinions.

For commander, sixth sense is a strong candidate to all tanks, but that it is up to the player.

For those planning to fire on move, the snap shot can come in handy. Dead eye can also give player the edge, but it does not work with HE shells. This is worth remembering if you plan to use the 122mm gun.

Driver has multiple options, and player should see pay attention to how the tank feels. If they feel slow and sluggish, offroad driving (acceleration) and clutch breaking (turning speed) can help offset the feel. If they do a lot of shooting from movement, the smooth ride is a good idea.

For loader, the safe storage helps prevent ammo rack explosions, but is not mandatory in this tank. Players planning to use 122mm might want to consider intuition, if they plan to have a mix of HE and HEAT shells.

As a general boost everyone will benefit from repairs and BiA. Camouflage is not useful on the higher tiers, so that should only be selected when all "better" options are already taken.

Suggested equipment
No matter which gun is used, the Rammer (medium caliber tank gun rammer) is a good choice. Players using 122mm gun should also consider the gun laying drive. After this, it is up to player. Ventilation and/or gun laying drive are personal preferences. If the player has camo net and binoculars, they can use those. There is no downside, the boost can be useful and they can be removed for free. If only one slot is free, I suggest binoculars.

Other comments
The T-43 is a tank that suffers from it's position. It is not better then it's predecessor (tier VI T-34-85), itis inferior to it's equal (tier VII KV-13), and it is shadowed by it's follower (T-44 tier VIII). As such, it is not a "must have" tank. This does not mean it is bad though. In skilled hands it can play very well, but it is demanding tank to play. However, enemies seem to sometimes underestimate it, and this can be very advantageous. Players who can't quite decide if they should try it can research the tree, and then buy one for half price during event to minimize losses.


Originally written by Lord_Demon

Thanks Ding, im loving the way these reviews are coming out as im buying them. Im finding the review to be right 'on the money' too. Will i be seeing a review for a T11E05 coming out in the next week then

andy_scouser wrote:Thanks Ding, im loving the way these reviews are coming out as im buying them. Im finding the review to be right 'on the money' too. Will i be seeing a review for a T11E05 coming out in the next week then

No problem andy, although unfortunately I have to say these guides are coming out in time with your purchases to be purely accidental Bu I hope you are finding these guides helpful ^^

However, if in future you or anyone want to see a specific guide, I can look around my own archives to see if I can locate one (note I don't have a guide for all tanks). As for the T110E5, I actually don't think I have one.

It's a pretty good guide, but he fails to mention the awful module damage that the T-43 takes if it finds itself getting shot at. The giant fuel tank sitting right next to the driver and the exposed ammo racks are horrible. You never ever want to be in a position where they can shoot your front hull or right side of the turret.