PzKpfw 38(t) nA Guide

Pz 38 nA

Today I'm taking a look at the infamous Pz 38 nA.

The historical '38 nA was a project which aimed at improving the popular but obsolete Pz 38t with improved armor and powerplant. It never passed prototype stage and didn't see action.

In WoT:
The Pz 38 nA is a tier 4 light tank which links the Pz 38t LT to the Pz 4 MT. Like most tier 4 light tanks it's given a harsh scout matchmaking which pits it against tanks up to tier 8. Unlike dedicated scouts like the T-50 and former t4 VK1601 Leopard it's able to be top tier and won't face tier 9.



Basic stats:
Tier 4
Price: 145'000 credits (3800 xp from the Pz 38t)
Hp 340 (300 stock)
Hull armor: 50/25/10
Turret armor: 50/25/10 (50/30/22 stock)
Weight: 11.9 tons w/ 4.7 cm, 12.5 ton w/ 5 cm (10.9 tons stock)
Engine power: 276 bhp (200 stock)
bhp/ton: 23.08 (21.9 w/ 5 cm gun)
Top Speed: 62 Kph
Turn speed: 35 deg/sec
View range: 370 m (330 stock)
Battletiers: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The Pz 38 nA have a choice of 2 guns in the top configuration: the obvious tier 3 5cm l60 and the tier 2 4.7cm l43 from the previous tank. Both guns have pros and cons compared to eachother so let's write them down.

1st  option: Gun: 5cm l60:


Pros:
+ Higher damage
+ Higer penetration, both standard and gold
+ Higher caliber, penetrates more spaced armor
+ Less pen loss at distance
+ Higher DpM

Cons:
- A full 600 kg heavier (5% of tank's total weight)
- Less accurate
- Longer aim time
- More expensive ammo, both standard and gold (5 gold)
- Lower RoF

2nd option: 4.7 cm l43:


Why should you chose the gun from the previous tank?

Pros:
+ Significantly lighter
+ Higher accuracy
+ Lightning fast aim time
+ Cheaper ammo, both standard and gold (3 gold)
+ Higher RoF

Cons:
- Lower pen, both standard and gold
- Lower Damage
- Less DpM

As the Pz 38 nA suffers from low bhp/ton for a scout it needs to save all the weight it can so if you don't mind sacrifising a bit of firepower the 4.7 cm is a good way to improve the mobillity.

The crew consists of 4 tankers:
Commander (gunner)
Driver
Radioman
Loader

This layout gives plenty of room for perks and skills while still being cheap to train/retrain.

Tech tree:


Recommended research path:
1. 4.7 cm l43 if you didn't get it in the pz 38t
2. Upgraded turret, you need all the view range you can get.
3. Engine, gives an 40% boost in power which improve the mobillity significantly
4. Tracks, this improves the mobillity and allows you to mount the 5 cm (if you want) and additional equipment.
5. 5 cm l60, additional firepower for those who don't care about mobillity.
6. Both Radios, though you should have unlocked then already.

Mobillity:
The Pz 38 nA is often accused of being slow and unmanuverable, comparing it to the T-50 and Luchs. It's true that the mobillity is no match for said tanks but it's actually far from stationary.
With a healthy 23 bhp/ton, 35 deg/sec hull traverse and surprisingly low ground reststance (1/1.1/2.1) the Pz 38 nA easily reaches the top speed on flat ground and lose little speed while turning. However, it's nowhere near as quick as the T-50 so active scouting often ends in tragedy.
So what should you use this mobillity for if you can't wtfroflrush? I'll get to that in the next point.

Scouting potential:
Why should you pick the Pz over the T-50 then? Take a look at the view range stat: 370 meters is a full 40 meters more than the T-50. This combined with decend mobillity and excelent camoflage value makes the Pz 38 nA the perfect t4 passive spotter.
"Passive spotter? you mean sitting AFK in a bush waiting to be oneshotted?"
No, silly. a passive spotter is constantly on the lookout for a better place to light the enemy from, it requires far more map awareness than speeding around in an active scout.  It does however require a 100% commander and binoculars.

I'll use a map with easy passive scouting locations:  Campinovka.
Malinovka(Campinovka)
Base1



Green: Early game, spot the enemy leaving their base and those trying to cross the swamp.
Blue: Midgame, either stay in the same bush to light enemies trying to drive off the hill or through the village or circle back to the base and see if anyone is hiding in the bush at the water.
Red: Late game, your team have won the hill but is getting pelted by basecampers? time to make use of your own basecampers. It's a bit of a gamble but you should be able to reach the trees in the middle of the field to light the south half of the enemy base. If you don't see anything you can risk moving up to the campers rock, it provide cover if when you get spotted while allowing you to pop out to light whatever is shooting your main force.

Base2



Green: It's easier to reach the trees on the field from this side and it lets you light whatever tanks are still hiding in the enemy base and those trying to cross the field. The other early route lets you spot the tanks LEAVING the enemy base but is risky as a good passive scout in the bush I showed in the last picture might spot you, camo is recommended.
Blue: Go here to safely light tanks crossing the swamp and possibly tanks going up the hill. You can also light for teammates hiding in the forest if the hill falls to the enemy If neither happens: bide your time for the final push.
Red: Your team is stuck on the hill because of enemy forest campers, the clump of trees closest to the village lets you light some enemie while providing hard cover. if there are no forest campers the bush close to the lake lets you spot the most dangerous basecampers.
Purple: OMGRATYRUN! if the forest is clear and your forces are rolling down the hill the Pz 38 nA is fast enough to do an arty run through the (mostly) unguarded forest. this also lets you pop out in the rear of the enemy bast to spot the last campers, letting your own basecampers move out safely.

WARNING: These are MY personal opinions and there might be other tactics, experiment a bit.

Non-scouting characteristics:

Armor:
You are a light tank, the armor is nothing to write home about, it will protect you from low tier autocannons and produce some random bounces. It's worth noting that the Pz 38 nA have shell absorbing tracks, I recommend mounting Enhanced Suspension for the 30% track HP buff.

Firepower:
No matter if you chose to run the 5 cm or the 4.7 cm the firepower is nothing to write home about either. it's good when facing your own tier or t5 mediums but lacks versus anything with more than 50 mm armor. Using gold ammo boosts the pen to 130/115 mm which actually allows you to nibble at the rear armor of pretty much anything you face.
This abillity to nibble at butts is a valuable characteristic as it can be used to draw attention from wounded teammates who posess REAL firepower, allowing them to survive for a while longer.

Suggested crew skills:
Commander(gunner): 6th sense (no scout should be without it), camo, recon, repairs (at the start of the 4th skill it's a good idea to retrain BiA as 1st skill and then resume this order)
Driver: camo, offroad driving, clutch braking, repairs (BiA retrain)
Radioman: camo, situational awareness, signal boosting, repairs (BiA retrain)
Loader: camo, safe stowage, repairs, firefighting (BiA retrain)

Suggested equipment:
- Basic loadout: Toolbox, Camo net and Binocs
- Little fighter loadout: GLD, Vents and Optics (note: loading all gold)
- The perfect scout: Camo net, Optics and Binocs
- Balanced scout: Camo net, Vents and Binocs
- Durable scout: Enhanced suspension, Vents and Binocs

In short: You want everything which makes you harder to spot while letting you spot at longer ranges.

Personal Review:
The Pz 38 nA is a well rounded tier 4 and an excelent passive scout which can be of great use even when att the bottom of the list. Being a passive scout makes it hard to master and the unfortunate possition in the main tech tree means that it's played by many inexperienced users who have no knowlege about how to scout and don't want to spend the time to learn it.
For everyone who aims for the T57 heavy i'd recommend mastering the Pz 38 nA as it's very similar in playstyle as the T21 light, which helps you prepare for the non-combat part of the T71.
There are few bad tanks in the game but the Pz 38 nA isn't one of them.

I run with the standard medkit/repairkit/fire extinguisher loadout but I can see how some switch the extinguisher for gasoline.

Pros:
+ Small profile
+ Good view range
+ Good camo
+ Mobile enough for it's job
+ High top speed
+ Good accuracy on the move
+ Fast aim time
+ High accuracy
+ Good gold shell
+ Low repair cost.
+ Low target priority

Cons:
- Low HP
- "Meh" acceleration
- Low standard pen
- Low damage
- Small ammo capacity
- Light armor
- In main branch
- Bad reputation
- Scout matchmaking (some see it as a pro though)

Final notes:
I did fairly well in the Pz 38 nA and had good use of the experience when playing the tier 6 light T21 as it can be played in the same way.


Originally written by xCaptainObviousx