Scorpiany Posted January 10, 2015 Posted January 10, 2015 ★ ★ ★ I apologize for the large images - I can't put them into spoilers! :( ★ ★ ★ "IS-6 - Replenishing Credits since 2010" ~~~~WoT Community The IS-6 on paper seems like a very weak tank - only 100mm of armor on the sides and front. However, the angling of the frontal and side armor increased the effective thickness significantly. Throw spaced armor on top of the angling and you have one difficult to penetrate tank. Not only this, but an IS-6 can angle his armor to increase the effectiveness even further since it does not hold a pike nose shape. So - if you have a low caliber gun without much penetration, how do you go through this beast? Easy - abuse the IS-6's weakspots. Be careful though, even though it has plenty, they can be tough to go through if you're not shooting properly. On the very strong, angled hull there is one fairly large weakspot that really should stand out - the Driver's hatch. Unlike the rest of the armor, it's only 90mm thick. Despite it having the same angling, it's now only effectively 180mm thick. This is great for T32's - whose guns can't quite go through the 200mm of the rest of the hull, but can fairly easily manage 180. However - don't just shoot straight on! Point your gun downwards. Whether you have 1 degree of gun depression of 15, the more you point your gun downwards when shooting at the hull, the less effective armor you will be shooting at. Driver's hatch: Next up on the hull is the lower plate. It's a double edged sword. On one hand, the armor is thicker on the lower plate than on the upper plate. On the other hand, the armor doesn't quite have the same angling. If the IS-6 is pointing his hull upwards, it will be easy to penetrate the lower plate... if not, it may be difficult. Shoot this based on the IS-6's hull's elevation / depression in relation to your gun. ***Hint: If the IS-6's hull is pointing up, shoot the lower plate. If it's pointing down, shoot the upper plate; especially in the driver's hatch.*** Lower Plate: On the turret roof, there are three different hatches. They are all very small, but since there are three of them, it should be easy to hit one of them. There are two very large ones on both sides of the IS-6. These are easy to penetrate, but at a bad angle it's possible to bounce with a low caliber gun. Between them, there's a third hatch (which I'm aiming at in the image below), which has only 30mm of armor... this means that regardless of angle, you'll overmatch it. However, the middle hatch is very, very small - thus hard to hit. Shoot at the one you're most likely to penetrate / hit based on your current location - although all should be easy to go through. Turret Hatches: Notice the angle I hit the middle hatch at? The ones on the side could have bounced this shot, but the middle one is overmatched by anything 90mm or above. Middle Hatch Penetration: Let's say the IS-6 is angling its armor. The frontal armor has two panels that point diagonally in relation to the frontal plate. When the IS-6 is side-scraping and perhaps keeping his turret hidden, this diagonal plate is a great place to shoot... assuming you have the penetration to go through it (and the IS-6 isn't showing his turret, which is a weakspot). Diagonal Plate: Unlike all other tanks in the "IS" series, the IS-6 has a weak turret - only 150mm thick. Even though most players who aren't relatively new know this, people still seem to struggle penetrating it. That's because the turret has both, weak spots and strong points. Be careful! If you're unlikely to hit the commander's hatches, shoot at the turret - but avoid the gun mantlet! Shoot the turret "cheeks" to the sides of the mantlet. See how my 130mm gun bounces off of the mantlet in the image below? Shoot at the cheeks to the sides of the mantlet to penetrate. Avoid the gun mantlet: Want to know something cool? A T67 and an M8A1 can penetrate the IS-6. Not only that, but they can overmatch it. How is this possible? The hull roof! In particular, a hatch on the hull roof. That's right - if the IS-6 is giving you shots as this little hatch on the hull roof (which often times they do), it's possible to penetrate it. Honestly, it's a hard shot - so it's only useful when the IS-6 is side-scraping without revealing his turret. Hatch on the hull roof: There's one of those hatches on the other side of the hull too. Hull Roof Hatch: The side armor... don't shoot this... not only is it 100mm thick like the front, but it's angled in a way that makes it 130mm thick... plus the upper half has spaced armor! It's very difficult to penetrate with HEAT and at an angle. If you're going to shoot it, make sure that the angling is minimal. Side Armor: Warning, warning! If and when shooting the sides, avoid the side skirts! (Striped red and black in the image below). Shoot above the skirt!!! Don't shoot the side skirts! Other than the rear, there's one more weakspot which is a very good place to shoot when given the opportunity (this works on any tank!). The frontal and back track wheels. If you shoot them correctly, you'll not only de-track the IS-6, but also do damage to it! Track Wheels: Careful though - shooting it at an angle, even a slight one, may make it so that you only track the IS-6 without doing damage. Bad angle at track wheel: Shoot it correctly though, and you'll be able to wreak havok. Proper way to shoot track wheel: Summary: Obviously the rear is a weakspot. When shooting an IS-6, I always would aim for the turret, whether it's the commander's hatches or sides of the gun mantlet. Never shoot the gun mantlet itself. The side armor is resistant to HEAT and is hard to penetrate at an angle. Lower plate is a good place to shoot only if the IS-6 is pointing his hull upwards. If the hull is pointed down, the upper plate is much easier to penetrate, especially the driver's hatch. Hitting the track wheels correctly makes it easy to do damage and immobolize the IS-6. Great thing to do if he's showing just part of his front / rear, and its parallel to a corner. Hull roof has two hatches on the sides which are only 20mm thick, and the turret roof has a tiny hatch between the larger ones which is only 30mm thick. I hope this helps! Good luck on the battlefield, tankers. 1
Bacon_Bandit Posted January 17, 2015 Posted January 17, 2015 Nice work Scorpiany. Too bad most of the noobs never take the time to read this stuff.
Scorpiany Posted January 23, 2015 Author Posted January 23, 2015 Nice work Scorpiany. Too bad most of the noobs never take the time to read this stuff. If it helps at least a few, then it was worth it.
HuLKSMa5H Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 :D Thanks again Scorpiany. Great work as usual.
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