Archer

Revision as of 13:05, 16 November 2015

{{TankData|Tank= |

|Gallery=

|InTheGame_pros=

• Great top gun with high DPM and very good penetration and nice alpha damage
• Turns fast
• Excellent gun arc
• Very good view range on its tier and class

|InTheGame_cons=

• Unusual controls (drives backwards like Crusader 5.5-inch SP)
• Only 12 kph top speed driving forwards but fast reverse speed
• Very weak armor, susceptible to autocannons and HE shells. 105mm howitzer will one-shot this tank.
• Turning the hull causes terrible dispersion.

|InTheGame_performance= The Archer is an unusual vehicle in many respects, while also being rather typical in others. Because the gun was placed backwards on the chassis, the reverse speed is faster than the forward speed. This trait makes it a perfect ambush vehicle; after opponents at range get too close or you are spotted, it will reverse safely back into cover. Practicing backwards driving will be of great benefit in this vehicle.

Aside from the unusually high reverse speed relative to the forward speed, it is a fairly typical open-topped thinly-shielded tank destroyer. Do not get shot at at all: while derived from the Valentine chassis, it does not share the armor, and will be destroyed quickly if cover it not sought.

However, the appalling speed driving forwards combined with the good backwards speed means that the Archer should not participate in pushes. The top speed of 12 kph means you are too slow to participate properly (and be very vulnerable if caught in the open), and driving backwards is not recommend if at risk at engaging enemies. This means that when playing the Archer, you should pick a good spot to hide and snipe, and only relocate within a short distance.

The powerful and accurate top gun and fast turning radius make the Archer an excellent artillery guard, as it can engage both heavily armoured targets at a distance as well as fast moving lights relatively close up. But as always with the Archer: don't get into attrition-based firefights.

As a side note, when playing the Archer, be prepared to take the reactions of other players graciously. The Archer seem to attract a lot of ire from team mates, as there seem to be more than a few players which don't understand the limitations and playing style of the Archer, i.e. that you need to camp and can't very well participate in pushes.

|InTheGame_research=

Stock suspension is very close to load limit and upgraded suspension or Enhanced Coil Springs Class 1 equipment (20 000 credits) is required is mount even both camonet and binocular telescope. Stock gun is totally inadequate too and should be upgraded immediately.

You may already have the top 17-pounder gun, since it's shared with AT 8 and Challenger. You still have to research first 17-pounder too, since its required to advance to next tank.

Radios are shared with many British tanks and can be installed immediately. Upgraded engine is not used anywhere else and gives only minor buff to mobility, but is very cheap to research.

|InTheGame_equipment=Camouflage Net, Binocular Telescope, Medium-Caliber Tank gun rammer

|InTheGame_Equipment_Builds=

|External_Reviews=

|History= The Self Propelled 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer was a United Kingdom British tank destroyer/self propelled anti-tank gun of the Second World War based on the Valentine infantry tank chassis fitted with an Ordnance QF 17 pounder gun.

Design and development

The 17 pounder anti-tank gun was a very powerful gun but also very large, heavy, and could only be moved about the battlefield by a vehicle, which made the gun more effective in defence than in the attack. A version of the Churchill tank had been tested as a self-propelled gun; the "3-inch Gun Carrier" and the US was expected to be able to provide the M10 Wolverine through Lend-lease. Other projects were considered using obsolete tank chassis; possible vehicles included the Valentine for its reliability and low profile; and the Crusader for its good power-to-weight ratio. In development were tank designs using the 17-pdr, which led to the Challenger (and its post-war variant the Avenger) derived from the Cromwell cruiser tank, and the Sherman Firefly conversion of Sherman tanks.

The Valentine chassis was soon chosen, as it was in production but obsolescent as a tank in British use and was also one of the few chassis that could accommodate such a large gun.Template:Citation neededThe engine in the Archer had a higher power rating than in the Valentine.^[1] The Valentine had a small hull and it was not possible to use a turret, the gun was mounted in a simple, low, open-topped armoured box, very much like the early Panzerjäger German self-propelled guns in appearance, with the gun facing to the rear which kept the length of the Archer short. The mounting allowed for 11 degrees of traverse to either side with elevation from -7.5 to +15 degrees.^[2]

On firing, the gun breech recoiled into the driver's space, with the driver staying in position, in case the vehicle needed to move quickly. The rear mounting had the advantage that combined with its low silhouette, the Archer made an excellent ambush weapon, allowing its crew to fire, then drive away without turning round.

The first prototype was completed in 1943, with firing trials carried out in April 1943. Vickers were given orders for 800 vehicles.

Service

[[File:Abandoned Egyptian Archer.jpg|thumb|left|This Archer tank destroyer was abandoned by the Egyptian Army during the Suez Crisis, 1956.

Production started in mid-1943 and the Archer entered service in October 1944. It was used in Western Front (WWII)North-West Europe and (in 1945^[3]) Italian Campaign (World War II)in Italy. By the end of the war, 655 of them had been produced. The Archer was classified as a self-propelled anti-tank gun and as such was operated by the[Royal Artillery (RA) rather than by Royal Armoured Corps units - as were British M10 Wolverine 3in SP, Wolverine and 17pdr SP Achilles - during the war.

Post-war the Archer served with the Egyptian Army. Surviving vehicles are preserved at the Yad La-Shiryon museum in Latrun, Overloon War Museum National War and Resistance Museum, Overloon in the Netherlands, and the Bovington Tank Museum in the UK. The Archer served with some units of the Royal Armoured Corps in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in the early 1950s.

|HistoricalGallery= Archer.jpg|Archer tank destroyer providing fire support near Goch, Germany on 19 February 1945 Archer (2).jpg|Archer tank destroyer in the flooded streets of Kranenburg, Germany on 11 February 1945 Archer (3).jpg|Egyptian Archer in Rafah during the Suez Crisis

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