AMX 30 B: From Paris with Love!

Commanders,

Update 9.7 for World of Tanks will bring 7 new, standard French vehicles. You can find the details about them in the respective introductory article. However, perhaps the most interesting vehicle is the new Tier X medium tank— the AMX 30 B.

The tank is a typical example of a Western post-war vehicle: impressive gun elevation angles, good mobility, powerful and precise gun, great view range, yet quite modest armour protection. Also, this vehicle has no automatic loading system: old school manual loading for the win!

In this article you will find the technical characteristics of the vehicle, learn its strong and weak points and get some advice on using this French fighter effectively.

Features and Characteristics

• An effective 105-mm gun: it is precise, has good aiming time, and high alpha damage for a medium tank. The AMX 30 B will make a formidable opponent in long-distance firefights. Moreover, the gun deals good damage-per-minute—about 2,630 points. 
• High penetration for standard shells: the standard shells are composite rigid (APCR), with penetration of 260mm. What is also appealing about the gun is the fact that the composite rigid shells have a high muzzle velocity, which translates into shorter travel time to reach the target.
• Perfect view range: 410 meters. It is one of the best view ranges in the game; only the M48 Patton and M60 have a better view range. If you use this advantage right, you may sway the tides of battle in your favour: the early spotting of the enemy will allow you to start the fight on your conditions and put all the power of the 105-mm gun to good use.
• Comfortable gun elevation angles: -8/+20 degrees. The tank can make an effective use of hilly terrain, which means there should be fewer instances of having to expose yourself to enemy fire. Using ground irregularities as cover can significantly increase the tank's survival rate in battle.
• Good Mobility: although the tank is in no way a race car, its speed is sufficient to allow it to change positions quickly if the situation on the battlefield requires it.
• Poor Armour protection: the vehicle is quite lightly armoured. If you want to succeed using the AMX 30 B, avoiding enemy fire should be one of your priorities.

Tactical Role

This Tier X medium tank enables a lot of creative play in game. The AMX 30 B will be interesting for players with a good knowledge of the key positions and tactical approaches for each map. The tank is mobile enough to take good firing positions quickly and easily. Should the battle situation require so, it can rapidly change its position and move to another flank or firing point.

Aggressive raids in medium-tank wolfpacks may not be the best tactical use of this new French vehicle. It is certainly not a Maus, nor even an AMX 50 B, —so its armour will not protect it from the fire of anything above Tier VIII. The best strategy is to act carefully and wisely: use the terrain to conceal yourself or hide behind your allies or any other structures. Do your best to preserve your hit points till the end of the battle because they will become crucial for victory in the final stage of the fight.

The most effective use of this top French tank is to combine sniper and support tactics. Take key positions to spot and eliminate enemy vehicles, cover your advancing allies with support fire and Lady Luck will smile upon you.

To sum everything up, we can say that the AMX 30 B is the most balanced Tier X support medium tank. If you fully understand and can effectively use this vehicle, you will be able to turn the tide of the battle in your favour.

Roll out!