Anti-tank Rifles

[Poor Old Spike]

ATR's v INFANTRY TEST
(Regulars on both sides, midday, clear weather, summer)

The Russians will not open fire on their own initiative because they know they have little chance of hurting inf, so you have to order them to fire, like this -
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/Atrs-v-infa.gif



Below -but after 15 continuous turns of firing they've only inflcted one casualty! (occasionally a German squad or two would be briefly pinned but unhurt)
Conclusion -don't bother wasting your ATR slugs on infantry.
(PS - Notice the infantry haven't spotted the ATR's in the woods, they're just getting ghost icon 'sound contacts' from the direction of the woods)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/Atrs-v-infb.gif




PS - it'd be a bad idea for the ATR's to let the infantry get closer in the hope of inflicting more casualties, because the inf would spot them at around 100m and start firing back like this..
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/Atrs-v-infc.gif


http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/ExIS/ATR-ville.jpg

[Okimaw]

Thanks POS. I had a game recently where it was in an urban map, my opponent didn't have any 1/2 tracks going so I had a company of Soviet ATR's situated in buildings across the river shooting at infantry and mg positions. Some of these guys expended between 60 and 70 rounds without scoring 1 casualty.

[Nemesis Lead]

I once killed a Panzer IV with a Boys ATR in a Band of Brothers tourney game. Rear turret shot from 50 meters.

[Poor Old Spike]

ATR's v PzIV TESTS

I lined up 12 Russian ATR's and ordered them to fire at the panzer at 200 metres.
Against the orangey side armour they regularly scored partial penetrations and the rare full pen (main pic).
After one turn the panzer was panicking, after two turns it was routing and had lost a crewman, and after 3 turns it abandoned.
I then turned the panzer face on (inset) to see how they did against its yellowy front armour, and they were completely unable to penetrate, all I saw were the odd partial pens, and after they expended all their ammo over 10 turns the panzer was still alive and unscratched with no crew losses.
Conclusion - The tests simply confirm what we already knew, namely ATR's can kill orangey armour, but yellow armour defeats them completely.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/Competitons/ATR.gif

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub2/inf-russ44.jpg

[Poor Old Spike]

ATR's
Of the two Russian models, the PTRS is fractionally better as the pen figures reveal.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/ATRs.png



I ran this set of tests with Russian ATR's, it pretty much confirms what's already been said, namely that you have to get your units to within about 100metres of ATR's in cover to spot them.
Pic 1 - This is the view in the Russian setup turn (the Germans can't see them). 3 x Russki ATR's are in the woods ready to open up. All units on both sides are veterans, summer midday clear weather..
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/atrA.jpg




Pic 2 - The ATR's decimate the German halftracks and REMAIN UNSPOTTED (just 'sound contacts') even though German infantry is a little over 100m from the ATR's. (Grid squares are 20m)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/atrB.jpg




Pic 3 - In this next test the German infantry is inside 100m and SPOTS the ATR's when they open up, and returns fire on them. The halftracks also return fire now that the infantry have spotted them..
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/atrC.jpg



PIC 4 - For this test I've removed the German inf from the map to see how well halftracks spot.
At over 100m they CAN'T SPOT the ATR's which are ripping them to shreds, they just get sound contacts.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/halfts100plus.jpg



Pic 5 - But now I've moved the halftracks to inside 100m and THEY SPOT the ATR's and begin hosing them down. Note all 3 ATR's are now not sound contacts, they're solid targets..
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/halfA.jpg


http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub1/AT-rif-russ-1.jpg

[Poor Old Spike]

ATR's v Guns, Schrecks, Mortars, HMG's, Trucks

This is a follow-up series of tests to my earlier 'ATR's v inf' post.
In the main pic, I lined up 6 x 75mmPaks, but after 15 turns of continuous firing at 300 metres, the ATR's inflicted no casualties at all on the guns or the crews, they just made the odd one go 'pinned' or 'taking cover' now and again.
And at no point did the guns spot the ATR's in order to fire back, they just got the usual ghost 'sound contacts'.

INSETS BOTTOM RIGHT - I then conducted the test three more times, ATR's v schrecks, mortars and HMG's in turn, and the results were exactly the same, no casualties after 15 turns of firing, and at no time were the ATR's spotted.

INSET TOP - But the same test against trucks made mincemeat of them after just a few turns.

Conclusion - don't waste your ATR slugs on non-vehicles
(PS - in all the tests the ATR's ammo began getting low around turn 15 and they started refusing to fire in order to conserve it, that's why the tests only ran 15 turns)

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub3/ATRsvstuf.gif

[Poor Old Spike]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g64/PoorOldSpike/sub1/AT-rifle-window.jpg

[CMant]

I'm in a fight now where one of my MK4 Panzers was hit from the side and lost a crewman , I don't know where the shot came from , I suspect an ATR .

[GenSplatton]

I have an ATR firing at scout cars and bren carriers. After 60 rounds, it finally managed to knock out a carrier. Ugh. Stupid scenarios. I need to be dealing death and destruction, not scratching the driver's backs for them.

[Nemesis Lead]

I have a game going right now where I have a 28% to hit on an ATR.

I started with 75 rounds of ATR ammo. I now have 58 and scored only 1 hit (a ricochet!).

ATRs seem different in terms of "to hit" than ATGs.

[GenSplatton]

Oh, I've hit things. And the shots have penetrated. It just doesn't seem to do anything. They keep driving, shooting, on-loading and off-loading troops, etc. The carrier that was killed took a hit in the rear as it was heading back to pick up yet another load of troops to deliver to the front. All others have been side/frontal hits. Not sure if that mattered at all. I would think a frontal hit would actually have a better chance of knocking out a motor or something.