 M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 A 57mm AT Gun in ambush position | |||
| Role | Foot-mobile Anti-Tank Gun Crew | ||
| Men per Squad | 3 | ||
| Unit Cost |
 280 3 | ||
| Prereq. | None | ||
| Produced By | Motor Pool | ||
| Cost to Reinforce |
71 1 | ||
| Health per Man |
 300 (Gun) 70 (each crewman) | ||
| Basic Weapon |
1x M1 57mm AT Gun 1x M1 .30 Cal Carbine | ||
| Open Weapon Slots | 0 | ||
| Max. Speed | 3 m/s | ||
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The M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun, or 57mm AT Gun for short, is a 3-man weapon crew operating a powerful foot-mobile Anti-Tank cannon. It is fielded by the American army in Company of Heroes. While a heavy-hitting gun, the 57mm AT Gun may have some trouble piercing the front armor of enemy tanks, which is why it is often used in ambushes. It can make up for this by loading expensive but useful armor-piercing shells. More vulnerable than a tank destroyer, the gun can still be used successfully as a defensive weapon to counter enemy vehicle assaults. The Airborne Company can paradrop these to any visible point on the map.
Overview
The Americans often employ a medium-strength defensive line to prevent enemies from entering their territory. Aside from Passive Defenses, the Americans also use Machine Gun Emplacements to provide anti-infantry firepower, but without the M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun they have little ability to fend off enemy tanks and other armored vehicles. The 57mm AT Gun can plug gaps in the defenses, relocate as necessary, and is very dangerous to enemy tanks, though vulnerable on its own.
The M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun is normally produced from the Motor Pool for the cost of 280, 3. The Airborne Company can also use the Airdrop M1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun Command Ability, for 350, 3, to land one of these cannons at any visible point on the map.
The 57mm AT Gun is a crewed weapon, manned by 3 of the toughest infantrymen available to the Americans. The gun itself is mounted on a wheeled carriage, and may be pushed from position to position by its crew. Two crewmen are tasked with moving and operating the gun itself, while a third crewman holds an M1 Carbine semi-automatic rifle to provide some protection in direct combat with enemy infantry.
The 57mm AT Gun is a good defensive weapon. It has a long range, and a very powerful punch. Unfortunately, the gun has relatively disappointing Penetration values against medium and heavy Axis tanks, but it can make up for this by using Armor Piercing Shells, which will temporarily allow it to penetrate any armor. Alternatively, the gun can fire at the rear armor of enemy tanks, in which case it is almost always guaranteed to penetrate them.
The slow movement speed of this cannon (3 m/s, normal infantry speed) prevents it from being a very good assault weapon, though it can follow infantry into combat and provide them with long-range anti-vehicle firepower. More often it is used as a defensive weapon, parked close to a Machine Gun Emplacement, so that these two units can together provide good firepower against any enemy.
Damage received by this unit can go independently to any of its crewmen, and can also strike the gun itself. Fortunately the gun is sturdy, and it will take a serious explosion to destroy it. However, if the gun is lost, the entire team will die instantly. If one of the two gunners is killed, the third team member will move in to replace him. If two of the team members are killed, the weapon will become abandoned immediately, and may be captured by any friendly or enemy infantry squad containing at least 2 men (this can only occur if the machine gun was set up at the time).
The 57mm AT Gun is quite vulnerable to enemy fire, especially artillery. It takes about 1 second to prepare the gun for movement, and 1 second to set it up again, making it difficult to avoid artillery attacks. Enemy Snipers and infantry flank attacks can kill the crew. Therefore, this weapon will rarely operate alone, often accompanied by other infantry units or simply set up inside your own territory. The extremely long range of the cannon allows it to engage enemy units from a relatively safe distance.
Many players consider this weapon inferior to the M10 Tank Destroyer, though the two units are not directly interchangeable.
Weapons
The M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun is its own weapon, a relatively powerful anti-tank gun on a wheeled carriage. With a long range and a strong punch, it is a good and cheap defensive weapon against enemy tanks.
Additionally, the third crewman in this squad carries an M1 .30 Cal Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifle, which he will use to return fire at enemy infantry units attempting to flank this gun. Unfortunately this weapon provides little actual defense, requiring the cannon to be protected by other units when enemies are near.
M1 57mm AT Gun
The 57mm AT Gun is a respectable anti-tank weapon, especially considering its cheap cost. While not as powerful as the British 17 Pounder AT Gun, it still poses a serious threat to all enemy vehicles.
The 57mm AT Gun fires powerful and rather accurate shells. It has a basic 90% chance to hit vehicle targets up to 40 meters away - the normal vehicle engagement range. Accuracy drops rapidly beyond this range, down to 65% at a range of 60 meters. Of course at this range, most units can't return fire anyway - it is one of the longest-ranged direct-fire weapons in the game. Accuracy against infantry units, however, is almost negligible.
Each shell that strikes the target delivers 150 points of damage - an average amount for an anti-tank weapon, but still remarkable compared to normal tank guns. Front-armor Penetration leaves something to be desired, with a basic 75% chance of getting through a Panzer IV's front, though failure to penetrate will still cause 50% of the total damage potential (75 points). The 57mm AT Gun can nonetheless reliably pierce any rear armor except that of a Tiger Tank or similar heavy vehicle. In an emergency, the gun can be temporarily loaded with Armor Piercing Shells to ensure Penetration against any vehicle from any angle.
Additionally, the crew of the 57mm AT Gun are quite adept at reloading this cannon. As a result, it will only take a 3.5 second interval between each shot - one of the fastest reloading Anti-Tank cannons in the game. This increases its damage output considerably.
The main drawback of this weapon is that it can only fire within a limited angle - 40° to the left or right of its carriage's current heading - and takes at least 2 seconds to rotate to a new heading. This means it must be correctly positioned to take advantage of a kill zone, and can be flanked easily if not protected from all sides by obstacles or other friendly units. Enemy light vehicles can also quickly drive through and past the firing zone, ending up behind the gun and easily able to destroy it - assuming the gun did not manage to destroy them as they moved through the kill zone.
With its maximum range of 60 meters, this cannon can safely fire from behind your lines, and can utilize a spotter to snipe at enemy units inside their own territory - though with somewhat reduced accuracy.
M1 .30 Cal Carbine Semi-Automatic Rifle
The M1 Carbine is a semi-automatic magazine-fed rifle. It is a standard-issue weapon for American airborne and mechanized infantry.
When compared to other semi-automatic or bolt-action rifles, the M1 Carbine's only real advantage is speed: it has a higher firing rate, and can fire more bullets before having to reload. This makes it better for mid-range encounters (15 meters) than other rifles, but it loses in damage output and accuracy at long range.
One infantrymen in the M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun crew carries this weapon, for purposes of defending the cannon from enemy flanking attacks. However, one rifle is hardly enough to truly pose any danger to enemy units.
Note that if the original crew of a 57mm AT Gun are killed and the weapon re-captured by another infantry unit, the new team-members will not be equipped with M1 Carbines. They'll use the "standard" weapons dictated by their default unit properties. For example, if an Engineer Squad acquires an abandoned 57mm AT Gun, the man not operating the mortar will use an M3 SMG.
Abilities
The 57mm AT Gun can temporarily be loaded with Armor Piercing Shells. This is used to ensure Penetration against any vehicle, and also increases damage output, for a short duration.
Armor Piercing Shells
- Costs 50
- Activation: Immediate
- Duration: 10 seconds
- Cooldown: 45 seconds
When this ability is activated, for the next 10 seconds the gun's Penetration values are increased by 400%, making this gun capable of piercing any armor (front or rear) in the game.
In addition, the gun's damage output is increased by 25% (to 187.5 points) per shot for the duration of the effect.
Use this ability in an emergency to ensure the destruction of an enemy tank confronting the gun. This is especially important when your position is being assaulted by Axis heavy tanks, like a Tiger, King Tiger or Jagdpanther, against which the 57mm AT Gun has penetration problems.
Normally, however, you're usually better off setting an ambush for the enemy to have the 57mm AT Gun attack its rear armor instead of wasting 
Munitions. Rear armor penetration is guaranteed against any but the heaviest Axis tanks.
Veterancy
As an American unit, the M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun can gain three levels of Veterancy. Each level brings its own specific benefits, increasing the unit's combat potential and/or survivability.
Accumulation
Like all other American units, the 57mm AT Gun obtains Veterancy points by killing enemy units. It receives 100% of the experience value of each unit it kills. Once it has accumulated a sufficient number of Veterancy points, it will automatically advance to the next level, gaining the related bonuses immediately.
American units do not share Veterancy points with one another. To receive points, the unit must personally kill an enemy unit.
Bonuses
At each Veterancy level, the 57mm AT Gun gains a specific set of bonuses as listed below. These bonuses are cumulative with each other.
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No Veterancy:
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Level 1 Veterancy:
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Level 2 Veterancy:
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Level 3 Veterancy:
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Tactics
Quotes
Gallery
Game Info
The AT Gun is a great mobile defense against vehicles. It is crewed by 3 men a Gunner, Loader and Watchman. The Watchman is armed with a M1A1 Carbine and the Gunner and Loader fire the AT Gun. The 57mm AT Gun is built from the Motor Pool or if the Airborne Company is selected it can be airdropped, perfect for plugging armoured attacks. The AT Gun is quite fast to fire and is a threat to most vehicles. The AT Gun is also moderately fast to redeploy. The AT Gun can fire Armour Piercing Shells for a short time at the expense of munitions.
Strength
The AT Gun is very powerful and can destroy all but the heaviest vehicles quickly. The AT Gun is also quite effective against buildings. Armor Piercing Shells allow the M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun to destroy heavy vehicles with ease.
Weakness
The M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun is not fast enough to kill large squads of infantry and can be swarmed by them and destroyed or have the crewmen killed. Fast moving vehicles may also be able drive around its line of fire quickly enough to avoid being destroyed. The line of fire of the AT Gun leaves the back and sides of it open to fire and the gun-crew doesn't automatically pivot the gun if the enemy never entered the line of sight for the gun. Also, the AT gun is horribly slow moving - Don't expect to use it on anything but defense. The AT gun also has a harsher "crew lost" penalty than other manned heavy weapons: if one person goes down, the AT gun is basically defenseless against infantry, another goes down the third dismounts and dies on his own.