M3A1 Scout Car

M3A1 Scout Car
Army	Soviet Army
Role	Light Reconnaissance and Infantry Transport Vehicle
Unit Cost	190 190 15 15 5 5
Upkeep per Minute	? ?
Prereq.	None
Produced By	Special Rifle Command
Can Be Loaded With	Up to 1 squads of Infantry, 6 men maximum
Health	200 200
Abilities (1) Overdrive Increases maneuverability Decreases chance to be hit

Overview

A light scout vehicle armed with two machine guns, one facing forward and one covering the rear. The scout car is fragile and very lightly armored, likely damaged from small arms fire and easy to destroy with heavier anti-tank weapons, including Panzerfausts from Grenadiers and Volksgrenadiers; they tend to damage the engine.

Weapons

The M3A1 Scout Car is armed with one .50cal machine gun and one .30cal machine gun, .50cal facing forward and .30cal facing backwards. A good portion of its firepower comes from the infantry embarked on it firing from its open top.

Troop Transportation

In addition to its offensive capabilities, the M3A1 Scout Car is a transportation vehicle. You may load up to 6 infantrymen into this halftrack, or one infantry squad. It can't carry weapon teams, however. Infantry can fire out of the scout car and the scout car can capture territories if it is transporting an infantry squad. A Penal Battalion embarked on the Scout Car is a decent early-game combination, while a Partisan Infantry Squad makes the unit quite deadly against unprepared infantry at close range.

Abilities

Overdrive

• Costs 10 10
• Duration: 20 seconds
• Cooldown: 90 seconds
• Requires veterancy 1
• Activation: Immediate

The Overdrive ability increases the maneuverability of the Scout Car, decreasing its chances of being hit.

Veterancy

As a Soviet unit, the M3A1 Scout Car can gain three levels of Veterancy. Each level brings its own specific benefits, increasing the unit's combat potential and/or survival.

Accumulation

The M3A1 Scout Car receives experience points for killing enemy units. Once it has accumulated a sufficient number of experience points, it will automatically advance to the next level of veterancy.

Bonuses

At each veterancy level, the M3A1 Scout Car gains a specific set of bonuses. These bonuses are cumulative to each other:

	Level 1 Veterancy: "Overdrive" ability unlocked.
	Level 2 Veterancy: Sight range increased by 30%. Accuracy increased by 30%.
	Level 3 Veterancy: Accuracy increased by 20% Rotation increased by 20% Acceleration increased by 20% Speed increased by 20%

Tactics

As a recon unit, the scout car's large line of sight can be used to give your forces additional information, particularity for weapon teams(MGs,Mortars,AT guns) to attack hostiles in enfilade. Not to mention the M3A1's M2 .50cal machine gun can provide extra firepower against unarmored and lightly armored units. Furthermore, if a Soviet commander doesn't need a vehicle purely for reconnoiter he can add a single infantry squad to act as a raid/response unit to attack and defend resource/VP points respectively. Finally, when on the offensive the M3A1's M2 .50cal in front and a .30cal in the rear, along with the combined firepower of an infantry squad, make it one of the best(if not the best) units for hit-and-run tactics on infantry and/or weapon teams.

Weaknesses

The scout car is extremely fragile as its armor is easily penetrated, even by rifle fire. Tanks, panzerchreks, even anti-tank rifles will reduce this car to debris within seconds.

Quotes

"Light scout car ready for orders."