In January I took notice of the AMX 13 57 and its rapid-firing gun. As I do before I buy a premium tank, I looked at some Youtube videos, one of which compared it to the AMX Chaffee. The result was that the tanks are very similar, but since it was a tier VI, the AMX Chaffee was a lot cheaper in real money. So I bought the AMX Chaffee.
I loved it from the beginning. My second game brought in 2112 base XP, and I make more High Calibers in it than in any other scout. Great tank in any scout role from spotting to mopping up.
This week I got the "special" offer to buy the AMX 13 57 for a good price. I was still interested, so I bought it. So far I've taken it out eight time. The two tanks are so similar that it's hard to not compare them.
The biggest difference, and the reason the 13 57 is no match for the AMX Chaffee is the power-to-weight ratio. The AMX Chaffee has a p/w ratio of 28.23, the 13 57 has one of 17.01. I have four tier VII medium, three of them have a better p/w ratio than the 13 57. It's slooow. The speed is usually #2 in the list of the AMX Chaffee's shortcomings, but it's a Formula One car compared to this brick.
The guns are almost identical in terms of accuracy (0.36 vs. 0.37), aim time (both 2.3), penetration (AP: 143 vs. 144, APCR: 195 vs. 202) and damage (clip damage is higher for the AMX Chaffee, 810 against 720, but DPM is slightly better in the 13 57). However, the very short intra-clip reload of the 13 57 means that the aim time cannot keep up with the rate of fire.
I run both tanks on full APCR, stabilizer, optics and vents, small kits and auto-FE. I made the comparison with very similar crews, same skills and only 1 % difference in the skill they are learning.
I won't sell the 13 57 or anything, but so far it's a dud.
Now here comes the interesting part: Everyone disagrees with me. Shocker, I know.
The best two tier VII light tanks in terms of winrate are the AMX 13 57 and the HMH AMX 13 57. The AMX Chaffee is on place #6 (out of 13). K/D again place #1 and #2 for the 13 57s, the AMX Chaffee would however share the #2 spot. Average damage: #1 and #3 for the 13 57s, #4 for the AMX Chaffee.
So I wonder: What am I missing? Why is everyone using this medium-speed tank with a short-range gun to tear up the opposition. And more importantly: How?