Škoda T 56

Škoda T 56 is a tier 8 Czech heavy tank. It has a very strong upper plate and turret, great mobility and gun depression, and one of the hardest hitting guns among tier 8 heavy tanks.

Armour

vs 265mm APCR
Upper plate 275-295mm
Lower plate 140mm
Turret 270-370mm+ (weakest point 226mm)
Hatch 140mm

vs 265mm APCR
Using -8 gun depression
-Upper plate 400-425mm, 70 degree angle-autoricochet
-Turret 275-500mm+ (weakest point 220mm)

(The Škoda T 56 in the images is NOT using enhanced armour)

The side armour of the Škoda T56 is 70mm, which isn’t very thick for a heavy tank, but it can still sidescrape up to the 70 degree angle. Be aware when sidescraping that the hull is very long, and overangling will give enemies a very easy shot into your side before your gun can even aim onto them.

VS any tier:
The Škoda T56’s armour is equally effective against tanks of all tiers. Tier 7, 8 , and 9 tanks all can’t penetrate the upper plate or turret with standard ammo; but they all can easily penetrate the hatch and lower plate.

Almost no tanks under tier 9 will be able to penetrate the Skoda’s upper plate with premium ammo, and even tier 9 tanks can’t easily penetrate the turret spaced armour. 122mm+ guns can overmatch the turret roof, but in tier 7 and 8, most tanks with guns that large are extremely inaccurate and will easily miss this weakpoint.

Overall this armour profile greatly benefits using hulldown positions, and its almost impossible to penetrate in such scenarios. The only weakpoints are right next to the gun (which are extremely hard to hit and therefore not very reliable), and the hatch, which becomes much harder to hit when the tank uses gun depression.

Gun

Škoda T 56 has a 130mm gun

-Reload time is 14.5s for 450 alpha, giving it 1862 DPM.
-AP does 450 damage, HEAT does 390, HE does 640
-Penetration is decent, 215mm on AP, 268mm on HEAT, and 68mm on HE.
-Aim time is 5.6s/6.0s, which is decent for 450 alpha
-Dispersion is 0.394/0.355, which is atrocious, one of the worst in tier 8.
–Gun handling is 0.2/0.2/0.16, or 0.17/0.17/0.14 with Vertical Stabilizer.
-Gun depression is -8 degrees, which is very good for a tank with this type of armour layout.

Overall the Skoda’s gun is very good in all areas except dispersion. The aim time is actually decent enough, being better than some 122mm heavy tanks, and the gun handling is very good. Alpha is high (with amazing HE), penetration is good, and gun depression is is great.
The large aim reticle is the main thing that makes your shots miss, and the relatively long aim time just makes that more painful. Make sure to aim in your shots properly, and this gun will feel very satisfying.

Mobility

Due to having so many provision choices, the Škoda T 56 has varying amounts of mobility depending on what each player uses. Below are the 3 most common loadouts with their different mobility stats.

In a regular/durability set up: (3% food, 10% food, 10% fuel, engine accelerator eqpt)
The regular set up has great general mobility, but an unimpessive top speed and reverse speed. The tank will turn fast and accelerate quite fast, but its speed is not high.
-Top speed is quite average, 35km/h forwards, and -12km/h in reverse.
-Acceleration rate is quite good, with 12.8 hp/t on hard terrain, and 11.7 hp/t on medium terrain.
-Traverse speed is good, 36 deg/s on hard terrain, and 33 deg/s on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are very good, with 1.1/1.2/2.3
This set up may also switch out the 3% food for 6% sandbag armour, this only takes off 0.5 deg/s track traverse.

In an all-round set up (both speed & durability): ( 10% food, 6% sandbag armour, 6% gear oil, engine accelerator eqpt)
The durability set up has noticeably worse mobility than the other 2 set ups here. Though it has a good top speed and reverse speed, its acceleration and traverse are considerably slower, and you do feel this in battle.
-Top speed is very good, 39km/h forwards, and -16km/h in reverse.
-Acceleration rate is quite good, with 12.3 hp/t on hard terrain, and 11.3 hp/t on medium terrain.
-Traverse speed is good, 36 deg/s on hard terrain, and 33 deg/s on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are very good, with 1.1/1.2/2.3

In mobility focused set up: (10% food, 10% fuel, 6% gear oil, engine accelerator equipment)
The mobility set up offers by far the most mobile version of the Škoda. It becomes one of the most mobile tier 8 heavy tanks, having great acceleration, traverse, and top speed. It does mean that the HP is less than the other 2 set ups.
-Top speed is very good, 39km/h forwards, and -16km/h in reverse.
-Acceleration rate is very good, with 13.4 hp/t on hard terrain, and 12.3 hp/t on medium terrain.
-Traverse speed is also very good, 37.3 deg/s on hard terrain, and 34.2 deg/s on medium terrain.
–Terrain resistances are very good, with 1.1/1.2/2.3

Equipment, provisions, & consumables

Škoda T 56 has sandbag armour and gear oil for special provisions.
As mentioned in the mobility section of this review, there are 3 main setups:
Durability set up:
-10% food, necessary for the gun’s accuracy and reload time, and general crew skills.
-10% fuel, necessary for good general mobility but not top speeds.
-6% sandbag armour for increased HP, it adds 108 more HP to the tank

All-round set up:
-10% food, necessary for the gun’s accuracy and reload time, and general crew skills.
-6% gear oil, necessary for good top forward and reverse speed, but not so much general mobility.
-6% sandbag armour for increased HP, it adds 108 more HP to the tank

Mobility set up:
-10% food, necessary for the gun’s accuracy and reload time, and general crew skills.
-10% fuel, necessary for good general mobility.
-6% gear oil, necessary for good top forward and reverse speed.

What’s the best set up?
The mobility set up is arguably the most powerful set up, it makes the Škoda truly very mobile and much faster than most similarly armoured tanks (like the 112 Glacial). Its HP is definitely less than the other 2 set ups, however, its still not below average among tier 8 heavies, and having great mobility on a heavy tank is very often more powerful than having HP.
Though the choice is up to each player, as every player may have different things they value on their tank.

Gun Rammer:
The Škoda T 56 has the longest reload of any tier 8 heavy tank, which results in it having low DPM and being quite inflexible against other tanks. Using calibrated shells on this tank is pointless, the tank already has good penetration, and it makes the reload much longer (15.6s, 1732 DPM).
Use gun rammer, the reload goes down to 14.5s, with 1862 DPM.

Improved Assembly:
Škoda T 56 has a fairly average 1800 base HP, using improved assembly brings this up to 1908. You can further increase this with sandbag armour, up to 2016 or 2070 HP.
Enhanced armour is not very useful on this tank. The upper plate and turret are both too strong for any enemies to penetrate, and the lower plate and hatch are both too weak for enhancing.
The only major reason you would use enhanced armour is to remove the 40mm roof overmatch weakpoint for 122mm guns. However, this isn’t a problem in most scenarios as most 122mm guns are too inaccurate or fire APCR (which has a much harder time overmatching than AP). The roof can’t even be hit when the tank uses gun depression.
Its best to use improved assembly, it offers a larger benefit to the Škoda T 56.

Vertical Stabilizer/Refined Gun:
Vertical stabilizer is definitely the better choice on this tank, since its a heavy tank that will be playing on the front lines and brawling in close combat; and vertical stabilizer makes it more proficient at that.
However if you feel that the Škoda’s accuracy is letting you down, improving it with refined gun can allow the Škoda to hit more shots; but try using vertical stabilizer first.

Gameplay advice

The Škoda T 56 plays most similarly to the tech tree 53TP, both have weak lower plates with strong upper plate and turret, similar mobility, and the same gun depression. If you’ve played the 53TP, or tier 8 122mm heavies (like the IS-3 or Obj.252U), you should be fairly comfortable with the Škoda.

Use hulldown and gun depression positions whenever possible. The strength of the Škoda T 56 is that it has great armour and gun depression. Coupled with a big gun and put on a ridge, the Škoda can just trade shots with enemies extremely effectively.

Make sure to aim all your shots properly. If you don’t take your time to aim, you will miss very often. Its poor accuracy and aim time mean that you can’t take chances with non-aimed shots. it has such low DPM and long reload, you have to make each shot count.

Utilize the Škoda’s HE shells whenever possible. The HE shells of this tank have impressive penetration and alpha damage, and using them can really boost the damage you deal in a battle, especially against sides of MT and almost anywhere on most LT.

Other than this the Škoda T 56 plays just like other heavies, brawling on the frontline, trading damage, bouncing shots, and soaking up hits for the team.

Overall

The tank performs impressively in the right hands. The gun is by far one of the most unpredictable factors of the tank and it can either carry the game or ruin it. Shots that hit deal big damage, but without fully aiming, it could cost the game.
Overall it has great frontal amour, gun depression, and mobility. Its gun is good in all factors except its accuracy, and that really the Achilles heel of the Škoda T 56.

Is it worth getting?

The Škoda T 56 is definitely worth buying. Its a very strong tank with great stats, and it can be very fun to play due to its big alpha and great mobility.
Its definitely not a tank everyone will enjoy or do well in, its got generally quite poor side armour and a weak lower plate and hatch, along with this the accuracy and aim time are terrible. The Škoda requires skill to play, knowing positions, armour angling, when to fire or when/how much to aim.
If you have experience playing similar tanks (like the 53TP or Obj.252U), you should be able to preform well in this; though its a fair bit less accurate.

The Škoda T56 is worth 11,000 gold, its an amazing tank with great capabilities and potential in battle.

Most recently sold for:

New release crates – March 2022
15,000 gold (full bundle) / 12,500 gold (tank only) – June 2022
8,500 gold – Black Friday event, November 2022

Camo cost:

“Golem” camo: 3D, animated, costs 2,500 gold

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