M36 GMC (China)

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This page is about the tank destroyer M36 GMC (China). For other versions, see M36 Jackson (Family).
us_m36.png
GarageImage M36 GMC (China).jpg
␗M36 GMC
AB RB SB
5.3 5.3 5.3
Research:46 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:155 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The ␗90-mm Gun Motor Carriage M36 represents the PVA (People's Voluntary Army, 中國人民志願軍) captured M36 at Cheorwon County (철원군,鐵原郡) during the Korean War or the 10 M36 in ROCA service (see history for more details); ROCA utilized their M36s during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis where the ROCA used them as a mobile artillery platform to fire back upon PLAGF as part of the artillery wars between the two powers. These M36s did have claimed records on both victories or losses against PLAGF until the late-1970s when they were eventually decommissioned and spread out through the Taiwan Island and on Kinmen Island as monuments.

Introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision" as part of the Chinese tech tree, it is a version of the American M36 GMC in the Chinese tech tree, the vehicle shares identical characteristics. The only major differences is the Chinese M36 does not possess the M304 APCR shot round available to the American M36 GMC.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back
Hull38 / 19 / 19
Turret76 / 31 / 25
Crew5 people
Visibility101 %

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour
  • Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Transmission area)
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 38.1 mm (56°) Front glacis
50.8-107.8 (9-63°) Transmission housing
19.05 mm (37°) Top
25.4 mm Bottom
19.05 mm (42°) Top
19.05 (1-45°) Bottom
19.5 mm Front roof
9.5 mm Engine deck
Turret 31.75 mm (2-53°) Turret front
76.2 mm (°) Gun mantlet
31.75 mm (0-21°) 25.4 mm (2-23°)

Notes:

  • Tracks are 30 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick while the wheels are 20 mm thick.
  • Small slivers of 5 mm armour hang off the top side hull armour, giving minuscule protections at those areas.
  • Track blocks on the side hull armour allows an extra 30 mm of armour at their locations.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB52 / 7 km/h
RB and SB48 / 7 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight28.1 t
Engine power
AB954 hp
RB and SB500 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB34.0 hp/t
RB and SB17.8 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 52 7 28.1 710 954 25.27 33.95
Realistic 48 7 442 500 15.73 17.79

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB2 490 → 3 080 Sl icon.png
RB2 921 → 3 613 Sl icon.png
SB4 048 → 5 007 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications40 600 Rp icon.png
78 500 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost1 400 Ge icon.png
Crew training45 000 Sl icon.png
Experts155 000 Sl icon.png
Aces630 Ge icon.png
Research Aces440 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
110 / 170 / 210 % Sl icon.png
160 / 160 / 160 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 400 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 400 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
3 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 600 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
4 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 500 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
4 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 500 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 400 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement cn.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
3 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 600 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
90mm_us_M82_APCBC_ammo_pack
Research:
2 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
3 900 Sl icon.png
115 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
2 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
4 400 Sl icon.png
130 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
3 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
6 600 Sl icon.png
195 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
90mm_us_M313_Smoke_ammo_pack
Research:
4 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
8 500 Sl icon.png
250 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm M3 cannon
Ammunition47 rounds
First-order11 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
9.7 → 7.5 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 20°
Main article: M3 (90 mm)

The 90 mm cannon on the M36 is great at its BR. The stock AP has good penetration but lacks damage, so it is recommended to quickly unlock the APCBC which is superior in every aspect.

90 mm M3 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 47 -10°/+20° ±180° N/A 21.10 29.25 35.52 39.28 41.79 9.70 8.63 7.95 7.50
Realistic 14.28 16.80 20.40 22.56 24.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
10 m 100 m 500 m 1,000 m 1,500 m 2,000 m
M77 shot AP 162 160 148 135 123 113
M82 shot APCBC 185 182 169 155 142 130
M71 shell HE 20 20 18 17 16 16
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
M77 shot AP 822 10.61 - - - 47° 60° 65°
M82 shot APCBC 853 10.91 1.2 14 137.2 48° 63° 71°
M71 shell HE 823 10.55 0.2 0.1 1,210 79° 80° 81°
Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Screen radius
(m)
Screen deploy
time (s)
Screen hold
time (s)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
M313 821 10.7 9 5 20 50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M36 GMC (China)
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
47 39 (+8) 30 (+17) 21 (+26) 12 (+35) (+40) (+46) No

Notes:

  • Recommended load is 21 (+26) shells to remove most ammo from the hull.
  • Racks 5 and 6 are ready racks and take priority in being filled as well as depleted.
  • Full reload speed will be realized as long as ammo exists in either ready racks. If both ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
  • Simply not firing when the main gun is loaded will load ammo from racks 1 to 4 into 5 then 6, as long as there is ammo present in racks 1 to 4. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

Machine guns

Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate575 shots/min
Vertical guidance-10° / 70°
Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°
Main article: M2HB (12.7 mm)
12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle 1,000 (200) 576 -10°/+70° ±60°

Usage in battles

Playstyle with the M36 should be about the same as the M10 GMC. The speed is slightly better and armour is still just as thin, but it has an improved turret traverse rate and a 90 mm gun, making it able to engage targets much easier. The playstyle is also similar to the M18, since they have the same concept - speed and manoeuvrability with a powerful armament.

The greatest advantages of the M36 are its speed and its armament. As such, the best course of action is to make use of the speed to get to good early game positions on the map. The 90 mm gun is powerful at its BR, and it can penetrate many tanks at its BR from the front. But, this is not the case for more heavily armoured targets such as those in the IS series or the Panther series, but it can reliably kill every tank at its BR from the side in 1 to 2 shots because of the high explosive filler in the APCBC round. In addition, most enemy tanks can reliably penetrate you from the front, as the M36 does not have thick armour. Your armour can only protect you when a shell hits it at an extreme angle, or against low penetration weapons, such as those one some anti-aircraft vehicles. All of these factors mean that the M36 should never engage enemy tanks from the front, unless they are preoccupied with a friendly vehicle or not looking in your direction, but the M36 should engage enemies from the side. As such, the M36's mobility should be used to get to positions that the enemy would not expect where it will be able to shoot the enemy in the side before they even realize you are there. The M36 can also use its mobility to flank effectively. If an enemy knows your location and has an operational gun, you should not push out into their line of fire, as they are likely to come of better than you. If an enemy is likely to be able to shoot you, do not chance it, as only one shot will often knock out or disable the M36.

In a downtier, there are not a lot of heavily armoured tanks that the M36 can't penetrate, so the player can also choose to not flank, but to sit at a position and be a sniper. It's best to find a spot that:

  • Overlooks a key street / passageway where enemies will likely to pass / go to
  • Has hard cover or hill to hull-down
  • Has bushes to hide in
  • Is not too close to the frontline

This way when any enemy comes in sight, the M36 can easily finish it off, therefore "locking down" this key passageway, preventing the enemies to push and attack which gains a significant advantage to your team.

One thing to note: if there is an enemy plane in the vicinity, getting to cover is a priority as the turret is open topped, and a plane can kill all three turret crew in one pass with only low-calibre machine guns.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Easily achieves its top speed of 42 km/h regardless of the terrain, allowing it to get to most positions in good time
  • Excellent firepower; easily penetrates and knocks out most opponents like the Tiger H1, Pz.IV 70 and the Shermans, combined with its 5x scope magnification it is a deadly sniper
  • 10° gun depression provides great terrain adaptation.
  • Around 16°/sec of turret rotation is adequate to respond to surprise attacks
  • Powerful roof mounted M2 MG can deal with light vehicles and incoming planes

Cons:

  • Only 5 km/h of reverse speed can get the player killed sometimes
  • Weak armour overall, can die from artillery strikes or small bombs
  • Open topped, vulnerable to aircraft attacks
  • Quite big and tall for a tank destroyer- harder to hide
  • Does not have access to the better APCR like the American one

History

ROCA Service

Under known documentations, the PLA nor ROCA received the M36 GMC (but PLA did captured one during the Korean War as PVA [People's Voluntary Army] in 1951, now displayed in Beijing), however the ROCA have received the M36B2 variant from France.

As part of the retreat from Vietnam due to the total loss of French Indo-China, 8 of the M36B2 of the French Army were returned to USA and then handed to ROCA in 1955 to the 3rd Armored Artillery Company, 600th Field Artillery Group of Kinmen Defense Command as a part of the emergency military aid against the ongoing artillery war between ROCA and PLA at costal Xiamen/Kinmen. They were positioned into fortified position with a slope for better trajectory against PLA targets on the other side of the Xiamen Bay. A memoir from a ROCA veteran claimed that one of these M36B2 took down a PLA broadcast station while records from ROCA have recorded losses of two M36B2 during the war.[1] The remaining of these M36s were likely decommissioned in 2000 as some photo suggests that two of them were still in commission as late as 2001.

All the remaining 6 tanks are currently in Taichung (at Chenggongling Training Facility), Hsinchu (in ROCA Armor Training Command at Hukou Township; a theme park at Xinfeng Township respectively), Kaohsiung (ROCMC School at Zuoying) and 3 on Kinmen (2 are still in their combat fortifications while the remaining known one is at the Rushan Fort [乳山故壘] tank walkway[2])

Media

Skins

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

External links

References

Citations


U.S. Army Ordnance Department/Corps*
Light tanks  T18E2 · M24 (Designed in collaboration with Cadillac)
M3 Stuart  M3 · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC)
M5 Stuart  M5A1
Medium tanks  M3 Lee
M4 Sherman  M4 · M4A1 · M4A2 · M4A3 (105) · Calliope
  M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (76) W
M26 Pershing  T20 · T25 · M26 · M26E1 · M26 T99
Patton Series  M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47
Prototypes  T54E1 · T95E1
Heavy tanks  M103
M4 Jumbo  M4A3E2 · Cobra King · M4A3E2 (76) W
M6 Heavy  M6A1 · M6A2E1 · T1E1
M26 Pershing  T26E1-1 · T26E5
Prototypes  T14
T29  T29 · T30 · T34
T-32  T32 · T32E1
Tank destroyers  M3 GMC · M10 GMC · M56
M8 GMC  M8 HMC · M8A1 GMC
M36 GMC  M36 GMC · M36B2
Prototypes  T28 · T95
SPAAGs 
Production  M19 MGMC · M42
Export/Captured  ␗M8 HMC · SU-57
Stuart  Stuart I · Stuart III · ␗M3A3 Stuart · ␗M3A3 (1st PTG) · ▄M3A3 · ▄M3A3 Stuart · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD) · ␗M5A1
Lee/Grant  ▂M3 Medium · ▃Grant I · Grant I
M4 Sherman  Sherman II · ▄M4A1 · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ▀M4 748 (a) · ▂M4A2 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▅M4A3 (76) W · ▄M4A3E2
  ␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ▄Sherman V · ▄M4A4 · ▄Sherman I Composito
M26 Pershing  M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M26A1
M47 Patton  mKPz M47 G · ▅M47
M10 GMC  ␗M10 GMC · ▄M10 GMC
M36 GMC  ␗M36 GMC · M36B1 · ▅M36 · ▄M36B2
M19 MGMC  ▅M19A1
M42 MGMC  ▅M42 · ␗M42
  *The Ordnance Department was renamed to the Ordnance Corps after the Army Reorganization Act of 1950.

China tank destroyers
PLA 
Gun vehicles  PLZ83 · PLZ83-130 · PTZ89
Missile vehicles  AFT09
ROC 
Missile vehicles  CM25
USA 
Gun vehicles  ␗M8 HMC · LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) · ␗M10 GMC · ␗M36 GMC
Missile vehicles  ␗M113A1 (TOW)
USSR 
Gun vehicles  ␗SU-76M · ␗ISU-152 · ␗ISU-122 · ␗SU-100