Somua SM — Rank V Monster

The Somua SM is a magnificent French heavy tank, which brings together a mix of agility, firepower, and armor that is rarely seen at where it lies in the tech tree. This tank plays more like a medium tank with its agility and high top speed, but its armor is strong enough to bounce many shells. The main feature of this tank though, is the 100mm L/58 cannon, which has a reload of only four seconds. The Somua’s autoloader allows for this but it is also able to keep the formidable ballistics of the 100mm L/58 cannon. This article will go over the Somua in detail and describe its strengths and weaknesses.

Armament

The main feature of this tank is the 100mm SA47 L/58 cannon, found on many other French tanks around this level. Its max penetration is with its 100mm Obus de rupture APCBC, with 273mm of penetration at point blank. This round lacks explosive filler so knocking out enemies with a single hit can be tricky, although with the sheer size of the round plus the autoloader, taking down enemies is a breeze. The Somua has 15 degrees of gun elevation and -8 degrees of gun depression, allowing it to look over hills well. For a secondary weapon, it gets a single coaxial 7.5mm machine gun, making defense against AA vehicles tricky, unless you load HE. The Somua’s autoloader/ready-rack holds eight rounds, and when those rounds run out, you are unable to fire, unless you reload it.

The Somua SM gets access to two types of shells for its cannon:

Recommended Loadout

I advise taking 20-30 APCBC rounds with you into battle, to deal with armored vehicles, and 1-5 HE rounds for lightly or open-topped vehicles. Remember that the more ammo you take, the higher the chances of you getting ammo-racked. Also remember that with a four second autoloader, running out of shells happens easily, so be sure to pay attention in-game to your ammo supply.

Armor and Survivability

Unlike many other French tanks around the Somua’s range, the Somua enjoys relatively decent armor, especially in a full-downtier. Five crew members man the Somua, allowing one or two rounds to penetrate it before it is knocked out, as long as they are small enough. The ammo is pretty much everywhere in the tank, but if you only take around twenty shells then the chances of getting ammo-racked are slim.

All of the armor plates on the hull of the Somua are rolled homogenous, and the armor plates on the turret are all cast homogenous. The front angled plate is 150mm angled at 55 degrees, and the lower front plate is only 60mm (also angled at 55 degrees). The lower front plate is the Somua’s greatest weakness, so guard it carefully. The sides of the hull are only 40mm, so watch out for flanking AA. The turret is an oscillating turret, so the armor is weaker than most heavy tanks around this level, with the front being only 120mm thick. The ring around the bottom of the turret is also 120mm, and the sides of the turret are 60mm. The tracks are 30mm, and the roof is 20mm.

Mobility

The agility of the Somua is stunning, with a top speed of 31 mph (50 km/h) and a power to weight ratio of 16.7 hp/t, you will quickly pull ahead of other heavy tanks at this level. Don’t get into positions where you must rely on reversing though, because the Somua only moves 3.7 mph (6 km/h) backward. The turret traverses at 30 degrees a second (when aced), which is also good for a Rank V heavy tank. The cannon elevates and depresses at 5 degrees a second (when aced), giving it decent gun handling. Don’t expect to outpace medium or light tanks in the Somua though, they are still more agile than you.

Playstyle

How to fully utilize and combat the Somua SM

The Somua SM has great potential when used right, since it so well combines agility, armor, and firepower, at its rank.

When playing the Somua

When using the Somua try to focus on flanking enemies, since the armor isn’t quite good enough to deflect large caliber rounds, it is better to try to avoid enemy fire. The Somua’s good speed allows you to do this, and the quick reload helps when you stumble upon many enemies at once. Keep an eye on your ready-rack to make sure you don’t run out of shells that are ready to be fired. I advise waiting until you get down to three shells, to retreat for a while to reload your ready-rack.

The alternative to flanking in the Somua is performing the role of sniper with it. With its good ballistics, quick reload, and speed, it works well to get to strategic positions early in the match and fire on the enemy from afar.

The cannon on the Somua has a high penetration for a 100mm cannon, but around its rank is where all the famous Heavy tanks such as the Maus, IS-4, IS-6, and T32E1 lie. Penetrating the fronts of these heavies can be tricky, and it is better to try to flank them.

When fighting the Somua

The easiest way to do this is to shoot the front of the turret ring on the right side of the turret, if your cannon can penetrate more than 270mm. If it can’t but it fires an exploding round with decent penetration, then aim for the cupola. When using a cannon with low penetration (such as 100mm or less), then you are probably going to have to flank it. If you do end up flanking it, aim low on the side of the hull, and if your round has explosive filler, then a crew knock out is almost guaranteed. Remember that the lower front plate is only 60mm thick, but at an angle that tends to ricochet rounds. If you find yourself in a position where the lower front plate of an enemy Somua is less angled though, aim for the lower front plate, and depending on how much explosive filler your round has, you will do much damage to it.