M4A1 (FL10)

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RANK 6 BRITAIN
Rooikat 105 PACK
This page is about the premium gift French medium tank M4A1 (FL10). For other M4 Shermans, see M4 Sherman (Family). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation).
M4A1 (FL10)
fr_m4a1_sherman_fl_10.png
GarageImage M4A1 (FL10).jpg
M4A1 (FL10)
AB RB SB
4.7 5.0 5.0
Purchase:2 980 Specs-Card-Eagle.png
Show in game

Description

The M4A1 Sherman (FL10) is an up-gunned modification of the M4A1, which is the first variant of the early-generation Medium Tank M4 (Sherman) family. The M4A1 (FL10) was one of the last major upgrades made to the M4A1 variant in the mid-1950s, created by the French in an attempt to modernise and potentially export their remaining fleet of M4 Shermans. The most straightforward option to improve the tank was to replace the main gun, as was already being done in France at the time with the M-50 and M-51 for the Israelis. However, attempting to modify the Sherman turret would be time-consuming and expensive; as a result, the FL10 Type-A early production turret of the AMX-13 was directly installed on the M4A1. This turret was lighter and less armoured than the standard M4A1, with the same main armament as on the AMX-13 and M-50: a high velocity 75 mm SA50 L/57 tank gun. This modification would serve as the prototype for similar future ventures, including installation of the FL10 turret on the Egyptian M4A4 fleet, which later saw action in two of the Arab-Israeli conflict's major battles: the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967 Six-Day War.

Introduced in Update "Starfighters" initially as a premium pack, the M4A1 (FL10) has been substantially modified to provide a significant improvement in firepower over the standard M4A1. The high-velocity 75 mm SA50 L/57 tank gun was inspired by salvaged components of the 75 mm Kampfwagenkanone (KwK) 42 L/70 tank gun from damaged German Panther medium tanks during the German conquest of France. With an autoloader, the M4A1 (FL10) is capable of firing once every 5 seconds. Due to its weak armour, players should try to flank their opponents early in battle. Utilizing the M4A1 (FL10) autoloader advantage during combat, players will have little trouble destroying multiple opponents in a matter of seconds due to the quick reload.

The M4A1 (FL10) was removed from the store after the 2021 May sale. It was made available for purchase again in-game with Golden Eagles for the 2022 "Bastille Day" mini-event.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull63 / 38 / 38
Turret40 / 20 / 20
Crew4 people
Visibility122 %

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides - bottom, turret sides, rear and roof, belly)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (front glacis, transmission carter, MG port, hull sides - top, hull rear and roof, turret base, turret front, gun mantlet, cupola)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 40 mm (18-40°) Turret base
19.5 mm (67-86°) Front glacis - Upper section
63.5 mm (40-62°) Front glacis - Centre section
63.5 mm + 25.4 mm (spherical) MG port
38.1 mm (spherical) Front glacis - Sides
63.5 mm (cylindrical) Transmission housing
40 mm (12-31°) Turret base - front
20 mm (13°) Turret base - rear
38.1 mm (0-18°) Top
38.1 mm Bottom
38.1 mm (16°) Upper plate
38.1 mm (16°) Lower plate
38.1 mm (53°) Lower glacis
63.5 mm (38-50°) Front glacis
19.5 mm (0-32°) Turret area
19.5 mm (8°)
Engine bay - centre
19.5 mm (18°)
Engine bay - sides
Turret 40 mm (32-47°) Turret front
60 mm (conical) Gun mantlet
40 mm (15-75°) Barrel shroud
20 mm (0-30°) Turret 20 mm Turret bustle
20 mm (17-22°) Pivot ball
10 mm (77-90°) Turret underside
10 mm
Cupola 20 mm (conical) Base
10 mm (spherical) Dome
20 mm (conical) Outer ring
10 mm (spherical) Centre

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 20 mm thick, and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
  • The belly armour is 25.4 mm thick.

The armour is overall weak for the battle rating. Turret shots will typically knock out both your breech and the two crew members there, penetrating hull shots will typically send you right back to the hangar.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB43 / 6 km/h
RB and SB38 / 5 km/h
Number of gears5 forward
1 back
Weight30.3 t
Engine power
AB763 hp
RB and SB400 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB25.2 hp/t
RB and SB13.2 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 43 6 30.3 620 763 20.46 25.18
Realistic 38 5 354 400 11.68 13.2

Fairly decent mobility due to the Sherman chassis with an upgraded engine. Flanking is possible and rewarding.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost
AB1 339 Sl icon.png
RB1 536 Sl icon.png
SB1 907 Sl icon.png
Crew training10 000 Sl icon.png
Experts250 000 Sl icon.png
Aces630 Ge icon.png
Research Aces870 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
Talisman.png 2 × 90 / 140 / 170 % Sl icon.png
Talisman.png 2 × 160 / 160 / 160 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Mods tank reinforcement fr.png
Crew Replenishment
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support

Armaments

Main armament

Autoloader
Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader
Ammunition60 rounds
First-order12 rounds
Reload5.0 s
Vertical guidance-6° / 9°
Main article: SA50 L/57 (75 mm)

The gun is fantastic, capable of penetrating everything in its BR spread (3.7-5.7) frontally, except for some higher BR German casemate tank destroyers and the Sherman Jumbo. The autoloader enables firing every 5 seconds, even with only a skeleton crew left.

75 mm SA50 L/57 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 60 -6°/+9° ±180° N/A 28.56 39.53 48.00 53.08 56.47 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00
Realistic 17.85 21.00 25.50 28.20 30.00

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
POT-51A APBC 182 178 162 143 127 113
OE Mle 1951 HE 15 15 13 12 11 10
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%
POT-51A APBC 1,000 6.4 - - - 47° 60° 65°
OE Mle 1951 HE 753 6.2 0.2 0.1 675 79° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M4A1 (FL10)
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
7th
rack empty
8th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
60 56 (+4) 52 (+8) 42 (+18) 32 (+28) 23 (+37) 13 (+47) (+53) (+59) No

Notes:

  • Shells in racks 1, 2, 7* and 8* are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
  • Shells in racks 3, 4, 5, and 6 are modeled by sets of 2 and disappear from the rack only after both shells in the set have been shot or loaded.
  • Racks 7* and 8* (autoloader magazines) are first stage ammo racks. They total 12 shells.
    • These racks get filled first when loading up the tank and are also emptied first.
    • The depletion order at full capacity is: 7 - 8 - 1 - 2 up to 6.
    • As it is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
    • Once autoloader magazines have been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
    • Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 6 into rack 8* then 7*. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Machine guns

Ammunition4 950 rounds
Belt capacity150 rounds
Reload5.0 s
Fire rate551 shots/min
Main article: MAC 31 (7.5 mm)
7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 4,950 (150) 551 N/A N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

Depending on the layout of the map, match battle rating and player's own playstyle the FL10 can be used as a sniper, a flanker or a close-quarter brawler. Details about playstyles are as follows:

Sniper
  • Using FL10 as a sniper is a conservative, but commonly rewarding playstyle. The FL10 boasts a highly potent 75 mm cannon, with an equally impressive round, capable of penetrating 180+ mm of steel equivalent. Given the fast reload of the cannon due to the use of the autoloader, it is possible to perform quick follow-up shots on target at range. This tactic is recommended in matches where it is possible to position oneself in a good position early in the match (e.g. overlooking a point). Be wary of the gun's average depression, however, as this will require to expose the hull during firing.
Flanker
  • Depending on your knowledge of the map and likely enemy routes, FL10 can be effectively used as a flanker. The FL10 inherits a relatively mobile chassis of an M4 medium tank making some flanking manoeuvres possible. In this role, FL10 can be used to assume an ambush position on the flanks. It is important to note, that FL10 is not the most agile vehicle at its battle rating, however, provided a good early-game position, fast reload and good penetration it can effectively engage an enemy from the flanks and counter enemy flankers. It is advised to retreat immediately if you're spotted as FL10 is unlikely to withstand being fired upon due to mediocre armour and 4 crew members.
Brawler
  • Using FL10 as a close-quarter brawler is a high risk/high reward tactic that is likely to result in either multiple kills or an early return to the hangar. It is important to fire the first shot on the enemy, as, given the poor armour of the tank, you are commonly unable to withstand even one hit. Here, it is advised to disable the enemy's gun/turret first to prevent them from returning fire. It is important to note, that FL10 lacks the stabiliser found on the American Sherman counterparts, putting the player at a further disadvantage when fighting in close quarters.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • 4 smoke grenades.
  • Improved engine gives good mobility.
  • Potent gun with a high penetration power.
  • Quick rate of fire thanks to the autoloader (12 shells).
  • The best shell is available as stock shell (like many French tanks at ranks III and higher).

Cons:

  • Overall thin armour and only 4 crew members limit your survivability.
  • Turret armour too thin to stop 20 mm or HMG fire from strafing aircraft.
  • Lacklustre reverse speed: disengaging from the fight when damaged or out of ammunition can be difficult.
  • Oscillating turret means that from a full stop, the M4A1 (FL10) usually takes longer to level the gun compared to conventional turrets
  • Limited turret elevation makes engaging low-flying aircraft difficult.
  • Restocking the autoloader magazines is very slow.

History

In the mid-1950s, while M4 tanks were being replaced in the French Army because of their obsolescence, attempts at modernizing the Shermans were conducted to export those tanks instead of scrapping them. The M4 FL10 by the company Batignolles-Chatillon was such an attempt: born from the assembly of a FL10 turret (designed for the AMX-13) and the hull of a M4 Sherman (all variants of Sherman were used: M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M4A4 but the in-game variant is a M4A1).

The FL10 turret offered new combat capability to the Sherman with a crew of only 4 members and the autoloader. While the AMX hull had a low profile, the Sherman one stood very high, making it an obvious target. The M4 FL10 was produced in a small number: 24 units only.

In 1955, Egypt requested a similar modification to their existing fleet of M4A4s. They were fielded during the Suez Crisis in 1956 and the Six-Day War in 1967. 12 tanks were captured by the IDF in 1956.

Media

Skins
Videos

See also

Other French hybrid vehicles

External links


France medium tanks
M4 Derivatives  M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50)
AMX-50  AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930)
AMX-30  AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super
AMX-32/40  AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40
Leclerc  Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR
Other  D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t
Germany  Panther "Dauphiné"
USA  ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26

France premium ground vehicles
Light tanks  AMD.35 (SA35) · H.39 "Cambronne" · LVT-4/40 · AMX-13 (SS.11) · AMX-13-M24 · E.B.R. (1954) · E.B.R. (1963) · VBCI-2 (MCT30)
Medium tanks  M4A1 (FL10) · Panther "Dauphiné" · AMX-30 · AMX-30 Super · AMX-50 (TO90/930)
Heavy tanks  B1 ter · 2C bis · Somua SM
Tank destroyers  Lorraine 155 Mle.50