Merkava Mk.3C

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This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.3C. For other versions, see Merkava (Family).
il_merkava_mk_3c.png
GarageImage Merkava Mk.3C.jpg
Merkava Mk.3C
AB RB SB
11.0 11.0 11.0
Class:
Research:175 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:950 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The Merkava Mk.3C was the second subvariant of the Merkava Mk.3. Produced from 1995, it received the new "Barak Zoher" fire control system, distinguished by the inclusion of a commander-independent sight on the turret roof. This addition gives the Merkava Mk.3C hunter-killer capabilities, a trait desperately needed in modern conflict. Other small upgrades, such as the insertion of composite screens into portions of the hull, were also implemented, mostly to defend the tank from RPGs and ATGMs launched from elevated positions.

Introduced in Update "Drone Age", the Merkava Mk.3C received yet another important upgrade: the commander's independent sight. With the addition of hunter-killer capabilities, players can search for possible adversaries while remaining behind low obstacles and rocky terrain. Furthermore, the commander can override controls for the main gun, allowing players to engage opponents more effectively. Together with the Merkava Mk.3B's improved weaponry, the Merkava Mk.3C is a truly modern main battle tank that combines outstanding situational awareness, protection, and firepower.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
ESS
Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle
LWS
Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions
Armourfront / side / back
Hull90 / 50 / 30
Turret150 / 65 / 65
Crew4 people
Visibility107 %

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull ___ mm ___ mm Top
___ mm Bottom
___ mm ___ - ___ mm
Turret ___ - ___ mm Turret front
___ mm Gun mantlet
___ - ___ mm ___ - ___ mm ___ - ___ mm
Cupola ___ mm ___ mm ___ mm ___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB67 / 29 km/h
RB and SB60 / 26 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
4 back
Weight65.0 t
Engine power
AB2 290 hp
RB and SB1 200 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB35.2 hp/t
RB and SB18.5 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 67 29 65 1,860 2,290 28.62 35.23
Realistic 60 26 1,061 1,200 16.32 18.46

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB4 302 → 6 792 Sl icon.png
RB4 229 → 6 677 Sl icon.png
SB4 958 → 7 828 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications273 900 Rp icon.png
459 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost3 000 Ge icon.png
Crew training270 000 Sl icon.png
Experts950 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 200 Ge icon.png
Research Aces1 210 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
150 / 200 / 240 % Sl icon.png
244 / 244 / 244 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
450 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
450 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
3 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement il.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods engine smoke screen system.png
ESS
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
20 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
31 000 Sl icon.png
450 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
13 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
20 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods counterMeasures.png
LWS/LR
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
430 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
360 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder
Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.
Thermal imager
Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition46 rounds
First-order5 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
7.8 → 6.0 s
Vertical guidance-7° / 20°
Main article: IMI MG251 (120 mm)
120 mm IMI MG251 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 46 -7°/+20° ±180° Two-plane 32.4 44.8 54.4 60.2 64.0 7.80 6.90 6.36 6.00
Realistic 20.2 23.8 28.9 32.0 34.0

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
M325 HEATFS 480 480 480 480 480 480
M339 HE-TF 65 65 60 58 53 50
M322 APFSDS 589 586 577 565 553 541
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Projectile
mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive mass
(TNT equivalent) (kg)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
M325 HEATFS 1,078 15.81 0.05 0.1 2.36 65° 72° 77°
M339 HE-TF 900 17 1.5 3 3.66 79° 80° 81°
M322 APFSDS 1,705 5.6 - - - 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Merkava Mk.3C
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
46 45 (+1) 43 (+3) 42 (+4) 24 (+22) (+40) (+45) No

Machine guns

Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate575 shots/min
Ammunition6 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 001 shots/min
Ammunition3 600 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate1 001 shots/min
12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,000 (200) 577 N/A N/A
7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 6,000 (200) 600 N/A N/A
Pintle (loader) 1,800 (200) 600 -10°/+50° ±120°
Pintle (commander) 1,800 (200) 600 -10°/+50° ±120°

Usage in battles

The Merkava Mk.3C is virtually the same vehicle as the previous Mk.3B aside from the new commander optics and can be used identically. With sluggish mobility, inconsistent protection, and a punchy gun, the Merkava is best used as a sniper in entrenched positions where its good damage control makes it difficult to dislodge and its high-velocity, high-mass APFSDS can make short work of exposed targets. Be careful of sustained combat because the ready rack can be depleted very quickly and the Merkava's large size and unmistakable profile tend to attract attention. The quartet of machine guns and time-fused HE shell offer a measure of anti-helicopter capability against rushing and hovering helicopters, respectively.

The commander sight doesn't have a thermal imager and can't be considered a major improvement in itself, but it does open up some new opportunities in combat. With two-plane stabilization and improved fields of view compared to the previous basic periscope, the commander's ability to override the main gun becomes much more viable. It also helps that the commander sight is placed very close to the gunner's sight, reducing the amount of added parallax in Sim battles. Though it's not a very common situation to lose the gunner from incoming fire but not the commander, having a credible way to fire back when damaged further improves the Merkava's survivability.

A small quirk worth noting with the increased relevance of the commander override is that using the laser rangefinder in the commander's sight does not prime the time fuse of the M339 HE-TF shell. This means that the commander override can't take advantage of the airburst feature, but makes it slightly easier to use M339 as a direct-impact weapon at long distances. In exchange for lower optical zoom and a bit of uncertainty due to parallax, there is no need to switch to a different shell type and back (which might be forgotten in the heat of battle or impossible if APFSDS and HEAT are depleted) after ranging to clear the time fuse as would be required in the gunner's sight.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Good armor against most HEAT and some APFSDS rounds
  • Excellent post-penetration survivability with good ammo storage and crew layout
  • Generous quantity of smoke grenades
  • APFSDS round is one of the best sabot rounds for the battle rating

Cons:

  • Overall armor layout is vulnerable to APFSDS, able to be penetrated with ease from most places
  • Mediocre mobility
  • Large/tall profile, easily spotted

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the series of the vehicles;
  • links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Israeli Ordnance Corps (חיל החימוש)
Medium Tanks  M-51 · M-51 (W)
MBTs 
Magach  Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5
  Magach 6 · Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6C · Magach 6R · Magach 6M · Gal Batash
Sho't  Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet · ▄Sho't Kal Dalet
Tiran  Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S
Merkava  ▃Merkava Mk.1 · Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D
  Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · ▃Merkava Mk.3D · Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M
Tank destroyers  Zachlam Tager
See Also  Chrysler Defense · Department of Tank Design · Morozov Design Bureau

Israel medium tanks
M-51  M-51 · M-51 (W)
Magach  Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6
  Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6B Gal · Gal Batash · Magach 6C · Magach 6M · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra · Magach 7C
Tiran  Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S · Tiran 6
Sho't  Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet
Merkava  Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D · Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · Ra'am Sagol
  Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M · Merkava Mk.4 LIC