Sherman Ic
| This page is about the Italian medium tank Sherman Ic. For other versions, see M4 Sherman (Family). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation). |
Contents
Description
The M4 Hybrid (Composito) Sherman IC Firefly is an up-gunned modification of the M4 Hybrid, which is the special combination of the first and second variants of the early-generation Medium Tank M4 (Sherman) family. The turret of the original M4A4 Sherman VC Firefly is directly mounted on an M4 Hybrid variant hull rather than the regular M4A4 variant hull, making it a very distinctive derivative of the M4A4 Sherman IC Firefly. This is a unique tank that served mostly with the Italian Army and is armed with the powerful 76 mm Ordnance QF 17-pounder tank gun. Due to the scarcity of historical information on this vehicle, it is unknown to what extent this unique derivation of the famed "firefly" truly engaged in World War II. Following the reconstruction of Italy in 1945, some M4 Hybrid (Composito) Sherman IC Firefly tanks were transported to the country and redesignated as M4 Tipo IC Composito. A minor military command for the territorial defence was founded in 1946, and the unit received numerous other M4 Sherman variants. They laid the groundwork for Italy's first post-war tanker training school. All M4 Sherman variants were formally decommissioned in 1952.
Introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic", the M4 Tipo IC Composito in the Italian Army ground forces is comparable to its British counterpart, as it was delivered by the British Army after World War II to aid in the reconstruction of Italy and the development of a territory defence force. The M4 Tipo IC Composito, armed with the renowned 76 mm Ordnance QF 17-pounder tank gun, will provide players with an extremely substantial increase in firepower above the early variants of the M4 Sherman used by the Italian Army ground forces, which were equipped with the 75 mm M3 tank gun. The M4 Tipo IC Composito, along with the M4A4 Sherman VC Firefly, will form the major backbone of the Italian Army's ground forces; however, it lacks access to armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS) ammunition, which the latter has.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Cast homogeneous armour (Hull Front, turret, turret cupola)
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, rear and roof, add-on bustle, turret roof)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50.8 mm (8-74°) Upper Glacis 50.8 mm (2-59°) Lower Glacis |
38.1 mm Lower 50.8 Upper Front 38.1 Upper Rear |
38.1 mm | 50.8 mm Front 19.05 mm Rear |
| Turret | 50 mm - 76.2 mm (Varying Angles) Turret Front 38.1 + 38.1 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet |
50.8 mm | 63.5 mm Original Bustle 63.5 mm Add-on Bustle |
25.4 mm Crew Compartment 50.8 mm Original Bustle 25.4 mm Add-on Bustle |
| Cupola | 50.8 mm | 25.4 mm | ||
Notes:
- 25.4 mm Plates Cover Portions of the Hull Sides
- Tracks - 20 mm
- Suspension - 10 to 15 mm
- Fenders - 10 mm
- Main Gun - 20 mm
- Machine Guns - 10 mm
The Sherman Ic has survivability similar to that of the American M4A1 Sherman. The armour is not strong for the battle rating and most enemies, save for SPAA, will go right through the front. If the tank is penetrated it is likely that at least two of the five crew will survive, depending on where the shot hits and how much HE filler it has. The gun breech is quite large, and it can often save the crew members on one side from the shrapnel of a penetration to the other side of the turret. Additionally, almost all the ammunition is stored in the hull floor, while a minority is stored in the turret basket; this means it is unlikely for the ammunition to explode under most circumstances. Despite these factors, almost every penetration will cause crippling damage - either immobilizing the tank or disabling the main gun, which allows the enemy to take a second finishing shot soon after. In summary, the survivability of the Sherman Ic is not to be relied upon as it will rarely survive two shots and will almost never bounce a shot. As such, you should plan your route in order to avoid frontal engagements with the enemy.
Mobility
| 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 | 31.5 | 620 | 763 | 19.68 | 24.22 |
| Realistic | 39 | 6 | 354 | 400 | 11.24 | 12.7 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 76 mm QF 17-pounder | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 65 | -5°/+25° | ±180° | N/A | 22.8 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 42.5 | 45.2 | 7.67 | 6.79 | 6.25 | 5.90 |
| Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| Shot Mk.6 | AP | 171 | 168 | 155 | 139 | 126 | 113 |
| Shell Mk.1 | HE | 20 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 13 |
| Shot Mk.4 | APC | 171 | 168 | 155 | 139 | 126 | 113 |
| Shot Mk.8 | APCBC | 190 | 187 | 172 | 155 | 140 | 126 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| Shot Mk.6 | AP | 883 | 7.71 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| Shell Mk.1 | HE | 883 | 6.98 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 580 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Shot Mk.4 | APC | 883 | 7.71 | - | - | - | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Shot Mk.8 | APCBC | 883 | 7.71 | - | - | - | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| 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) |
| 17pdr Shell SS Mk.1 | 229 | 8.44 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | 46 (+19) | 26 (+39) | 6 (+59) | 4 (+61) | 1 (+64) | No |
Note:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear from the rack after having been shot or loaded.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 800 (200) | 577 | -10°/+15° | ±180° |
The roof-mounted Browning .50 cal heavy machine gun is very good at knocking out tracks, punching through lightly armoured vehicles and shooting down low-flying aircraft.
| 7.62 mm L3A1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 5,000 (250) | 500 | N/A | N/A |
The small calibre of the L3A1 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. A second hull-mounted .30 cal machine gun is modeled but not usable.
Usage in battles
The Sherman Ic is almost identical to the British Sherman Firefly, with minor cosmetic differences, an additional crew member, and a weaker overall gun mantlet. The player can be confidently rely on the mighty 17-pounder gun to effectively neutralize other tanks regardless of the angles (including the frontal armour of the Tiger or the T-34s). It excels at sniping from a distance and can also can spearhead an attack if needed.
Enemies worth noting:
R3 T20 FA-HS (AB):
This speedy wheeled vehicle can circle around you with ease and wipe out all your crew with its fast firing autocannon. In a close encounter, never expose your side to it, and do not even angle your hull. Face your hull directly to the R3, because on each side of the cast hull, above the inducer wheel there is a triangular area that blends and connects the upper front plate to the side. By angling the hull, this triangle becomes unangled to the R3, making it easily penetrated, and the driver / gunner will usually get knocked out first. It is harder for the R3 to penetrate your unangled hull thus giving you more time to react and destroy it.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful British 17-pdr gun
- Has a .50 cal HMG for defence against aircraft
- Good mobility, as with all Shermans
- Cast hull does not have the thin armour weak spots of the M4A1
Cons:
- Armour can be penetrated by most enemies at its battle rating
- No HE filler in any of its AP shells, meaning that a shot either has to detonate the ammo rack of a target or generate enough spalling to take out the tank
- .50 cal machine gun can't elevate very high; can only engage low-flying aircraft
- Poor gun depression of only -5°
History
In Italian Service
The Firefly first saw action in Italy in British, American, and Polish hands in the Italian Campaign in 1944, but were ceased since heavy German armour proved to be a challenging opponent for the Firefly. After WW2, Italy was supplied with tanks by the US and UK, such as the Sherman Firefly (designated as M4 Tipo IC or M4 Tipo VC depending on the variant) and M24 Chaffee, which were commissioned in 1947. At that time, Italy created the first nucleus for the formation of a tankers school and on the 1st of October officially formed the Military School Organization.
The M4 Tipo ICs were decommissioned and scrapped in 1952.
Media
- Skins
- Images
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same gun & turret
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
References
| Department of Tank Design | |
|---|---|
| Medium Tanks | |
| Sherman Firefly | Sherman Firefly · Sherman IC "Trzyniec" |
| MBTs | |
| Centurion | Centurion Mk 1 · Centurion Mk.2 · Centurion Mk 3 · Centurion Action X · Centurion Mk.5 AVRE · Centurion Mk 10 |
| Challenger* | Challenger Mk.2 · Challenger Mk.3 · Challenger DS |
| Tank Destroyers | |
| Achilles | Achilles · Achilles (65 Rg.) |
| Centurion-based | Conway · FV4005 |
| Export | |
| Sherman Firefly | Sherman Ic · ▄Sherman Vc |
| Centurion | Centurion Mk.5/1 · Strv 81 · Strv 81 (RB 52) · ▄Strv 81 (RB 52) · Strv 101 · Strv 104** · Strv 105** · Sho't |
| See also | US Ordnance Department · Israeli Ordnance Corps · Vickers-Armstrongs Limited |
| *By successor, the Military Vehicles and Engineering Establishment | |
| **Swedish modernizations incorporating innovations from the Israeli Sho't Kals. | |
| Italy medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| M13/40 | M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III) |
| M14/41 | M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40) |
| M15/42 | M15/42 |
| M16/43 | Celere Sahariano |
| P26/40 | P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello" |
| OF-40 | OF-40 · OF-40 Mk.2A · OF-40 (MTCA) |
| Ariete | Ariete (P) · Ariete · Ariete PSO · Ariete AMV |
| Germany | ▄Pz.III N · ▄Pz.IV G · ▄Leopard 1A5 |
| Allied powers | ▄Sherman I Composito · Sherman Ic · ▄Sherman Vc · ▄Sherman V · M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M26A1 · M47 (105/55) · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" |
| Hungary | |
| Turán | Turan I · Turan II · Turan III |
| Germany | ◔Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2A7HU |
| USSR | ◔T-72M1 |
