Sho't Kal Gimel

This page is about the Israeli medium tank Sho't Kal Gimel. For other versions, see Sho't (Family).

Sho't Kal Gimel

Sho't Kal Alef

Tiran 6

Sho't Kal Gimel

Sho't Kal Alef

Tiran 6

Israel

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	8.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:135 000

Purchase:380 000

Show in game

Description

The Sho't Kal Gimel was the third serial modification of the Sho't Kal series developed based on the British Centurion. The Sho't Kal Gimel modification took place from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. The tank received additional machine guns, new 10-round smoke grenade launchers on the turret sides, and "Blazer" ERA on the hull and turret. This variant was withdrawn from service along with other Sho't Kal variants in 2007.

Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the Sho't Kal Gimel shares similar capabilities to previous Sho't Kal series tanks, but with better chemical protection and small improvements to firepower. Unlike its predecessor, it receives a laser rangefinder, smoke grenade launchers, the powerful M111 "Hetz" HEAT round, and "Blazer" ERA, allowing the tank to withstand hits from high-explosive rounds and ATGMs. While the firepower is good, it lacks the thermal imaging system of the Sho't Kal Dalet. It is still a relatively competitive tank that has very capable gun depression, and the ERA blocks improve tank survivability against shaped-charge warheads like HEAT and ATGMs, which become increasingly common at this rank. In addition, the tank retains good mobility.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

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

Armourfront / side / back

Hull127 / 50 / 38

Turret152 / 89 / 89

Crew4 people

Visibility119 %

The overall appearance of the Sho't Kal Gimel is very similar to its predecessor, the Alef; but in view of the intensity of the Middle Eastern Wars, the Gimel installed the Blazer ERA covering its front and some parts of its sides, as well as an extra layer of armour plate welded on the UFP, increasing its odds to survive a hit. The IDF also installed additional machine guns, so players can tell it's a Sho't Kal Gimel right away. Although the installation of ERA helped improved its odds against HEAT shells, but later missiles or kinetic shells will easily penetrate the obsolete base armour all-around.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	76.2 + 51 mm (57°) Upper glacis 76.2 mm (46°) Lower glacis	50.8 mm (12°)	38 mm (8°) Top 20 mm (62°) Bottom	127.2 mm (33°) Front glacis 29 mm Driving compartment 29 mm Engine compartment 10 mm Engine vents
Turret	89 mm (cylindrical) Turret front 100 - 230 mm Gun mantlet	89 mm (8°)	89 mm	50.8 mm (23-33°) Outer edge 29 mm Centre
Cupola	152 mm	152 mm (cylindrical) Front half 90 mm (cylindrical) Rear half	90 mm (cylindrical)	29 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels, tracks, and torsion bars are 60 mm thick.
• Side skirts are 6 mm thick
• Blazer ERA bricks cover the upper front glacis, the gun mantlet and the turret front.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB53 / 13 km/h

RB and SB48 / 12 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight54.0 t

Engine power

AB1 431 hp

RB and SB750 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB26.5 hp/t

RB and SB13.9 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	53	13	54	1,162	1,431	21.52	26.5
Realistic	48	12		663	750	12.28	13.89

The overall mobility, thanks to the new Continental AVDS-1790-2A diesel engine and Allison CD-850-6A transmission, has vastly improved from original Centurions (48 km/h vs 35 km/h forward) and oddly enough, Gimel is lighter than Alef, meaning the overall mobility is better. While it is nowhere close to Soviet or later NATO tanks in terms of power-weight ratio, it is still sufficient to keep up with the rest of the team.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 857 → 6 090

RB4 186 → 6 609

SB5 351 → 8 449

Total cost of modifications113 200

194 600

Talisman cost2 300

Crew training110 000

Experts380 000

Aces1 400

Research Aces830 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

140 / 200 / 240 %

208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 Suspension Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 190 Brake System Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 190 Filters Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 Transmission Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 330 Engine Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 330	Improved Parts Research: 1 800 Cost: 9 600 250 Improved FPE Research: 1 400 Cost: 7 200 190 Crew Replenishment Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 ESS Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 330	Horizontal Drive Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 Adjustment of Fire Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 190 Smoke grenade Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 190 NVD Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 190 Elevation Mechanism Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 105mm_usa_M735_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 105mm_us_M416_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 250 Artillery Support Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 330 Laser rangefinder Research: 7 900 Cost: 13 000 330

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.

Main armament

105 mm Sharir cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition72 rounds

First-order11 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 18°

The main gun "Sharir" (lit. "Strong") is identical to NATO's L7 105 mm guns in many aspects. In particular, the Gimel has access to APFSDS round that further enhance its odds to penetrate enemies.

105 mm Sharir					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	72	-10°/+18°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

The Sho't Kal Gimel shares most of the shells from the previous Alef while also having access to APFSDS rounds.

The stock M152 HEATFS, while mostly sufficient to penetrate tanks of the era with ease, will have a hard time penetrating tanks with composite armour like T-55AMD-1 or ERA like T-69 II G. It is still sufficient to knock out lighter vehicles with overpressure damage.

M156 shell, aka L35, is identical to other 105 mm HESH rounds, having high explosive content to knock out vehicles right away with overpressure while the overall performance of the shell is mixed, not to mention its slow and high-arcing ballistics; so either take this shell for detonating lighter vehicles or sniping stationary targets that expose their vulnerable spots. A solid hit is very likely to send enemies straight back to the hanger.

M111 APFSDS, aka DM23, is found on some other NATO vehicles and they perform identically. Being a long-rod dart, this shell can safely penetrate most tanks it might face at the rank. This will be the go-to round for the tank.

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
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M111	APFSDS	337	335	330	322	314	306

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%
M152	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°
M156	HESH	731	11.4	0.1	4	3.17	73°	77°	80°
M111	APFSDS	1,455	4.2	-	-	-	78°	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)
M416	732	11.6	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Sho't Kal Dalet (identical)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
72	68 (+4)	63 (+9)	33 (+39)	25 (+47)	12 (+60)	5 (+67)	1 (+71)	No

Since the Sho't Kal can carry more shells than the original Sho't, this will further increase the risk of ammunition cook-off; so it is advised to only bring at most 25 shells to clear out most of the ammo racks.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

7.62 mm L3A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 250 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

2 x 7.62 mm L3A1 machine gun

Ammunition3 500 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

Although a M2HB is mounted onto the tank, it was mounted on the mantlet and only serves as one of the coaxial machine guns, this hinders its capabilities to fight back against oncoming aircraft or helicopters; but in case players do need a way to fight back, there are still 2 L3A1 (M1919A3) onboard as a last-ditch option.

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,000 (200)	577	N/A	N/A

7.62 mm L3A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,250 (250)	500	N/A	N/A
Pintle (loader)	1,750 (250)	500	-10°/+12°	-120°/+80°
Pintle (commander)	1,750 (250)	500	-10°/+50°	-80°/+120°

Usage in battles

Players of the previous Sho't Kal Alef will quickly find themselves at home since the overall handling of Gimel is very similar, if not identical to the aforementioned. Gimel has an extra layer of armour on its UFP as well as Blazer ERA on some areas of the tank; while this can help it survive full-calibre and HEAT shells, it will not survive any late Cold War-era missiles or most APFSDS. The cramped interior also means any penetrating shots will cause extensive damage to the crew and compartment. Thus, it is best to stay away from heated battlefields and never rush in Sho't Kal Gimel (its inferior speed also helps to limit this).

However, this tank does still have some advantages: it has access to APFSDS, although not having the highest penetration at its rank, it is sufficient to tear through enemy armour from a distance. It might not have the best gun optics or handling due to the obsolete nature of Centurion chassis, but it can still serve its purpose if used with caution.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Extra protection on its UFP and access to ERA, enhancing some of its survivability
• Access to APFSDS
• Smoke shells to block enemies' sight and high smoke grenade counts
• Sufficient rate of fire

Cons:

• Relatively slow compared to its competitors
• Slow gun traverse speed
• Cramped crew and compartment
• low glacis is a huge weakspot that cant protect it against even a decent amount of spaa

History

After the earlier modification of Sho't (Centurion in Israel service) with NATO equipment by 1974, the Gimel (C) modification of Sho't Kal installed additional machine guns, new 10-shot smoke grenade launcher on its turret sides, as well as enhanced protection with a new welded armour plate on its UFP and new Blazer ERA packs on some areas of the tank.

This variant was decommissioned alongside with its fellow Sho't Kal variants in 2007.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sho't Kal Gimel from live.warthunder.com.

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.