M551

This page is about the American light tank M551. For the premium version, see M551(76).

M551

XM800T

M3 Bradley

M551

XM800T

M3 Bradley

USA

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.3	8.3

Class:

Light tank

Research:135 000

Purchase:380 000

Show in game

Description

The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV was a light tank developed by the U.S. and named after American Civil War hero General Philip Sheridan. It was designed to be air-dropped and amphibious. It was equipped with the innovative but problematic 152 mm M81 tank gun, which could fire both conventional ammunition and the MGM-51 Shillelagh anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). Despite the use of advanced technologies for its time, the performance of the vehicle was lackluster and below expectations. It saw extensive combat in the Vietnam War, where its shortcomings became evident, especially its low survivability and reliability. It was later used in the National Training Centre as a simulated Soviet armoured opposition force (OPFOR) to train US military units on simulated tank-on-tank armoured combat in a desert environment. The last Sheridans were retired from the NTC in 2003.

Introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows", the M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV is a very unorthodox vehicle at its BR. With a stock 152mm HE and HEAT shell on a low velocity, high shell drop gun, the Sheridan initially has limited engagement range and effectiveness. The MGM-51 Shillelagh ATGM is a significant improvement over conventional rounds, capable of destroying almost anything with a single penetration and greatly extends the engagement range of the Sheridan to a max of over 3 kilometers. Players should still be cautious of enemy vehicles due to the Sheridan's weak armour, and use cover as much as possible to ensure their survival.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull31 / 25 / 19

Turret25 / 25 / 25

Crew4 people

Visibility88 %

Armour type:

• Aluminum Alloy 7039
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Turret)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope Angle°)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	25.4 mm (70°), 12.7 mm (87°) Front Glacis 31.7 mm (33°) Lower Glacis 25.4 mm (2-80°) Driver's port	19 + 2 mm Top 25.4 mm (0-56°) Bottom	12.7 mm (49-50°) Top 19 mm (32-55°) Bottom	19 mm 12.7 mm Engine grilles
Turret	25.4 mm (6-78°) Turret front 31.7 mm (1-81°) Gun mantlet	25.4 mm (50-55°)	25.4 mm (46-54°)	19 mm
Cupola	31.7 mm	31.7 mm	31.7 mm	31.7 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.

Against most opponents, the M551 can be destroyed with a single shot. Some APHE shells may fail to fuse on you if you are side-on to them, but most will fuse on the annoyingly thick-enough side armor of 19mm at any other angle and devastate your vehicle. The tank may, however, still survive glancing shots to the turret as the vehicle has 4 crew members and can afford to lose one or two crew so long as the spall doesn't hit your ammunition.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB77 / 17 km/h

RB and SB70 / 15 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight15.2 t

Engine power

AB572 hp

RB and SB300 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB37.6 hp/t

RB and SB19.7 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	77	17	15.2	465	572	30.59	37.63
Realistic	70	15		265	300	17.43	19.74

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 251 → 4 889

RB3 734 → 5 615

SB4 559 → 6 856

Total cost of modifications111 700

194 200

Talisman cost2 300

Crew training110 000

Experts380 000

Aces1 400

Research Aces830 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 160 / 200 %

208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 8 100 Cost: 13 000 300 Suspension Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 170 Brake System Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 170 Filters Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 230 Transmission Research: 9 800 Cost: 16 000 370 Engine Research: 9 800 Cost: 16 000 370	Improved Parts Research: 2 400 Cost: 13 000 300 Improved FPE Research: 1 400 Cost: 7 200 170 Crew Replenishment Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 230	Horizontal Drive Research: 8 100 Cost: 13 000 300 Adjustment of Fire Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 170 Airstrike Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 170 152mm_usa_MGM61B_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 4 500 Cost: 7 200 170 Elevation Mechanism Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 230 Smoke grenade Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 230 Scout UAV Research: 6 000 Cost: 9 600 230 Artillery Support Research: 9 800 Cost: 16 000 370 Improved optics Research: 9 800 Cost: 16 000 370

Armaments

Main armament

152 mm gun/launcher M81

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition30 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

15.6 → 12.0 s

Vertical guidance-8° / 19°

152 mm M81					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	30	-8°/+19°	±180°	Two-plane	38.1	52.7	64.0	70.8	75.3	15.60	13.80	12.72	12.00
Realistic					23.8	28.0	34.0	37.6	40.0

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
M409A1	HEAT	380	380	380	380	380	380
M657A2	HE	38	38	38	38	38	38
MGM-51B Shillelagh	ATGM	431	431	431	431	431	431

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%
M409A1	HEAT	682	18.9	0.05	0.1	3.73	62°	69°	73°
M657A2	HE	682	22	0	0.1	4.3	79°	80°	81°

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
MGM-51B Shillelagh	ATGM	286	3,200	27.8	0	0.1	3.6	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M551

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
30	28 (+2)	26 (+4)	21 (+9)	14 (+16)	8 (+22)	1 (+29)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 28°

Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°

7.62 mm M73 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,000 (200)	577	-10°/+70°	±60°

7.62 mm M73
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The Sheridan is best described as being a very one-of-a-kind tank. Most light tanks at or above these BRs either carry a normal high-velocity anti-tank weapon or an autocannon meant for versatile use; the Sheridan falls under neither, with its 152mm gun/launcher being by far the most standout feature of the tank. However, this uniqueness means it has problems other tanks normally wouldn't struggle with at its Battle Rating, such as poor shell velocity, a long reload and the inability to handle certain map positions due to its chemical-only weapons kit. Despite its many shortcomings, if mastered, the Sheridan can offer either a high damage brawler playstyle or a long-range supporting playstyle and become a valuable part of the US 8.3 lineup.

The Sheridan's stock performance is, for a lack of a better word, underwhelming. It lacks the long range potential other tanks at least somewhat have, while also suffering from a long reload and two chemical round types that are at best situationally advantageous but at worst inconsistent and may fail to kill tanks on penetration. The mobility when stock can feel sluggish, especially on inclines, and as the shells are low velocity with high drop your mid to long range abilities are also severely lacking. Priority should be given to mobility upgrades and the MGM-51B Shillelagh ATGM, as this adds much-needed long range engagement capabilities.

Tactics with the Sheridan differ quite a bit when stock compared to when equipped with the Shillelagh. The MGM-51B Shillelagh is a barrel-launched ATGM, a rarity for a US vehicle only found elsewhere on the M60A2 Starship, another 8.3 vehicle in the common US 8.3 lineup. Players of the M60A2 may note the lack of a laser rangefinder on the Sheridan, which is a downside compared to the Starship which does come equipped with the module. This means that even when spaded, the Sheridan struggles to engage at range with its conventional shell types, whereas the M60A2 can do so with all shell types at its disposal. When the Sheridan is stock, you will have to avoid long sightlines and go for closer, urban skirmishes. However, even this is to the detriment of the vehicle as the Sheridan lacks any armor to survive autocannon or anti-tank cannon fire as well as high caliber MGs, which can sometimes lead to frustrating encounters with tanks like the SU-122-54 disabling your tank before you even get to fire due to 14.5mm MG fire. All this is to say, the Sheridan is not an easy vehicle to spade, nor for the faint of heart.

When stock, your best tactic will be to ambush a sightline in an urban map. This, however, does not mean that you should stay in one spot, waiting for an opportunistic shot while watching paint dry. The Sheridan is still a light tank, so you can use terrain to maneuver around people or at the very least scout them to mark them on the minimap for your team. Even if you can't get your gun on them, marking enemies on the map and getting Scouting bonuses helps win the game for the team as well as speeds up your grind, so it may be worth a shot. Another reason why holding an opportunistic shot angle and never moving is inadvisable is the Sheridan's overall lack of consistency. The long reload, lacking armor and sometimes inconsistent spalling can lead to enemies not fully disabled or destroyed when they round the corner, which will surely result in your demise. This is also a very easy way to get revenge bombed, as you are staking out a singular spot without moving around at all. You should try and find more unorthodox spots slightly behind the front lines, which will let you fall back if you're being overrun and will also let your long reload be less of an issue, while also relocating every two or three shells to make sure the enemy team never realizes where exactly you're on the map.

When equipped with the MGM-51B, the story flips itself on its head. You now want to preferably avoid urban engagements, as the missile has a natural dip when firing as well as its hard to control nature when fired close up, and trying to fire a SACLOS projectile while on the move at a potentially moving target 300 meters away is by no means an easy task. You now want to find long, open sightlines with low foliage cover as any foliage in front of you may prematurely detonate your shells, wasting a reload cycle. Hiding in foliage on reload is fine, just don't try firing into a bush or at an enemy behind one if possible, and the shells will usually hit their mark. The Shillelagh is an unorthodox weapon for US players, as the M60A2, XM-803, MBT-70 and the M551 are just about the only vehicles that use this ammunition type in the tech tree. The missile is fairly large, but handles fairly well with a mostly negligible dip when being fired. The motor on the missile burns out in just a few seconds, so to an enemy the missile looks more akin to a slow HEAT shell slowly flying towards them instead of an ATGM with a bright red motor. With a range of 3.2 kilometers, you can reach almost any target you can see on any ground map so long as the line of sight is clear, and you can even hit helicopters that are blissfully unaware of the incoming low-visibility missile if the stars align. Overall, the Shillelagh lets you exploit long range engagements through the use of a mouse-guided missile, and can greatly improve the versatility of the vehicle. It is to be noted that the Shillelagh takes longer to load than the regular HE or HEAT rounds, so keep this in mind if you need a shell quickly.

This much 'mediocrity' may make the reader ask the question: "Why should I play the Sheridan?". To that, the best answer is probably multiple factors rolled into one: The Sheridan is a light tank, so it can scout enemy vehicles and get the cost of an aircraft spawn down. It also fires conventional, high caliber rounds, as well as the option for a missile that can be fired on the move through a stabilized cannon, meaning it can face enemies head on moreso than the M3 Bradley can. The round is capable of obliterating lightly armored enemy light tanks and SPAAs handily, and the missile means it can take care of long range engagements while not being as extreme as the M901 with only ATGMs as its defense. Urban combat, while preferably avoided, is also not too lacking, as long as the map isn't full of fences or bushes, and even then your roof mounted .50 caliber MG can make short work of obstacles to shoot your main gun. The Sheridan isn't really a specialist at anything outside of long range ATGM firing. The M60A2 arguably has a better hull and turret, with armor that can withstand most light autocannon fire and a laser rangefinder to shoot at range, but the Sheridan's scouting and flanking roles ultimately mean it's a vehicle that can fill a niche in most situations once spaded.

Long story short, the Sheridan is not an easy vehicle to be effective in, but with the Shillelagh and some clever map utilization can be a surprisingly solid supporting vehicle for the US 8.3 lineup.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Dual-purpose cannon which can fire either regular shells or ATGMs
• Very fast turret traverse
• High shell caliber means a successful, accurate hit can secure kills handily
• Able to fulfill many roles effectively with its available set of weaponry.
• The ATGM is extremely effective against heavily armored targets.

Cons:

• Very thin armour
• No kinetic rounds, only chemical rounds are available (which detonates on obstacles such as fences and therefore cannot shoot through them)
• Low ammunition storage at only 30 rounds
• ATGMs reload several seconds slower than normal ammunition
• Can only hold 10 ATGM ammunition in total
• Poor mobility when stock
• Poor shell velocity and ballistics limit its effective range when not using the ATGM
• It can see tanks equipped with explosive reactive armour such as the T-55AM-1 that can counter your shells.

History

Development

In the post-war period, U.S. Army specified for a new light tank that is light enough for air-transportation and have a large cruising range. The first resulting light tank, the M41 Walker Bulldog, did not meet these specifications and the following development such as the T92 were cancelled after the discovery of the amphibious Soviet PT-76 tank, which added a requirement for the light tank to also be amphibious. A new tank design began development, using aluminum alloy to save weight, a fabric screen for flotation, and a controversial 152 mm gun/launcher for firepower with the Shillelagh missiles. However, the design's lightweight and mobility made it favorable and so the tank was approved for Army standard in May 1966 and designated the M551 Sheridan. Between 1966 to 1970, 1,662 Sheridans were produced at a program cost of $1.3 billion.

Deployment

The Sheridan first saw service in June 1967 in the 1/63rd Armor Regiment at Fort Riley. The first air usage of the Sheridan came from the 1/17th Cavalry at Fort Bragg. Its first overseas deployment was to South Korea in November 1968 and Europe in January 1969. 800 Sheridans were deployed worldwide by 1971. Troubles with the 152 mm Gun/Launcher plagued the M551's early service life as attempts were made to fix the issues in the weapon's ammo propellant and ability to fire missiles.

The Sheridan's tank's first combat would be seen in Vietnam under the urging of General Creighton Abrams. The tank first arrived in January 1969 modified for the environment in a configuration dubbed "Two-Box M551" with many complex mechanical instrument boxes removed (save for two), as well as the ability to fire the Shillelagh missiles disabled and the production of a fletchette ammunition for the 152 mm gun/launcher. First impressions of the Sheridan were positive due to the weapon's effectiveness in anti-infantry and bunker busting roles, as well as the mobility able to maintain speed with the M113 armoured personnel carriers. However, experience soon soured when the lack of armour became apparent compared to the M48 Pattons employed in the theater, with the M551 vulnerable to mines and the numerous hand-held anti-tank weaponry.

Post-Vietnam, the M551 Sheridans underwent a product improvement program (PIP) that upgraded the design. The next combat operation would be in Operation Just Cause in Panama, featuring the first and only time tanks were parachuted into a combat zone. Inserted with the 82nd Airborne Division, the M551 proved a popular psychological weapon against the opposing forces. After Panama, the M551 were also deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf War in both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where in the latter they fought Iraqi units equipped with T-55s and T-72s in the only time in the M551's history that the gun-launched Shillelagh missiles were used against an enemy.

Back in the United States, the M551 also found use in the U.S. Army's National Training Center at the Mojave desert in California, where they are dressed up to look like Soviet vehicles to play as the "opposing forces" to train the army units on tactics in the battlefield. After the Gulf War, the Sheridan's combat career came to an end and so they remained in service at the National Training Center until 2004. The Sheridans were retired without any replacement in the airborne tank role. Though attempts had been made in the late 1990's for a replacement, the Army decided that an airborne tank was simply not worth the cost for a specialized vehicle.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M551 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Airmobile tanks discusses the M551 at 3:53 - War Thunder Official Channel

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

• [Devblog] M551 Sheridan

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Zaloga Steven. M551 Sheridan: US Airmobile Tanks 1941-2001 Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2009

Cadillac Division of General Motors
Light Tanks
M24 Chaffee*	M24
M551 Sheridan	M551
	*Designed in collaboration with U.S. Army Ordnance Department.
Export	▅M24 · ␗M24 · ▄M24
Note	Cadillac is a division of General Motors (GM).