Sho't

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

Sho't

AML-90

Tiran 4

Sho't

AML-90

Tiran 4

Israel

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	7.7	7.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:71 000

Purchase:210 000

Show in game

Description

The Sho't was the Hebrew name given by the Israeli Armed Forces to the Centurion tanks and their different versions. The first Sho't was a Centurion Mk.5/1 without any relevant modification. The Sho't was introduced to Israel during the 1960s in an effort by the IAF to modernize their tank force. At that time, the IAF only operated modernized Shermans and several WW2-era modified vehicles that were no match for the M48s and T-54s in service with the Arab nations.

Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the Sho't behaves equally to the Centurion Mk.5/1. It is a very powerful tank that relies heavily on its gun handling. Centurions are not characterized by their mobility, firepower or armour. Instead, they rely on their gun handling, thanks to their two-axis stabilizer and a relatively powerful APDS shell. The 84mm gun will not win in terms of penetration power, however; other rounds like that of the T-54's 100m D-10T or the Leopard I's L7A3. Despite this, combined with the two-axis stabilizer, it can be used effectively to push corners and shoot while moving to avoid enemy fire. This also gives the Sho't a much quicker reaction time since it doesn't have to stop to get a precise shot if it encounters an enemy while changing positions or flanking.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull76 / 50 / 38

Turret152 / 89 / 89

Crew4 people

Visibility119 %

Players can tell the Sho't in-game as a Centurion Mk.5 right away as the bore evacuator is unique to later variants of Centurion (QF 20 pdr Model B), as well as the additional pintle-mounted M2HB machine gun, though it lacks the headlights found on the Australian variant. The overall protection is totally identical to pre-Mk 10 Centurion variants, which also means that it has the same cramped interior and any penetrating shots can knock out the Sho't right away.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	76.2 mm (58°) Front glacis 76.2 mm (47-48°) Lower glacis	50.8 (12°) + 6 mm	38 mm (8-12°)	29 mm 8-14 mm Engine deck
Turret	152 mm (6-27°) Turret front 152 mm Gun mantlet	89 mm (5-12°)	89 mm (1-18°)	50.8 mm Border of turret 29 mm Center of turret
Cupola	152 mm	90 mm		29 mm

Notes:

• Tracks and suspension wheels are both 20 mm thick.
• The steel boxes around the turret and hull give a 4 mm additional protection, though this seems to be a negligible addition.
• Spaced armour plates are placed on the side of the Centurion, giving an additional 6 mm of side armour.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB39 / 14 km/h

RB and SB35 / 13 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

2 back

Weight50.8 t

Engine power

AB1 240 hp

RB and SB650 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB24.4 hp/t

RB and SB12.8 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	39	14	50.8	1,007	1,240	19.82	24.41
Realistic	35	13		575	650	11.32	12.8

Since the Sho't was directly imported from various sources, it shares identical mobility and its Rolls-Royce Meteor engine; players of British or Sweden Centurions will find themselves at home right away. This also means that the overall mobility is inferior just like most unmodified Centurions.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 511 → 4 750

RB3 973 → 5 375

SB5 637 → 7 626

Total cost of modifications61 500

102 300

Talisman cost1 800

Crew training61 000

Experts210 000

Aces890

Research Aces570 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 180 / 200 %

178 / 178 / 178 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 800 210 Suspension Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Brake System Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Filters Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 195 Transmission Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260 Engine Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260	Improved Parts Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 800 210 Improved FPE Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 195	Horizontal Drive Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 800 210 Adjustment of Fire Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 84mm_britain_20pdr_APDS_ammo_pack Research: 2 800 Cost: 4 700 145 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 195 Smoke grenade Research: 3 800 Cost: 6 300 195 Artillery Support Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260 84mm_britain_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 300 260

Armaments

Main armament

84 mm 20pdr OQF Mk.I cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition64 rounds

First-order8 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.1 → 6.3 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

The QF 20 pounder Model B cannon on Sho't is identical to other 20 pounder guns in various services; with gun stabilizer and APDS at its disposal, the gun can be used to great effect against late war and early Cold War vehicles where a stabilizer wasn't commonplace.

84 mm 20pdr OQF Mk.I					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	64	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	19.0	26.4	32.0	35.4	37.6	8.19	7.25	6.68	6.30
Realistic					11.9	14.0	17.0	18.8	20.0

Ammunition

The stock round, Shot Mk.1, is an APCBC shell; while its penetration is sufficient to penetrate tanks like Tiger II; it will not penetrate early Cold War tanks like M48A1 or T-54s. Additionally, it doesn't have any explosive filler, so players will need to aim for weakspots or ammo racks to achieve the most devastating damage.

The second stock shell, Shell Mk.1 HE, is practically useless against any armoured targets and not even enough to trigger overpressure damage. While it is still enough to blast exposed crews, it is suggested to ignore this shell.

Shot Mk.3 APDS is another story: its flat trajectory and high velocity helps it in hitting long-distance targets or fast movers. However, the overall post-effect is still quite disappointing, so players have to remember the weakspots or ammo racks just like with the Shot Mk.1.

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.1	APCBC	232	229	216	201	187	173
Shot Mk.3	APDS	384	380	363	343	324	306
Shell Mk.1	HE	15	15	15	15	15	15

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%
Shot Mk.1	APCBC	1,000	9.1	-	-	-	48°	63°	71°
Shot Mk.3	APDS	1,430	3.22	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
Shell Mk.1	HE	600	7.5	0.2	0.1	1.13	79°	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)
20pdr Shell SS Mk.1	250	9.3	9	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Centurion Mk.5/1 (identical).

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty
64	63 (+1)	59 (+5)	52 (+12)	44 (+20)	37 (+27)
6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
29 (+35)	9 (+55)	5 (+59)	1 (+63)	No

Notes:

• Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Racks 8 and 9 are first stage ammo racks. They total 8 shells and get filled first when loading up the tank.
  • These racks are also emptied early: the depletion order at full capacity is 8 - 9 - 1 - 2 - etc. until 7.
  • Full reload speed will be realized as long as shells are available in the ready racks 8 and 9. If the ready racks are empty, a penalty to reload speed will occur.
  • Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-7 into racks 9 then 8. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

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° / 50°

Horizontal guidance-120° / 120°

7.62 mm L3A1 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 750 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°/+50°	±120°

7.62 mm L3A1
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,750 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Unlike other Centurions, the Sho't has a pintle-mounted M2HB, giving it some capabilities to fight back against aircraft or lightly-protected vehicles; while the coaxial machine gun has changed from BESA to L3A1 (M1919A4) for logistical reasons.

Usage in battles

Like other Centurions, thanks to the underpowered engine, Sho't is not a fast tank by any means and its 35 km/h top speed makes it lag behind some tanks at its rank, not to mention fast movers like Leopard 1. However, this also means that the Sho't can stay close with friendly heavy tanks (which are still common at the battle rating) and provide reliable fire support for them even on the move thanks to its gun stabilizer. Although the overall protection is not sufficient to withstand shots from enemies, the gun depression angle certainly helps to find hull-down positions and use the gun mantlet to absorb or bounce incoming shells. While some players prefer the high penetration of APDS, some might opt to use the stock APCBC for better spalling; but in most cases where the enemy has thick armour, APDS will be the go-to shell for Sho't.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Has a two-plane gun stabilizer, making it able to shoot on the move
• Cannon with good penetration power
• Has a roof-mounted .50 cal MG

Cons:

• The ammo stowage in the front of the tank is a huge weak spot easy to target
• Slow for a medium tank being slower than some heavy tanks of the same BR
• 3 out of 4 crew members are on the same side of the tank and can be knocked out at once with a well-placed shot

History

The Sho't participated in different wars in IAF service, of course, not without being upgraded during it's whole life service. The first Sho't fitted by the IAF was acquired in 1958. In this time the IAF was due to receive the Chieftain and was negotiating with Britain to acquire this new heavy tank.

The IAF acquired several Mk.3 and Mk.5 Centurions from different sources while the Chieftain tanks were negotiated, since many arab nations were upgrading their tank fleets with American made M48 tanks and Soviet T-54s that were far superior to the modified Sherman and other WW2 vehicles fitted by the IAF.

The Sho't was modernized in several moments and served with the IAF up until this day. Variants of the Sho't like the Alef/Bet/Gimel/Dalet have appeared and modernize both the armour, mobility and firepower of the vehicle. The Sho't received 105mm guns with modern APFSDS projectiles, it also received first generation ERA made by Israel and several upgrades to the power plant since the Centurion tanks were many times considered underpowered for modern tank doctrine.

The Sho't participated during the Six Days War of 1967 and the Yom Kippur War. The Sho't proved very vulnerable to man portable anti tank weapons like the RPG-2 and RPG-7, as well as AT-3 Sagger missiles, this were weapons fitted in large number by Egyptian and Syrian forces and thus resulted in many Sho't tanks being lost in combat. The Sho't also participated in the Invasions of the Lebanon in 1978 and 1982, were it's vulnerabilities were also demonstrated.

The Sho't has also been converted into other vehicles, specially IFVs and APCs, like the Nagma, Nagmachon, Nakpadon and Puma armored Combat Engineering Vehicle.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Sho't 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.