ARL-44 (ACL-1)

ARL-44 (ACL-1)

2C

▄M4A3E2

ARL-44 (ACL-1)

2C

▄M4A3E2

France

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
3.7	3.7	3.7

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:18 000

Purchase:47 000

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This page is about the heavy tank ARL-44 (ACL-1). For the tank destroyer version, see ARL-44.

Description

The ARL-44 (ACL-1) is a Rank III French heavy tank with a battle rating of 3.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". The ARL-44 (ACL-1) is the second heavy tank in the French tree. It is a well-rounded foe more suited for a medium tank role than an heavy one due to lacking armour (which is still very good). It distinguishes from previous French heavy tanks for having a potent gun. The ARL-44 (ACL-1) is a prototype design that would be finalized as the ARL-44.

The ARL-44 (ACL-1) bears very distinctive characteristics, with a WWI-style track system (similar to the Churchill) which runs across the whole side of its chassis. This tank is a mix of different inspirations, mainly late war German tank technology such as the Panther series or the Tiger II, from which it takes its slope frontal armour and tall profile. As France was reviving from WW2, its engineers were hard at work to catch up with tank technology, the ARL-44 series was a training ground for them. This is why this tank has rather weird design choices, coming from both experience and experimentation.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour on this version of the ARL-44 is subpar as it can be penetrated by most foes it encounter from the front: with only 60 mm at 48°, it is weaker than a stock M4A3 Sherman (not even the Jumbo version). With that in mind, this tank should be kept a fair distance from the frontline. In order to put this "land battleship" to good use, it should be angled at about 25° facing towards the enemy. An even better way to maximise its armour is by keeping an hull-down position, using its -10° depression : turret armour is ~100 mm thick, with a bit of distance and angle, most rounds will not penetrate.

Be advised that this tank has 3 main ammo racks: between driver and machinegunner, in the turret's back and in the plain middle of the right track, shooting them down can be an easy ammo-rack explosion. Another thing to consider is this tank's large elevation mechanism, a penetrating shot to the tank's center of mass may damage/disable it, making it very hard for this foe to return fire.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	60 mm (48°) Front glacis 60 mm (63°) Lower glacis 100 mm (1-80°) Machine gun port	50 + (25-50) + 50 mm	20 mm (72°) Top 35 mm (32°) Bottom	20 mm
Turret	100 mm (0-44°) Turret front 80 (0-79°) + 30 mm Gun mantlet	60 mm (3-44°)	30 mm (0-51°) 38 mm (0-21°) Rear hatch	10 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	60 mm	10 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheel are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
• 25 mm RHA plate separate the engine from the crew compartment.
• Turret ring is 55 mm thick, with an additional 20 mm armour behind it.

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	40	9	47	775	1,145	16.49	24.36
Realistic	38	8		531	600	11.3	12.77

At 47 tons, this is not a light tank, even more so that its tracks have bad ground traction. What saves this vehicles from feeling too slow is its 954 HP engine, capable of maintaining its top speed even when climbing slight hills. Do not expect too much from this tank, especially in highly inclined and soft terrains. Don't forget its reverse speed of only -4 km/h won't get you out quick of the situations: don't overextend.

Armaments

Main armament

"Decent" might be a word that comes to mind while firing this tank's main gun. When compared to other tanks at the BR, it has about the same characteristics as other medium tank's gun, the only thing being its lack of HE filler. In order to get out of a fight alive, seek some allied fire as this tank as bad reload rate. Do not bring more than 24 shells in order to avoid filling that obvious turret ammo rack.

75 mm SA44
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
37			-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	8.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	8.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.5	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
75 mm Obus de rupture	APC	124	120	103	81	70	60
75 mm Obus de explosif	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
75 mm Obus de rupture	APC	700	6.5	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	48°	63°	71°
75 mm Obus de explosif	HE	700	6.2	0.4	0.1	675	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the ARL-44 (ACL-1).

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
37	25 (+12)	13 (+24)	1 (+36)	no

Turret empty: 25 (+12)

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
5,000 (150)				1,350	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The ARL-44 (ACL-1) should be played as a medium tank. Combining a good penetrating gun, decent mobility and average but sloped armour, the tank is more suited to this role as most tanks (e.g. PzIV F2, G, H, J, KV-85, T-34-85(D-5T)) and tank destroyers (e.g. Marder III, Achilles, M10, ASU 57) it meets at its BR and above will be able to penetrate its upper glacis reliably at standard combat ranges (~500 m). Im the hands of a capable commander, this tank can be quite deadly. The key word with this tank is "do not expect too much".

Utilize the ARL-44 (ACL-1) as a medium tank. If possible, flank. Otherwise forward engagements are also an option, however, do not trust your armour. Always take out turret rings/gunners first, or, go for ammo racks. When the BR average is 3.0, you can also play this tank as a heavy, as most enemies will not be able to penetrate your armour.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good gun
• Okay mobility for a heavy tank, suited with a powerful engine
• Hull turning is fast due to wide hull
• 5 crew members for increased internal survivability
• Thick side armour enables strong angling
• Complex side armour can negate HEAT round effectiveness
• -10° of gun depression

Cons:

• Large profile makes it a well-known battlefield target
• Many tanks can reliably penetrate its frontal armour.
• No explosives in APC shots
• Large elevation mechanism, often get damaged
• Bad ammo storage layout makes ammo rack shots frequent
• Track traction is subpar (pre-war track pattern)
• Thin roof armour
• Many shot traps
• Long reload time
• Only 2 shell choices
• Weak 20 mm plate in turret back protects one of the main ammo racks.
• Subpar reverse speed

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ground vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, 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>, as well as adding them at the end of the article. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.

France heavy tanks
B1	B1 bis · B1 ter
2C	2C · 2C bis
ARL-44	ARL-44 (ACL-1)
AMX-50	Somua SM · AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé
USA	▄M4A3E2