M15/42

M15/42

M14/41

▄Pz.III N

M15/42

M14/41

▄Pz.III N

Italy

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
2.7	2.7	2.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:7 900

Purchase:10 000

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Description

The Fiat-Ansaldo M15/42 is a rank II Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic". The M15/42 is the last tank before getting to the P40 and foreign medium tanks and is the final version of the Carro Armato, thus giving some notable improvements over the previous models.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet, MG port)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	50 mm (12°) Upper plate 30 mm (12°) + 30 mm (spherical) MG port 25 mm (80°) Front glacis 30 mm (cylindrical) Lower plate	25 mm (8°) Top 25 mm Bottom 30 mm (9-12°) MG bulge	25 mm Upper part 25 mm (15°) Lower part	25 mm (10°) Front glacis 25 mm Crew compartment 8 mm (15°) Rear section - Engine 5-25 mm (8°) Rear section - Radiator vents
Turret	30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet 45 mm (13°) Turret front 50 mm Turret ring	25 mm (20°) 50 mm Turret ring		15 mm (5°)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
• The M15/42's belly is 14 mm thick.
• Mudguards are 4 mm thick.

Turret

The turret is only 25 mm at the side, but due to the roundness and the slope of the armour at the front of the tank, it has an effective thickness of ~70 mm which can bounce poorly aimed shots. The mantlet has two layers of armour stacked on top of each other, giving an effective thickness of 75 mm, however, it has a shot trap on the left side which only has a thickness between 29 mm and 49 mm however due to the low battle rating, most new players won't know to shoot there. Despite the shot trap, the combination of good, sloped and rounded turret armour can make the M15/42 effective at hull-down positions.

Hull

The top of the hull has decent protection in the form of a 50 mm frontal plate and a ludicrously sloped (80°) 20 mm plate which has an effective thickness of ~75 mm. However, the lower glacis plate only has a thickness of 30 mm and is directly in front of the transmission, so shots there will cripple the tank's mobility and possible result in its destruction.

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	4	15	287	353	19.13	23.53
Realistic	39	4		164	185	10.93	12.33

The M15/42 is not a shining star on the battlefield, however, when it comes to mobility, this medium tank can get around. While being understandably significantly slower than most light tanks encountered at this battle rating, it can hold its own over most terrain as a medium tank, sacrificing armour for mobility.

Armaments

Main armament

47 mm 47/40 mod.38					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	111	-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A	13.3	18.5	22.4	24.8	26.4	3.77	3.33	3.07	2.90
Realistic					8.3	9.8	11.9	13.2	14.0

The 47/40 mod.38 cannon is quite the powerhouse at this rank, especially due to the effective shells at its disposal. The mod.39 shell has a decent muzzle velocity of 755 m/s, good post-penetration damage and adequate penetration at close ranges. However, it quickly loses effectiveness at longer ranges. This encourages the player to fight in the mid-range area, almost always in a hull-down position.

Ammunition

The shells available for the M15/42 are limited:

• Granata mod.35: HE; a high-explosive useful for destroying open and lightly armoured vehicles. It however is a very slow shell travelling (twice slower than the other projectile). You can pack a few of those as you lack a heavy machine gun.
• Granata Perforante mod.39: APBC; a solid shot with an average penetration but no explosive filler. Make sure to target modules and crew positions to maximise the damage. Disabling the enemy gunner on your first shot will be critical to win engagements as you'll most likely need several shots to destroy an enemy vehicle. This shell should be your default 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
Granata mod.35	HE	5	5	5	5	5	5
Granata Perforante mod.39	APBC	69	67	59	51	43	37

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%
Granata mod.35	HE	364	2.37	2	0.1	150	79°	80°	81°
Granata Perforante mod.39	APBC	755	1.44	1.2	15	30	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M15/42

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
111	104 (+7)	95 (+16)	1 (+110)	Yes

Notes:

• The visual discrepancy concerns rack 1, which is modeled as 9 shells each but will disappear after you've fired 8 shells from it.
• As they are modeled by sets of 2 to 5 shells, sets disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.
• The massive rack 3 depletes from the centre outwards.

Machine guns

8 mm Breda Mod. 38
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,524 (24)	600	N/A	N/A
Pintle	288 (24)	600	-10°/+30°	N/A

The small calibre of the Breda Mod. 38 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. The pintle-mounted MG can not pivot independently from the turret. Two additional hull-mounted Breda machine guns are modeled but not usable.

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

The M15/42 is basically a M14/41 tank boasting a better gun, a more powerful engine and thus sitting at a higher battle rating. With the BR increase, the competition gets also tougher. That's why the M15/42 features henceforth average armour for its rank, especially the sides and around the turret. Frontally, the massive 50 mm front plate is the biggest weak spot: flat, hard to miss and a penetrating shot through this plate will kill the driver and the gunner that sits behind him. To avoid this, you can angle your tank about 30 degrees to the left to hide your flat plate and present instead the MG bulge that could absorb some shots. This however is not a durable strategy, any expert tanker won't fall for that trick.

The M15/42's top speed of 38 km/h limits its opportunities as a flanker. Its flat armour also limits its capacity to advance exposed in the open and its rather slow turret rotation prevents it from reacting quickly to 360° threats as a frontline tank. Its solid 47 mm gun on the other hand coupled with 15 degrees of gun depression makes the M15/42 a good support tank. Stay behind cover at a distance (500 to 700 m) from the frontline to support spearheading tanks, this will also increase your armour advantage. On top of that, the M15/42 sports with a crew of 4 (and 1 spare) a longer durability than most tanks at its BR. When being focused on the action, it is imperative to always check for 2 main threats: flanking enemies who could reach you quickly from the frontline and tank destroyers with a high penetration power lurking at a safe distance. If you're flanked, your turret doesn't turn all too fast: rotate your hull instead. Pivot turning in the M15/42 will always be faster than turning your turret. If you spot a tank destroyer aligned on your position, retreat or get behind cover.

Notable enemies

• Heavy tanks like B1 bis or B1 ter whose armour is too strong for your gun,
• Tank destroyers with powerful guns like the Marder III, ZiS-30, Ho-Ni I, Ho-Ni III, Chi-Ha LG or the LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) (China),
• Tanks with HEAT shells like the Pz. IV E, F1, the StuG III A or the StuH 42 G,
• Tanks with APDS shells like the Strv m/40L, the Strv m/41 S-II or the Lago I,
• Tanks with many crew members like the M3 Lee, the Grant I, the T-28 or the T-28E whose durability is high.

How to defeat a M15/42

Rule of thumb is to get as close as possible as you can to maximise your penetration power as its armour is flat.

• In a frontal encounter, shoot right in the middle of the front plate if the M15/42 did not angle its hull. This will knock out the gunner and the driver.
• If it is hull down, aim at the turret cheeks.
• If its hull is angled, aim at the flat corners of the hull.
• If you manage to flank the M15/42, aim for the hull spot right under the center of the turret or the turret itself.
• From the rear, target the turret first and then the crew compartment right under the turret (avoid shooting in the engine compartment: it will absorb shots with little damage to the crew).

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Solid frontal armour
• Decent mobility
• The Mod.39 shell has effective penetration for the BR and quite good post-penetration damage
• Best shell is unlocked by standard
• Decent gun depression of 10°
• Adequate turret traverse
• Due to the 80° angle the upper glacis is angled at, it can be a very good shot-bouncer
• Hard to kill from the front, especially when in a hull-down position
• Decent muzzle velocity

Cons:

• Crew is cramped
• Mod.39 shell rapidly loses effectiveness at range
• Frontal plate is almost flat
• Rest of the armour is mediocre at best
• Shots to the lower glacis almost always result in the transmission breaking

History

The last version of the M13 series. The M15/42 was slightly longer than the preceding models and had a higher-velocity 47mm gun, a more powerful engine, and improved armour. In total 112 were built, before production was switched to the tank destroyer version (the Semovente M42 da 75/18). By September 1943 when Italy surrendered, 82 of those had been issued to army units, in five-tank platoons. Their only use in combat by an Italian Army unit was actually against the Germans that month, in particular by the 135th "Ariete II" Division in the defence of Rome.

Germany confiscated 92 on Italy's surrender and produced another 28 themselves. Some were turned over to Italian forces. While most remained in Italy, some were also employed by the German forces in Hungary.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M15/42 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Carro Armato M15/42, Italian, Tier-2, Medium Tank - Angry Nerd Gaming

M15/42 Review, Decent, just constant uptiers! - Joseph 2000

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• 75/34 M42

Vehicles equipped with the same gun

• AB 43
• M14/41 (47/40)

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• M14/41
• Chi-He / Chi-He (5th Regiment)

External links

• [Wikipedia] M15/42 tank
• [Tanks Encyclopedia] Carro Armato Medio M15/42
• [Military Factory] Carro Armato M15/42