AMX M4

AMX M4

▄M4A3E2

AMX-50 (TOA100)

AMX M4

▄M4A3E2

AMX-50 (TOA100)

France

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
6.7	6.7	6.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:71 000

Purchase:210 000

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This page is about the French medium tank AMX M4. For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation).

Description

The AMX M4 is a rank IV French medium tank with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It uses the same 90 mm SA45 cannon as the ARL-44 but has a 7 rounds auto-loader and a better armour pattern while being more mobile. It is clearly better than any rank III French tanks, offering new battle opportunities.

This is the sturdiest representative of French rank IV vehicles, from which he shares some common features: it has good mobility, an oscillating turret (fitted with an auto-loader), sloped armour in front and back, high hull, high gun placement, good gun depression, 4 crew member, a coaxial MAC 31 machine gun and large tracks. What distinguishes the AMX M4 is its Panther-like hull, it's efficient 90 mm SA45 gun inherited from the ARL-44 and the thickest armour pattern of all French ground forces with 80 mm sloped at ~55° in the frontal area.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret rear)
• Cast homogeneous armour (turret, cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	80 mm (54°) Front glacis 35 mm (61°) Lower glacis 60 mm (38°) Front cheeks	60 mm (38°) Top - Front cheeks 40 mm (24°) Top - Centre & rear 40 mm Bottom	40 mm (1°) Upper plate 40 mm (29°) Lower glacis	20 mm 5 mm Radiator vents
Turret	85 mm (60°) Turret front - Upper glacis 40+85 mm (cylindrical) Turret front - Base 60 mm (56-60°)Gun mantlet 85+100 mm Barrel shroud	60 mm (0-61°) Turret 40 mm (0-27°) Turret base	40 mm (0-60°) Turret bustle 25 mm (16-25°) Pivot ball 20 mm Turret underside	20 mm
Cupola	60 mm (spherical)			60 mm Outer ring 20 mm Centre

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick. Suspension wheels are interleaved and thus overlap in some areas.
• The turret and the base overlap in some areas, leading to cumulative armour.
• The internal armour plate separating the crew compartment and the engine bay is 5 mm thick.
• Floor armour is 20 mm thick, with the underside of the sponsons also being 20 mm thick.

As said above, this tank's armour is very similar to that of the famous German tanks, it's hull even shares the same general patterns and dimensions, the distinctive features being...weak spots: an almost flat portion between UFP and LFP and two 60 mm "corners" above the tracks. As for the frontal turret part, it is sufficiently thick to endure many nasty hits, as long as you do not leave your foe enough time to aim: the turret ring area, while still being 80 mm thick, is flat. As for side armour, it is a good reason to keep away from front line duty: 35 mm flat armour does not protect from anything bigger than HMG fire. the hull's back is sloped, which may deviate some shots and prevent long-range "back flanking". The most exposed part of this tank is the turret's back, with only 20 mm of armour between the bulge and the turret ring.

In sum, engage frontally, avoid anything bigger than a slight angle as it may expose the 60 mm UFP "corners". Distance is a great tool to avoid your weak spots being easily targeted. This armour's role quite fluctuates as it depends on if what it faces can penetrate it or not.

Dealing with an opponent AMX M4 leads to a new sort of challenge. It is hard to penetrate from a distance, but if you can do it, then it's sniper battle time. If your guns do not provide enough power at distances, then get personal: the closer you are, the better you can disable it, here are a few tips for dealing with an AMX M4:

Frontal assault

Any French rank IV tank has a good gun capable of going through most armours at standard combat ranges (and above), they are even more frightful when knowing about their good reload rates (they all have autoloaders). With that in mind, engage them first so that they (maybe) will not have enough time to reload a second shell. Specifically, to the AMX M4, this tank's armour is virtually as resistant as a Panther tank: if you can't go through a Panther, you neither cannot with this tank, unless you shoot its weak spots. Don't panic though, its side armour is only 35 mm, which makes it very vulnerable to flanking and "multi-target" engagements: it can't protect itself well from two tank if they are enough apart from each other.

Flanking

As for flanking onto a single AMX M4, it must be dealt with quick: its fast turret turning speed allows it to react quite fast to either of its sides. Try to disable its large gun breech first so it won't be able to fire in a long time (this may also ammo-rack it if detonating a pre-loaded ammo), only then finish it off, if the first hit/series of hits (SPAAs) does not disable it from firing back, consider yourself done.

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	58	22	52	1550	1,908	29.81	36.69
Realistic	52	20		884	1,000	17	19.23

Post-war French designs are all very good at moving around: they have good engines, wide tracks and can easily achieve ~40 km/h on most terrains. The AMX M4 may be the worst of them all, on par with the AMX-50-100 as they share a very similar hull, they still have above average mobility, when compared to other medium tanks at the same BR. This observation is based on the fact that this tank's reverse speed only reaches -5 km/h and it does not have the ability to do neutral steering, anything else is comparable to its contemporaries.

Armaments

Main armament

90 mm SA45					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	49	-8°/+15°	±180°	N/A	28.6	39.6	47.0	51.5	56.5	6.70	6.70	6.70	6.70
Realistic					17.9	21.0	25.5	28.2	30.0

The gun may feel a little lackluster in terms of penetration: at the same BR, some tanks can consistently punch through more than 200 mm of armour while this tank's gun can't. This little defect is palliated by its auto-loader mechanism, providing up to 9 rounds a minute, a very good firing rate for the BR. All French medium rank IV tanks share this good reload rate, this is their prominent selling point.

The oscillating turret design also allows an high gun placement, this means you can fire over hills by exposing only the strong top portion of your tank, even more so with its good depression angles. When it comes to elevation, there is a problem: this tank can only lift its gun 15°, which make defending against planes impossible and uphill battle a bit challenging.

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
90 mm Obus de rupture	APC	215	212	201	188	175	164
90 mm Obus explosif	HE	13	13	13	13	13	13

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%
90 mm Obus de rupture	APC	1,000	10.60	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°
90 mm Obus explosif	HE	700	11.30	0.0	0.1	945	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the AMX M4

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
49	44 (X+5)	42 (+7)	35 (+14)	28 (+21)	21 (+28)	14 (+35)	10 (+39)	7 (+42)	1 (+48)	No

Notes:

• Ammo rack 9 is the auto-loader drum and takes priority in being filled at the beginning of the battle, then fills racks 8 through 1.
• If the auto-loader drum is empty, the main gun cannot fire until ammo is loaded into the auto-loader drum.
• Simply not firing when the main gun is loaded will load ammo from racks 1-8 into the ready rack, as long as there is ammo present in racks 1-8. Firing the main gun will interrupt the loading of the ready racks.

This tank features an auto-loading system that removes the need for a crew member to reload the main gun, although a loader is present to restock the auto-loader. A large drum of seven rounds is found underneath the gun breech for rapid use. Once this drum is empty, rounds in the hull will need to be placed in the auto-loader rack before it can be used by the auto-loader, which takes about 14 seconds to perform for one round. Nine rounds are found in three racks near the bottom of the hull behind the driver and machine-gunner while the rest of the stowage is found in the side sponsons above the tracks, aside from a small rack of 5 rounds near the rear of the turret.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	5,000 (150)	1,350	N/A	N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 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.

Usage in battles

At its BR, 80 mm of sloped frontal armour is more than sufficient to endure close range fights (as long as it is facing the enemy with its frontal armour). But what this tank is really good at is, as any other French rank IV, sniping: a very good gun, great depression and fire rate make it very deadly, even more so that it can take a few hits. The AMX M4 offers the best survivability of all French rank IV tanks since its BR is low and armour, thick. It is a true "medium tank" capable of all roles, given the good context.

This tank can be used in almost all roles on the battlefield, as long as the context is on its side. Here are some roles this tank is the most efficient at:

Sniper:

This is clearly this tank's intended role: at all BR placements, it provides the best results from this tank. There is only a few things that can defeat such tactic: drastically better firepower and thick frontal armour faced towards it. This gun's performance is not the best at its rank, in that way, the AMX M4 may have to rely on surprise attacks to its foe's sides in order to disable them. Use this tank's great mobility to get into a good spot and reposition whenever it is needed do not allow approaching targets as they increase your chances to be dealt with. Don't bother falling back before it is needed: your reverse speed won't allow for hasty retreats.

Frontline fights:

When facing lower BR tanks, the AMX can easily be used in the same role as Panther tanks: breakthrough...but with reserve, your side armour won't allow even the slightest side shot. Use your good reload speed and turret rate to their best: fast reaction times and multi-target engagements are possible.

Flanker:

Got a light tank squad wanting to flank? Go with them and provide extra firepower for these vulnerable scouted targets. All considerations from the "sniper" role can be taken into consideration when flanking, the only difference being a more consistent usage of this tank's mobility.

Modules

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

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good 90 mm gun inherited from ARL-44 (easy learning curve)
• Front glacis is 80 mm and is heavily sloped for a high chance of ricochets, similar to Panther's
• Very good reload rate between 7 shots due to auto-loader
• Good manoeuvrability
• Fast
• Decent reverse speed
• Good gun depression of -8°
• Good turret rotation

Cons:

• Overall armour is quite thin against expected opponents
• Long reload time after 7 shots due to auto-loader
• Only two ammo choice between APC and HE rounds
• Ammo always held in reload mechanism makes it easy ammo rack targets
• Thin side armour
• 60 mm UFP "corners" makes angling ineffective
• Bad elevation angles
• Vulnerable to planes (thin top armour)

History

Design

In the late 1940s, the French Army was looking to replace the medium tanks Panther and ARL 44 that were becoming obsolete with a new 50t medium tank. The new tank was to be the future spearhead of French armoured divisions. The French company AMX started working on a proposal which was essentially an improved Tiger II on the drawing board. The project evolved and later resulted in the AMX-50 tank. The AMX M4 present in the game is the first prototype of the project.

Development

In order to save weight from the Tiger II's initial weight of 70 tons, the first AMX proposal was an underarmoured version of the Tiger II with only 30 mm armour plates. The French Army quickly indicated that such a thickness was too weak for the intended purpose. The armour of the hull was increased to 80 mm frontally and 40 mm for the sides and the weight-saving measures were then applied to other components. The original turret was changed for an oscillating turret whose design was already available and the suspension wheels were redesigned to get rid of the interleaving wheels. The new version was approved and a first prototype was produced at the end of 1949. It sported the already available 90 mm SA 45 gun from the ARL 44, whose performance was equal to the 88 mm KwK43 equipping the Tiger II. The first prototype was dubbed M4 and had a weight slightly above 50 tons. The second prototype was produced 1 year later with the 100 mm SA 47 L/50 gun and a slightly modified turret, and resulted in the AMX-50 tank.

Combat usage

The AMX M4 was the first prototype of what would be the AMX-50 and never saw either service or combat action with the French Army.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the AMX M4 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

AMX M4, French, Tier-4, Medium Tank - Angry Nerd Gaming

AMX M4 Tank Review - NUSensei

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• AMX-50

Vehicles equipped with the same gun

• ARL-44
• Char 25t

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Panther II

External links

• [News] AMX M4
• [Wikipedia] AMX-50