Difference between revisions of "Merkava Mk.1B"
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
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| − | The Merkava Mk.1 was the first variant of the [[Merkava (Family)|Merkava main battle tank family]]. The IDF formerly had to rely on importing foreign weapons to maintain its armoured units since its industry was inadequate to develop domestic vehicles. The British decision not to sell the Chieftain to the Israelis (because they were already supplying them to Arab countries) led Israel to begin its own tank development program. Development was overseen by General Israel Tal, who was not a professional engineer but an experienced soldier who had participated in World War II and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars. He laid down the philosophy of the design, which prioritised crew protection, resulting in the tank's unique configuration: the engine was located at the front and, for rapid evacuation and transport of soldiers, a rear hatch was installed, effectively transforming it into an "armoured IFV". By 1974, the first prototypes of the Merkava tank were sent for initial trials, and in December 1979, almost ten years after development began, the Merkava entered service with the IDF. It was first deployed during the 1982 Lebanon War | + | The Merkava Mk.1 was the first variant of the [[Merkava (Family)|Merkava main battle tank family]]. The IDF formerly had to rely on importing foreign weapons to maintain its armoured units since its industry was inadequate to develop domestic vehicles. The British decision not to sell the Chieftain to the Israelis (because they were already supplying them to Arab countries) led Israel to begin its own tank development program. Development was overseen by General Israel Tal, who was not a professional engineer but an experienced soldier who had participated in World War II and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars. He laid down the philosophy of the design, which prioritised crew protection, resulting in the tank's unique configuration: the engine was located at the front and, for rapid evacuation and transport of soldiers, a rear hatch was installed, effectively transforming it into an "armoured IFV". By 1974, the first prototypes of the Merkava tank were sent for initial trials, and in December 1979, almost ten years after development began, the Merkava entered service with the IDF. It was first deployed during the 1982 Lebanon War. In 1983, manufacturing was stopped in favour of the upgraded [[Merkava Mk.2B|Merkava Mk.2]] variant. Some Merkava Mk.1s were upgraded to the Mk.2 standard, being redesignated '''Merkava Mk.1B'''. |
Introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]], the Merkava Mk.1B is the first indigenous armoured vehicle in the Israeli ground tree. The positioning of the engine at the front is one of the Merkava's most distinctive features, and improves the tank's survivability by absorbing shots from the front, protecting the crew. However, it also increases the risk of engine failure and fire. The Merkava boasts a powerful gun, a thermal sight, and excellent survivability, aided by its LWS and numerous smoke grenades, but low mobility compared to many Western tanks. | Introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]], the Merkava Mk.1B is the first indigenous armoured vehicle in the Israeli ground tree. The positioning of the engine at the front is one of the Merkava's most distinctive features, and improves the tank's survivability by absorbing shots from the front, protecting the crew. However, it also increases the risk of engine failure and fire. The Merkava boasts a powerful gun, a thermal sight, and excellent survivability, aided by its LWS and numerous smoke grenades, but low mobility compared to many Western tanks. | ||
Latest revision as of 07:58, 3 September 2024
| This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.1B. For other versions, see Merkava (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Merkava Mk.1 was the first variant of the Merkava main battle tank family. The IDF formerly had to rely on importing foreign weapons to maintain its armoured units since its industry was inadequate to develop domestic vehicles. The British decision not to sell the Chieftain to the Israelis (because they were already supplying them to Arab countries) led Israel to begin its own tank development program. Development was overseen by General Israel Tal, who was not a professional engineer but an experienced soldier who had participated in World War II and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars. He laid down the philosophy of the design, which prioritised crew protection, resulting in the tank's unique configuration: the engine was located at the front and, for rapid evacuation and transport of soldiers, a rear hatch was installed, effectively transforming it into an "armoured IFV". By 1974, the first prototypes of the Merkava tank were sent for initial trials, and in December 1979, almost ten years after development began, the Merkava entered service with the IDF. It was first deployed during the 1982 Lebanon War. In 1983, manufacturing was stopped in favour of the upgraded Merkava Mk.2 variant. Some Merkava Mk.1s were upgraded to the Mk.2 standard, being redesignated Merkava Mk.1B.
Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the Merkava Mk.1B is the first indigenous armoured vehicle in the Israeli ground tree. The positioning of the engine at the front is one of the Merkava's most distinctive features, and improves the tank's survivability by absorbing shots from the front, protecting the crew. However, it also increases the risk of engine failure and fire. The Merkava boasts a powerful gun, a thermal sight, and excellent survivability, aided by its LWS and numerous smoke grenades, but low mobility compared to many Western tanks.
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 60 mm (67-76°) Front glacis 60 - 90 mm (30-57°) Lower glacis |
50 + 10 mm Top 50 + 10 mm Bottom |
30 mm (12-44°) mm | 20 - 30 mm |
| Turret | 30 - 65 mm (1-71°) Turret front 100 mm (0-75°) Gun mantlet |
65 mm Upper turret armour 65 mm (0-60°) Lower turret armour |
65 mm (11° - 66°) | 30 mm |
| Cupola | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30 mm |
Notes:
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 | 60 | 13 | 61 | 1,492 | 1,717 | 24.46 | 28.15 |
| Realistic | 54 | 12 | 852 | 900 | 13.97 | 14.75 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 105 mm Sharir | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 54 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
| 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 | ||
| M152 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| M156 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
| M111 | APFSDS | 337 | 335 | 330 | 322 | 314 | 306 |
| M413 | APFSDS | 408 | 405 | 398 | 389 | 379 | 370 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| M152 | HEATFS | 1,174 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1.27 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| M156 | HESH | 731 | 11.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 3.17 | 73° | 77° | 80° | |||
| M111 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 4.2 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M413 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 3.79 | - | - | - | 78° | 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) |
| M416 | 732 | 11.6 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
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| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | 31 (+23) | 7 (+47) | 1 (+53) | No |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 1,000 (200) | 577 | N/A | N/A |
| 7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle (loader) | 1,800 (200) | 600 | -10°/+50° | ±120° |
| Pintle (commander) | 1,800 (200) | 600 | -10°/+50° | ±120° |
| Coaxial | 6,000 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Has access to M413 that can penetrate almost anything at its BR
- The engine in the front provides extra crew protection
- Gets access to thermals
- Access to laser warning system
Cons:
- Reverse gear is slower than later models
- Underpowered engine for its weight
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, 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></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Israeli Ordnance Corps (חיל החימוש) | |
|---|---|
| Medium Tanks | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| MBTs | |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 |
| Magach 6 · Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6C · Magach 6R · Magach 6M · Gal Batash | |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet · ▄Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S |
| Merkava | ▃Merkava Mk.1 · Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D |
| Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · ▃Merkava Mk.3D · Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M | |
| Tank destroyers | Zachlam Tager |
| See Also | Chrysler Defense · Department of Tank Design · Morozov Design Bureau |
| Israel medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M-51 | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6 |
| Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6B Gal · Gal Batash · Magach 6C · Magach 6M · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra · Magach 7C | |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S · Tiran 6 |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Merkava | Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D · Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · Ra'am Sagol |
| Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M · Merkava Mk.4 LIC | |
