Difference between revisions of "Merkava Mk.2B"
(→Machine guns) |
(New Description Project - Israel Priority: Tanks - Merkava Mark 2B) (Tag: Visual edit) |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
== Description == | == Description == | ||
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the ground vehicle in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | ||
| − | The ''' | + | The '''Merkava Mark 2B''' is the first subvariant of the Merkava Mark 2, which is the second variant of the [[Merkava (Family)|Merkava main battle tank family]]. The Merkava Mark 2 variant has significant enhancements over the [[Merkava Mk.1B|Merkava Mark 1B variant]]. In comparison to its predecessor, the Merkava Mark 2 variant has enhanced armour protection, a new transmission, and more fuel capacity. The Merkava Mark 2 was first manufactured in 1983, and it was last produced in 1989. There were 580 units constructed in total. The Merkava Mark 2 saw service in several local battles, where it performed well. Even though it is outdated, this tank is still in limited use. In 2016, the final Merkava Mark 2 tank was moved to reserve units. Most of the remaining tanks are currently in storage. These might potentially be modified to become armoured personnel carriers. Outside of Israel, the Merkava Mark 2 was never exported. It was one of the most protected tanks in the world at the time of its introduction. It employs spaced armour and provides better armour protection than its predecessor. The tank has an unusual layout, with the engine located in front for enhanced crew protection. The Merkava's turret is also distinctive in shape. Chains with metal balls were added to the Merkava Mark 2's turret rear to provide additional protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). This basic method proved to be effective during testing. The tank comes standard with NBC protection and automatic fire extinguishing equipment. Compared to the standard Merkava Mark 2, the Merkava Mark 2B includes thermal imaging equipment for the gunner. Minor changes were also made to the fire-control system. |
| + | |||
| + | Introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]], the Merkava Mark 2B retains the unique tank design created in Israel. During battles, locating targets is much easier now with thermal imaging equipment for the gunner. To improve crew protection, some composite armour screens are installed throughout the tank, primarily in the turret. In general, the Merkava Mark 2B resembles the Merkava Mark 1B, with good frontal turret armour that can survive a wide range of ammunition. The hull, on the other hand, is not as impressive as the turret. Most tank ammunition will easily penetrate the frontal hull. | ||
== General info == | == General info == | ||
| Line 146: | Line 148: | ||
;Skins | ;Skins | ||
| + | |||
* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=il_merkava_mk_2b_early Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | * [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=il_merkava_mk_2b_early Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.] | ||
| Line 154: | Line 157: | ||
;Related development | ;Related development | ||
| + | |||
* [[Merkava (Family)]] | * [[Merkava (Family)]] | ||
** [[Merkava Mk.2B (USA)]] | ** [[Merkava Mk.2B (USA)]] | ||
Revision as of 07:23, 2 September 2023
| This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.2B. For other versions, see Merkava (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Merkava Mark 2B is the first subvariant of the Merkava Mark 2, which is the second variant of the Merkava main battle tank family. The Merkava Mark 2 variant has significant enhancements over the Merkava Mark 1B variant. In comparison to its predecessor, the Merkava Mark 2 variant has enhanced armour protection, a new transmission, and more fuel capacity. The Merkava Mark 2 was first manufactured in 1983, and it was last produced in 1989. There were 580 units constructed in total. The Merkava Mark 2 saw service in several local battles, where it performed well. Even though it is outdated, this tank is still in limited use. In 2016, the final Merkava Mark 2 tank was moved to reserve units. Most of the remaining tanks are currently in storage. These might potentially be modified to become armoured personnel carriers. Outside of Israel, the Merkava Mark 2 was never exported. It was one of the most protected tanks in the world at the time of its introduction. It employs spaced armour and provides better armour protection than its predecessor. The tank has an unusual layout, with the engine located in front for enhanced crew protection. The Merkava's turret is also distinctive in shape. Chains with metal balls were added to the Merkava Mark 2's turret rear to provide additional protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). This basic method proved to be effective during testing. The tank comes standard with NBC protection and automatic fire extinguishing equipment. Compared to the standard Merkava Mark 2, the Merkava Mark 2B includes thermal imaging equipment for the gunner. Minor changes were also made to the fire-control system.
Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the Merkava Mark 2B retains the unique tank design created in Israel. During battles, locating targets is much easier now with thermal imaging equipment for the gunner. To improve crew protection, some composite armour screens are installed throughout the tank, primarily in the turret. In general, the Merkava Mark 2B resembles the Merkava Mark 1B, with good frontal turret armour that can survive a wide range of ammunition. The hull, on the other hand, is not as impressive as the turret. Most tank ammunition will easily penetrate the frontal hull.
General info
Survivability and armour
The frontal armour on the Merkava Mk.2B is is overall decent in terms of protection. Its turret is compact and smaller than its counterparts at this BR, making it a difficult target to hit when hull down at range. Moreover, the shape of its turret features a complex design with extreme angles which boast high ricochet chances. This might confuse enemies who are unaccustomed to it, which might cause them to mess up their shots. But as a consequence to the turret being cramped as it is, penetrating shots at the turret's crew compartment might prove to be fatal.
The hull is not as impressive as the turret. On one hand, the lower and upper plates are rather thin, and despite the extreme angle of the upper plate, most APFSDS and chemical rounds will punch through with ease. On the other hand, the Merkava's engine and transmission are conveniently placed at the front to soak up most of the penetrating shot's energy and shrapnel, preventing it from going further into the tank and protecting the crew at the cost of temporary immobilization.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 60 mm (upper) 90 mm (lower) |
50 mm (behind composite screen) | 70-100 mm (spaced) | 30 mm |
| Turret | 65 mm Turret front 100 mm Gun mantlet |
110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) | 110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) | 30mm |
| Cupola | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30mm |
Notes:
- Side composite screens are 20 mm thick.
- The turret features sides and rear spaced armour.
- Ammo racks are stored in 5-10 mm thick rolled homogeneous armour.
- Armour plates separate the engine and transmission from the fuel tank and crew compartment.
Mobility
The Merkava Mk.2B has decent all around mobility, although it is slower than many other medium tanks at its BR. Turning bleeds speed quickly, and the reverse speed is decent at best.
| 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 | 26 | 63 | 1,492 | 1,717 | 23.68 | 27.25 |
| Realistic | 54 | 24 | 852 | 900 | 13.52 | 14.29 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Since the engine, transmission, and fuel tank are all positioned right behind the frontal hull armour and serve the role of additional protection, it is mandatory that the player prioritizes the research of parts and FPE first. Then, the player can get the NVD and LWS/LR or adjustment of fire upgrades for more accurate shots. After that, the player should focus on getting the M111, and they should use it as their main ammo type.
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 |
| 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° | |||
| 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
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | 31 (+23) | 7 (+47) | 1 (+53) | No |
Machine guns
| 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
The Merkava Mk.2B is built for urban warfare and sniping, and should be played as such roles. The armour and the equipment it features will make it a formidable foe in the battlefield. Use its compact turret to peak from unexpected locations and utilize its excellent 4-20x commander's view to spot enemies from afar.
Enemies that you must be most worried about are the Soviet T-72s and T-64B, as their frontal armour will be a difficult challenge to break through at range when they conceal their lower plate, and their guns are extremely dangerous from any range. The only viable tactic against them is to flank, but you must be very careful not to get flanked yourself, as your side armour can be easily penetrated by even SPAAs.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent hull-down capabilities
- Effective protection of its crew members
- Decent mobility to keep up with most other tanks
- Excellent 4-20x commander's view
- Comes stock with smoke grenades
Cons:
- Only has rifle-calibre machine guns, ineffective against lightly-armoured vehicles
- Engine compartment is prone to catch on fire
- Prone to getting ammoracked
- Mediocre 8x gunner zoom (commander view balances this disadvantage, but cannot substitute gunner view)
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 | |
