M4A1 (FL10)

M4A1 (FL10)

M4A1 (FL10)

France

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	5.0	5.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:2 980

Show in game

STORE

This page is about the French premium tank M4A1 (FL10). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation).

Description

The Sherman M4A1 tourelle FL10 is a gift rank III French medium tank with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB) and 5.0 (RB/SB). This medium tank was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It combines the turret of the AM-13 (BR 6.0) with the hull of the M4A1 Sherman (BR 3.3) and therefore epitomizes the glass cannon role at a BR of 4.7.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour is generally inadequate for BR 4.7, as it uses the M4A1 hull from 3.3. Turret shots will typically knock out both your breech and the two crew there, hull shots will typically send you right back to the hangar.

Mobility

Fairly decent mobility due to the Sherman chassis with an upgraded engine. Flanking is possible and rewarding.

Armaments

Main armament

The gun is fantastic, capable of penetrating everything in its BR spread (3.7-5.7) frontally, except for some higher BR German casemate tank destroyers and the Sherman Jumbo. The autoloader enables firing every 5 seconds, even with only a skeleton crew left.

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

Usage in battles

Depending on the layout of the map, match battle rating and player's own playstyle the FL10 can be used as a sniper, a flanker or a close-quarter brawler. Details about playstyles are as follows:

Sniper

• Using FL10 as a sniper is a conservative, but commonly rewarding playstyle. The FL10 boasts a highly potent 76 mm cannon, with an equally impressive round, capable of penetrating 180+ mm of steel equivalent. Given the fast reload of the cannon due to the use of the autoloader, it is possible to perform quick follow-up shots on target at range. This tactic is recommended in matches where it is possible to position oneself in a good position early in the match (e.g. overlooking a point). Be wary of the gun's average depression, however, as this will require to expose the hull during firing.

Flanker

• Depending on your knowledge of the map and likely enemy routes, FL10 can be effectively used as a flanker. The FL10 inherits a relatively mobile chassis of an M4 medium tank making some flanking maneuvres possible. In this role, FL10 can be used to assume an ambush position on the flanks. It is important to note, that FL10 is not the most agile vehicle at its battle rating, however, provided a good early-game position, fast reload and good penetration it can effectively engage an enemy from the flanks and counter enemy flankers. It is advised to retreat immediately if you're spotted as FL10 is unlikely to withstand being fired upon due to mediocre armour and 4 crew members.

Brawler

• Using FL10 as a close-quarter brawler is a high risk/high reward tactic that is likely to result in either multiple kills or an early return to the hangar. It is important to fire the first shot on the enemy, as, given the poor armour of the tank, you are commonly unable to withstand even one hit. Here, it is advised to disable the enemy's gun/turret first to prevent them from returning fire. It is important to note, that FL10 lacks the stabiliser found on the American Sherman counterparts, putting the player at a further disadvantage when fighting in close quarters.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good penetration and excellent rate of fire
• Improved engine makes for decent mobility
• Smoke grenades
• The best shell is free (like many later French tanks)

Cons:

• Lackluster reverse speed; disengaging from the fight if damaged or out of ammunition can be difficult
• Oscillating turret means that from a full stop, the M4A1 (FL10) usually takes longer to level the gun compared to conventional turrets
• Poor turret elevation makes engaging aeroplanes difficult
• Poor armour and only 4 crew
• Vulnerable to .50 cal ground target belts through the turret roof armor

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 an 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.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as 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

• [Devblog] M4A1 FL10 - The Charming Sherman