M4A1 (75) W (China)

␗M4A1 (75) W

␗T-34 (1943)

␗Т-34-85 (S-53)

␗M4A1 (75) W

␗T-34 (1943)

␗Т-34-85 (S-53)

China

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	4.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:13 000

Purchase:76 000

Show in game

Description

The ␗Medium Tank M4A1 (75) W Sherman is a rank III Chinese medium tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour layout of the M4A1 (75) W is identical to that of M4A1 (76) W, turret- and hull-wise. Taking out a M4A1 (75) W is not a difficult task to do for most cannons it will face. It can take a few hits from Pz IIIs that are equipped with KwK39 (50 mm), Shermans equipped with M3 (75 mm) and T-34 and KV-1's equipped with the L-11 (76 mm) that will have a difficulty for reliable penetration on the M4A1 (75) W's armour. Meanwhile most guns above 3.7 battle rating will penetrate the armour with ease. However, even up-gunned tanks can have a hard time penetrating it with the sloped armour the M4A1 models are shaped with.

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	6	32.7	713	763	21.8	23.33
Realistic	39	6		407	400	12.45	12.23

The M4A1 (75) W (China) has got a decent speed of 38 km/h (42 km/h AB), with a relative bad acceleration that makes it an easy prey for enemy vehicles when it have just started its movement. The reverse speed of 4 km/h (5 km/h AB) would make it important to not peek too much outside of cover. Even though it have a relative bad acceleration, it can still move its hull relative fast to throw off incoming shells. The narrow tracks on the tank gives it a hard time to get a good grip on soft soil when in movement, making movement more efficient when on solid ground or road when wanting to move it around.

Armaments

Main armament

75 mm M3					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	71	-10°/+25°	±180°	Vertical	22.8	40.0	__._	__._	__._	6.5	__.__	__.__	5.0
Realistic					14.3	21.3	__._	__._	24.0

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
M48 shell	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
M61 shot	APCBC	104	101	90	78	68	59
M72 shot	AP	91	88	78	67	57	49

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Normalisation at 30° from horizontal	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
M48 shell	HE	463	6.3	0.4	0.5	666	+0.0°	79°	80°	81°
M61 shot	APCBC	618	6.79	1.2	14.0	63.7	+4.0°	48°	63°	71°
M72 shot	AP	619	6.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1.0°	47°	60°	65°

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)
M89	259	3.0	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
71	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Optics

M4A1 (75) W (China) Optics
	Default magnification	Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics	X4.4	X5.0

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt capacity)	Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
Pintle	600 (200)	576	-10°/+30°	±60°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt capacity)	Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

Similar to the other 75mm Sherman's at battle rating 3.7, it got a decent gun to take out most enemy opponent even when uptiered, The tank can handle itself by itself against enemies, but it's never a problem to work with your team in it, cover your allies when they are moving forward. The M4A1 (75) W has advantages over the Soviet T-34, Japanese Chi-Nu and German Pz III/IV by having a early stabilizer that makes short stop and shooting faster, but facing US or British M4's can be a problematic since they share similar armour and gun. While rival M4 tanks would not be a threat to a seasoned player, they can prove a nuisance to beginners.

The M4A1 (75) W has got an effective frontal armour for most common enemies you will face between battle ratings 2.7 to 3.7 in a downtier, but the armour is relative weak against some battle rating 3.7 to most 4.7 enemies that can be faced in an uptier. Enemies that should be prioritized in deadliness are mainly tank destroyers like the M10, Achilles, Jagdpanzer's and SU-85 since their guns will slice the M4A1's armour like butter and demolish the tank, while the tank destroyers can be difficult to take out with the M4A1's 75 mm cannon from the front.

When facing these dangerous enemies, it is best to move around them and flank their sides, especially since these vehicles like the Jagdpanzer IV's have thick enough sloped armour that makes the 75mm M3 inefficient against the front plate. The M4A1's slow acceleration can make this a difficult task to do in Realistic Battle, but it will be easier in Arcade with the enhanced engine power, so it's easier to flank enemies.

Enemies worth noting:

M4A2 / A4: these Sherman tanks are widely used by over 3 nations that spread across both the Allied and the Axis side, so no matter which nation you play they can be quite tough to destroy in the hands of a skilled tanker. Given the rather weak penetration of your short 75mm gun, their hull can be almost impossible to penetrate when angled, hull down or 300m away. For a M4A4, there are 2 apparent bulges on the upper front plate, a penetration through there is a guaranteed kill most of the times. But in case the opponent covers them up or when it's a M4A2, aim for the middle parts of the gun mantlet or the turret armor unprotected by the mantlet, you can at least make them defenseless. Note that their guns are equally weak against you, so wiggle around to disrupt their aim while you reload, you have a good chance of bouncing some shells.

KV I C 756 (r):

A vehicle that the M4 Sherman will have trouble against is this German KV-1. While the L-11 is underpowered, the ZiS-5 is potent enough to punch through the Sherman's front, and the Sherman is unable to penetrate the KV-1's thick armour especially with its add-on armour plates. If this heavy tank is encountered and it's angling the hull, aim at the gun mantlet as it is only 50 mm thick. You can knock out its gunner easily. Or shoot at the thin cupola, there's also some chance to kill the gunner. Of course, the best way is to shoot at its sides and rear without any angle, where its armour is unsloped, though it will still have to be at a close range to penetrate the armour. In addition, shots to the sides will most likely hit fuel tanks or ammunition storage, causing a fire or ammunition detonation and at best, time to reassess the situation.

Churchill I, Churchill III, Pz.Kpfw. Churchill:

The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to kill at range. Again, manoeuvre as close to them as possible, the ideal distance being no more than 200 m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89 mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armour, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.

Pz.IV F2/G/H/J:

The historical nemesis of any Sherman, the Panzer IV is one of the Sherman's biggest threats at this rank. The long barrel 75 mm gun will easily penetrate the Sherman from the front. The F2 variant is admittedly easy to deal with. A single APCBC to its hull or turret should end it pretty quickly, even at long range. The other variants are slightly harder to deal with. They have thicker hull armour, at 80 mm, which will be much harder to penetrate with the APCBC over 500 m. Luckily the turret armour remains the same at 50 mm. Either aim here with APCBC or sacrifice damage potential and use the AP round to penetrate the hull.

StuG III F/G:

Another historical nemesis of the Sherman, and another big threat. The StuG III packs the same punch as the Panzer IV line with its long barrel 75 mm gun, whilst losing the turret, which turns out to be both an advantage and a disadvantage. Lacking a turret means that it will have to traverse the whole vehicle to target an enemy, but it also means that it has a lower profile. The StuG's armour profile is also more complex than the Panzer IV, with less flat areas. Certain areas are sloped and very bouncy. Luckily, there is a big weak spot. There are two flat plates on the front of the hull. The flat plate on the right is the drivers port. Shoot that and you are able to kill the driver, gunner and loader in one go. This is a very efficient way to destroy this vehicle. With the F variant, you can use APCBC to instantly one-shot this vehicle. With the G variant, it is more reliable to use AP at ranges within 500 m to ensure penetration.

R3 T20 FA-HS:

This speedy wheeled vehicle can circle around you with ease and wipe out all your crew with its fast firing autocannon. In a close encounter, never expose your side to it, and do not even angle your hull. Face your hull directly to the R3, because on each side of the cast hull, above the inducer wheel there is a triangular area that blends and connects the upper front plate to the side. By angling the hull, this triangle becomes unangled to the R3, making it easily penetrated, and the driver / gunner will usually get knocked out first. It is harder for the R3 to penetrate your unangled hull thus giving you more time to react and destroy it.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	M61 shot
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support	M89

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Sloped hull armour and thick frontal turret can deflect quite some shells sometimes.
• APCBC shell is pretty effective against common opponents like the Pz.IV series and early Shermans.
• Vertical stabiliser allows the tank to fire on the move, or shoot first in a sudden encounter.
• Fast turret traverse, easily deal with enemies from multiple directions.
• Relatively fast reload of about 5 seconds.
• Great mountain warfare capacities due to its 10° gun depression and 90+mm gun mantlet.
• HMG can effectively damage light vehicles (M18, VFW) or low-flying aircraft.
• Wet ammo stowage reduces chance of being ammo-racked

Cons:

• Narrow tracks give it awkward turning speed.
• 38 mm side is weak, even rank I vehicles can penetrate
• Short gun creates low shell velocity and curved trajectory. Requires better aiming at long range or with moving targets
• High profile compared to other medium tanks it faces
• Armour can't resist tanks like Pz.IV G or 76mm Sherman

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

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, 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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.

China medium tanks
ZTZ59	Type 59 · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1
ZTZ69	Type 69 · Type 69-IIa
ZTZ88/96	ZTZ88A · ZTZ88B
	ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P)
ZTZ99	ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III
ZTZ99A	ZTZ99A · WZ1001(E) LCT
Export series	MBT-2000 · VT4A1
ROC	CM11
Other	Т-34-85 Gai · Object 122MT "MC"
Bangladesh	T-69 II G
Japan	␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai
Pakistan	Al-Khalid-I
USA	␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ␗M48A1 · ␗M60A3 TTS
USSR	␗T-34 (1943) · ␗Т-34-85 (S-53) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545