M47 (Japan)
| This page is about the medium tank M47 (Japan). For other versions, see M47 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
The 90 mm Gun Tank M47 Patton II is a rank V Japanese medium tank with a battle rating of 7.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Red Skies".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Cast homogeneous armour (Front hull, turret, cupola)
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, rear and roof, turret roof, cupola roof)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 101.6 mm (59°) Upper glacis 75 mm (24-76°) MG port bulge 170 mm MG port housing 40 mm MG port 90 mm (52°) Lower glacis - Top 76.2 mm (27-54°) Lower glacis - Bottom |
85 mm Top - Front 38-50.8 mm Top - Rear 25.4 mm (67°) Bottom |
60 mm Upper plate - Centre 22.2 mm (60°) Lower glacis - Centre 38-50.8 mm Sides |
22.2 mm (0-16°) 25.4 mm (spherical) Front hatches |
| Turret | 121 mm (spherical) Turret front - Centre and Bottom 101.6 mm Turret front - Top 62-74 mm Gun mantlet |
63.5 mm (22-27°) 16 mm (spherical) Optics port |
76.2-90 mm | 25.4 mm |
| Cupola | 76.2 mm (cylindrical) | 76.2 mm (conical) Outer ring 25.4 mm Centre | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 30 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 25.4 mm thick.
- Storage boxes and mudguards are 5 mm thick.
- Turret bustle rack is 15 mm thick.
At rank V, the M47 does not have suitable armour to survive direct hits from the numerous 88, 100, and 122 mm calibres fielded. Its best chance for survival is to flank enemies.
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 | 54 | 22 | 46.2 | 1255 | 1,545 | 27.16 | 33.44 |
| Realistic | 49 | 20 | 716 | 810 | 15.5 | 17.53 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm M36 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 71 | -5°/+19° | ±180° | N/A | 21.4 | 29.6 | 36.0 | 39.7 | 42.3 | 9.75 | 8.63 | 7.95 | 7.50 |
| Realistic | 21.4 | 25.2 | 30.6 | 33.8 | 36.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M318A1 shot | APBC | 193 | 190 | 177 | 162 | 148 | 136 |
| M82 shot | APCBC | 185 | 182 | 170 | 155 | 142 | 130 |
| M304 shot | APCR | 287 | 281 | 259 | 234 | 211 | 191 |
| M332 shot | APCR | 321 | 316 | 292 | 265 | 240 | 218 |
| M431 shell | HEATFS | 320 | 320 | 320 | 320 | 320 | 320 |
| M71A1 shell | 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% | |||||||
| M318A1 shot | APBC | 912 | 10.98 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| M82 shot | APCBC | 853 | 10.94 | 1.2 | 14 | 137.2 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| M304 shot | APCR | 1,021 | 7.62 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 66° | 70° | 72° |
| M332 shot | APCR | 1,249 | 5.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 66° | 70° | 72° |
| M431 shell | HEATFS | 1,216 | 5.8 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 712.64 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| M71A1 shell | HE | 732 | 10.55 | 0 | 0.1 | 925 | 79° | 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) |
| M313 | 821 | 10.7 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 71 | 42 (+29) | 12 (+59) | 10 (+61) | 7 (+64) | 1 (+70) | No |
Notes:
- As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.
- Shells are modeled by sets of 2 and disappear from the rack after both shells in the set having been shot or loaded.
- Racks 3 to 5 are first stage ammo racks. They total 11 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- These racks are also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 4 - 5 - 1 - 2.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-6 into racks 8 then 7. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 2,200 (200) | 577 | N/A | N/A |
| Pintle | 1,000 (200) | 577 | -10°/+30° | ±180° |
The M47 (Japan) comes with 2 M2HB 0.50 cal machine guns (1 coaxial and 1 roof-mounted), providing a concentrated stream of heavy machine-gun fire to target low-flying aircraft or lightly armoured vehicles.
Usage in battles
The M47 is very much a glass cannon. With a powerful gun, but weak armour, this vehicle should be played carefully, and out of sight of the enemy. As such, it is often beneficial to use an ambush or flanking-based play style. Attacking enemies without being seen will maximize this tank's capabilities. Tankers that already have experience with the ST-A's and to the same degree the Type 61 will be very familiar with this vehicle. The armour might be somewhat stronger than the previously mentioned vehicles but for the change in BR and rank, it's just as effective and relatively weaker firepower for the tanks it will encounter at 7.3.
The stock APBC shell is quite weak compared to the shells used by the M47's enemies. While working towards the much better HEAT-FS shell, it is advisable to shoot for enemies' tracks and gun barrels if the main hull is too well protected for the APBC shell to penetrate. Doing so will help to incapacitate your enemies and support your better-armed teammates. Additionally, the M47 should never have any trouble dealing with soft targets. With two 12.7 mm machine guns in addition to the main cannon, light tanks and armoured cars can be dispatched with ease. (On a side note, these machine guns can be used to spot enemy targets, alerting your team to their presence.)
Once the HEAT-FS shell is unlocked, the M47 may be played more like a classic medium tank. There will be few vehicles that the upgraded shell cannot penetrate. It is recommended to play near friendly vehicles, in case support is needed--even with an upgraded shell, the M47 is not a lone wolf, and will suffer without the backup of its allies.
The M47 has above-average mobility, and achieving flanking positions should not pose too much difficulty. However, the tank does have a high-profile, making it easily spotted. Combined with the vehicle's poor armour, this makes it especially important to stay out of the enemy's sight.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good mobility, same handling as the M46
- Great turret traverse speed once upgraded
- Decent front armour, more sloped than the M46
- 320 mm HEATFS ammunition once unlocked
Cons:
- Overall bad armour for Rank V matches, especially in the turret
- The gun is not very good with stock ammo, recommended to unlock HEATFS as soon as possible
- Mobility is limited or even rather poor until modifications are purchased.
- Bad gun depression of -5°
History
As Japan started redeveloping its military in the form of the JSDF (Japanese Self Defence Forces). While it was previously issued with surplus Shermans, Chaffees and other American equipment, the JGSDF (Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces) would want to step up in tank development as the communist threat in Korea started looming over Japan. They would attempt to get their hands on the new American tank that would be the staple of the cold war, the M47 'Patton II' but assembly lines would be backlogged with foreign orders primarily from West Germany.
With this situation, the JGSDF started prototyping with the ST-A series to work towards the Type 61. During development, a single M47 'Patton II' was eventually sent to Japan for comparison to its domestic ST-A models. It isn't for certain when this vehicle arrived in Japan but it's high likely to be in between the completion of the ST-A1/2 (1957) and the development of the ST-A3/4 (1960).
After Japan was done with prototyping and adopted the Type 61, the M47 lost its purpose and it was sent to be scrapped. However, it was saved by a private collector as the tank was obtained before it could be destroyed. While this may not have been the original collector as it is never specified, it ended up in the private collection of Nakata Shoten Shop, located in one of their warehouses, in the Tokyo Metropolis along with several other vehicles used as evaluation models and service vehicles: an M37 HMC, an M36 GMC, an M41, and an M59 APC. While it's likely the other tanks also had been deactivated due to weapons being banned, at least for the M47 it is known that it can no longer move or fire. This was due to numerous changes including: the breech being cut, the transmission and engine have been removed, and there are many 10 centimetre-wide hulls that had been drilled into the floor of the tanks.
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
| Japan medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| Type 97 | Chi-Ha · Chi-Ha Kai · Chi-Ha Kai TD · Chi-Ha Short Gun |
| Type 1 | Chi-He · Chi-He (5th Regiment) · Ho-I |
| Type 3 | Chi-Nu · Chi-Nu II |
| Type 4 | Chi-To · Chi-To Late |
| Type 5 | Chi-Ri II |
| Type 61 MBT | ST-A1* · ST-A2* · ST-A3* · Type 61 |
| Type 74 MBT | ST-B2* · Type 74 (C) · Type 74 (E) · Type 74 (F) · Type 74 (G) |
| Type 90 MBT | Type 90 · Type 90 (B) · Type 90 (B) "Fuji" |
| Type 10 MBT | TKX (P)* · TKX* · Type 10 |
| Other | Ka-Chi |
| USA | ▅M4A3 (76) W · ▅M47 |
| *Prototype | |
