M64

M64

M64

China

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.3	6.0	6.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

Show in game

Description

The M64 is a premium gift rank IV Chinese light tank with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB) and 6.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced during Update "Winged Lions" as a reward for Battle Pass: Season VI, "Firepower".

An attempt of ROCA to build a new tank from spare M18 (China) and M42 Duster in mid-1970s, M64 served as a "domestic" alternative to their fleets of US tanks and thanks to better powerplant, it makes M64 a nimble flanker while retaining the same firepower from a Hellcat.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull12 / 12 / 12

Turret25 / 25 / 25

Crew5 people

Visibility88 %

The very first thing players will notice is the chassis — instead of the original Buick M18 GMC chassis, it was replaced by a M42 Duster one, a variant of M41 Walker Bulldog. While the overall design is small, this also means that any part of this tank other than the mantle would be an easy target for vehicles with firepower heavier than .50 HMGs, let alone autocannon with even more penetration; so M64 should never, ever try to hit the enemies up front.

The larger, yet thinner, chassis might sometimes do miracles on larger caliber guns, but do not expect it always go right through the hull and nothing more happen.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	12.7 mm Top (34°) 25.4 mm Bottom(42°)	12.7 mm	12.7 mm Top (57°) 19 mm Bottom(38°)	12.7 mm
Turret	25.4 mm Turret front 19 mm Gun mantlet	12.7 mm	12.7 mm	N/A

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB81 / 21 km/h

RB and SB73 / 19 km/h

Number of gears4 forward

2 back

Weight22.0 t

Engine power

AB954 hp

RB and SB500 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB43.4 hp/t

RB and SB22.7 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	81	21	22	775	954	35.23	43.36
Realistic	73	19		442	500	20.09	22.73

M64 was a tank assembled as a hybrid of the M18's turret on a M42 Duster chassis, which is again a M41 Walker Bulldog variant with the very same powerplant and transmission — AOS 895-3 diesel engine and CD-500 transmission. Thanks to the introduction of the original M42 chassis in 1952, this give M64 an overall higher power output at 500 hp while retaining the ability to neutral steering, making it more nimble in urban environment than the original M18 albeit the heavier weight.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB1 248

RB1 453

SB1 801

Crew training10 000

Experts250 000

Aces630

Research Aces870 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 90 / 130 / 170 %

2 × 160 / 160 / 160 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire Airstrike 76mm_usa_APCBC_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism 76mm_usa_M93_APCR_ammo_pack Artillery Support Improved optics 76mm_us_M88_Smoke_ammo_pack

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm M1 cannon

Ammunition25 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.9 → 6.1 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

76 mm M1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	25	-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	7.93	7.02	6.47	6.10
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	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
M62 shell	APCBC	149	146	133	119	106	94
M42A1 shell	HE	7	7	7	7	7	7
M79 shot	AP	134	132	121	109	99	89
M93 shot	APCR	190	186	167	146	128	112

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%
M62 shell	APCBC	792	7	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°
M42A1 shell	HE	800	5.84	0	0.1	390	79°	80°	81°
M79 shot	AP	792	6.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°
M93 shot	APCR	1,036	4.22	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°

Other than the M93 HVAP shot, which could only be found on 76 mm armed M18s in the American tech tree, the ammunitions found on M64 is identical to any other mass-produced M18 GMC.

The stock M62 shell, a common shell for M1 76 mm gun, is the go-to ammunition for M64 with its sufficient penetration at similar rank and explosive filler, a well-placed shot on enemies' ammo rack or center mass is very like the death sentence to them if not severely damaged and could not retaliate; while the other stock round, M42A1 HE, is next to useless against any vehicles with more than half an inch (12.7 mm) of armor, it might do short work of unprotected vehicles, but it is suggested to just gun them down with M2HB machine gun instead.

The first researchable round, M79 shot, is just a solid shell without any explosive filler and ironically having even less penetration over its stock counterpart, this round could be ditched as well due to it performance. The second researchable round, the M93 HVAP, while having much more penetration that all the previous rounds used on M64, it is still a HVAP/APCR in nature and thus leading to low spalling damage, as well as bad performance against sloped armour plates; but it is still suggested to bring a few HVAP in case of heavier vehicles with some flat surfaces, such as the infamous Tiger II (H) which M64 could meet when uptiered.

In case of harassing enemies or covering yourself or teammates, M64 still comes with M88 smoke shells at your disposal.

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)
M88	274	3.44	13	5	20	50

File:Ammo rack of M64.png

The fire sequence and layout of M64's ammunition

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
25	16 (+9)	8 (+17)	0 (+25)	*No

Although having the minimal survivability of being a light tank, it is still suggested to only bring 16+1 rounds to clear out the turret in case of a left side penetration from up front; but bringing full load is still viable if players are not confident with destroying enemies with each shot.

*The third rack has minor visual bug when having the very last round onboard; but it does clears out when all shells are fired.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun

Ammunition800 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

Vertical guidance-10° / 70°

Horizontal guidance-60° / 20°

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition500 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	800 (200)	577	-10°/+70°	-60°/+20°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	300 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

While M64 retained the M2HB from M18, ROCA welded a coaxial mount and installed additional M1919A4 machine gun; both good for gunning down exposed crew and lightly armored targets (for M2HB), and sometimes strafing aircraft in dire situation.

Usage in battles

Thanks to the fusing of M18's turret onto a M42 Duster's chassis, M64 retained the same firepower of M18 while having the mobility of a M41's variant. While having higher horsepower than the original M18 and comes with neutral steering, it is also 50% heavier than M18 so it might have slightly slower speed but in most cases it would be enough for flanking enemies or rushing for vintage points; another thing that worth mentioning is that the change of chassis also reduced the wobbling effect on the gun when coming to a full stop, so your reaction time would also be shorter than in a M18.

But the change of chassis also comes at a cost — its protection. M42 chassis with 12.7 mm of armor all-around could only stop rifle caliber bullets at most, anything larger can tear it down with ease; only the mantle and turret front could stop HMG fire.

To utilize M64 to its greatest extent, flanking your enemies with its sufficient speed is the most viable way to play due to the minimal protection all round, the reload rate and the performance of its stock M62 shells could do short work against most enemies it might face; while HVAP doesn't have the best performance, it still helps in case M64 encountered tanks with flat surfaces, giving the ability to fight back in dire moments.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good mobility thanks to the M41 based powerplant
• Neutral steering
• Reduced gun wobbling when stopping, giving players a lesser reaction time
• Sufficient firepower with quick reload rate and variety of shells
• Additional coaxial MG as a spare weapon or range-finding

Cons:

• Minimal protection against HMGs and explosives

History

After retreating to Island of Taiwan due to the loss of Mainland China, ROCA was in dire need for new tanks to supplement the heavy losses of armored vehicles; newer vehicles such as M24 Chaffee and M18 GMC was among these new tanks they have purchased in early 1950s; M42 Duster was purchased later in 1958 as the military aids from the United States.

While M18 GMC proved its capability at WWII's European Theater, in late 1960s, the aging chassis and the lack of spare parts for the Wright 975 C4 radial engine became a major problem for logistics; M42 on the other hand was not efficient against the upcoming supersonic era. Thus the idea of fusing a turret from M18 with the sparse M42's chassis came into mind of Combined Service Forces (聯合勤務總司令部；aka 聯勤); in ROC Year 64 (民國64年;1975), they assembled one such tanks and dubbed Type 64 Light Tank ([國造]六四式輕戰車) and was later approved by Commander of ROCA for serial modifications, some 42 of M64s were assembled in the upcoming 3 years, first seen deployed in northern Taiwan at Hsinchu then redeployed on Penghu for defense.

As the heat of Strait Crisis has passed with Mainland's announcement to Taiwan, these M64s were soon decommissioned in 1981; the only two known examples of M64 is now displayed at Armor Training Command (陸軍裝甲兵訓練指揮部) at Hukou, Hsinchu and Camp Chenggongling (成功嶺營區) at Wu'ri, Taichung City.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the M64 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Battle Pass: Firepower discusses the M64 at 02:14 - War Thunder Official Channel

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] Battle Pass vehicles: M64

Ordnance Research Development Center, ROCA (陸軍兵工整備發展中心)
Light tanks	M41D · M64
Medium tanks	CM11
Tank destroyers	CM25