Magach 3 (ERA)

This page is about the premium Israeli medium tank Magach 3 (ERA). For other versions, see Magach (Family).

Magach 3 (ERA)

Magach 3 (ERA)

Israel

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:8 560

Show in game

Description

The Magach 3 (ERA) is a premium rank V Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".

In a sense, the Magach 3 is a combination of features between the Magach 1 and Magach 2 along with the Magach 6. Sharing the rounded cast hull shape of the Magach 1 and 2 hull chassis and a rounded turret housing the 105 mm M68 gun. However, unlike the usual Magach 6, the Magach 3 has the M60 engine installed and its engine grilles and exhausts on the rear are similar to that of the Magach 6.

Features exclusive to the Magach 3 are plentiful however. From the front, smoke grenade launchers can be seen on the gun mantlet sides, with a total of 20 smoke grenades that could be launched. On the turret roof, the prominent commander's cupola infamous on the M48, M60, and some other Magach designs has been replaced with the Urdan design, which has a drastically smaller profile at the expense of the commander's 12.7 mm machine gun. In its place, a 7.62 mm Browning on a pintle-mount is available on the roof.

More prominently throughout the Magach 3 are mountings for the Blazer ERA on the hull front, turret front, and turret sides. More than likely however, these mountings on the battlefield would be covered by the Blazer ERA which would fill up the Magach 3 profile with large blocks running vertically throughout the design.

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull110 / 76 / 30

Turret130 / 76 / 51

Crew4 people

Visibility115 %

The Magach 3 has good frontal armour, but it cannot be relied on all of the time. Make sure to not expose the rear or sides of the tank and turret. These are weakest parts and if hit is likely to end the tank. Most of the crew is in the turret and a shot there will almost always be deadly.

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Front hull, Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Side, Rear, Roof)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	85-200 mm (59-74°) Front glacis 63-200 mm (13-60°) Lower glacis	76 mm (0-44°) Front 51 mm (0-44°) Rear	30 mm (0-3°) Top 25 mm (26-59°) Bottom	57 mm Front 20 mm Rear
Turret	105-128 mm (6-71°) Turret front 152 mm (3-28°) Gun mantlet	66-97 mm (2-46°)	45-50 mm (4-55°) 25.4 mm (70-71°) Turret underside	24-65 mm
Cupola	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm	30 mm

Special armour*	Kinetic	Chemical
ERA	5 mm	260 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 38 mm in the front and 25 mm in the rear.
• Rangefinder device on the turret sides count as 127 mm cast armour.
• ERA can be attached on turret and front hull via modification.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB54 / 9 km/h

RB and SB48 / 9 km/h

Number of gears6 forward

2 back

Weight49.9 t

Engine power

AB1 431 hp

RB and SB750 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB28.7 hp/t

RB and SB15.0 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	54	9	49.9	_,___	1,431	__.__	28.68
Realistic	48	9		_,___	750	__.__	15.03

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB3 150

RB3 584

SB4 896

Crew training10 000

Experts550 000

Aces1 300

Research Aces1 600 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 140 / 210 / 240 %

2 × 208 / 208 / 208 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment Magach-3 "Blazer" Smoke grenade	Horizontal Drive Rangefinder Adjustment of Fire 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism 105mm_us_M416_Smoke_ammo_pack Artillery Support 105mm_usa_HEAT_FS_ammo_pack

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm M68 cannon

Ammunition57 rounds

First-order22 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-9° / 19°

105 mm M68					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	57	-9°/+19°	±180°	N/A	22.85	31.62	38.40	42.47	45.18	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					14.28	16.80	20.40	22.56	24.00

Ammunition

• M392A2 APDS (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) is capable of easily penetrating the majority of the foes it meets, but these rounds do require finesse as to their placing. Because the shell lacks an explosive filler, the best bet is to try and either knock out the majority of the enemy tank's crew, or to destroy the enemy by ammo or fuel detonation through hitting their respective storage capacities. This, of course, requires knowledge about the vehicles the Magach may face - so be sure to use the game's X-Ray view in the hangar and analyse the potential foes for their weak spots! Also keep in mind that with increased armour thickness the amount of shrapnels shrinks.

• M156 HESH (High-Explosive Squash-Head) works very differently than other shell-types. It ignores any angle, except for ricochet and deals damage by metal-flakes which are blown off inside the armour by the exterior explosion. Basically the fighting compartment is showered in metal rain. Currently only true armour thickness (opposed to line of sight thickness) will provide sufficient means of protection, benefitting the USSR turret designs and in general German tanks. Like all high-explosive shells the fuse is very sensitive and can be set-off by most objects e.g. fences, trees, pillars.

• M152 HEATFS (High-Explosive Anti Tank Fin Stabilised): The knowledge of enemy vehicle layouts gained from the stock shell (M392A2), will be handy to use for the Magach's fullest potential - as the M152 is a round that can penetrate most vehicle's armour frontally. Like the APDS shot, increased armour thickness results in reduced amount of shrapnels after penetration. Unlike APDS it has one downside: Given that it is a chemical energy round, its fuse is highly sensitive in regards to its practical application in battle. As a result, virtually anything, such as trees or even a fence, will set it off prematurely, so the HEATFS round cannot fire through obstructions with this kind.

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
M392A2	APDS	303	302	296	277	257	252
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400

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%
M392A2	APDS	1,478	4	N/A	N/A	N/A	75°	78°	80°
M156	HESH	732	14.85	0.1	4	4,310	73°	77°	80°
M152	HEATFS	1,173	10.5	0.05	0.1	1,270	65°	72°	77°

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	730	11.4	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
57	47 (+10)	32 (+25)	23 (+34)	7 (+50)	1 (+56)	No

Machine guns

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun

Ammunition1 250 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm M73 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition6 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

Both machine guns are rifle caliber and are not much help against ground targets, even light ones. They are however somewhat useful in the role of lightly damaging enemy helicopters and aircraft.

7.62 mm M73
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,200 (250)	500	-15°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	5,950 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

To use this tank effectively do not charge straight into battle, instead, go around. Use the terrain, make it harder to be identifiable by selecting the appropriate camouflage and navigate using the map. To flank, the opponents from the sides or the rear, use a flanking tactic to surprise the enemy tankers and destroy them. However, do not let the Magach 3 be seen and the longer it can stay hidden, the higher the chances of finding more tanks off guard and surviving the match. Try to attack from long distances: The Magach 3 has a very powerful and accurate cannon. This can be equipped with some of the most lethal ammunition in the game. It will turn the biggest and most powerful tanks into blazing wrecks.

The Magach 3 looks similar to the T-54 series of tanks an unskilled T-54 player will pause for a short amount of time to identify the tank. This will give the tank extra time to angle the tank and to calculate a perfect shot and destroy vital parts of the enemy tank. Do not expose/show the rear of the tank as this will give away the Magach 3 immediately since the rear does not resemble a T-54 and is one of the weakest places on this tank.

Playing on maps which have villages, towns, and city centres modelled, such as Poland, Advance to the Rhine, Normandy etc. These require a more specific tactic to survive in these locations as being flanked and not knowing about it until it's too late is very common. A good way of preventing this while using a Magach tank is to not enter the urban environment. In these environments, the Magach 3 will be normally too close for the armour to work as effectively. However, if going around the sides of the town and move in and out of streets, this will prevent the enemy team to predict where the Magach will go. The Magach, once upgraded, offers some of the best handling in the game, use that as an advantage in narrow and congested streets.

When engaging with other medium tanks, the Magach 3 offers an excellent gun which can dominate any other medium tank. If the HEATFS is unlocked, the Magach will be able to terminate any tank with one hit most of the time. The closer to the enemy tank, the higher the odds of ending it with an instant termination. When using HESH rounds, do not hit the sides of the enemy tank, it won't really do much damage. However, when the enemy has exposed the front, especially the Upper Glacis of the tank, using the HESH rounds will cause a lot of damage to the Crew and could also end that tank in one shot. Examples are the T-54's, IS-3 and IS-4Ms. Against T-10Ms, its not that reliable because of spaced armour.

Make sure to not expose the rear or sides of the tank and turret. These are weakest parts and if hit is likely to end the tank.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• E.R.A. provides some extra protection from Sabot and HEAT rounds
• Removal of the tall commander's cupola on the M48A1 Patton = slightly lower silhouette
• Hard-hitting and accurate 105 mm L7 gun
• Very accurate gun at long ranges when upgraded
• Good stock shell (APDS)
• HEATFS and HESH shells available
• Decent turning capability
• Very good stock turret transverse speed
• Great off-road speed (but not as great compared to Leopards and T-10Ms)
• Front hull reliable against most Rank IV & a few Rank V tanks

Cons:

• Sides are only 41 mm thick, they can be penetrated easily
• Gun mantlet is 152 mm thick with little sloping, can easily be penetrated even by lower-tier tanks
• Turret ring can be penetrated by enemy rounds
• Front is vulnerable to HEAT and the most powerful APHE (T-10M, Maus) at close range
• No shells with HE core
• Gun can't depress over the engine bay; makes it difficult to combat flankers.
• E.R.A. doesn't help against regular AP rounds

History

During the 1960s and '70s, Israel purchased a number of M48 and M60 tanks from West Germany and later the USA. These tanks and their subsequent upgraded versions were named Magach. The first two Magach tanks were for the most part "stock" versions Israel initially received, without any significant retrofits. However, the first wave of major upgrades became visible with the Magach 3. This version intended to upgrade the Israeli M48s to the A4 standard, following the Six-Day-War of 1967. The Magach 3 introduced several major improvements over the previous versions, including the replacement of the 90 mm with the L7 105 mm cannon, an improved diesel engine and transmission as well as a low-profile commanders cupola, just to name a few.

During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel suffered heavy tank losses at the hands of entrenched Egyptian infantry on the Sinai peninsula. After the war, the Israeli tank force was more than halved. Once a critical vulnerability was discovered with the location of the highly flammable hydraulic fluid of the Magach tanks, the decision was made to replace the losses sustained in the previous war with newer Magach 5 and 6 tanks during the 1970s. The newer Magach tanks would introduce more improvements over time that further tailored their performance to the IDF's needs, but that's a story for another day. The Magachs remained the frontline MBT of the IDF until the '80s and '90s until they were gradually being replaced by Israel's new domestically designed Merkava tank. By 2006, all Megachs were decommissioned from active service.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Magach 3 (ERA) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #91 - Metal Beasts section at 00:23 discusses the Magach 3.

Premium Vehicles: Magach 3 - War Thunder Wiki

The Patton Family discusses the Magach 3 (ERA) at 7:33 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

• Gal Batash - Most modern and upgraded Magach
• Magach (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.