TCM-20
Contents
Description
The TCM-20 was the modification of M3 half-truck with TCM-20 turret by IDF. This was likely a field modification done by Israeli during their early days with sparse military equipment where they would have to used decade-old vehicles as the chassis to modify with a TCM-20 turret, including captured 6x6 trucks, BTR-152 and aided M3 half-truck; the TCM-20 turret itself was an upgraded M55 Quadmount turret (M45 turret on M20 trailer) with 2 Hisapano Hs.404 20 mm autocannons for better firepower. The lack of documents on the introduction of these modified vehicles make it hard to trace the history of them but they were likely been replaced by more advanced M163 VADS (Hovet) with radar rangefinder by 1975.
Introduced in Update "Fire and Ice" alongside with the Israeli tech-tree's SPAA, players will soon find similarities with M13 GMC in service with US Army. But upon closer look, these .50 cal HMGs are replaced by two 20 mm HS.404 autocannons, further enhancing its firepower against aircrafts or sometimes suppressing ground targets if needed.
General info
Survivability and armour
M3 half-truck has been a staple of US Army since 1940s as one of the most widely-used half-truck during the WWII alongside with Wehrmacht's Sdkfz series; these vehicles are universal chassis which could be converted for different missions i.e. anti-aircraft. In Israeli's case, the overall appearance of TCM-20 is very similar to M13 GMC but the larger guns and additional .30 cal M1919A4 gives its identity away. To put its protection in simple words: the vehicle is not even rated for rifle-caliber firearms at close distance. The thickest armor plate is the windshield but do not expect it will stop HMG from afar, although the engine block will absorb oncoming fire when head-on with enemies, in most cases - never, ever run into enemy fire lines or being preyed by aircrafts as these will end your career quickly; do also beware of high explosive shells or shrapnel, sometimes even close-calls could bring an end to TCM-20.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 6.35 mm (28-83°) 12.7 mm (1-27°) Driver windshield |
6.35 mm | 6.35 mm | N/A |
| Turret | 6.35 mm (0-77°) Turret front | 6.35 mm | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
- Tracks are 15 mm thick
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, with the bogie being 10 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 6.35 mm thick.
Mobility
M3 half-trucks shares the same White 160AX petrol engine which could output up-to 148 hp and the transmission could ensure its mobility both forwards and backwards; it can still retain the speed of all-wheel vehicles while crossing complicated terrains with ease.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 83 | 19 | 10 | 210 | 282 | 21 | 28.2 |
| Realistic | 76 | 18 | 131 | 148 | 13.1 | 14.8 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
The modified M55 turret (now called TCM-20) houses two HS. 404 20 mm autocannon, if the name does ring the bell in player's brain, this is also the gun used on French M.B.157 at the very same configuration and ammo count. It can be said that TCM-20 is a M.B.157 on wheels and tracks, thanks to the flat ballistic of HS.404, players will soon get in hand of the performance of the cannons; not only it can take out aircrafts as it been intended on different platforms, this also make sure light vehicles will have to think twice before appearing in front of a TCM-20, the rate of fire and penetration will make sure they will not get away with ease.
| 20 mm HS.404 (x2) | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 720 (60) | 700 | -10°/+90° | ±180° | N/A | 63.4 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | 3.9 | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Realistic | 42.8 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | |||||||||
Ammunition
- Default: AP-T · HEF-I · AP-T
- HET: HEFI-T · HEF-I · HEF-I
- APT: AP-T
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | ||||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| AP-T | 38 | 35 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 5 | |
| HEF-I | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| HEFI-T | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| AP-T | 830 | 0.14 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | ||||
| HEF-I | 838 | 0.12 | 0 | 0.1 | 6 | - | - | - | ||||
| HEFI-T | 838 | 0.12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 5 | 79° | 80° | 81° | ||||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
To compensate for the lack of continuous firepower against infantry, TCM-20 installed a M1919A4 for the commander to suppress enemies; while it is nowhere harmful to enemy armored vehicles, there might be some occasions where enemies have exposed crews and the .30 cal could make short work of them.
| 7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Commander | 1,000 (250) | 500 | -10°/+10° | -10°/+10° |
Usage in battles
For players who have player M13 GMC in US tech-tree, it can be said that TCM-20 is an successor to M13 to some extent, especially its iconic twin gun configuration. However, when enemy aircrafts get too close, they will find out the major difference: they would soon be shattered by the 20 mm HS.404 autocannons, recalling the memories from being chased by aircrafts with these cannons. Such "upgrade" is very welcomed as 20 mm caliber is still more than enough to take out strafing fighters with ease, with overall 720 rounds onboard at 120 rounds per load, if players get used to the relatively straight ballistics and not being trigger-happy, the overall efficiency could be on-par with other SPAAs in other tech trees with their respective advantages. Most of all, the M3 chassis ensured TCM-20 could get to where it is needed as soon as possible thanks to its 72 km/h top speed, making it a viable option to flank enemies in some occasions; while the 13 km/h reverse speed could still make sure it can retreat to cover if masses of enemies/menacing aircrafts rushing to where the vehicle is. As said, TCM-20 is still a half-truck based SPAAG with minimal protection; in fact rifle-caliber firearms can harm the crew at around 200 m from the sides, let along HMGs and autocannons at even higher penetration, so be extra careful on where players should appear - rushing or running into heated frontline is certainly a death sentence to TCM-20. Overall, TCM-20 is still a good AA half-truck to handle different types of vehicles, whether it's on wheels, tracks or flying ones.
All things aside, there is an rare problem for most tech-trees in-game, but now exclusive to Israel: although it has BR at 4.3 (all modes), but due to the lack of lower tier WWII vehicles, TCM-20 will be at least at BR 6.0 alongside with M-51 Sherman; most vehicles at this tier will have side armor with at least 50 mm protection, at only 42 mm penetration at point-blank range, hunting down medium tanks is not an option in this case. So pick the target wisely when you opt to flank enemies - pick either SPAAGs or light tanks in this case to maximize damage; alternatively finding covers and wait for aerial targets to get close enough to deliver fatal blow to them.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Devastating 20 mm autocannon which works well against aircrafts
- Rather mobile, can swiftly changes its position if needed
- Quick turret traverse speed for target acquisition
- Spare .30 cal machine gun for occasion unprotected crews of enemy vehicles
Cons:
- Lightly protected up to rifle caliber firearms, also prone to overpressure
- Relatively small ammo pool per load (60 per gun)
- Insufficient penetration due to the battle rating
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
- Skins
See also
External links
| Israel anti-aircraft vehicles | |
|---|---|
| Half-track | TCM-20 |
| M163 derivatives | Hovet · Machbet · Imp.Chaparral |
| Captured | ZSU-57-2 · ZSU-23-4 |
