M109 (Israel)
| This page is about the tank destroyer M109 (Israel). For other versions, see M109 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
Israel first acquired the M109 at the end of the 1960s, and later fielded more modern versions of the M109 like the M109A1 and M109A2. The first combat seen by the vehicle was during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and while Israeli doctrine did not incentivise a predominant role for its artillery, the precision mobility of the M109 proved its effectiveness in striking enemy strategic points. In a similar way, the M109 was used during the 1982 Lebanon War. By the 2006 Lebanon War, the early M109s were all replaced with its longer range versions.
Introduced in Update "Kings of Battle", the M109 fields a very powerful HE shell in a somewhat capable cannon. The short barrel of this M109 is not the most capable at dealing with long ranges, but it is very easy to operate even for beginners. The M109 is better used as a support tank, flanking or staying behind cover and ambushing incoming enemies. Aiming for the top of the turret, the bottom of the hull, or the engine compartment are the best ideas, since the 155 mm HE shell fielded by this tank is not powerful enough to consistently penetrate tanks from the front, especially Cold War MBTs.
General info
Survivability and armour
The armour on the M109 is nearly non-existent, being surrounded by 32 mm thick aluminium alloy 5083, which effectively comes down to 13-20 mm RHA. This leaves the vehicle vulnerable to even light machine gun fire from any angle. The weakness of the armour turns into a strong-suit against AP shells that will pass straight through, unable to fuse or create enough spall to inflict major damage. Direct hits from HE and other chemical shells will most likely leave the M109 a burning wreck. The 6 crew members are pretty spaced apart in the turret, giving a plus to crew survivability.
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | ___ mm | ___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom |
___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Turret | ___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet |
___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm | ___ - ___ mm |
| Cupola | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm | ___ mm |
Notes:
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 62 | 13 | 24.1 | 575 | 773 | 23.86 | 32.07 |
| Realistic | 57 | 12 | 358 | 405 | 14.85 | 16.8 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 155 mm M126 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 28 | -3°/+75° | ±180° | - | 9.7 | 13.4 | 16.3 | 18.0 | 19.1 | 17.29 | 15.30 | 14.10 | 13.30 |
| Realistic | 6.5 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 10.3 | 11.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M107 | HE | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 |
| M107 (PF) | HE-VT | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M107 | HE | 563 | 43.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 9.14 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Proximity-fused shell details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Arming distance (m) |
Trigger radius (m) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg) |
Ricochet | |||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| M107 (PF) | HE-VT | 580 | 43.1 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 3 | 9.14 | 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) |
| M110 | 717 | 44.63 | 21 | 5 | 30 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ (+__) | __ |
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 600 (200) | 575 | -10°/+50° | ±180° |
Usage in battles
The M109 should be played as a manually-aimed artillery unit that engages enemies while they are distracted. It is important to stick close to allies and avoid being flanked by faster tanks. The M109's mobility is decent enough to allow it to get to a position in time. Acknowledging the lengthy reload time of this TD, along with the short barrel with a heavy shell and high shell drop, it is recommended to stay at a medium to short range and engage targets with one hit angles. Should one be incapable of neutralizing the enemy at once (heavy armour, bad angle, etc.), it is recommended to leave them to be finished by teammates.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Powerful 155 mm howitzer that can deal significant damage to enemy vehicles
- Can fire up to 30 km, allowing it to engage enemies from a safe distance
- The M109's mobility is decent enough to allow it to get to a position in time
- Effective against any tank
- Good unit to support teammates
Cons:
- Low rate of fire, which can make it difficult to engage multiple targets quickly
- Poor armour: not well-protected and can be easily destroyed by enemy fire
- Vulnerable to flanking by faster tanks
- Slow turret traverse speed, which can make it difficult to hit moving targets
- Limited ammunition count, which can make it difficult to sustain fire for extended periods of time
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
- Related development
External links
| Israel tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| Artillery | M109 · Rochev · Sholef |
| ATGM | Zachlam Tager · Giraf |
