M4A1 (FL10)

M4A1 (FL10)

M4A1 (FL10)

France

III Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.7	5.0	5.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:2 980

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This page is about the gift French medium tank M4A1 (FL10). For other M4 Shermans, see M4 Sherman (Family). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation).

Description

The Sherman M4A1 tourelle FL10 is a premium gift rank III French medium tank with a battle rating of 4.7 (AB) and 5.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It combines the turret of the AMX-13 (BR 6.0) with the hull of the M4A1 Sherman (BR 3.3) and therefore epitomizes the glass cannon role at a BR of 4.7.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull sides - bottom, turret sides, rear and roof, belly)
• Cast homogeneous armour (front glacis, transmission carter, MG port, hull sides - top, hull rear and roof, turret base, turret front, gun mantlet, cupola)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	40 mm (18-40°) Turret base 19.5 mm (67-86°) Front glacis - Upper section 63.5 mm (40-62°) Front glacis - Centre section 63.5 mm + 25.4 mm (spherical) MG port 38.1 mm (spherical) Front glacis - Sides 63.5 mm (cylindrical) Transmission housing	40 mm (12-31°) Turret base - front 20 mm (13°) Turret base - rear 38.1 mm (0-18°) Top 38.1 mm Bottom	38.1 mm (16°) Upper plate 38.1 mm (16°) Lower plate 38.1 mm (53°) Lower glacis	63.5 mm (38-50°) Front glacis 19.5 mm (0-32°) Turret area 19.5 mm (8°) Engine bay - centre 19.5 mm (18°) Engine bay - sides
Turret	40 mm (32-47°) Turret front 60 mm (conical) Gun mantlet 40 mm (15-75°) Barrel shroud	20 mm (0-30°) Turret	20 mm Turret bustle 20 mm (17-22°) Pivot ball 10 mm (77-90°) Turret underside	10 mm
Cupola	20 mm (conical) Base 10 mm (spherical) Dome			20 mm (conical) Outer ring 10 mm (spherical) Centre

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 20 mm thick, and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.
• The belly armour is 25.4 mm thick.

The armour is overall weak for the battle rating. Turret shots will typically knock out both your breech and the two crew members there, penetrating hull shots will typically send you right back to the hangar.

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	43	6	30.3	713	763	23.53	25.18
Realistic	39	6		407	400	13.43	13.2

Fairly decent mobility due to the Sherman chassis with an upgraded engine. Flanking is possible and rewarding.

Armaments

Main armament

The gun is fantastic, capable of penetrating everything in its BR spread (3.7-5.7) frontally, except for some higher BR German casemate tank destroyers and the Sherman Jumbo. The autoloader enables firing every 5 seconds, even with only a skeleton crew left.

75 mm SA50 L/57					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	60	-6°/+9°	±180°	N/A	28.56	39.53	48.00	53.08	56.47	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00
Realistic					17.85	21.00	25.50	28.20	30.00

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
POT-51A	APC	182	178	162	143	127	113
75 mm HE	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10

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%
POT-51A	APC	1,000	6.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°
75 mm HE	HE	753	6.2	0.0	0.1	675	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M4A1 (FL10)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
60	56 (+4)	52 (+8)	42 (+18)	32 (+28)	23 (+37)	13 (+47)	7 (+53)	1 (+59)	No

Notes:

• Shells in racks 1, 2, 7* and 8* are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
• Shells in racks 3, 4, 5, and 6 are modeled by sets of 2 and disappear from the rack only after both shells in the set have been shot or loaded.
• Racks 7* and 8* (autoloader magazines) are first stage ammo racks. They total 12 shells.
• These racks get filled first when loading up the tank and are also emptied first.
• The depletion order at full capacity is: 7 - 8 - 1 - 2 up to 6.
• As it is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
• Once autoloader magazines have been depleted, you can't shoot until the loader has restocked the autoloader. The restocking time is longer than the normal reload time of the gun. Take this into account when playing.
• Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 6 into rack 8* then 7*. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Machine guns

7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	4,950 (150)	1,350	N/A	N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

Depending on the layout of the map, match battle rating and player's own playstyle the FL10 can be used as a sniper, a flanker or a close-quarter brawler. Details about playstyles are as follows:

Sniper

• Using FL10 as a sniper is a conservative, but commonly rewarding playstyle. The FL10 boasts a highly potent 75 mm cannon, with an equally impressive round, capable of penetrating 180+ mm of steel equivalent. Given the fast reload of the cannon due to the use of the autoloader, it is possible to perform quick follow-up shots on target at range. This tactic is recommended in matches where it is possible to position oneself in a good position early in the match (e.g. overlooking a point). Be wary of the gun's average depression, however, as this will require to expose the hull during firing.

Flanker

• Depending on your knowledge of the map and likely enemy routes, FL10 can be effectively used as a flanker. The FL10 inherits a relatively mobile chassis of an M4 medium tank making some flanking manoeuvres possible. In this role, FL10 can be used to assume an ambush position on the flanks. It is important to note, that FL10 is not the most agile vehicle at its battle rating, however, provided a good early-game position, fast reload and good penetration it can effectively engage an enemy from the flanks and counter enemy flankers. It is advised to retreat immediately if you're spotted as FL10 is unlikely to withstand being fired upon due to mediocre armour and 4 crew members.

Brawler

• Using FL10 as a close-quarter brawler is a high risk/high reward tactic that is likely to result in either multiple kills or an early return to the hangar. It is important to fire the first shot on the enemy, as, given the poor armour of the tank, you are commonly unable to withstand even one hit. Here, it is advised to disable the enemy's gun/turret first to prevent them from returning fire. It is important to note, that FL10 lacks the stabiliser found on the American Sherman counterparts, putting the player at a further disadvantage when fighting in close quarters.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good penetration and excellent rate of fire
• Improved engine makes for decent mobility
• Smoke grenades
• The best shell is free (like many later French tanks)

Cons:

• Lacklustre reverse speed; disengaging from the fight if damaged or out of ammunition can be difficult
• Oscillating turret means that from a full stop, the M4A1 (FL10) usually takes longer to level the gun compared to conventional turrets
• Poor turret elevation makes engaging aeroplanes difficult
• Poor armour and only 4 crew
• Vulnerable to .50 cal ground target belts through the turret roof armour

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

• Skins and camouflages for the M4A1 (FL10) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

Should You Buy: M4A1 (FL10) - ConeOfArc

Should You Buy the M4A1 (FL10)? - Sako Sniper

M4A1 (FL10) Tank Review - NUSensei

The Shooting Range #78 - War Machines section at 00:32 discusses the M4A1 (FL10).

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• M4 Sherman (Family)

Vehicles equipped with the same gun

• AMX-13
• AMX-13 (SS.11)
• AMX-13 (HOT)
• M4A4 (SA50)

External links

• [Devblog] M4A1 FL10 - The Charming Sherman