M15/42
Contents
Description
The Fiat-Ansaldo M15/42 is a rank II Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic". The M15/42 is the last tank before getting to the P40 and foreign medium tanks and is the final version of the Carro Armato, thus giving some notable improvements over the previous models.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
- Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet, MG port)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (12°) Upper plate 30 mm (12°) + 30 mm (spherical) MG port 25 mm (80°) Front glacis 30 mm (cylindrical) Lower plate |
25 mm (8°) Top 25 mm Bottom 30 mm (9-12°) MG bulge |
25 mm Upper part 25 mm (15°) Lower part |
25 mm (10°) Front glacis 25 mm Crew compartment 8 mm (15°) Rear section - Engine 5-25 mm (8°) Rear section - Radiator vents |
| Turret | 30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet 45 mm (13°) Turret front 50 mm Turret ring |
25 mm (20°) 50 mm Turret ring |
15 mm (5°) | |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
- The M15/42's belly is 14 mm thick.
- Mudguards are 4 mm thick.
- Turret
The turret is only 25 mm at the side, but due to the roundness and the slope of the armour at the front of the tank, it has an effective thickness of ~70 mm which can bounce poorly aimed shots. The mantlet has two layers of armour stacked on top of each other, giving an effective thickness of 75 mm, however, it has a shot trap on the left side which only has a thickness between 29 mm and 49 mm however due to the low battle rating, most new players won't know to shoot there. Despite the shot trap, the combination of good, sloped and rounded turret armour can make the M15/42 effective at hull-down positions.
- Hull
The top of the hull has decent protection in the form of a 50 mm frontal plate and a ludicrously sloped (80°) 20 mm plate which has an effective thickness of ~75 mm. However, the lower glacis plate only has a thickness of 30 mm and is directly in front of the transmission, so shots there will cripple the tank's mobility and possible result in its destruction.
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 | 4 | 15 | 287 | 353 | 19.13 | 23.53 |
| Realistic | 39 | 4 | 164 | 185 | 10.93 | 12.33 | |
The M15/42 is not a shining star on the battlefield, however, when it comes to mobility, this medium tank can get around. While being understandably significantly slower than most light tanks encountered at this battle rating, it can hold its own over most terrain as a medium tank, sacrificing armour for mobility.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 47 mm 47/40 mod.38 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 111 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | N/A | 13.3 | 18.5 | 22.4 | 24.8 | 26.4 | 3.77 | 3.33 | 3.07 | 2.90 |
| Realistic | 8.3 | 9.8 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 14.0 | ||||||||
The 47/40 mod.38 cannon is quite the powerhouse at this rank, especially due to the effective shells at its disposal. The mod.39 shell has a decent muzzle velocity of 755 m/s, good post-penetration damage and adequate penetration at close ranges. However, it quickly loses effectiveness at longer ranges. This encourages the player to fight in the mid-range area, almost always in a hull-down position.
Ammunition
The shells available for the M15/42 are limited:
- Granata mod.35: HE; a high-explosive useful for destroying open and lightly armoured vehicles. It however is a very slow shell travelling (twice slower than the other projectile). You can pack a few of those as you lack a heavy machine gun.
- Granata Perforante mod.39: APBC; a solid shot with an average penetration but no explosive filler. Make sure to target modules and crew positions to maximise the damage. Disabling the enemy gunner on your first shot will be critical to win engagements as you'll most likely need several shots to destroy an enemy vehicle. This shell should be your default 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 | ||
| Granata mod.35 | HE | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Granata Perforante mod.39 | APBC | 69 | 67 | 59 | 51 | 43 | 37 |
| 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% | |||||||
| Granata mod.35 | HE | 364 | 2.37 | 0 | 0.1 | 150 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| Granata Perforante mod.39 | APBC | 755 | 1.44 | 1.2 | 9 | 30 | 47° | 60° | 65° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 111 | 104 (+7) | 95 (+16) | 1 (+110) | Yes |
Notes:
- The visual discrepancy concerns rack 1, which is modeled as 9 shells each but will disappear after you've fired 8 shells from it.
- As they are modeled by sets of 2 to 5 shells, sets disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.
- The massive rack 3 depletes from the centre outwards.
Machine guns
| 8 mm Breda Mod. 38 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 288 (24) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
| Pintle | 1,524 (24) | 600 | -10°/+20° | N/A |
The small calibre of the Breda Mod. 38 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. The pintle-mounted MG can not pivot independently from the turret. Two additional hull-mounted Breda machine guns are modeled but not usable.
Usage in battles
- Combat tactics
The M15/42 is basically a M14/41 tank boasting a better gun, a more powerful engine and thus sitting at a higher battle rating. With the BR increase, the competition gets also tougher. That's why the M15/42 features henceforth average armour for its rank, especially the sides and around the turret. Frontally, the massive 50 mm front plate is the biggest weak spot: flat, hard to miss and a penetrating shot through this plate will kill the driver and the gunner that sits behind him. To avoid this, you can angle your tank about 30 degrees to the left to hide your flat plate and present instead the MG bulge that could absorb some shots. This however is not a durable strategy, any expert tanker won't fall for that trick.
The M15/42's top speed of 38 km/h limits its opportunities as a flanker. Its flat armour also limits its capacity to advance exposed in the open and its rather slow turret rotation prevents it from reacting quickly to 360° threats as a frontline tank. Its solid 47 mm gun on the other hand coupled with 15 degrees of gun depression makes the M15/42 a good support tank. Stay behind cover at a distance (500 to 700 m) from the frontline to support spearheading tanks, this will also increase your armour advantage. On top of that, the M15/42 sports with a crew of 4 (and 1 spare) a longer durability than most tanks at its BR. When being focused on the action, it is imperative to always check for 2 main threats: flanking enemies who could reach you quickly from the frontline and tank destroyers with a high penetration power lurking at a safe distance. If you're flanked, your turret doesn't turn all too fast: rotate your hull instead. Pivot turning in the M15/42 will always be faster than turning your turret. If you spot a tank destroyer aligned on your position, retreat or get behind cover.
- Notable enemies
- Heavy tanks like B1 bis or B1 ter whose armour is too strong for your gun,
- Tank destroyers with powerful guns like the Marder III, ZiS-30, Ho-Ni I, Ho-Ni III, Chi-Ha LG or the LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) (China),
- Tanks with HEAT shells like the Pz. IV E, F1, the StuG III A or the StuH 42 G,
- Tanks with APDS shells like the Strv m/40L, the Strv m/41 S-II or the Lago I,
- Tanks with many crew members like the M3 Lee, the Grant I, the T-28 or the T-28E whose durability is high.
- How to defeat a M15/42
Rule of thumb is to get as close as possible as you can to maximise your penetration power as its armour is flat.
- In a frontal encounter, shoot right in the middle of the front plate if the M15/42 did not angle its hull. This will knock out the gunner and the driver.
- If it is hull down, aim at the turret cheeks.
- If its hull is angled, aim at the flat corners of the hull.
- If you manage to flank the M15/42, aim for the hull spot right under the center of the turret or the turret itself.
- From the rear, target the turret first and then the crew compartment right under the turret (avoid shooting in the engine compartment: it will absorb shots with little damage to the crew).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Decent frontal armour, especially when angled or in a hull-down position
- Decent mobility
- The Mod.39 shell has effective penetration for the BR and quite good post-penetration damage
- Best shell is unlocked by standard
- Decent gun depression of 10°
- Adequate turret traverse
- Due to the 80° angle the upper glacis is angled at, it can be a very good shot-bouncer
- Decent muzzle velocity
Cons:
- Crew is cramped
- Mod.39 shell rapidly loses effectiveness at range
- Although better than previous italian medium tanks, giant flat plate on the hull front provides a massive weakspot
- Rest of the armour is mediocre at best
- Shots to the lower glacis almost always result in the transmission breaking
History
The last version of the M13 series. The M15/42 was slightly longer than the preceding models and had a higher-velocity 47mm gun, a more powerful engine, and improved armour. In total 112 were built, before production was switched to the tank destroyer version (the Semovente M42 da 75/18). By September 1943 when Italy surrendered, 82 of those had been issued to army units, in five-tank platoons. Their only use in combat by an Italian Army unit was actually against the Germans that month, in particular by the 135th "Ariete II" Division in the defence of Rome.
Germany confiscated 92 on Italy's surrender and produced another 28 themselves. Some were turned over to Italian forces. While most remained in Italy, some were also employed by the German forces in Hungary.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
- [Wikipedia] M15/42 tank
- [Tanks Encyclopedia] Carro Armato Medio M15/42
- [Military Factory] Carro Armato M15/42
| FIAT-Ansaldo | |
|---|---|
| Autoblindo | AB 41 · AB 43 |
| Light Tanks | L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.) |
| Medium Tanks | Celere Sahariano |
| M11/39 | M11/39 |
| M13/40 | M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III) |
| M14/41 | M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40) |
| M15/42 | M15/42 |
| P40 | P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello" |
| Tank Destroyers | |
| L3/33 | L3/33 CC |
| Semovente L40 | 47/32 L40 |
| Semovente M41 | 75/18 M41 · 75/32 M41 · 90/53 M41M |
| Semovente M42 | 75/34 M42 |
| Semovente M43 | 105/25 M43 · M43 "G.C.Leoncello" · 75/34 M43 · 75/46 M43 |
| SPAAs | M42 Contraereo |
| Italy medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| M13/40 | M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III) |
| M14/41 | M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40) |
| M15/42 | M15/42 |
| M16/43 | Celere Sahariano |
| P26/40 | P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello" |
| OF-40 | OF-40 · OF-40 Mk.2A · OF-40 (MTCA) |
| Ariete | Ariete (P) · Ariete · Ariete PSO · Ariete AMV |
| Germany | ▄Pz.III N · ▄Pz.IV G · ▄Leopard 1A5 |
| Allied powers | ▄Sherman I Composito · Sherman Ic · ▄Sherman Vc · ▄Sherman V · M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M26A1 · M47 (105/55) · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" |
| Hungary | |
| Turán | Turan I · Turan II · Turan III |
| Germany | ◔Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2A7HU |
| USSR | ◔T-72M1 |
