AMX M4
| This page is about the French medium tank AMX M4. For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation). |
Contents
Description
In the late 1940s, the French Army sought to replace its aging medium tanks with a new 50-ton medium tank that would serve as the main asset in armored divisions. The French company AMX initially proposed an under-armored version of the Tiger II tank with 30mm plates, but after feedback from the army, the armor was enhanced to 80mm in the front and 40mm on the sides. Changes were made to reduce weight in other aspects of the tank, such as introducing a new oscillating turret and redesigning the suspension wheels. The first prototype, named M4, featured a 90mm SA47 gun and was slightly over 50 tons. A second prototype with a 100mm SA 47 L/50 gun led to the development of the AMX-50 tank.
It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It uses an improved 90 mm SA47 cannon over the ARL-44 and has a 7-round autoloader and a better armour lay-out while being more mobile. Marking a new generation of French tanks, the AMX M4 is the prototype of what to expect from French tank development moving forward. The AMX M4 is the sturdiest representative of French rank IV vehicles, from which it shares some common features: good mobility, an oscillating turret (fitted with an autoloader), sloped armour in front and back, high hull, high gun placement, good gun depression, 4 crew member, a coaxial MAC 31 machine gun and large tracks. What distinguishes the AMX M4 is its Panther-like hull, its efficient 90 mm SA47 gun developed from the ARL-44 and the thickest armour pattern of all French ground forces with 80 mm sloped at ~55° in the frontal area.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret rear)
- Cast homogeneous armour (turret, cupola)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 80 mm (54°) Front glacis 35 mm (61°) Lower glacis 60 mm (38°) Front cheeks |
60 mm (38°) Top - Front cheeks 40 mm (24°) Top - Centre & rear 40 mm Bottom |
40 mm (1°) Upper plate 40 mm (29°) Lower glacis |
20 mm 5 mm Radiator vents |
| Turret | 85 mm (60°) Turret front - Upper glacis 40+85 mm (cylindrical) Turret front - Base 60 mm (56-60°) Gun mantlet 85+100 mm Barrel shroud |
60 mm (0-61°) Turret 40 mm (0-27°) Turret base |
40 mm (0-60°) Turret bustle 25 mm (16-25°) Pivot ball 20 mm Turret underside |
20 mm |
| Cupola | 60 mm (spherical) | 60 mm Outer ring 20 mm Centre | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick. Suspension wheels are interleaved and thus overlap in some areas.
- The turret and the base overlap in some areas, leading to cumulative armour.
- The internal armour plate separating the crew compartment and the engine bay is 5 mm thick.
- Floor armour is 20 mm thick, with the underside of the sponsons also being 20 mm thick.
The AMX M4, a post-war French tank, is a remarkable fusion of German tank design elements, drawing inspiration from the Panther for its robust armour, the Tiger I/II for its mobility and firepower, and integrating French innovation with an oscillating turret and autoloader. The armour profile is a notable feature, featuring an 80 mm angled front glacis and 60 mm pre-angled front cheeks, rendering it highly resilient in frontal engagements effectively protecting for 200 mm penetration. However, it is imperative to recognize that the efficiency of the frontal cheeks diminishes when subjected to direct fire, underscoring the significance of strategic positioning during combat scenarios.
Beyond its robust armour head-on, the oscillating turret and autoloader on top of its mobility provide a tactical edge in engagements, ensuring rapid and precise responses. This technological enhancement transforms the tank into a formidable force during flanking manoeuvres, allowing for a rapid succession of shots followed by a tactical withdrawal. While this dynamic manoeuvre adds a layer of unpredictability to its tactics, it introduces the vulnerability of exposing the tank's comparatively weaker side armour.
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 | 58 | 22 | 52 | 1,550 | 1,908 | 29.81 | 36.69 |
| Realistic | 52 | 20 | 884 | 1,000 | 17 | 19.23 | |
Post-war French designs are all very good at moving around: they have good engines, wide tracks and can easily achieve ~40 km/h on most terrains. The AMX M4 may be the worst of them all, on par with the AMX-50 (TOA100) as they share a very similar hull, they still have above average mobility, when compared to other medium tanks at the same BR.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm SA47 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Autoloader |
| Arcade | 49 | -10°/+15° | ±180° | N/A | 28.6 | 39.5 | 48.0 | 53.1 | 56.5 | 6.70 |
| Realistic | 17.9 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 28.2 | 30.0 | |||||
The gun has exceptionally good armour penetration for its rank, exceeding even that of the 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun used on the Tiger II. This firepower advantage is further exaggerated by its autoloader, providing a fire rate of 9 rounds a minute until the 7-shot magazine is empty, a very good rate of fire for the BR. All French medium rank IV tanks share this good reload rate, this is their most prominent selling point. Note that like most French tanks of this period, the 90 mm only fires solid-shot armour-piercing rounds. However, the fragmentation effect of these larger shells is much greater than the long 75 mm gun of the AMX-13 and is sufficient for one-shot kills on most enemy vehicles with careful aiming.
The oscillating turret design also allows a high gun placement, which means you can fire over hills by exposing only the strong top portion of your tank, even more so with its good depression angles. When it comes to elevation, there is a problem: this tank can only lift its gun 15°, which makes defending against planes impossible and an uphill battle a bit challenging.
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 | ||
| PCO-50 | APCBC | 259 | 256 | 243 | 228 | 213 | 200 |
| Obus explosif | HE | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| PCO-50 | APCBC | 1,030 | 11.2 | - | - | - | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| Obus explosif | HE | 700 | 11.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 945 | 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 |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
9th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 45 (+4) | 43 (+6) | 36 (+13) | 29 (+20) | 22 (+27) | 15 (+34) | 11 (+38) | 8 (+41) | 1 (+48) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Rack 9 (autoloader magazine) is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 7 shells.
- This racks gets filled first when loading up the tank and is also emptied first.
- As the AMX M4 is equipped with an autoloader, manual reloading of the gun is not possible.
- Once the autoloader magazine has 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 (about 15 seconds). Take this into account when playing.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 to 5 into rack 7* then 6*. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.
- The depletion order at full capacity is: 9 - 1 - 2 up to 8.
Machine guns
| 7.5 mm MAC 31 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 5,100 (150) | 551 | - | - |
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
At its BR, 80 mm of sloped frontal armour is more than sufficient to endure close range fights (as long as it is facing the enemy with its frontal armour). But what this tank is really good at is, as any other French rank IV, sniping: a very good gun, great depression and fire rate make it very deadly, even more so that it can take a few hits. The AMX M4 offers the best survivability of all French rank IV tanks since its BR is low and armour, thick. It is a true "medium tank" capable of all roles, given the good context.
This tank can be used in almost all roles on the battlefield, as long as the context is on its side. Here are some roles this tank is the most efficient at:
Sniper:
This is clearly this tank's intended role: at all BR placements, it provides the best results for this tank. There is only a few things that can defeat such tactic: drastically better firepower and thick frontal armour faced towards it. This gun's performance is not the best at its rank, in that way, the AMX M4 may have to rely on surprise attacks to its foes' sides in order to disable them. Use this tank's great mobility to get into a good spot and reposition whenever it is needed do not allow approaching targets as they increase their chances to take you out. Plan you escape in advance: your reverse speed won't allow for hasty retreats.
Frontline fights:
When facing lower BR tanks, the AMX can easily be used in the same role as Panther tanks: breakthrough... but with reserve, your side armour won't allow even the slightest side shot. Use your good reload speed and turret rate to their best: fast reaction times and multi-target engagements are possible.
Flanking:
Use your speed and firepower to outpace the enemy advance. All considerations from the sniper role can be taken into consideration when flanking, the only difference being a more consistent usage of this tank's mobility.
Support:
The AMX M4 is not fit for brawling due to the relatively light armour it has. However, there is still a place for it in the Frontline if its commander is ever so daring. The supporting tank follows closely behind the heavy tanks, using them as shields. When an enemy fires at the heavy tank, the support tank should momentarily get out of cover, fire into the soft part of their frontal armour, cannon barrel, and/or the enemy's tracks. The support tank then comes back behind cover, readying itself for attacking again.
The AMX M4 wields this role well, as it has good manoeuvrability, good acceleration, and a quick-firing cannon. It is however, a tall tank, so be wary of seeking cover behind any low-profile heavy tank and it has a below average reverse speed.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Fast and good manoeuvrability
- Decent reverse speed
- Front glacis is 80 mm and is heavily sloped for a high chance of ricochets, similar to the Panther's
- Potent 90 mm gun (same as ARL-44 or Char 25t: easy learning curve)
- Good gun depression
- Good turret rotation
- Very good reload rate between 7 shots due to the autoloader
Cons:
- Overall armour is quite thin against expected opponents
- Thin side armour
- Thin UFP "corners" makes angling ineffective
- Vulnerable to planes (thin top armour)
- Bad elevation angles
- Long reload time after 7 shots due to autoloader
- Only two ammo choice between APC and HE rounds
- Ammo always held in reload mechanism makes it easy ammo rack targets
History
Design
In the late 1940s, the French Army was looking to replace the medium tanks Panther and ARL 44 that were becoming obsolete with a new 50t medium tank. The new tank was to be the future spearhead of French armoured divisions. The French company AMX started working on a proposal which was essentially an improved Tiger II on the drawing board. The project evolved and later resulted in the AMX-50 tank. The AMX M4 present in the game is the first prototype of the project.
Development
In order to save weight from the Tiger II's initial weight of 70 tons, the first AMX proposal was an underarmoured version of the Tiger II with only 30 mm armour plates. The French Army quickly indicated that such a thickness was too weak for the intended purpose. The armour of the hull was increased to 80 mm frontally and 40 mm for the sides and the weight-saving measures were then applied to other components. The original turret was changed for an oscillating turret whose design was already available and the suspension wheels were redesigned to get rid of the interleaving wheels. The new version was approved and a first prototype was produced at the end of 1949. It sported the already available 90 mm SA 45 gun from the ARL 44, whose performance was equal to the 88 mm KwK43 equipping the Tiger II. The first prototype was dubbed M4 and had a weight slightly above 50 tons. The second prototype was produced 1 year later with the 100 mm SA 47 L/50 gun and a slightly modified turret, and resulted in the AMX-50 tank.
Combat usage
The AMX M4 was the first prototype of what would be the AMX-50 and never saw either service or combat action with the French Army.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Related development
- Other vehicles of similar configuration and role
External links
| Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX) | |
|---|---|
| Light tanks | |
| AMX-13 | AMX-13-M24 · AMX-13 (FL11) · AMX-13 · AMX-13 (SS.11) · AMX-13-90 · AMX-13 (HOT) |
| Armoured cars | AMX-10RC |
| Medium tanks | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) |
| MBTs | |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 (105) · AMX-32 · AMX-40 |
| Heavy tanks | AMX-50 Surbaissé · AMX-50 Surblindé |
| Tank destroyers | ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch |
| SPAAGs | AMX-13 DCA 40 · AMX-30 S DCA |
| Export | AMX-13 |
| France medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Derivatives | M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50) |
| AMX-50 | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40 |
| Leclerc | Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR |
| Other | D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t |
| Germany | Panther "Dauphiné" |
| USA | ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26 |
