M1A1
Contents
This page is about the medium tank M1A1. For other uses, see M1 (Family). |
Description
The Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 120-mm Gun M1A1 (shortened to M1A1) is a rank VII American medium tank
with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.87 "Locked On".
General info
Survivability and armour
Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat?
If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.
Mobility
Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forward and backward.
Armaments
Main armament
120 mm M256 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
40 | -9°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | ||
Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
Arcade | 38.08 | 52.71 | 64.00 | __.__ | 75.29 |
Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 |
Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
7.80 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
Ammunition
Penetration statistics | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack | |||||
10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | ||
M830 | HEATFS | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 | 650 |
M829 | APFSDS | 493 | 492 | 484 | 476 | 467 | 458 |
Shell details | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Fuse delay
in m: |
Fuse sensitivity
in mm: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
Normalization At 30° from horizontal: |
Ricochet: | ||
0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
M830 | HEATFS | 1,140 | 13.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1,640 | +0° | 65° | 72° | 75° |
M829 | APFSDS | 1,679 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|
40 | XX (+XX) | XX (+XX) | No |
Machine guns
12.7 mm M2HB | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pintle mount (Commander) | ||||||
Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
1,000 (200) | 577 | -9°/+65° | ±180° |
7.62 mm M240 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coaxial mount | ||||||
Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
10,000 (200) | 750 | N/A | N/A | |||
Pintle mount (Loader) | ||||||
Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
1,400 (200) | 750 | -9°/+65° | -77°/+135° |
Usage in battles
Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- 120mm gun with access to good rounds, including one of the best round for angled armour
- Turret relatively well protected against chemical rounds
- Decent mobility
- Ammo in turret, when detonated, generally will not spread to crew compartment
Cons:
- Stock vehicle is sluggish
- Stock rounds are quite inadequate against many of the MBTs the vehicle faces
- Ammo variety is limited to two choices, a HEAT-FS and APFSDS round
- Reload time slower than 105mm armed predecessors.
- Hull and turret armor less effective against kinetic rounds, plus are lacking in protection against the armaments of current Rank VII vehicles
History
Almost as soon as the first production M1 Abrams MBTs began rolling off the assembly line, did American engineers begin working on an upgunned version of the Abrams. They succeeded in this endeavour in 1981, after a prototype Abrams, designated M1E1, was successfully fitted with a 120mm Rheinmetall smoothbore cannon.
Showing promising performance, work on the vehicle continued. At the same time, an upgraded version of the original Abrams, the IPM1, which featured improved protection and a larger turret was briefly produced between 1984 - 1986. The resulting M1A1 Abrams inherited the upgrades from the IPM1 and combined them with the M256 120mm smoothbore cannon, a licence-built version of the German original.
The M1A1 was adopted for service in 1984, and was produced alongside the IPM1 for a short while since 1985 until the older modification was phased out of production.
The M1A1 saw its first use during the U.S. deployment in the Gulf War in 1991. Faced against arguably inferior Soviet-era tanks, the M1A1 had successfully proven its worth in tank-on-tank engagements, but exposed new problems concerning its performance and vulnerability in urban environments. This led to further upgrades for the vehicle being developed later on.
Production of the M1A1 seized in 1992, with over 5,800 units being produced, including Egyptian and Australian export models. The original M1A1 chassis still serves today, albeit as upgraded variants which have undergone several modernization efforts.
- From Devblog
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
USA medium tanks | |
---|---|
M2 | M2 |
M3 | M3 Lee · ▃Grant I |
M4 | M4 · Calliope · M4A1 · M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (105) · M4A3 (76) W · M4/T26 |
M26 Pershing | T20 · T25 · M26 · M26 T99 · M26E1 |
M46/47/48 Patton | M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47 · M48A1 · T54E1 · T54E2 |
M60 | M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A1 RISE (P) · M60A2 · M60A3 TTS · M728 CEV · 120S |
MBT-70 | MBT-70 · XM803 |
M1 Abrams | XM1 (Chrysler) · XM1 (GM) |
M1 Abrams · M1 KVT · IPM1 | |
M1A1 · M1A1 HC · M1A1 Click-Bait | |
M1A2 Abrams · M1A2 SEP · M1A2 SEP V2 | |
Other | T95E1 |
Australia | M1A1 AIM |
Canada | M4A5 |
Israel | ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Merkava Mk.1 · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.3D |
Turkey | M60 AMBT |