Merkava Mk.4B
| This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.4B. For other versions, see Merkava (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Merkava Siman 4 Baz is a rank VIII Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 12.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".
General info
Survivability and armour
The Merkava 's armour is VERY strongly protected against HEAT with up to 800-1200mm of protection on the turret front, and the UFP having enough protection with its NERA and engine + transmission to stop a Kornet in its tracks.
However, KE protection may be somewhat lacking with average KE protection on the turret front averaging about 450-550mm of KE protection on the turret front and about 350-450mm of protection on the UFP (engine and transmission protection included) which for top tier is not quite adequate.
The Merkava also features a unique armour layout being the only tank aside from the Strv 122B PLSS to fit NERA not only on front and side of the turret, but also the front and side of the hull too. it is also the only tank to fit NERA on its roof which historically was to defend from roof fired RPG's.
In all the Merkava's armour is somewhat lacking in some areas but can more then compensate in others.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50 mm (74°) Upper plate
50 mm (39-58°) Lower glacis |
50 mm Top 50 mm Bottom |
30 mm (1-45°) | 30 mm |
| Turret | 40-230 mm (9-62°) Turret front 197 mm (1°) Gun mantlet |
38 mm (17°) | 20 mm (1°) | 25-45 mm |
| Cupola | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
| Composite armour | Frontal effective protection | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| Hull | Upper
Kinetic: 300-450 mm Chemical: 1050-1300 mm (engine block included) Lower Kinetic: 180-330 mm Chemical: 250-400 mm (engine block included) Side Kinetic: 50-228 mm Chemical: 320-475 mm |
|
| Turret | Turret Cheeks
Kinetic: 380-620 mm Chemical: 920-1100 mm Turret Sides Kinetic: 240-410 mm Chemical: 600-1120 mm |
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 | 72 | 72 | 65 | 2,325 | 2,862 | 35.77 | 44.03 |
| Realistic | 65 | 65 | 1,327 | 1,500 | 20.42 | 23.08 | |
The Merkava may feel quite snappy at low speeds due to its high torque and good gear ratios, it also has neutral steering which makes urban combat much easier.
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 120 mm IMI MG251 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 46 | -7°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 32.4 | 44.8 | 54.4 | 60.2 | 64.0 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
| Realistic | 20.2 | 23.8 | 28.9 | 32.0 | 34.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M325 | HEATFS | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 | 480 |
| M339 | HE-TF | 65 | 65 | 60 | 58 | 53 | 50 |
| M322 | APFSDS | 589 | 586 | 577 | 565 | 553 | 541 |
| M338 | APFSDS | 611 | 608 | 597 | 585 | 573 | 560 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| M325 | HEATFS | 1,078 | 15.81 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 2.36 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| M339 | HE-TF | 900 | 17 | 1.5 | 3 | 3.66 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M322 | APFSDS | 1,705 | 5.6 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
| M338 | APFSDS | 1,680 | 5.06 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° | |||
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | 30 (+16) | 13 (+33) | 11 (+35) | 1 (+45) | No |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 1,000 (200) | 577 | N/A | N/A |
| 7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Pintle | 1,800 (200) | 600 | -5°/+50° | -60°/+120° |
| Coaxial | 6,000 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
The Merkava plays somewhat similarly to previous Merkava's requiring a more laid back approach in order to well. it is also not advisable to brawl in the Merkava as its sub par armour at close range may let you down, and you will be easily outclassed by soviet MBT's.
The Merkava however plays amazingly as a sniper mainly thanks to its amazing optics and somewhat decent armour at long range,
Pros and cons
Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
Pros:
- Has access to 2nd generation thermals for both the gunner and commander
- Excellent mobility, even in reverse
- Great and competitive ammo selection
Cons:
- Very vulnerable to most attacks due to a noticeable lack of composite armour or ERA
- Slower reload speed than its NATO counterparts
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
See also
- Related development
External links
| Israeli Ordnance Corps (חיל החימוש) | |
|---|---|
| Medium Tanks | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| MBTs | |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 |
| Magach 6 · Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6C · Magach 6R · Magach 6M · Gal Batash | |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet · ▄Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S |
| Merkava | ▃Merkava Mk.1 · Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D |
| Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · ▃Merkava Mk.3D · Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M | |
| Tank destroyers | Zachlam Tager |
| See Also | Chrysler Defense · Department of Tank Design · Morozov Design Bureau |
| Israel medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M-51 | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6 |
| Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6B Gal · Gal Batash · Magach 6C · Magach 6M · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra · Magach 7C | |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S · Tiran 6 |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Merkava | Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D · Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · Ra'am Sagol |
| Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M · Merkava Mk.4 LIC | |
- Ground vehicles
- Israel ground vehicles
- Eighth rank ground vehicles
- Medium tanks
- Ground vehicles with composite armour
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
