Merkava Mk.2B
This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.2B. For other versions, see Merkava (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Merkava Mk.2B is the first subvariant of the Merkava Mk.2, which is the second variant of the Merkava main battle tank family. In comparison to its predecessor, the Merkava Mk.1B, the Merkava Mk.2 variant has enhanced armour protection, a new transmission, and more fuel capacity. Chains with metal balls were added to the Merkava Mk.2's turret rear to provide additional protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The tank comes standard with NBC protection and automatic fire extinguishing equipment. Compared to the standard Merkava Mk.2, the Merkava Mk.2B also included thermal imaging equipment for the gunner and minor changes to the fire-control system. The Merkava Mk.2 was first manufactured in 1983, and it was last produced in 1989, with 580 units constructed in total. It saw service in several local battles, where it performed well. The final Merkava Mk.2 tank was moved to reserve units in 2016. Most of the remaining tanks are currently in storage, though these might potentially be modified to become armoured personnel carriers. They were never exported.
Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the Merkava Mk.2B retains the unique tank design created in Israel. During battles, locating targets is much easier now with thermal imaging equipment for the gunner. To improve crew protection, some composite armour screens are installed throughout the tank, primarily in the turret. In general, the Merkava Mk.2B resembles the Merkava Mk.1B, with good frontal turret armour that can survive a wide range of ammunition. The hull, on the other hand, is not as impressive as the turret. Most tank ammunition will easily penetrate the frontal hull.
General info
Survivability and armour
The frontal armour on the Merkava Mk.2B is is overall decent in terms of protection. Its turret is compact and smaller than its counterparts at this BR, making it a difficult target to hit when hull down at range. Moreover, the shape of its turret features a complex design with extreme angles which boast high ricochet chances. This might confuse enemies who are unaccustomed to it, which might cause them to mess up their shots. But as a consequence to the turret being cramped as it is, penetrating shots at the turret's crew compartment might prove to be fatal.
The hull is not as impressive as the turret. On one hand, the lower and upper plates are rather thin, and despite the extreme angle of the upper plate, most APFSDS and chemical rounds will punch through with ease. On the other hand, the Merkava's engine and transmission are conveniently placed at the front to soak up most of the penetrating shot's energy and shrapnel, preventing it from going further into the tank and protecting the crew at the cost of temporary immobilization.
Armour type:
Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hull | 60 mm (upper) 90 mm (lower) |
50 mm (behind composite screen) | 70-100 mm (spaced) | 30 mm |
Turret | 65 mm Turret front 100 mm Gun mantlet |
110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) | 110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) | 30mm |
Cupola | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30 mm | 30mm |
Notes:
- Side composite screens are 20 mm thick.
- The turret features sides and rear spaced armour.
- Ammo racks are stored in 5-10 mm thick rolled homogeneous armour.
- Armour plates separate the engine and transmission from the fuel tank and crew compartment.
Mobility
The Merkava Mk.2B has decent all around mobility, although it is slower than many other medium tanks at its BR. Turning bleeds speed quickly, and the reverse speed is decent at best.
Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
Arcade | 60 | 26 | 63 | 1,492 | 1,717 | 23.68 | 27.25 |
Realistic | 54 | 24 | 852 | 900 | 13.52 | 14.29 |
Modifications and economy
Since the engine, transmission, and fuel tank are all positioned right behind the frontal hull armour and serve the role of additional protection, it is mandatory that the player prioritizes the research of parts and FPE first. Then, the player can get the NVD and LWS/LR or adjustment of fire upgrades for more accurate shots. After that, the player should focus on getting the M111, and they should use it as their main ammo type.
Armaments
Main armament
105 mm Sharir | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
Arcade | 54 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 |
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 | ||
M152 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
M156 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
M111 | APFSDS | 337 | 335 | 330 | 322 | 314 | 306 |
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% | ||||||||||
M152 | HEATFS | 1,174 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1.27 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
M156 | HESH | 731 | 11.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 3.17 | 73° | 77° | 80° | |||
M111 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 4.2 | - | - | - | 78° | 80° | 81° |
Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
M416 | 732 | 11.6 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
---|---|---|---|---|
54 | 31 (+23) | 7 (+47) | 1 (+53) | No |
Machine guns
7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
Pintle (loader) | 1,800 (200) | 600 | -10°/+50° | ±120° |
Pintle (commander) | 1,800 (200) | 600 | -10°/+50° | ±120° |
Coaxial | 6,000 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
The Merkava Mk.2B is built for urban warfare and sniping, and should be played as such roles. The armour and the equipment it features will make it a formidable foe in the battlefield. Use its compact turret to peak from unexpected locations and utilize its excellent 4-20x commander's view to spot enemies from afar.
Enemies that you must be most worried about are the Soviet T-72s and T-64B, as their frontal armour will be a difficult challenge to break through at range when they conceal their lower plate, and their guns are extremely dangerous from any range. The only viable tactic against them is to flank, but you must be very careful not to get flanked yourself, as your side armour can be easily penetrated by even SPAAs.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent hull-down capabilities
- Effective protection of its crew members
- Decent mobility to keep up with most other tanks
- Excellent 4-20x commander's view
- Comes stock with smoke grenades
Cons:
- Only has rifle-calibre machine guns, ineffective against lightly-armoured vehicles
- Engine compartment is prone to catch on fire
- Prone to getting ammoracked
- Mediocre 8x gunner zoom (commander view balances this disadvantage, but cannot substitute gunner view)
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
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 |