M901
Contents
Description
The Combat Vehicle, Anti-tank, Improved TOW Vehicle, M901 is a squadron rank VI American tank destroyer
with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".
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 backwards.
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Advise about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
| BGM-71C I-TO mm BGM-71C I-TO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
| 10 | -30°/+35° | ±180° | N/A | ||
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
| Realistic | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | ||
| M901 Optics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Default magnification | Maximum magnification | |
| Main Gun optics | X4.0 | X8.0 |
| Comparable optics | ??? | |
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).
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | ||
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Smoke grenade | |
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 certain definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".
Pros:
- Use pairs of I-TOW, designed for fast long-range attacks
- Of all horizontal ATGM launchers currently in the game, has best launcher depression
- Tower is very tall, making it hard to exploit APHE and HESH to destroy the tank instantly
- Superior to export Italian version in almost every way possible
- Can fire at "combat" cruise control speed (~10 km/h)
Cons:
- Hits to the tower base can annihilate the tank, so it needs taller hull-down spots, than other carriers
- While carrier is travelling, the launcher is put onto a pad on the back, and it takes about 3 to 5 seconds for it to deploy back, which means, any surprise attack on the tank will likely succeed with minimal resistance
- Only reloads after second launched ATGM hit something, can't be ordered to reload just one missile or to cut off the leading early
- Sniper scope is located in the launcher, so during reloading it moves together with the launcher, forcing the operator to keep watch on target with binoculars
- Sometimes, just a bit short of firepower to penetrate tanks with heavy ERA or NERA plating in one hit (although in RB most of such tanks are your allies)
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 === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).
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.
- M113A1 (TOW)
- M163
- SIDAM 25
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| USA tank destroyers | |
|---|---|
| M10 | M10 GMC |
| M36 | M36 GMC · M36B2 |
| T95 | T28 · T95 |
| M109 | M109A1 |
| ATGM | LOSAT · M901 |
| Wheeled | M3 GMC · T55E1 |
| Other | M8 HMC · M50 · M56 |
| China | ▃LVT(A)(4) (ZIS-2) |
