M18 (Italy)

▄M18

Breda 501

AUBL/74

▄M18

Breda 501

AUBL/74

Italy

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
5.3	6.0	6.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:54 000

Purchase:185 000

Show in game

Description

The Cannone da 76/52 Semovente M18 is a rank IV Italian tank destroyer with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB) and 6.0 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters". The M18 "Hellcat" was the epitome of the American tank destroyer doctrine, it was very fast, very mobile, and has a powerful gun, though with a large trade-off with only 12.7 mm (0.5 inches) of armour.

The M18 "Hellcat" compensates the lack of anti-tank capability by having absurdly fast maneuverability. While it looses access to APCR, this is justified seeing how it doesn't face very armored vehicles, the likes of Panther D, Tiger H1.

Unlike the other tank destroyers known in the game, the M18 "Hellcat" has access to a 360° traversable turret, allowing players to have a greater arc of fire than a typical casemate tank destroyer like the StuG III, but at the expense of a slightly higher profile. Americans tank destroyers also have very high maneuverability compared to other nation's tank destroyers, allowing it to flank the enemy.

The main weak point of M18 is its very thin armor, a feature that actually allows the M18 to reach its high speed. The thin armour makes it possible for any enemy tanks to penetrate the vehicle. A single hit would destroy many critical components in the M18 or cripple the crew. The only saving grace with this extremely thin ammunition is that standard AP rounds may over-penetrate the armor, doing minimal damage to the internals. Thus, when facing the M18, it's best to use AP rounds with explosive fillers or HE and HEAT rounds while avoiding usage of pure AP rounds.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	12.7 mm (39-64°) Front glacis 12.7 mm (23-52°) Lower glacis	12.7 mm (23-26°) Top 12.7 mm Bottom	12.7 mm (12°) Top 12.7 mm (36°) Bottom	8 mm
Turret	25.4 mm (15-26°) Turret front 19 mm + 25.4 mm (0-55°) Gun mantlet	12.7 mm (1-21°)	12.7 mm (7°)	N/A Open-top 8 mm Bustle and Front

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 5 mm thick.
• The hull underside right above the tracks are only 8 mm thick.
• Tracks are attached the turret rear, granting some 15 mm in thickness.

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	90	29	17.7	653	878	36.89	49.6
Realistic	81	26		407	460	22.99	25.99

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm M1 is an extremely capable gun with a high damage potential and a very good gun handling. It can be found on tanks used up to battle rating 6.0, making it one of the most widely used guns throughout the battle ratings and with M18 being the first tanks to use it - it gives it a very high staying power throughout battle ratings. Once upgraded, the turret has very fair guidance in both: horizontal and vertical axis allowing to quickly catch pot-shots, though given exceptional mobility of the platform even it struggles to catch up with the near-instant hull rotation.

76mm M1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	45	-10°/+20°	±180°	N/A	21.13	29.25	35.50	39.30	41.79	7.93	7.02	6.47	6.10
Realistic					14.28	16.80	20.40	22.60	24.00

Ammunition

M18 comes with an exceptionally good stock shell, allowing it to unleash its full potential pretty much right off the bat. Additional unlocks are more specialized.

• M62 shell - APCBC - The best anti-tank shell, also the stock round. It has very good penetration and an excellent post-penetration effect.
• M42A1 shell - HE - The best round for dealing with unarmored targets or unarmored sections of vehicles. It should be used carefully, as everything over 10 mm armour can negate its effects. Typically M62 is superior.
• M79 shot - AP - Round inferior in every way to the M62, it's in-game largely for historical reasons.
• M93 shot - APCR - Round trades a significantly lower post-penetration effect for a 20% increase in penetration and flatter flight path.

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
M62 shell	APCBC	149	146	133	119	106	95
M42A1 shell	HE	7	7	7	7	7	7
M79 shot	AP	134	132	121	109	99	89

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%
M62 shell	APCBC	792	7.0	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°
M42A1 shell	HE	800	5.84	0.1	0.5	390	79°	80°	81°
M79 shot	AP	792	6.8	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M18 (Italy).

When fighting in battle rating 4.7 and 5.0 it's best to take only 17 shells, which allows to empty turret and sides of the tank from shells, notably increasing survivalist. In battle ratings around 6.0, it doesn't matter how many rounds are loaded, as most hits against the tank will prove deadly regardless.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
45	37 (+8)	27 (+18)	17 (+28)	9 (+36)	1 (+44)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
800 (200)				576	-10°/+70°	±60°

Usage in battles

Before all, avoid colourful or bright decals. Camouflage is the main part of the M18's defence. Chances for good performance in battle are: be "invisible", fast and effective. The M18's speed is its best ally. This speed has to be used for flanking manoeuvres and relocate. Not for trying to cross an open field, that will leave it open to enemy fire, speed is not a substitute for armour.

Relocate:

• This movement will have to be done again and again. Choose a good spot wisely, remove the foliage if necessary to get a clear field of fire. When in the fire spot, use the gun depression and stay in a hull-down position until a target is located. Once a target is locked on, aim at critical components. Try to immobilize the enemy by firing at the engine or transmission, or remove their firepower by shooting the gun or breech, or for instant destruction with a shot to the ammo storage. The last option can work very well or not, as skilled players only carry a few rounds of ammo.

• If positive that the enemy hasn´t discovered the firing spot, go for another shot. Stay attentive that none of the enemy's teammates has also located the firing spot. If detected, hide immediately and relocate.

Flanking:

• Flanking is the most dangerous manoeuvre of all because the vehicle will have to be exposed as it moves to the enemy's rear, but it is very effective when it's coordinated with other vehicles. A distraction is needed to gain the enemy's attention while the M18 makes its move. Isolated enemy units are very vulnerable to this tactic. Using the M18 speed to get to the rear and as the enemy heads toward the objective, the firing perspective should give a very clear view of the enemy's side armour. A good shot with the M62 APCBC shell could knock out the enemy rather quickly, but if using solid AP shots like the M79, aim at critical components on mobility and firepower before knocking out the crew or ammo stowage.

Avoid flat terrain

• Flat terrain means that the Hellcat will become an easy target for virtually any vehicle by exposure, especially when not moving or when moving in a straight line. Open plains are the bane of the Hellcat. Whenever possible, one should try to stay amongst hills.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	M79 shot	Adjustment of Fire
III	Filters	Crew Replenishment		Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		M88

As with every ground vehicle Parts and FPE are an absolute top priority. Following that, depending on player preferences, one of 3 should be researched: Horizontal Drive (close-range, flanking), Suspension (medium-range) or Adjustment of Fire (long-range of a typical engagements). Following this the goal is to get rank IV mobility improvements in order Filters -> Engine -> Transmission. On rank III, along the way, the Crew Replenishment should be prioritized, as its an open-top vehicle, so it will suffer significant causalities from enemy airplanes. If your preferred engagement range is above 700m then the Elevation Mechanism should be researched. Otherwise: Mobility upgrades are the most important, shells are the lowest priority, as even the situational advantage of the M93 shot is not worth researching over improved mobility, or even accuracy.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Fast reload speed and turret traverse
• It's stock APCBC round has a lot of explosive fillers, rarely requiring more than one penetrating shot to kill
• Overall mobility is superb, with very responsive manoeuvring that allows the Hellcat to excel in flanking manoeuvres
• Overall construction is low profile, reducing target size
• The nature of its thin armour means AP rounds have a tendency to pass straight through without damaging modules, and an APHE fuze may not even be triggered

Cons:

• Thin armour also means rapid-fire autocannons, heavy machine guns, and aerial weapons could easily shred it
• Commander is exposed at the 0.50 calibre machine gun mount, and knocking him out would render the weapon useless
• Open-top construction means aerial strikes and artillery could rain havoc onto the crew
• Gun has poor penetration at its battle rating, often can't penetrate anything frontally unless hitting a weak spot
• Doesn't have access to APCR unlike its American counterpart.
• Rarely reaches 50 km/h in Realistic Battles, even in a straight line
• A moment of immobility due to a damaged engine or transmission could be a sign of impending doom for the M18
• Hull-break mechanics mean any explosions or well-aimed AP round could instantly destroy the vehicle

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

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.