Sherman Vc (Italy)

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Rank VI USA | Premium | Golden Eagles
A-10A Thunderbolt (Early)
▄Sherman Vc
it_sherman_vc_firefly.png
▄Sherman Vc
AB RB SB
5.0 5.0 5.0
Class:
Research:46 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:155 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage Sherman Vc (Italy).jpg


The Carro Armato Medio «Sherman» Tipo Vc is a rank IV Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".One of the most famous Sherman modifications in World War II, the Firefly introduces the potent 17-pounder anti-tank gun as the main armament of the Sherman platform, presenting a very drastic increase in firepower over the original 75 mm gun. This variant, the VC, was based off the chassis of an M4A4 Sherman.

The Sherman Firefly is easily distinguishable by its very long gun, even compared to the Shermans with the American 76 mm guns. The muzzle brake on the cannon is also in a spherical shape rather than a horizontal rectangular shape so that is a distinction between the 76 mm cannon and the 17-pounder. The hull is resemblent to that of the M4 Sherman although lacking the bow machine gun (it's actually based off an M4A4). The turret is also very similar, although the radio sticks out of the back in a bustle.

This tank should be the supporting line in both offensive and defensive actions, providing flanking fire, long-range fire, or fast and accurate fire to the target while the heavy tanks take up the brunt of the defense. The tank is as mobile as the M4 Sherman, so picking up speed to get around the enemy is not hard. Those familiar with a M4 Sherman control will pick up on this tank very easily. While this tank is also capable of being the frontal attack unit for an assault, it is strongly advised to not due to the thin armour of the tank, necessitating the users to always get the first shot off in an encounter, otherwise the enemy will be able to destroy the Firefly easily. For a conservative, almost TD-like role, it can also perform, destroying tanks from afar.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (Transmission area, Turret)
Armour Front Sides Rear Roof
Hull 50.8 mm (55°) Front glacis
50.8 mm (7°) Driver's port
50.8 mm (1-53°) Transmission area
38.1 mm 38.1 mm (22-23°) Top
38.1 mm (1°) Bottom
19.5 mm
12.7 mm Engine deck
Turret 76.2 mm (8-44°) Turret roof
50.8 + 88.9 mm (1-54°) Gun mantlet
50.8 mm (2-38°) 50.8 mm (2-67°) Turret rear
50.8 mm (1°) Radio box
25.4 mm
Armour Sides Roof
Cupola 50.8 mm 25.4 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.
  • Access to the Add-on Armour modification will give the tank substantial coverings on the side hull, each track being 17 mm thick.
  • Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
  • The bow machine gun area has been welded shut with armour, but is only 25.4 mm thick so may present a viable weakness to weaker enemies.
  • Unlike the armour on the American Rank III Shermans which saw itself upped from 50.8 mm to 63.5 mm, the British Firefly in Rank III retains the old 50.8 mm base armour thickness on the front hull, as well as the protruding driver and co-driver hatches in front. This makes the Firefly a much more vulnerable Sherman tank than even the American versions, a trade-off for its more powerful armament.

Mobility

Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock AoA Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 45 6 33.4 1.805 659 811 19.67 22.97
Realistic 41 5 376 425 11.23 12.04

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm QF 17-pounder Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 77 -5°/+25° ±180° N/A 22.8 31.6 38.4 42.5 45.2 7.6 6.8 6.2 5.9
Realistic 7.6 16.8 20.4 22.6 24.0

Ammunition

  • Shot Mk.6: AP - Standard penetrating round, use until better rounds are unlocked.
  • Shell Mk.1: HE - It is ideal for destroying SPAA and lightly armoured tanks, but useless against anything else.
  • Shot Mk.4: APC - Cap for better grip against sloped armour.
  • Shot Mk.8: APCBC - Like Shot Mk.4 but with a ballistic cap for improved flight path, as well as better penetration.
  • Shot SV Mk.1: APDS - Highest armour penetration of any shot, but has worse spalling effect.
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
Shot Mk.6 AP 171 168 155 139 126 113
Shell Mk.1 HE 9 9 9 9 9 9
Shot Mk.4 APC 171 168 155 139 126 113
Shot Mk.8 APCBC 190 187 172 155 140 126
Shot SV Mk.1 APDS 228 226 207 189 159 134
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%
Shot Mk.6 AP 883 7.71 N/A N/A N/A 47° 60° 65°
Shell Mk.1 HE 883 6.98 0.4 0.5 580 79° 80° 81°
Shot Mk.4 APC 883 7.71 N/A N/A N/A 48° 63° 71°
Shot Mk.8 APCBC 883 7.71 N/A N/A N/A 48° 63° 71°
Shot SV Mk.1 APDS 1,203 1.73 N/A N/A N/A 75° 78° 80°
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)
17pdr Shell SS Mk.1 754 8.44 13 5 20 50


Ammo racks
Ammo rack of the Sherman Vc (Italy).
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
6th
rack empty
7th
rack empty
8th
rack empty
9th
rack empty
10th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
77 70 (+7) 62 (+15) 54 (+23) 46 (+31) 38 (+39) 30 (+47) 22 (+55) 15 (+62) (+69) (+76) Yes

Left/front empty: 46 (+31)

Optics
Sherman Vc (Italy) Optics
Which ones Default magnification Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics x3 x6
Comparable optics VFW

First tank in Medium tank British tech line to have X6 scope. It will not get any better than this until rank VI, so get used to it - it will be the same across entire tech tree for a while with SPAA being the only exception.

As of rank III, this scope is slightly or moderately superior to most medium and heavy tanks, but do not expect to outsnipe German SPG as they have same optics or even better.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity) Fire rate
(shots/minute)
Vertical
guidance
Horizontal
guidance
750 (200) 577 -10°/+15° ±180°
7.62 mm L3A1
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity) Fire rate
(shots/minute)
Vertical
guidance
Horizontal
guidance
5,000 (250) 500 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

Shoot and scoot. Unless the enemy's tank gunner has been knocked out (black only), cannon breech has been disabled (red/black), or cannon barrel is disabled (red/black) that inhibits the enemy's ability to fire back, don’t expose the tank after firing. Always try to retreat back into cover to relead. Once reloaded, preferably pop out of an area different from the last firing position and take another shot. Make sure to eliminate the enemy's ability to fire back by destroying their cannon breech and traverse gears, or incapacitate their driver and gunner again if they were replaced. During this whole process, watch out for other enemy tanks and avoid being swarmed. With situational awareness combined with the correct usage of the map, the Firefly becomes a decent tank capable of effectively fighting every medium and heavy tank it faces.

The Firefly can excel at vaporizing tanks that have clustered crew, like StuGs, SUs, T-34s, KVs, and even Panzer IIIs and IVs. The post penetration affect of the Firefly's shells after the AP buffs allow it to decimate those tanks. However, it is recommended to still shoot from afar, as all of these tanks can destroy the Firefly easily.

Definitely do not play to aggressively. The huge weakness of the 3/4 crew in the turret is almost always pointed out immediately, because it's a huge issue. It good hit either means a quick trip back to the hangar, or a lengthy crew replenishment time on AB. But this ignores the fact that the tank is just a huge glass cannon, as any shot anywhere will likely cripple the tank.

The Sherman Firefly can dish out the punishment necessary for heavy tanks, but can’t take it. Don’t expose the tank towards enemy fire too long due to the thin armour on the Firefly in comparison to other tanks such as the Russian T-34-85s and the Germans Panthers. Take a shot, preferably from a flanking location, then retreat into cover regardless of the shot's effect on target, because if the target could swing its gun towards the Firefly, or have friends that could hit it, consider writing off the Firefly very soon. This varies between different enemies, as going against something like the KV-2 would be different than going against a Tiger I.

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts Shot Mk.4 Horizontal Drive
II Suspension Brake System FPE Shot Mk.8 Adjustment of Fire
III Filters Crew Replenishment Shot SV Mk.1 Elevation Mechanism
IV Transmission Engine Artillery Support 17pdr Shell SS Mk.1 Smoke grenades

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Uses the tried and tested Sherman chassis. Experienced players will find this tank easy to use.
  • Very fast turret traverse speed.
  • The 17-Pounder gun, which can penetrate every single tank it faces, although newer players may struggle against the Panther.
  • APDS rounds with excellent penetrating capabilities
  • Fast reload even with untrained crew.
  • 77 rounds maximum.
  • Fast and very mobile.
  • Has .50 cal AA machine gun that's unique among other vehicles as it can rotate for 360°.
  • Has no side bulges unlike the Premium version.
  • Post penetration damage tends to be enough to knock out crews when clustered together, such as on the T-34 series or turrets.

Cons:

  • Armour of a M4 Sherman, very thin for a Rank III vehicle.
  • Large profile.
  • 4 crew members, 3 of which are clustered in the turret, making it easier to knock out.
  • Bad gun depression of only -5 degrees.
  • Gun post penetration damage is decent with the AP buffs, but still won't always one shot a tank.
  • Smart enemies will shoot the spot where the radio operator gunner usually sat, as in the Firefly, that spot is replaced by ammo (unless carrying 54 ammo).
  • Lacks additional armour unlike its British counterpart.
  • Reverse speed is bad.
  • Like all vehicles armed with early version of the 17-pounder gun, it will struggle before it has the Shot Mk.8.
  • Stock AP round is painful to use. It fragments poorly, bounces often and does very little damage unless hitting ammo or modules.
  • Unlike other Shermans, it doesn't have access to a gun stabilizer and thus the gun sight will rock up and down on a sudden stop.
  • Traverse is mediocre.

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.


Italy medium tanks
  Italy
M13/40  M13/40 (I) · M13/40 (II) · M13/40 (III)
M14/41  M14/41 · M14/41 (47/40)
M15/42  M15/42
M16/43  Celere Sahariano
P26/40  P40 · P40 "G.C. Leoncello"
OF-40  OF-40 · OF-40 Mk.2A · OF-40 (MTCA)
Ariete  Ariete (P) · Ariete · Ariete PSO · Ariete AMV
Germany  ▄Pz.III N · ▄Pz.IV G · ▄Leopard 1A5
Allied powers  ▄Sherman I Composito · Sherman Ic · ▄Sherman Vc · ▄Sherman V · M26 "D.C.Ariete" · M26A1 · M47 (105/55) · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete"
  Hungary
Turán  Turan I · Turan II · Turan III
Germany  ◔Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2A7HU
USSR  ◔T-72M1