Difference between revisions of "ARL-44"

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(Main armament)
(Survivability and armour: Updated and completed)
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== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== 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?''
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<!-- ''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.'' -->
 
 
''If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.''-->
 
 
 
Distance is your best ally as your armour has many big weak spots. Avoid showing sides and/or back to your enemies and you should be mostly fine. As armour on this tank has very large weak spots, it is better to keep as far as possible from the frontline, using its astonishing gun to knock down enemies.
 
  
 
'''Armour type:'''
 
'''Armour type:'''
  
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
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* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, cupola)
 
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
 
* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
  
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
|-
 
|-
| Hull || 120 mm (48°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 75 mm (63°) ''Lower glacis'' <br> 100 mm (1-80°) ''Machine gun port'' || 50 + (25-50) + 50 mm || 20 mm (72°) ''Top'' <br> 35 mm (32°) ''Bottom'' || 20 mm
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| Hull || 120 mm (48°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 100 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' <br> 50 mm ''Hull compartment between the tracks'' <br> 50 mm (63°) ''Lower glacis'' || 50 mm <br> 25 mm ''Tracks cover'' || 35 mm (32°) ''Rear glacis'' <br> 35 mm (20°) ''Hull compartment between the tracks'' || 20 mm <br> 5 mm ''Radiator vents'' <br> 5 mm (18°) ''Engine access panel''
|-
 
| Turret || 110 mm (0-70°) ''Turret front'' <br> 100 mm (0-75°) ''Gun mantlet'' || 60 mm (13-14°) || 30 mm (8°) || 10 mm
 
 
|-
 
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
+
| Turret || 110 mm (0-70°) ''Turret front'' <br> 66 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 60 mm (14°) || 20 mm (8°) || 20 mm (11°) ''Front'' <br> 10 mm ''Rear''
 
|-
 
|-
| Cupola || 60 mm || 60 mm
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| Cupola || colspan="4" style="text-align:center" | 60 mm (spherical)
 
|}
 
|}
 
'''Notes:'''
 
'''Notes:'''
  
* Suspension wheel are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
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* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
* 25 mm RHA plate separate the engine from the crew compartment.
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* An additional 25 mm RHA plate separates the engine from the crew compartment.
 +
 
 +
In spite of its armour the {{PAGENAME}} still has weak spots easy to target. Avoid showing your sides and/or your back to enemy tanks and you should be mostly fine. Because of the large weak spots like the turret cheeks or the hull between the tracks, it is better to stay as far as possible from the frontline, using the very powerful gun to knock down enemies.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===

Revision as of 14:34, 13 November 2020

RANK 4 FRANCE
Somua SM PACK
fr_arl_44.png
ARL-44
AB RB SB
5.3 5.3 5.3
Research:33 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:105 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game
This page is about the tank destroyer ARL-44. For the heavy tank version, see ARL-44 (ACL-1).

Description

GarageImage ARL-44.jpg


The ARL-44 is a Rank III French tank destroyer with a battle rating of 5.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". As a rank III turreted tank destroyer, it performs very well in its role. It is the final iteration of the ARL-44. With a very good gun and appreciable armour, this tank is deemed to be a long-range sniper on the battlefield. Its only downside lies with its mobility: it is slower than most tanks at this BR.

The ARL-44 bears very distinctive characteristics, with a WWI-style track system (similar to the Churchill) which runs across the whole side of its chassis. This tank is a mix of different inspirations, mainly late war German tank technology such as the Panther series or the Tiger II, from which it takes its sloped frontal armour and tall profile. As France was reviving from WW2, its engineers were hard at work to catch up with tank technology, the ARL-44 series was a training ground for them. This is why this tank has rather weird design choices, coming from both experience and experimentation. This final iteration of the series is comparable to the famous King Tiger (while being not as good).

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

  • Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, cupola)
  • Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 120 mm (48°) Front glacis
100 mm (spherical) MG port
50 mm Hull compartment between the tracks
50 mm (63°) Lower glacis
50 mm
25 mm Tracks cover
35 mm (32°) Rear glacis
35 mm (20°) Hull compartment between the tracks
20 mm
5 mm Radiator vents
5 mm (18°) Engine access panel
Turret 110 mm (0-70°) Turret front
66 mm Gun mantlet
60 mm (14°) 20 mm (8°) 20 mm (11°) Front
10 mm Rear
Cupola 60 mm (spherical)

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick.
  • An additional 25 mm RHA plate separates the engine from the crew compartment.

In spite of its armour the ARL-44 still has weak spots easy to target. Avoid showing your sides and/or your back to enemy tanks and you should be mostly fine. Because of the large weak spots like the turret cheeks or the hull between the tracks, it is better to stay as far as possible from the frontline, using the very powerful gun to knock down enemies.

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 41 9 50 852 1,145 17.04 22.9
Realistic 38 8 531 600 10.62 12

Moving around is the greatest issue an ARL-44 will face: its track traction is very poor and won't allow to move as quickly as you would wish on most terrain. Since your mobility does not make you neither a good flanker nor brawler, keep behind friendly lines, breaking even the heaviest of your foes.

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: SA45 (90 mm)
90 mm SA45 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 43 -10°/+20° ±180° N/A 13.2 18.3 22.2 24.6 26.1 13.00 11.50 10.60 10.00
Realistic 8.9 10.5 12.8 14.1 15.0

The gun is clearly the biggest quality of the ARL-44 as it can take down anything at this battle rating from a good distance. Keep in mind that your reload rate is rather slow. The shells have no explosive filler but every penetrating shot carries a very large amount of shrapnel. Destroying enemies with one shot is thus a frequent occurrence, even if this tanks only has solid shots.

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
90 mm Obus de rupture APC 215 212 201 188 175 164
90 mm Obus explosif HE 13 13 13 13 13 13
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%
90 mm Obus de rupture APC 1,000 10.6 N/A N/A N/A 48° 63° 71°
90 mm Obus explosif HE 700 11.3 0.1 0.5 945 79° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the ARL-44
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
43 31 (+12) 25 (+18) 13 (+30) (+42) No

Notes:

  • Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
  • Turret rear empty: 25 (+18) shells.

Machine guns

Main article: MAC 31 (7.5 mm)
7.5 mm MAC 31
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 5,000 (150) 1,350 N/A N/A

The small calibre of the MAC 31 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

This tank is a dedicated sniper, using it in any other role is a bad idea as its characteristics does not suits it for anything else. Hull-down positions are mostly ineffective as its turret armour is bad. At best, try to hide its LFP behind solid cover. Angling is not very necessary in most cases it is better to face its enemies head-on and concentrate on the firing. If caught in close-quarter combat, make sure to angle its turret ~30 to the left between shots (thus protecting your ammo racks with gun breech).

At this BR, you are not the only good sniper on the battlefield, watch out for SPGs as they can take you out from a very good distance. Still, these are not your biggest fear, armoured SPGs and heavy tanks are. Some enemies of note are the Panther D, which from a distance will ricochet shells aimed at the hull, to avoid this it is recommended to aim at the turret cheeks. An enemy to avoid however is the Nashorn, which has the ability to penetrate even the angled lower plate. If you catch one by surprise, make sure to disable the engine or the cannon first.

Modules

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

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • What a gun!
    • Very good 90 mm gun with lots of penetration
    • Average reload rate
    • Lots of shrapnels
    • Fast round: easy to aim at distances
  • An armour tailored for a sniper
    • Has 120 mm of sloped armour on the glacis plate.
    • Better overall armour than the ARL-44 (ACL-1)
    • Side armour is complex, negates occasional HEAT shells.
    • Can be played a little like a heavy tank when facing weaker enemies.
  • Mobility is alright as long as you don't push it
    • Good acceleration at low speeds
    • Good hull turning rate

Cons:

  • Does not like getting shot at, especially up close
    • Large silhouette
    • Vulnerable side profile. Big and flat.
    • Wall of ammo behind the upper glacis plate, penetrating it can result in an ammo rack
    • There is a shell staying next to breech that won't go away until all ammo is spent. Shells penetrating the turret and hitting the breech have high chance of blowing it up.
    • Turret armour is underwhelming at 100mm-110mm of flat armour. German 75mm can penetrate at range.
    • Extremely thin roof armour (10 mm on the turret and 5 mm on the engine deck). Strafing planes are deadly.
    • Weak lower plate is only 50 mm, a major shot trap.
    • Weak gun mantlet is only 60 mm flat armour
    • Turret back is only 20 mm thick, vulnerable to HMG fire.
    • A hit to a track from the front has a high chance of both knocking out the track and some crew members. High calibre guns may be able to one shot.
    • Angling often doesn't help
  • Moving can be unpleasant
    • Tracks have poor ground traction
    • Hill climbing is hard
    • Struggles reaching top speed
  • Others
    • Struggles when up-tiered in matches.

History

Development of the ARL-44 began shortly after the Liberation of France in 1944. The established provisional government was keen on restoring France’s influence and power to what it used to be before the war. This involved, among other things, the revival of all French military branches. The situation was looking particularly desperate for the army, as most indigenous equipment and tanks were manufactured in the 1930s and the most advanced in use at the time was equipment left behind by the Germans. The French Ministry of War decided to remedy this issue by starting the production of a so called “transitional tank”. This project was intended to bolster the number of indigenous tanks in use with the army, reuse existing tank parts and, most importantly, provide French engineers with a base on which they could “experiment” on to gain valuable experience for future tank development. Thus, in November 1944, the decision was made to design a heavy tank with relatively modest specifications. Staff from several design and manufacturing state companies were assigned to the project and work on what would become the ARL-44 began.

Initially, the new tank was required, apart from using existing tank parts, to have a weight of 30 tonnes, a top armour thickness of 60mm and a primary gun of the 75mm caliber. As the engineers were limited to using existing parts for their new machine, it very quickly became apparent that the amount of innovation that was possible for the new machine was equally limited. Thus, the ARL-44 soon took on the resemblance of a Char B1, with the exception of the turret and gun. The end of the war in 1945 didn’t stop development however, quite the opposite in fact. The design went through several changes, from increasing the armour thickness to the installation of a new engine and the new 90mm French cannon, despite the fact that there was no longer a for such a vehicle. At that point, the further development and subsequent limited production run of the ARL-44 was only used for “propaganda” purposes, with the aim of increasing the morale of the French people in the post-war period. In the end, only 60 ARL-44s were constructed and no sooner than they were introduced into service, they were also decommissioned due to, unsurprisingly, unsatisfactory performance, at the beginning of the 1950s. Despite this, the project did fulfill one of its major goals - generate experience for a new generation of French tank designers. Thanks to experiences gained from projects like the ARL-44, France would build its first true modern MBT only a decade later, serving as proof that the ARL-44 was not in vain after all.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins
Videos

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
Vehicles equipped with the same gun
Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

External links


France tank destroyers
Lorraine 40t derivatives  CA Lorraine · Lorraine 155 Mle.50
ATGM  MEPHISTO · AMX-10M
Other  AMR.35 ZT3 · Lorraine 37L · SAu 40 · ARL-44 · ELC bis · AMX-50 Foch · AuF1
USA  ▄M10 GMC · ▄M36B2