Difference between revisions of "M15/42"

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(Usage in battles: Completed section)
(Survivability and armour: Corrected typo)
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
 
|-
 
|-
| Hull || 50 mm (12°) ''Upper plate'' <br> 30 mm (12°) + 30 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' <br> 25 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 30 mm (15°) ''Lower plate'' || 25 mm (8°) ''Top'' <br> 25 mm ''Bottom'' <br> 30 mm (9-12°) ''MG bulge'' || 25 mm ''Upper part'' <br> 25 mm (15°) ''Lower part'' || 25 mm (10°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 25 mm ''Crew compartment'' <br> 8 mm (15°) ''Rear section - Engine'' <br> 5-25 mm (8°) ''Rear section - Radiator vents''
+
| Hull || 50 mm (12°) ''Upper plate'' <br> 30 mm (12°) + 30 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' <br> 25 mm (80°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 30 mm (cylindrical) ''Lower plate'' || 25 mm (8°) ''Top'' <br> 25 mm ''Bottom'' <br> 30 mm (9-12°) ''MG bulge'' || 25 mm ''Upper part'' <br> 25 mm (15°) ''Lower part'' || 25 mm (10°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 25 mm ''Crew compartment'' <br> 8 mm (15°) ''Rear section - Engine'' <br> 5-25 mm (8°) ''Rear section - Radiator vents''
 
|-
 
|-
 
| Turret || 30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) ''Gun mantlet'' <br> 45 mm (13°) ''Turret front'' <br> 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 25 mm (20°) <br> 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || 15 mm (5°)
 
| Turret || 30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) ''Gun mantlet'' <br> 45 mm (13°) ''Turret front'' <br> 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || colspan="2" style="text-align:center" | 25 mm (20°) <br> 50 mm ''Turret ring'' || 15 mm (5°)

Revision as of 22:30, 3 November 2020

Rank VI | Premium | Golden Eagles
Challenger DS Pack
it_m15_42.png
M15/42
AB RB SB
2.7 2.7 2.7
Class:
Research:7 900 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:10 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
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Description

GarageImage M15 42.jpg


The Fiat-Ansaldo M15/42 is a rank II Italian medium tank with a battle rating of 2.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic". The M15/42 is the last tank before getting to the P40 and foreign medium tanks and is the final version of the Carro Armato, thus giving some notable improvements over the previous models.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet, MG port)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 50 mm (12°) Upper plate
30 mm (12°) + 30 mm (spherical) MG port
25 mm (80°) Front glacis
30 mm (cylindrical) Lower plate
25 mm (8°) Top
25 mm Bottom
30 mm (9-12°) MG bulge
25 mm Upper part
25 mm (15°) Lower part
25 mm (10°) Front glacis
25 mm Crew compartment
8 mm (15°) Rear section - Engine
5-25 mm (8°) Rear section - Radiator vents
Turret 30 + 40 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet
45 mm (13°) Turret front
50 mm Turret ring
25 mm (20°)
50 mm Turret ring
15 mm (5°)

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick while tracks are 20 mm thick and bogies 10 mm thick.
  • The M15/42's belly is 14 mm thick.
  • Mudguards are 4 mm thick.
Turret

The turret is only 25 mm at the side, but due to the roundness and the slope of the armour at the front of the tank, it has an effective thickness of ~70 mm which can bounce poorly aimed shots. The mantlet has two layers of armour stacked on top of each other, giving an effective thickness of 75 mm, however, it has a shot trap on the left side which only has a thickness between 29 mm and 49 mm however due to the low battle rating, most new players won't know to shoot there. Despite the shot trap, the combination of good, sloped and rounded turret armour can make the M15/42 effective at hull-down positions.

Hull

The top of the hull has decent protection in the form of a 50 mm frontal plate and a ludicrously sloped (80°) 20 mm plate which has an effective thickness of ~75 mm. However, the lower glacis plate only has a thickness of 30 mm and is directly in front of the transmission, so shots there will cripple the tank's mobility and possible result in its destruction.

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 43 4 15 287 353 19.13 23.53
Realistic 39 4 164 185 10.93 12.33

The M15/42 is not a shining star on the battlefield, however, when it comes to mobility, this medium tank can get around. While being understandably significantly slower than most light tanks encountered at this battle rating, it can hold its own over most terrain as a medium tank, sacrificing armour for mobility.

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: 47/40 mod.38 (47 mm)
47 mm 47/40 mod.38 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 111 -10°/+20° ±180° N/A 13.3 18.5 22.4 24.8 26.4 3.77 3.33 3.07 2.90
Realistic 8.3 9.8 11.9 13.2 14.0

The 47/40 mod.38 cannon is quite the powerhouse at this rank, especially due to the effective shells at its disposal. The mod.39 shell has a decent muzzle velocity of 755 m/s, good post-penetration damage and adequate penetration at close ranges. However, it quickly loses effectiveness at longer ranges. This encourages the player to fight in the mid-range area, almost always in a hull-down position.

Ammunition

The shells available for the M15/42 are limited:

  • Granata mod.35: HE; a high-explosive useful for destroying open and lightly armoured vehicles. It however is a very slow shell travelling (twice slower than the other projectile). You can pack a few of those as you lack a heavy machine gun.
  • Granata Perforante mod.39: APBC; a solid shot with an average penetration but no explosive filler. Make sure to target modules and crew positions to maximise the damage. Disabling the enemy gunner on your first shot will be critical to win engagements as you'll most likely need several shots to destroy an enemy vehicle. This shell should be your default 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
Granata mod.35 HE 5 5 5 5 5 5
Granata Perforante mod.39 APBC 69 67 59 51 43 37
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%
Granata mod.35 HE 364 2.37 2 0.1 150 79° 80° 81°
Granata Perforante mod.39 APBC 755 1.44 1.2 15 30 47° 60° 65°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M15/42

Last updated: 1.101.1.33

Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
111 104 (+7) 95 (+16) (+110) Yes

Notes:

  • The visual discrepancy concerns rack 1, which is modeled as 9 shells each but will disappear after you've fired 8 shells from it.
  • As they are modeled by sets of 2 to 5 shells, sets disappear from the rack only after you fire all shells in the set.
  • The massive rack 3 depletes from the centre outwards.

Machine guns

Main article: Breda Mod. 38 (8 mm)
8 mm Breda Mod. 38
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 1,524 (24) 600 N/A N/A
Pintle 288 (24) 600 -10°/+30° N/A

The small calibre of the Breda Mod. 38 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. The pintle-mounted MG can not pivot independently from the turret. Two additional hull-mounted Breda machine guns are modeled but not usable.

Usage in battles

Combat tactics

The M15/42 is basically a M14/41 tank boasting a better gun, a more powerful engine and thus sitting at a higher battle rating. With the BR increase, the competition gets also tougher. That's why the M15/42 features henceforth average armour for its rank, especially the sides and around the turret. Frontally, the massive 50 mm front plate is the biggest weak spot: flat, hard to miss and a penetrating shot through this plate will kill the driver and the gunner that sits behind him. To avoid this, you can angle your tank about 30 degrees to the left to hide your flat plate and present instead the MG bulge that could absorb some shots. This however is not a durable strategy, any expert tanker won't fall for that trick.

The M15/42's top speed of 38 km/h limits its opportunities as a flanker. Its flat armour also limits its capacity to advance exposed in the open and its rather slow turret rotation prevents it from reacting quickly to 360° threats as a frontline tank. Its solid 47 mm gun on the other hand coupled with 15 degrees of gun depression makes the M15/42 a good support tank. Stay behind cover at a distance (500 to 700 m) from the frontline to support spearheading tanks, this will also increase your armour advantage. On top of that, the M15/42 sports with a crew of 4 (and 1 spare) a longer durability than most tanks at its BR. When being focused on the action, it is imperative to always check for 2 main threats: flanking enemies who could reach you quickly from the frontline and tank destroyers with a high penetration power lurking at a safe distance. If you're flanked, your turret doesn't turn all too fast: rotate your hull instead. Pivot turning in the M15/42 will always be faster than turning your turret. If you spot a tank destroyer aligned on your position, retreat or get behind cover.

Notable enemies
  • Heavy tanks like B1 bis or B1 ter whose armour is too strong for your gun,
  • Tank destroyers with powerful guns like the Marder III, ZiS-30, Ho-Ni I, Ho-Ni III, Chi-Ha LG or the LVT(A)(4) (ZiS-2) (China),
  • Tanks with HEAT shells like the Pz. IV E, F1, the StuG III A or the StuH 42 G,
  • Tanks with APDS shells like the Strv m/40L, the Strv m/41 S-II or the Lago I,
  • Tanks with many crew members like the M3 Lee, the Grant I, the T-28 or the T-28E whose durability is high.
How to defeat a M15/42

Rule of thumb is to get as close as possible as you can to maximise your penetration power as its armour is flat.

  • In a frontal encounter, shoot right in the middle of the front plate if the M15/42 did not angle its hull. This will knock out the gunner and the driver.
  • If it is hull down, aim at the turret cheeks.
  • If its hull is angled, aim at the flat corners of the hull.
  • If you manage to flank the M15/42, aim for the hull spot right under the center of the turret or the turret itself.
  • From the rear, target the turret first and then the crew compartment right under the turret (avoid shooting in the engine compartment: it will absorb shots with little damage to the crew).

Modules

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

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Solid frontal armour
  • Decent mobility
  • The Mod.39 shell has effective penetration for the BR and quite good post-penetration damage
  • Best shell is unlocked by standard
  • Decent gun depression of 10°
  • Adequate turret traverse
  • Due to the 80° angle the upper glacis is angled at, it can be a very good shot-bouncer
  • Hard to kill from the front, especially when in a hull-down position
  • Decent muzzle velocity

Cons:

  • Crew is cramped
  • Mod.39 shell rapidly loses effectiveness at range
  • Frontal plate is almost flat
  • Rest of the armour is mediocre at best
  • Shots to the lower glacis almost always result in the transmission breaking

History

The last version of the M13 series. The M15/42 was slightly longer than the preceding models and had a higher-velocity 47mm gun, a more powerful engine, and improved armour. In total 112 were built, before production was switched to the tank destroyer version (the Semovente M42 da 75/18). By September 1943 when Italy surrendered, 82 of those had been issued to army units, in five-tank platoons. Their only use in combat by an Italian Army unit was actually against the Germans that month, in particular by the 135th "Ariete II" Division in the defence of Rome.

Germany confiscated 92 on Italy's surrender and produced another 28 themselves. Some were turned over to Italian forces. While most remained in Italy, some were also employed by the German forces in Hungary.

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


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
USSR  ◔T-72M1