M1A1 HC

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Rank 6 USA
F-5C Pack
This page is about the American medium tank M1A1 HC. For other vehicles of the family, see M1 Abrams (Family).
M1A1 HC
us_m1a1_hc_abrams.png
GarageImage M1A1 HC.jpg
M1A1 HC
AB RB SB
11.3 11.3 11.3
Class:
Research:350 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:950 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 120-mm Gun M1A1 HC is a rank VII American medium tank with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Direct Hit".

The M1A1 HC is a modification to the preceding M1A1 Abrams with features requested by the United States Marine Corps. The designation M1A1 HC, which stands for "Heavy Common", is to indicate the M1A1's "commonality" of features as the M1A1 HC was used by both the US Army and the US Marine Corps.

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour
Balanced protection against all types of ammunition
Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
ESS
Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle
Self-entrenching equipment
Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground
Armourfront / side / back
Hull133 / 60 / 32
Turret139 / 120 / 13
Crew4 people
Visibility82 %

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.

Armour type:

Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull ___ mm ___ mm Top
___ mm Bottom
___ mm ___ - ___ mm
Turret ___ - ___ mm Turret front
___ mm Gun mantlet
___ - ___ mm ___ - ___ mm ___ - ___ mm
Cupola ___ mm ___ mm ___ mm ___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB76 / 43 km/h
RB and SB69 / 39 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
4 back
Weight61.2 t
Engine power
AB2 898 hp
RB and SB1 519 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB47.4 hp/t
RB and SB24.8 hp/t
Game Mode Max Speed (km/h) Weight (tons) Engine power (horsepower) Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Forward Reverse Stock Upgraded Stock Upgraded
Arcade 76 43 61.2 2533 2,898 41.39 47.35
Realistic 69 39 1343 1,519 21.94 24.82

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB4 131 → 6 857 Sl icon.png
RB4 037 → 6 701 Sl icon.png
SB5 107 → 8 477 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications281 900 Rp icon.png
463 000 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost3 000 Ge icon.png
Crew training270 000 Sl icon.png
Experts950 000 Sl icon.png
Aces2 200 Ge icon.png
Research Aces1 210 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
150 / 190 / 210 % Sl icon.png
244 / 244 / 244 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
500 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
3 600 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
3 300 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement us.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
500 Ge icon.png
Mods engine smoke screen system.png
ESS
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_DM_HEAT_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
12 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
19 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods dozer blade.png
Dozer Blade
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
11 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
17 000 Sl icon.png
290 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
500 Ge icon.png
Mods thermal sight.png
NVD
Research:
19 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
29 000 Sl icon.png
500 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods tank laser rangefinder.png
Laser rangefinder
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
120mm_M829A_APDS_FS_ammo_pack
Research:
16 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
25 000 Sl icon.png
420 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Laser rangefinder
Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder
Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.
Thermal imager
Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition40 rounds
First-order17 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
6.5 → 5.0 s
Vertical guidance-10° / 20°
Main article: M256 (120 mm)
120 mm M256 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 40 -10°/+20° ±180° Two-plane 38.1 52.7 64.0 70.8 75.3 7.80 6.90 6.36 6.00
Realistic 23.8 28.0 34.0 37.6 40.0

Ammunition

The M1A1 HC is armed with the same 120 mm M256 smoothbore gun as the M1A1 and has access to the same ammunition of APFSDS and HEATFS. However, the M1A1 HC also gets access to a new HEATFS shell, M830A1. The M829 APFSDS round is still an excellent anti-tank munition, boasting the third highest penetration figures out of any sabot round in the game, at 493 mm of flat penetration at point-blank and decreasing to just 458 mm at 2 km. Its angled performance is also excellent, penetrating 284 mm of armour at 60 degrees point-blank and 264 mm at 2 km. It is sufficient to reliably engage any vehicle in the game frontally. The M830 HEATFS shell penetrates a meagre 480 mm of armour. It is not recommended to use this shell after unlocking the M829. The M830A1 is a special type of HEATFS round. Instead of using a conventional impact fuse, M830A1 is a sub-calibre HEATFS round that has been saboted into a 120 mm casing and fitted with a proximity fuse. This allows it to effectively engage low flying aircraft and helicopters up to a range of 4.5 km. The sub-calibre nature of the round means it travels extremely quickly at 1,400 m/s, making it the fastest HEAT round in the game. However, its effectiveness against armoured vehicles is limited as it penetrates a mere 350 mm of armour.

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
M830 HEATFS 480 480 480 480 480 480
M830A1 HEATFS 350 350 350 350 350 350
M829 APFSDS 491 488 481 473 464 454
M829A1 APFSDS 598 596 589 580 570 560
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%
M830 HEATFS 1,140 13.1 0.05 0.1 2,360 65° 72° 77°
M830A1 HEATFS 1,410 11.4 0.05 0.1 1,390 65° 72° 77°
M829 APFSDS 1,670 3.94 N/A N/A N/A 78° 80° 81°
M829A1 APFSDS 1,569 4.64 N/A N/A N/A 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M1A1 HC
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
40 35 (+5) 18 (+22) (+39) No

Machine guns

Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate575 shots/min
Vertical guidance-9° / 65°
Ammunition1 400 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate941 shots/min
Ammunition10 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate941 shots/min
12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle (Commander) 1,000 (200) 577 -9°/+65° -160°/+180°
7.62 mm M240
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 10,000 (200) 941 N/A N/A
Pintle (Loader) 1,400 (200) 941 -9°/+65° -77°/+135°

Usage in battles

The M1A1 HC is like the M1A2 without the CITV but with a soft-kill active protection system (APS) only useful against early missiles but useless against laser-guided Missiles like Hellfires or Vikhrs, The M1A1 HC also has good acceleration which allows you to flank around but beware of the engine noise. The M1A1 HC has to be aware of Enemy tanks such as the Leopard 2A5, the Leopard 2A6, the T-80U, the T-72B3, the T-80BVM, the Leclerc, etc. The M1A1 HC also has access to the M829A1 shell which has 598 mm of penetration on flat armour up close and is one of the best penetrating APFSDS in-game making the M1A1 HC great for sniping.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Powerful ammunition selection
  • Has an active protection system that can provide protection against some ATGMs, also comes stock
  • Better turret protection when compared to the M1A1
  • M829 is a Tier I modification, with NVDs being Tier III
  • Carries 4 charges of smoke grenades (4/16 compared to the 6/12 carried by its brothers)

Cons:

  • No commander's sight
  • APS is visible through night vision devices

History

Development & Procurement

Though the M1 Abrams became accepted into service of the United States Army in November 1981,[1] the United States Marines Corps (USMC) were not able to immediately look into procurement of the Abrams tanks due to budget. It was not until February 1985 that the Commandant of the Marine Corps sought to officially replace the M60A1 in USMC service with the M1A1 Abrams, with plans for 490 M1A1 to replace 760 M60A1 beginning in November 1990.[2]

A USMC M1A1 HC in an amphibious exercise. The ability of the M1A1 to accept a deep water fording kit, a feature the USMC requested, is an indicator of a "Heavy Common" variant.

The USMC's plan to acquire the M1A1 (or the M1A1 HA model with DU armour since October 1988[3]) also requested design changes to the tank to fit the USMC's needs. These requests culminated to eighty engineering changes, such as deep-wading adapters for fording kits, stronger chain tie-downs, and a position location reference system.[2][3][4] Instead of producing this modified Abrams tank just for the USMC, the changes were integrated into the overall M1A1 HA production lines beginning in November 1990, when GDLS began producing Abrams for the USMC. These M1A1s were not distinguished by the service branch, being sent to both the US Army and US Marine Corps. As such, the US Army began referring to the M1A1s produced after November 1990 as the M1A1 HC, with HC for "Heavy Common" in reference to the commonality of the M1A1 HA tank design between service branches. The USMC came to reference the tank as the M1A1 Common, while referring to any pre-November 1990 builds of the M1A1 HA as a "Plain Jane".[2] The primary distinction between a US Army and a US Marine Corps M1A1 HC is the smoke grenade launchers, the US Army uses the M250 smoke grenade launcher while the USMC uses the M257 smoke grenade launcher.[5]

Though the USMC requested for 490 M1A1 HC tanks, they would only receive 269 units by the delivery end date of 1992.[2] An insufficient number for their needs, the USMC would receive additional support from US Congress between 1994 to 1995, which allocated enough funding for the transfer of 134 M1A1 tanks from the US Army. As these were "Plain Jane" M1A1 HAs, an upgrade program was started between 1995 to 1997 to apply "Common" design changes into the "Plain Janes". Another transfer would occur in between 2002 to 2005 for 181 M1A1 HA from the US Army to the USMC, which were likewise modified to HC standards.[6]

Combat usage

The USMC's stock of M1A1 Abrams tank would see first use during the 1991 Gulf War. However, their primary tank deployed to the theater was the M60A1 RISE (P) as they were still procuring and transitioning to the M1A1 tanks. To bolster the Marine's number of Abrams, the US Army provided 60 "Plain Jane" M1A1 HA to the Marines 2nd Tank Battalion while the two companies of the 4th Tank Battalion of the USMC Reserve was equipped with 16 of the newer M1A1 HC. As such, the Abrams made up of 76 of the total 353 USMC tanks in the Gulf War, the rest of which was composed of M60A1s.[4]

Two M1A1 HC of the USMC in Helmand province, Afghanistan. The front tank has a dozer blade attached. The two large cylindrical antennas on the turret bustle of each tank is for the CREWS 1 jammer unit.

The USMC's Abrams were committed into action during the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm. 4th Tank Battalion's Bravo Company saw action in the pre-dawn hours of February 25th when a T-72 battalion from the 3rd Saladin Armored Division approached their location.[7][8] The M1A1 HCs, benefitting from their thermal imager gun sights, were able to engage and decimate the battalion, destroying up to 34 of the 35 total T-72 tanks in a span of 90 seconds.[8][9] One crew was even credited with hitting seven tanks with seven rounds in about a minute.[7]

The M1A1 HC would continue to see use wherever the USMC deployed their armored units, such as in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The M1A1 HC's usage in Afghanistan stand out as the US Army did not bring any Abrams, and were present from 2011 to 2013. The tanks deployed to these two operations are distinguished by the fitting of a CREWS 1 electronic receiver/jammer unit, intended to prevent the transmission of frequencies from detonating improvised explosive devices (IED). These are distinguished by two large antennas usually located at the turret rear.[10]

Further upgrades and the Future

The USMC stuck with the M1A1 HC throughout its service life, lacking the budget to upgrade to the US Army's M1A2 Abrams. However, the USMC integrated several M1A2 and other US Army features such as the Stabilized Commander's Weapon Station (SCWS) and Tank-Infantry Phone (TIP). One unique upgrade the USMC implemented on their tanks was the Abrams Suspension Upgrade (ASU), intended to improve the Abrams' supported weight to 77 tons. A Firepower Enhancement Program (FEP) was also implemented to improve the fire control system and IFF recognition.[10]

In 2020, the United States Marine Corps was reorganized under Commandant Gen. David Berger as part of Force Design 2030, with the decision made to deactivate all tank units under the USMC.[11] The process began in July with 4th Tank Battalion's deactivation and ended in on 21 May 2021 with the 1st Tank Battalion's deactivation.[12][13] The 452 M1A1 HC tanks in USMC inventory are to be transferred to the US Army by 2023.[14]

Media

Skins
Videos

See also

Other members of the M1 Abrams family

External links

References

  1. Green 2015, Loc 241 of 1808
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Green 2015, Loc 1187-1201 of 1808
  3. 3.0 3.1 Conners 2021
  4. 4.0 4.1 Zaloga 2009, Loc 908-916 of 1274
  5. Cooke 2008
  6. Green 2015, Loc 1201-1208 of 1808
  7. 7.0 7.1 Zaloga 2009, Loc 1160-1168 of 1274
  8. 8.0 8.1 Naval History and Heritage Command 2015
  9. Green 2015, Loc 1214 of 1808
  10. 10.0 10.1 Green 2015, Loc 1222-1258 of 1808
  11. Harkins Mar. 2020
  12. Harkins Jul. 2020
  13. Athey 2021
  14. South 2021
Bibliography
  • Athey, Philip. "Marine Corps deactivates its final active-duty tank battalion". Marine Corps Times, 25 May 2021, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Chief of Naval Operations. "THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN "DESERT SHIELD" / "DESERT STORM" » Appendix A: Chronology - February 1991". Naval History and Heritage Command, 02 Mar. 2015, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Conners, Chris. "M1 Abrams". American Fighting Vehicle Database, 13 Nov. 2021, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Cooke, Gary W. "U.S. Vehicle Grenade Launchers". Gary's Place, 03 May 2008, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Green, Michael. Images of War: M1 Abrams Tanks - Rare Photographs From Wartime Archives. Pen & Sword Military, 2015
  • Harkins, Gina. "Marines to Shut Down All Tank Units, Cut Infantry Battalions in Major Overhaul". Military Advantage, 23 Mar. 2020, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Harkins, Gina. "Marine Corps Begins Shutdown of All Tank Battalions". Military Advantage, 21 Jul 2020, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • South, Todd. "Goodbye, tanks: How the Marine Corps will change, and what it will lose, by ditching its armor". Marine Corps Times, 22 Mar. 2021, Website. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021 (Archive).
  • Zaloga, Steven J. M1 Abrams VS T-72 Ural - Operation Desert Storm 1991. Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2009


General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS)
MBTs  IPM1 Abrams · M1A1 · M1A1 HC · M1A2 Abrams · M1A2 SEP
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USA medium tanks
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Canada  M4A5
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Turkey  M60 AMBT