Difference between revisions of "M48A2 G A2"

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Revision as of 21:24, 5 November 2020

Rank VI | Premium | Golden Eagles
Challenger DS Pack
M48A2 G A2
germ_mkpz_m48a2ga2.png
M48A2 G A2
AB RB SB
8.3 8.3 8.3
Class:
Research:135 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:380 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game
This page is about the German medium tank M48A2 G A2. For the version in the American tree, see M48A1.

Description

GarageImage M48A2 G A2.jpg


The M48A2 G A2 is a Rank VI German medium tank with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries". It was born from the adaptation of the 105 mm L7A3 cannon on the already available M48A2 platform together with a new fire control system.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

  • Rolled homogeneous armour (hull roof, hull rear - engine vents, turret roof, turret ring)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 85-200 mm (59-74°) Front glacis
63-200 mm (13-60°) Lower glacis
76 mm (5-45°) Front
51 mm (0-44°) Rear
35 mm Top
25 mm (32-62°) Bottom
57 mm (0-58°)
30 mm Engine access panel
12.7 mm (76°) Engine vents
Turret 83.2-173 mm (0-48°) Turret front
152 (2-14°) Gun mantlet
250 mm Gun mount
55-100 mm (15-50°)
50.8 mm Gun mount
51-55 mm (2-71°)
25.4 mm (75-82°) Underpart of the turret
25-69 mm
Cupola 70 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
  • Mudguards are 4 mm thick and (short) side skirts are 8 mm thick.
  • The turret ring is 70 mm thick.

The lower front plate is a weak spot. The sides are decently armoured, but not thick enough to make angling the hull a valid tactic. Some thin vents on the top of the hull are vulnerable to strafing runs by enemy aircraft, which may cause engine fires. While the M48 hull has more armor than the Leopard 1, at this B.R., this is largely irrelevant as most of your opponents will be carrying APFSDS. Sustained enemy fire will quickly result in your destruction. Despite this, the hull UFP is decent and can protect you from 100mm APHE rounds. However, as mentioned above, this can not be relied upon and any bounces are the exception rather than the rule.

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 54 10 47.8 1279 1,574 26.76 32.93
Realistic 49 9 730 825 15.27 17.26

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: L7A3 (105 mm)
105 mm L7A3 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 46 -9°/+19° ±180° N/A 22.85 38.2 38.4 42.5 45.18 8.7 7.7 7.1 6.7
Realistic 14.28 20.2 20.4 22.6 24.0

The 105 mm L7A3 cannon provides fast, accurate fire.

Ammunition

This tank has access to a stock APDS shell (DM13), a HESH shell (DM502) as tier 1 modification, a HEAT-FS shell (DM12) as tier 2 modification and a APFSDS shell as tier 4 modification (DM23).

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
DM13 APDS 303 302 296 277 257 252
DM502 HESH 127 127 127 127 127 127
DM12 HEATFS 400 400 400 400 400 400
DM23 APFSDS 337 335 330 322 314 306
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%
DM13 APDS 1,478 4 N/A N/A N/A 75° 78° 80°
DM502 HESH 732 14.85 0.4 0.1 4,310 73° 77° 80°
DM12 HEATFS 1,173 10.5 0.05 1 1,270 65° 72° 75°
DM23 APFSDS 1,455 3.79 N/A N/A N/A 78° 80° 81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M48A2 G A2
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
46 43 (+3) 29 (+17) 21 (+25) (+40) (+45) No

Notes:

  • As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire/load both shells in the set.
  • Racks 4 and 5 are first stage ammo racks. They total 20 shells and get filled first when loading up the tank.
  • These racks are also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 5 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3.
  • To go into battle with the frontal ammo racks empty, pack 21 (+25) shells.
  • Full reload speed will be realized as long as shells are available in the ready racks 4 and 5. If these racks are empty, a penalty to the reload time will occur.
  • Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-3 into rack 4 then 5. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready racks.

Machine guns

Main article: MG3A1 (7.62 mm)
7.62 m MG3A1
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 2,750 (1,000) 1,200 N/A N/A
Pintle mount 2,000 (1,000) 1,200 -10°/+85° ±45°

Despite their high rate of fire, the small caliber of the MG3A1 machine guns makes them largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. They still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help.

Usage in battles

M48A2 G A2 is usage is similar to the other M48 Patton's in the game except need to be more careful and aware of your enemies. It's a decent medium tank with a well sloped frontal armour, average mobility but what makes M48A2 G A2 stand out is the upgraded engine giving it a better mobility and a upgraded gun a 105mm L7A3 compared to the US standard 90mm M41 giving it an improved penetration and increased precision against distant targets. But with this improvment comes with a drawback, compared to the other M48's 7.3 Battle Rating the M48A2 G A2 got the battle rating at 8.3 facing alot more dangerous enemies than the other M48 versions. But luckily for the M48A2 G A2 it can unlock DM23 rounds that have a great effect on enemy vehicles at the 9.3 battle rating and can penetrate their armour with well placed shells.


Armour of the M48 is round and well sloped decreases the chance for certain shells to punch through the armour with reliability, though the tank have some significant weakspot on the front. The lower glacis the weakest part of the front, making it a desirable location for hostile tanks to fire at to knock out the M48A2 G A2 with ease. Keeping in mind to protect the lower glacis as best as possible from enemy shells. The armour holds it ground at 7.3 battle rating against tanks with no APFSDS or APDS since these shells penetrate it's frontal hull and turret armour with ease. The armour all around is decent compared to tanks like Leopard 1, Vickers MBT and OF-40.


Playing the M48A2 G A2 is a great risk to be uptiered and face enemies like Radkampfwagen 90, Merkava, T-72A and OF-40 Mk.2A all having better mobility and speed than the old M48 Patton, they also have the advantage to be equipped with stabilizers that the M48A2 G A2 are not equipped with, making it an easy target for most tanks when it is unfortunate to be used in a 9.3 battle rating battle. In those battles it's wise to not advance blindly into enemy and more take a careful approach, take up a position where the M48A2 G A2 got the capability to get the first shot.


In 7.3-8.3 battles the M48A2 G A2 can be used more aggressive, but it's still adviced to not advance too fast, with certain vehicles also at that battle can be equipped with stabilizers and can get in a well placed shot on the move compared to the non-stabilizer tanks, these can have a big advantage over the M48A2 G A2 when it comes to brawling and engage the tanks while having speed advantage and mobility to avoid incoming fire from a moving M48A2 G A2.


M48A2 G A2 can be a tricky tank to use effective in battle, lacking a Stabilizer is a big disadvantage at its 8.3 battle rating but it can still be a effective tank for defending captured points or take up a "Sniper" position where it can be relativly safe from enemies.


Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts Horizontal Drive DM502
II Suspension Brake System FPE Adjustment of Fire DM12
III Filters Crew Replenishment Elevation Mechanism smoke grenade NVD
IV Transmission Engine Artillery Support DM23 Rangefinder

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Fairly good upper glacis armour
  • Highly effective 105 mm gun is a noticeable upgrade from the 90 mm gun on the M48A2 C
  • DM23 APFSDS shell makes it competitive against its peers, can frontally penetrate anything it encounters
  • Has effective armour against air attacks
  • Gun breech can protect turret crew from chemical munitions, although it will be damaged
  • Access to smoke
  • Acceptable reverse speed

Cons:

  • Frontal turret armour is not very reliable
  • Commander's cupola is still a large target
  • Can't deal with enemy aircraft as effectively due to the deletion of the .50 cal
  • Lack of gun stabilizer rarely allows it to make the first shot in a moving engagement
  • Ineffective armour in uptiers
  • Lacks thermals
  • DM23 APFSDS shell is a tier 4 modification - long grind with APDS and HEAT-FS to unlock DM23

History

In 1958, West Germany received the M48A2 Patton III tank. Originally this tank included the 90 mm M41 cannon and a 750 HP engine. Later on the tank would receive an upgraded engine (from 750 HP to 825 HP) along with other changes and was designated the M48A2 C in German service. This tank served from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. West Germany realized that the 90 mm gun wasn't sufficient enough to deal with most of the top of the line Soviet MBTs, so in 1978 the tank received the German licensed built, 105 mm L7A3 gun found on the Leopard 1. Other changes included minor fire control system changes, a new commander hatch, passive night sights, and later on a laser rangefinder. This version was designated the M48A2 G A2 and remained in service till the 1990s.

Media

Skins
Videos

See also

  • M48A1 - Basic M48 version that the M48A2 G A2 was upgraded from.
  • Magach 3 (USA) - A similarly upgraded M48 tank from a pack in the USA tech tree.
  • M48A2 C - The German version of the M48A2 Patton III

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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


Germany medium tanks
Pz.III  Pz.III B · Pz.III E · Pz.III F · Pz.III J · Pz.III J1 · Pz.III J1 TD · Pz.III L · Pz.III M · Pz.III N
Pz.IV  Pz.IV C · Pz.IV E · Pz.IV F1 · Pz.IV F2 · Pz.IV G · Pz.IV H · Pz.IV J · Pz.Bef.Wg.IV J
Pz.V  VK 3002 (M) · Panther A · Panther D · Panther F · Panther G · Ersatz M10 · Panther II
M48 upgrades  M48A2 G A2 · M48 Super
Leopard 1  Leopard I · Leopard A1A1 · Leopard A1A1 (L/44) · Leopard 1A5 · C2A1 · Turm III
Leopard 2  PT-16/T14 mod. · Leopard 2K · Leopard 2AV
  Leopard 2A4 · Leopard 2 (PzBtl 123) · Leopard 2 PL · Leopard 2A5 · Leopard 2 PSO · Leopard 2A6 · Leopard 2A7V
Trophies  ▀M4 748 (a) · ▀T 34 747 (r)
Other  Nb.Fz. · KPz-70
USA  mKPz M47 G · M48A2 C
USSR  ◊T-72M1