M551

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RANK 4 FRANCE
Somua SM PACK
us_m551.png
GarageImage M551.jpg
M551
AB RB SB
8.0 8.3 8.3
Class:
Research:135 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:380 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

The 152-mm Gun / Launcher M551 Sheridan is a rank VI American light tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB) and 8.3 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.59 "Flaming Arrows". It is armed with a 152 mm cannon, which has a missile launcher to fire 152 mm ATGMs and a .50 calibre machine gun.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades
Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle
Armourfront / side / back
Hull31 / 25 / 19
Turret25 / 25 / 25
Crew4 people
Visibility88 %

Armour type:

  • Aluminum Alloy 7039
  • Rolled homogeneous armour (Turret)
  • Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)
Armour Front (Slope Angle°) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 25.4 mm (70°), 12.7 mm (87°) Front Glacis
31.7 mm (33°) Lower Glacis
25.4 mm (2-80°) Driver's port
19 + 2 mm Top
25.4 mm (0-56°) Bottom
12.7 mm (49-50°) Top
19 mm (32-55°) Bottom
19 mm
12.7 mm Engine grilles
Turret 25.4 mm (6-78°) Turret front
31.7 mm (1-81°) Gun mantlet
25.4 mm (50-55°) 25.4 mm (46-54°) 19 mm
Armour Sides Roof
Cupola 31.7 mm 31.7 mm

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.

Against most opponents, the M551 can be destroyed with a single shot. It's best to just stay in one spot along a road and wait for an enemy to pass by where so that they present their vulnerable side armour and vitals to target at. Once the ATGMS are unlocked then the player can stay out of range from everything but ATGMs.

Mobility

Speedforward / back
AB77 / 17 km/h
RB and SB70 / 15 km/h
Number of gears8 forward
4 back
Weight15.2 t
Engine power
AB572 hp
RB and SB300 hp
Power-to-weight ratio
AB37.6 hp/t
RB and SB19.7 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 77 17 15.2 465 572 30.59 37.63
Realistic 70 15 265 300 17.43 19.74

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference
AB2 992 → 4 876 Sl icon.png
RB3 437 → 5 602 Sl icon.png
SB4 196 → 6 839 Sl icon.png
Total cost of modifications112 000 Rp icon.png
195 200 Sl icon.png
Talisman cost2 300 Ge icon.png
Crew training110 000 Sl icon.png
Experts380 000 Sl icon.png
Aces1 400 Ge icon.png
Research Aces830 000 Rp icon.png
Reward for battleAB / RB / SB
120 / 160 / 200 % Sl icon.png
208 / 208 / 208 % Rp icon.png
Modifications
Mobility Protection Firepower
Mods new tank traks.png
Tracks
Research:
8 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank suspension.png
Suspension
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank break.png
Brake System
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank filter.png
Filters
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
240 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank transmission.png
Transmission
Research:
7 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank engine.png
Engine
Research:
7 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods tank tool kit.png
Improved Parts
Research:
2 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods extinguisher.png
Improved FPE
Research:
1 400 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods tank reinforcement us.png
Crew Replenishment
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
240 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank horizontal aiming.png
Horizontal Drive
Research:
8 100 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
320 Ge icon.png
Mods tank cannon.png
Adjustment of Fire
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods airstrike.png
Airstrike
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods tank ammo.png
152mm_usa_MGM61B_HEAT_ammo_pack
Research:
4 500 Rp icon.png
Cost:
7 200 Sl icon.png
180 Ge icon.png
Mods new tank vertical aiming.png
Elevation Mechanism
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
240 Ge icon.png
Mods smoke screen.png
Smoke grenade
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
240 Ge icon.png
Mods scout streak.png
Scout UAV
Research:
6 000 Rp icon.png
Cost:
9 600 Sl icon.png
240 Ge icon.png
Mods art support.png
Artillery Support
Research:
7 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods scouting.png
Improved optics
Research:
7 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png
Mods night vision device.png
NVD
Research:
7 900 Rp icon.png
Cost:
13 000 Sl icon.png
310 Ge icon.png

Armaments

Night vision device
Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Main armament

Two-plane stabilizer
Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving
Ammunition30 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
15.6 → 12.0 s
Vertical guidance-8° / 19°
Main article: M81 (152 mm)
152 mm M81 Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 30 -8°/+19° ±180° Two-plane 38.1 52.7 64.0 70.8 75.3 15.60 13.80 12.72 12.00
Realistic 23.8 28.0 34.0 37.6 40.0

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
M409A1 HEAT 380 380 380 380 380 380
M657A2 HE 38 38 38 38 38 38
MGM-51B Shillelagh ATGM 431 431 431 431 431 431
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%
M409A1 HEAT 682 18.9 0.05 0.1 3,730 62° 69° 73°
M657A2 HE 682 22 0 0.1 4,300 79° 80° 81°
Shell details
Ammunition Type of
warhead
Velocity
(m/s)
Range
(m)
Projectile
Mass (kg)
Fuse delay
(m)
Fuse sensitivity
(mm)
Explosive Mass
(TNT equivalent) (g)
Ricochet
0% 50% 100%
MGM-51B Shillelagh ATGM 323 3,000 27.8 0 0.1 3,600 80° 82° 90°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the M551
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
5th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
30 28 (+2) 26 (+4) 21 (+9) 14 (+16) (+29) No

Machine guns

Ammunition1 000 rounds
Belt capacity200 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate575 shots/min
Vertical guidance-10° / 28°
Horizontal guidance-60° / 60°
Ammunition3 000 rounds
Belt capacity250 rounds
Reloadbasic crew → aces
10.4 → 8.0 s
Fire rate500 shots/min
12.7 mm M2HB
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Pintle 1,000 (200) 577 -10°/+70° ±60°
7.62 mm M73
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 3,000 (250) 500 N/A N/A

Usage in battles

The Sheridan, even with the ability to fire ATGMs, is an extremely difficult tank to use due to it having no armour. Even some high-power MGs can penetrate the armour easily. The stock heat round while having high pen drops like a rock at range and bounces a lot. Immediately upon reaching the tier 2 modifications research the ATGM missiles. Once those are unlocked the Sheridan becomes a fast and mobile missile platform that out ranges most vehicles in game. With only the stock HEAT always aim for ammo racks. This is pretty much the only way to destroy the heavier tanks. The mobile AAs will be the M551's biggest problems. While the Sheridan can drive circles around most of its heavy opponents, the fast anti-air turret can keep up with the M551, able to tear the armour to pieces. The ATGMs are a vast improvement over the HEAT rounds, one shotting pretty much everything and extending the Sheridan range past that of most of its opponents.

Stay in the back, everything will one shot the tank. Use the M551's speed and manoeuvrability to get around enemies. Don't be afraid to get in real close to the enemy, because with only HEAT, the 152 mm's effective range is very limited. Once ATGMs are usable, the Sheridan becomes an extremely formidable sniper. Able to fire on target, destroy a target, then move position for another opportunity. In Arcade, the Sheridan is an easy target for everyone, but in realistic and simulator its speed makes it a very hard target to hit.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Dual-purpose cannon, firing regular shells or guided missiles
  • Very fast turret traverse
  • Missiles in RB have a point-to-aim guidance system
  • Rather small profile in comparison to other Rank V vehicles
  • Can unlock NVD (Night Vision Devices) as a Tier 4 modification.
  • The ATGM has 431 mm of penetration, therefore, it can almost penetrate all enemy tanks frontally

Cons:

  • Virtually no armour
  • Uses only chemical rounds, no kinetic rounds (AP) available
  • Low ammunition storage (30)
  • ATGM has a reload several seconds longer than normal ammunition
  • Can only hold 10 ATGM ammunition total
  • Considering the low-velocity shells, absence of rangefinder is noticeable

History

Main article: History of the M551

Development

In the post-war period, U.S. Army specified for a new light tank that is light enough for air-transportation and have a large cruising range. The first resulting light tank, the M41 Walker Bulldog, did not meet these specifications and the following development such as the T92 were cancelled after the discovery of the amphibious Soviet PT-76 tank, which added a requirement for the light tank to also be amphibious. A new tank design began development, using aluminum alloy to save weight, a fabric screen for flotation, and a controversial 152 mm gun/launcher for firepower with the Shillelagh missiles. However, the design's lightweight and mobility made it favorable and so the tank was approved for Army standard in May 1966 and designated the M551 Sheridan. Between 1966 to 1970, 1,662 Sheridans were produced at a program cost of $1.3 billion.[1]

Deployment

The Sheridan first saw service in June 1967 in the 1/63rd Armor Regiment at Fort Riley. The first air usage of the Sheridan came from the 1/17th Cavalry at Fort Bragg. Its first overseas deployment was to South Korea in November 1968 and Europe in January 1969. 800 Sheridans were deployed worldwide by 1971. Troubles with the 152 mm Gun/Launcher plagued the M551's early service life as attempts were made to fix the issues in the weapon's ammo propellant and ability to fire missiles.[1]

The Sheridan's tank's first combat would be seen in Vietnam under the urging of General Creighton Abrams. The tank first arrived in January 1969 modified for the environment in a configuration dubbed "Two-Box M551" with many complex mechanical instrument boxes removed (save for two), as well as the ability to fire the Shillelagh missiles disabled and the production of a fletchette ammunition for the 152 mm gun/launcher. First impressions of the Sheridan were positive due to the weapon's effectiveness in anti-infantry and bunker busting roles, as well as the mobility able to maintain speed with the M113 armoured personnel carriers. However, experience soon soured when the lack of armour became apparent compared to the M48 Pattons employed in the theater, with the M551 vulnerable to mines and the numerous hand-held anti-tank weaponry.[1]

Post-Vietnam, the M551 Sheridans underwent a product improvement program (PIP) that upgraded the design. The next combat operation would be in Operation Just Cause in Panama, featuring the first and only time tanks were parachuted into a combat zone. Inserted with the 82nd Airborne Division, the M551 proved a popular psychological weapon against the opposing forces. After Panama, the M551 were also deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of the Gulf War in both Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where in the latter they fought Iraqi units equipped with T-55s and T-72s in the only time in the M551's history that the gun-launched Shillelagh missiles were used against an enemy.[1]

Back in the United States, the M551 also found use in the U.S. Army's National Training Center at the Mojave desert in California, where they are dressed up to look like Soviet vehicles to play as the "opposing forces" to train the army units on tactics in the battlefield. After the Gulf War, the Sheridan's combat career came to an end and so they remained in service at the National Training Center until 2004. The Sheridans were retired without any replacement in the airborne tank role. Though attempts had been made in the late 1990's for a replacement, the Army decided that an airborne tank was simply not worth the cost for a specialized vehicle.[1]

Media

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Videos

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

References

Citations:

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Zaloga, 2009

Bibliography

  • Zaloga Steven. M551 Sheridan: US Airmobile Tanks 1941-2001 Great Britain: Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2009


USA light tanks
LVT  LVT(A)(1) · ○LVT(A)(1) · LVT(A)(4)
M2  M2A2 · M2A4 · M2A4 (1st Arm.Div.)
M3/M5 Stuart  M3 Stuart · M3A1 Stuart · M3A1 (USMC) · M5A1 · M5A1 TD · ▃Stuart VI (5th CAD)
M22 Locust  M22
M24 Chaffee  M24 · M24 (TL)
M18 Hellcat  M18 GMC · M18 "Black Cat" · Super Hellcat
M41 Walker Bulldog  M41A1
M551 Sheridan  M551 · M551(76)
M3 Bradley  M3 Bradley · M3A3 Bradley
Wheeled  M8 LAC · T18E2 · M1128 · M1128 Wolfpack
Other  M8A1 GMC · T92 · T114 · HSTV-L · CCVL · XM8 · AGS