M7 (76 mm)

Description

The 76 mm M7 is an American tank cannon.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• M6A1
• T1E1
• M10 GMC
• ␗M10 GMC
• ▄M10 GMC
• T55E1

General info

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Available 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
M79 shot	AP	134	132	121	109	99	89
M42A1 shell	HE	17	16	15	13	12	10
M62 shell	APCBC	149	146	133	119	106	94

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%
M79 shot	AP	792	6.8	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
M42A1 shell	HE	853	5.84	0.2	0.1	390	79°	80°	81°
M62 shell	APCBC	792	7	1.2	14	63.7	48°	63°	71°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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The M7 is a good gun that gets the most utility used at longer ranges: while it is theoretically possible to use it in brawls or at close ranges, only the M6A1 or the T1E1 have either the armor or turret rotation speed to make this work. That being said, it performs well against equivalent guns, and can reliably one shot Italian Semoventes and German Stugs from the front. Make sure to aim at the left side (right from your perspective) before firing to maximize crew casualties.

Due to the fast reload and good penetration, the M7 is perfect for artillery duels with enemy tank destroyers or far away targets, especially early T-34s equipped with the LL-11 (76 mm), which has poor long range performance. Additionally, the ammo reserve in most of the vehicles that wield it is perfectly sufficient to allow for extended periods of contact with the enemy, though this will vary depending on what your vehicle is and what you are facing.

A noteable challenge for the M7 is the KV-1 (Family) of tanks, which are well armored and tend to have decent guns. In which case, fire should be directed to the tracks to disable it, hopefully causing it to expose the vulnerable side armor. Failing that, the flat parts of the armor on the front of the turret are also valid targets, as well as the turret ring and the drivers port, though these shots can be particularly difficult to make.

The HE shell has some utility at its tier, as there are still plenty of soft-skinned or open topped vehicles that are vulnerable, including the SARC MkVI (6pdr), the M42 (Italy), and the Wirbelwind. The M62 shell is the ideal against most targets, as the M79 has worse post penetration damage and is less likely to crew kill the enemy tank.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good penetration for ranks II and III
• Reloads quickly
• Has shells with decent amounts of explosive filler

Cons:

• No smoke shell

History

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Media

Videos

Top 7 best rounds discusses the M62 at 3:41 - War Thunder Official Channel

See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

China tank cannons
30 mm	ZPL02 · ZPZ02
73 mm	Type 85
76 mm	M32K1
85 mm	Type-62-85-TC · Type 63
100 mm	PTP86 · Type 59 · Type 69 · Type 69-II · ZPL04
105 mm	Type 83 · WMA301 · ZPL94 · ZPL98A
120 mm	122TM · PTZ89
125 mm	Type 88C · Type 99A · ZPT98
152 mm	PL66 Gai
	Foreign:
20 mm	KwK30 (Germany)
37 mm	M6 (USA)
45 mm	20-K (USSR)
47 mm	Type 1 (Japan)
57 mm	Type 97 (Japan) · ZIS-2 (USSR)
75 mm	M2 Howitzer (USA) · M3 (USA) · M6 (USA)
76 mm	D-56T (USSR) · F-34 (USSR) · M1 (USA) · M7 (USA) · ZIS-3 (USSR)
85 mm	ZIS-S-53 (USSR)
90 mm	M3 (USA) · M41 (USA)
100 mm	D-10S (USSR)
105 mm	M68 (USA) · M68A1 (USA)
115 mm	U-5TS (USSR)
122 mm	A-19 (USSR) · D-25T (USSR)
152 mm	ML-20S (USSR)