Difference between revisions of "M901"

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== General info ==
 
== General info ==
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
 
=== Survivability and armour ===
<!--''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.''-->[[File:M901.png|thumb|M901 interior]]
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<!--''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.''-->
The {{PAGENAME}} is based off the M113. It may look like a lightly armoured vehicle, but it features 44 mm of alloy on the sides and 38mm on the front and back with an effective thickness of 48mm on the front and 40mm of effective thickness ont eh back. This is only enough to stop large calibre machine gun fire and if angled correctly able to stop some SPAA's from penetrating you. The top is also quite strong with 38 mm of alloy, this means that you might he able to survive some badly dropped bombs of rockets, but will not save you if it is a direct hit. 
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[[File:M901.png|thumb|x250px|right|Interior layout of the {{PAGENAME}} showing the location of ammo racks, crew and critical components.]]
  
The crew, however, has excellent Survivability when hul down. Two crew members, the loader and the commander, are located in the back part of the hull, there are no critical components around these crew members. In the middle of the tank is the gunner, since the I-tow missile is launched from a launcher with a tower, thereby not exposing the gunner. The driver is located at the front of the vehicle and is next to the engine block. behind the engine block is the ammunition, if hit from the front with spaa rounds or conventional rounds, the engine block will eat up most of the shots, however, if shot from the side or from the front with HEAT, APDS and APDSFS rounds, it will either ammo rack you or one shot you.
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The {{PAGENAME}} is based off the M113. It may look like a lightly armoured vehicle, but it features 44 mm of alloy on the sides and 38mm on the front and back with an effective thickness of 48 mm on the front and 40 mm of effective thickness on the back. This is only enough to stop large calibre machine gun fire and if angled correctly able to stop some SPAA's from penetrating you. The top is also quite strong with 38 mm of alloy, this means that you might be able to survive some badly dropped bombs or rockets, but will not save you if receiving a direct hit. 
  
When played from a hull-down position with only the launcher exposed, it is practically immune to damage, however crossing open areas may result in taking a hit, thus losing a crew member or resulting in a ammo rack or crew knocked out.
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The crew, however, has excellent survivability when the vehicle is placed in a hull-down position. Two crew members, the loader and the commander, are located in the back part of the hull and there are no other critical components located here. In the middle of the tank is the gunner, since the I-tow missile is launched from a launcher mounted on a tower, this protects the gunner very well. The driver is located at the front of the vehicle and is next to the engine block. Behind the engine block is the ammunition storage, if hit from the front with SPAA rounds or conventional rounds, the engine block will eat up (absorb and protect the rest of the vehicle) most of the shots, however, if shot from the side or from the front with HEAT, APDS and APDSFS rounds, this usually ends in disaster as it will cause an ammunition explosion or destroy a majority of the critical components by one-shotting the vehicle.
 +
 
 +
When played from a hull-down position with only the launcher exposed, this vehicle is practically immune to damage, however crossing open areas may result in taking a hit, thus losing a crew member or resulting in an ammo-rack explosion or crew knocked out.
  
 
=== Mobility ===
 
=== Mobility ===
The mobility of this vehicle is okay. The power to weight ratio of this vehicle is 17.45 hp/tonne. On the information card, the top speed for the M901 is 64km/h, though there are not many curcumstances you will reach these speeds. Offroad, the M901 will reach 20km/h quite fast due to its high lower to weight ratio, and will reach its top speed of 38km/h. In reverse it will easily reach 14km/h, allowing you to get out of a bad situation.
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The mobility of this vehicle is okay. The power to weight ratio of this vehicle is 17.45 hp/tonne. On the information card, the top speed for the M901 is 64 kph, though there are not many circumstances you will reach these speeds. Offroad, the M901 will reach 20 kph quite fast due to it's high lower to weight ratio and will reach its top speed of 38 kph. In reverse it will easily reach 14 kph, allowing you to get out of a bad situation.
  
 
This vehicle does not have neutral traverse, but still does turn quite fast.  
 
This vehicle does not have neutral traverse, but still does turn quite fast.  
  
However this vehicle suffers in traversing hills with high angles such as getting up the the west side of c on el alimein. This does limit the ability for this vehicle to get to good positions .
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However, this vehicle suffers in traversing hills with high angles such as getting up the west side of point "C" on the el Alamein map. This does limit the ability of this vehicle to get to good positions without being spotted and fired upon.
  
 
== Armaments ==
 
== Armaments ==
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<!--''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''-->
 
<!--''Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).''-->
  
'''<big>Tactics</big>'''
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;<big>Tactics</big>
  
'''Hull down'''
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;Hull down
  
In a battle, this vehicle is best played hull-down, preferably behind a rock so that rounds won't dip and hit the main chassis, if this is not possibe, try to find a ridge to hide behind or a depression in the terrain. Since your launcher is the only thing exposed, expect for your launcher to get hit and receive a 10-second repair. (Note for stock, you will still be able to fire). Some players will be smarter and will shoot HESH rounds at you, the spash damage will be enough to either hull-break or knock out the rest Since you only have 12 missiles (2 in the launcher, 10 stowed away) you will have to be patient and skilled at using this missile. If in the right hands, it is incredibly strong and can hold an important spot and single handily deny the enemy any chance of taking an area.This will reward you a large amount of kills as well as gaining a large amounts of points from people shooting at you launcher.  
+
In a battle, this vehicle is best played hull-down, preferably behind a rock so that rounds won't dip and hit the main chassis, if this is not possible, try to find a ridge to hide behind or a depression in the terrain. Since your launcher is the only thing exposed, expect for your launcher to get hit and receive a 10-second repair. (Note for stock vehicles, you will still be able to fire). Some players will be smarter and will shoot HESH rounds at you, the splash damage will be enough to either hull-break or knock out the rest Since you only have 12 missiles (2 in the launcher, 10 stowed away) you will have to be patient and skilled at using this missile. If in the right hands, it is incredibly strong and can hold an important spot and single handily deny the enemy any chance of taking an area. This will reward you a large number of kills as well as gaining a large number of points from people shooting at you launcher.  
  
However, there is a couple of issues. The launcher can only be deployed when stationary and has a deployment time before you are able to train the gunsights on the target and open fire. The reload also requires the launcher to traverse to the rear of the vehicle and further lengthening the reload. one way to combat this, is to have the rear end of the vehicle to the target, therefore reducing the time taken to travese the launcher back to the firing position.  
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However, there is a couple of issues. The launcher can only be deployed when stationary and has a deployment time before you are able to train the gunsights on the target and open fire. The reload also requires the launcher to traverse to the rear of the vehicle and further lengthening the reload. one way to combat this is to have the rear end of the vehicle to the target, therefore reducing the time taken to traverse the launcher back to the firing position.  
  
'''SPAA duty'''
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;SPAA duty
  
Apart from shooting at tanks, the ATGM can also be used on helicopters as there is no drop on atgms. If playing hull down, it might also be quite hard for helicopters to spot you, therefore making it a potent weapon against enemy helicopter. Planes will be harder to hit as they will be moving at a faster speed.  
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Apart from shooting at tanks, the ATGM can also be used on helicopters as there is no drop on ATGMs. If playing hull down, it might also be quite hard for helicopters to spot you, therefore making it a potent weapon against an enemy helicopter. Planes will be harder to hit as they will be moving at a faster speed.  
  
 
'''Urban combat'''
 
'''Urban combat'''
  
The M901 does not fare too well in urban combat, due to the speed of the atgm it does make it quite hard to aim and having to stop to fire the atgm will result in a unpleasant experince. However, if you are forced to take this vehicle out in an urban environment, the best strategy will be to follow you teammates, hide behind cover and wait for your teammates to bait the enemy out.  
+
The M901 does not fare too well in urban combat, due to the speed of the ATGM it does make it quite hard to aim and having to stop to fire the ATGM will result in an unpleasant experience. However, if you are forced to take this vehicle out in an urban environment, the best strategy will be to follow you, teammates, hide behind cover and wait for your teammates to bait the enemy out.  
  
 
===Modules===
 
===Modules===
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* Sniper scope is located in the launcher, so during reloading it moves together with the launcher, forcing the operator to keep watch on target with binoculars
 
* Sniper scope is located in the launcher, so during reloading it moves together with the launcher, forcing the operator to keep watch on target with binoculars
 
* Sometimes, just a bit short of firepower to penetrate tanks with heavy ERA or NERA plating in one hit (although in RB most of such tanks are your allies)
 
* Sometimes, just a bit short of firepower to penetrate tanks with heavy ERA or NERA plating in one hit (although in RB most of such tanks are your allies)
* Repairs for the launcher can become quite fustrating and lose some easy frags
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* Repairs for the launcher can become quite frustrating and lose some easy frags
  
 
== History ==
 
== History ==

Revision as of 10:45, 18 October 2019

RANK 6 BRITAIN
Rooikat 105 PACK
M901
us_m901_itv.png
M901
Research:400 000 Specs-Card-Activity.png
Purchase:450 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage M901.jpg


The Combat Vehicle, Anti-tank, Improved TOW Vehicle, M901 is a squadron rank VI American tank destroyer with a battle rating of 8.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

General info

Survivability and armour

File:M901.png
Interior layout of the M901 showing the location of ammo racks, crew and critical components.

The M901 is based off the M113. It may look like a lightly armoured vehicle, but it features 44 mm of alloy on the sides and 38mm on the front and back with an effective thickness of 48 mm on the front and 40 mm of effective thickness on the back. This is only enough to stop large calibre machine gun fire and if angled correctly able to stop some SPAA's from penetrating you. The top is also quite strong with 38 mm of alloy, this means that you might be able to survive some badly dropped bombs or rockets, but will not save you if receiving a direct hit. 

The crew, however, has excellent survivability when the vehicle is placed in a hull-down position. Two crew members, the loader and the commander, are located in the back part of the hull and there are no other critical components located here. In the middle of the tank is the gunner, since the I-tow missile is launched from a launcher mounted on a tower, this protects the gunner very well. The driver is located at the front of the vehicle and is next to the engine block. Behind the engine block is the ammunition storage, if hit from the front with SPAA rounds or conventional rounds, the engine block will eat up (absorb and protect the rest of the vehicle) most of the shots, however, if shot from the side or from the front with HEAT, APDS and APDSFS rounds, this usually ends in disaster as it will cause an ammunition explosion or destroy a majority of the critical components by one-shotting the vehicle.

When played from a hull-down position with only the launcher exposed, this vehicle is practically immune to damage, however crossing open areas may result in taking a hit, thus losing a crew member or resulting in an ammo-rack explosion or crew knocked out.

Mobility

The mobility of this vehicle is okay. The power to weight ratio of this vehicle is 17.45 hp/tonne. On the information card, the top speed for the M901 is 64 kph, though there are not many circumstances you will reach these speeds. Offroad, the M901 will reach 20 kph quite fast due to it's high lower to weight ratio and will reach its top speed of 38 kph. In reverse it will easily reach 14 kph, allowing you to get out of a bad situation.

This vehicle does not have neutral traverse, but still does turn quite fast.

However, this vehicle suffers in traversing hills with high angles such as getting up the west side of point "C" on the el Alamein map. This does limit the ability of this vehicle to get to good positions without being spotted and fired upon.

Armaments

Main armament

Main article: BGM-71C I-TOW

The main weapon on the M901 is the BGM-71C I-TOW ATGM. It has up to 630 mm of penetration at 0 degrees at any distance since it carries a HEAT warhead. The post penetration of this missile is not amazing and in some circumstances, a follow-up missile may be needed. The missile is a second-generation ATGM so it is mouse controlled. It travels at a speed of 296m/s. Due to the fuze sensitivity being 0.01mm, any bush, fence or object in the way will trigger the missile into detonation and the lack of a machine gun will mean that these obstacles will become quite a nuisance.

BGM-71C I-TO mm BGM-71C I-TO
Capacity Vertical
guidance
Horizontal
guidance
Stabilizer
10(2 preloaded in launcher) -30°/+35° ±180° N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode Stock Upgraded Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert qualif. Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade 51 __.__ 51 __.__ __.__
Realistic 31.5 __.__ 31.5 __.__ __.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock Prior + Full crew Prior + Expert qualif. Prior + Ace qualif.
13 13 __.__ __.__
M901 Optics
Default magnification Maximum magnification
Main Gun optics X4.0 X8.0
Comparable optics  ???

Usage in battles

Tactics
Hull down

In a battle, this vehicle is best played hull-down, preferably behind a rock so that rounds won't dip and hit the main chassis, if this is not possible, try to find a ridge to hide behind or a depression in the terrain. Since your launcher is the only thing exposed, expect for your launcher to get hit and receive a 10-second repair. (Note for stock vehicles, you will still be able to fire). Some players will be smarter and will shoot HESH rounds at you, the splash damage will be enough to either hull-break or knock out the rest Since you only have 12 missiles (2 in the launcher, 10 stowed away) you will have to be patient and skilled at using this missile. If in the right hands, it is incredibly strong and can hold an important spot and single handily deny the enemy any chance of taking an area. This will reward you a large number of kills as well as gaining a large number of points from people shooting at you launcher.

However, there is a couple of issues. The launcher can only be deployed when stationary and has a deployment time before you are able to train the gunsights on the target and open fire. The reload also requires the launcher to traverse to the rear of the vehicle and further lengthening the reload. one way to combat this is to have the rear end of the vehicle to the target, therefore reducing the time taken to traverse the launcher back to the firing position.

SPAA duty

Apart from shooting at tanks, the ATGM can also be used on helicopters as there is no drop on ATGMs. If playing hull down, it might also be quite hard for helicopters to spot you, therefore making it a potent weapon against an enemy helicopter. Planes will be harder to hit as they will be moving at a faster speed.

Urban combat

The M901 does not fare too well in urban combat, due to the speed of the ATGM it does make it quite hard to aim and having to stop to fire the ATGM will result in an unpleasant experience. However, if you are forced to take this vehicle out in an urban environment, the best strategy will be to follow you, teammates, hide behind cover and wait for your teammates to bait the enemy out.

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts
II Suspension Brake System FPE
III Filters Crew Replenishment NVD
IV Transmission Engine Smoke grenade

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Use pairs of I-TOW, designed for fast long-range attacks
  • Of all horizontal ATGM launchers currently in the game, has best launcher depression
  • Tower is very tall, making it hard to exploit APHE and HESH to destroy the tank instantly
  • Superior to export Italian version in almost every way possible
  • Has night vision and thermal sights

Cons:

  • Hits to the tower base can annihilate the tank, so it needs taller hull-down spots, than other carriers
  • While carrier is travelling, the launcher is put onto a pad on the back, and it takes about 3 to 5 seconds for it to deploy back, which means, any surprise attack on the tank will likely succeed with minimal resistance
  • Only reloads after second launched ATGM hit something, can't be ordered to reload just one missile or to cut off the leading early
  • Sniper scope is located in the launcher, so during reloading it moves together with the launcher, forcing the operator to keep watch on target with binoculars
  • Sometimes, just a bit short of firepower to penetrate tanks with heavy ERA or NERA plating in one hit (although in RB most of such tanks are your allies)
  • Repairs for the launcher can become quite frustrating and lose some easy frags

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === Encyclopedia Info ===, also if applicable).

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Other vehicles based off the M113 platform:

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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


USA tank destroyers
M10  M10 GMC
M36  M36 GMC · M36B2
T95  T28 · T95
M109  M109A1
ATGM  LOSAT · M901 · ADATS
Wheeled  M3 GMC · T55E1
Other  M8 HMC · M50 · M56
China  ▃LVT(A)(4) (ZIS-2)

Template:USA squadron vehicles