Merkava Mk.2D
| This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.2D. For other versions, see Merkava (Family). |
Contents
Description
The Merkava Siman 2 Bet Dor Dalet is a premium gift rank VI Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 9.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Winged Lions".
General info
Survivability and armour
Unconventional armor layout offers components of the tank as protection (engine, fuel tank etc.) making chemical ammunition (HEAT, HESH, HE) very difficult to use against the vehicle. Lower-end APFSDS (DM23, T320, 3BM25) may struggle to get through as well. A 35mm plate surrounds the engine block on the interior of the vehicle, protecting the crew from spalling and fire. Composite screens on the Hull front (covering the driver), turret face and sides offer protection against HEAT projectiles. Low crew positioning for the turret can cause misplaced rounds to deal minimal damage.
Notable weakpoints:
- Area below the gunner's sight can be easily penetrated by APFSDS killing gunner and commander
- Shot to driver with APFSDS may set off ammunition rack in back of vehicle if bringing full load
- Turret ring
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | Upper: 90mm @ 30 degrees
Lower: 50mm @ 57 degrees |
50mm + 20mm composite on top
~115mm composite on lower |
30mm | 30mm rear
20mm middle 60mm front + 30mm composite on right side |
| Turret | 65mm turret point
30mm heavily sloped |
65mm + Variable thickness composite | 65mm | 30mm + 25mm composite covering slope |
| Cupola | 30mm | 30mm | 30mm | 30mm |
Notes:
Tracks, wheels and suspension are all 20mm thick.
Mobility
- Maximum speeds forward and backward of 54 km/h (6 gears) and 10.3 km/h (2 gears) respectively
- 963 HP @ 2400 RPM
- HP/T of ~15.3
Sluggish but performs well on roads and even surfaces, slow to accelerate and has zero-point turning.
Modifications and economy
Premium vehicle, all modifications are unlocked upon purchase.
Armaments
- 105mm Sharir cannon
- 12.7mm M2HB machine gun
- 7.62mm FN MAG machine gun x3
Main armament
105mm Sharir cannon equipped with 2-plane gun stabilizer and effective rounds. Will struggle in uptiers against heavily armored targets, i.e. T-80B, Leopard 2A4, M1 Abrams. 8.7 second reload with stock crew and 7.7 with maxed (not expert or aced.)
| 105mm Sharir cannon | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 62 | -8°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 8.71 | 7.70 | 7.10 | 6.70 |
| 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 | ||
| M152 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| M156 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
| M111 | 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% | |||||||
| M152 | HEATFS | 1,173 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,270 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| M156 | HESH | 732 | 14.85 | 0.1 | 4 | 4,310 | 73° | 77° | 80° |
| M111 | APFSDS | 1,455 | 3.79 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 78° | 80° | 81° |
| Smoke shell characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Screen radius (m) |
Screen deploy time (s) |
Screen hold time (s) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
| M416 | 730 | 11.4 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 35 (+27) | 7 (+55) | 1 (+61) | No |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 6 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- This rack is also emptied early: the rack depletion order at full capacity is: 3 - 1 - 2.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1 and 2 into rack 3. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready rack.
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 900 (200) | 577 | N/A | -8°/+19° |
| 7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 5,950 (200) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
| Pintle | 1,750 (200) | 600 | -5°/+50° | -60°/+120° |
| Pintle | 1,750 (200) | 600 | -5°/+50° | -120°/+60° |
Usage in battles
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).
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Effective firepower
- Great HEAT protection
- Superb RP and SL rewards
- Plethora of smoke
Cons:
- Relatively low mobility
- Unreliable armor against APFSDS
- Struggles in uptiers
- Large profile
History
Merkava Mk.1 tanks served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) from 1979 as the primary Israeli MBT. Not long after its introduction into service, this tank was sent to lead the way during the First Lebanon War of 1982. Despite proving itself under fire against Syrian T-72As and a variety of other threats, it was obvious that the first iteration of the design was not suitable for the changing combat environment of the 1980s Middle East. In particular, it was found to be lacking in close-quarters and urban combat against asymmetric threats - primarily guerilla infantry using unguided rocket launchers.
The second generation of the Merkava was already under development when the First Lebanon War broke out, but benefited greatly from lessons learned during combat. Over the 6 years in which the Merkava Mk.2 was in production, several important changes were made to compensate for the Mk.1's deficiencies. The Merkava Mk.2D represents the final variant of this generation of Merkava tanks, including all of those modifications.
Firstly, a very familiar feature of all modern Merkava tanks was added to the first Mk.2: the Hairs of Shulamit, a line of heavy iron spheres dangling on chains around the rear rim of the turret. This simple device helps deflect incoming rounds away from the vulnerable turret ring, and increases the chance of prematurely detonating HEAT rockets and missiles. This feature proved to be so successful and cost-efficient that it was retroactively added to all Mk.1 variants as well.
Another major improvement was made to the fire control system, whose computer was updated to take many additional factors into consideration, such as air temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. This significantly improved the accuracy of the tank's 105 mm cannon, allowing it to reliably outperform the T-72 at long-range combat. The computer was also taught to handle a variety of new shells made available for the Mk.2, and to be able to record its ballistic calculations in order to gradually improve accuracy over time for the specific cannon it was controlling.
The Mk.2's powertrain also saw several improvements, the most major of which was an upgraded transmission that could pivot the tank in-place - a feature sorely required for manoeuvres in dense urban terrain. The Mk.2's engine itself was also slightly more powerful than the Mk.1's.
Other features included thermal optics, additional top armour, and finally (unique to the Mk.2D) a modular armour system allowing damaged segments to be quickly replaced after a battle.
The Mk.2 continued to serve until as late as 2016. As of 2021, some Merkava Mk.2 hulls are being converted into heavily-armoured APCs, primarily to serve as Command and Control vehicles known as Ofek ("Horizon").
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
External links
| Israel medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M-51 | M-51 · M-51 (W) |
| Magach | Magach 1 · Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6 |
| Magach 6A · Magach 6B · Magach 6B Gal · Gal Batash · Magach 6C · Magach 6M · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra · Magach 7C | |
| Tiran | Tiran 4 · Tiran 4S |
| Sho't | Sho't · Sho't Kal Alef · Sho't Kal Gimel · Sho't Kal Dalet |
| Merkava | Merkava Mk.1B · Merkava Mk.2B · Merkava Mk.2D · Merkava Mk.3B · Merkava Mk.3C · Raam Segol |
| Merkava Mk.4B · Merkava Mk.4M · Merkava Mk.4 LIC | |
| Israel premium ground vehicles | |
|---|---|
