Difference between revisions of "TAM"

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== External links ==
 
== External links ==
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* ''topic on the official game forum;''
 
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
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* [https://mtu-online-shop.com/media/files_public/952ae139f0fae50b15702ddf661cad33/3061601_MTU_Defense_Brochure.pdf MTU Defense Brochure]
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* [[wt:en/news/5740-development-tam-replacing-the-old-guard-en|[Devblog] TAM - Replacing The Old Guard]]
* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/5740-development-tam-replacing-the-old-guard-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> TAM - Replacing The Old Guard]
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* [[wt:en/news/5714-development-tam-and-m247-sergeant-york-en|[Devblog] TAM and M247 Sergeant York]]
* [https://warthunder.com/en/news/5714-development-tam-and-m247-sergeant-york-en [Devblog<nowiki>]</nowiki> TAM and M247 Sergeant York]
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* [[wikipedia:Tanque_Argentino_Mediano|[Wikipedia] Tanque Argentino Mediano]]
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* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/argentina/tanque_argentino_mediano.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Tanque Argentino Mediano (TAM)]
  
 
{{Germany light tanks}}
 
{{Germany light tanks}}

Revision as of 10:04, 22 November 2020

Rank VI USSR | Premium | Golden Eagles
Su-25K Pack
germ_thyssen_henschel_tam.png
TAM
AB RB SB
8.7 8.7 8.7
Class:
Research:160 000 Specs-Card-Exp.png
Purchase:450 000 Specs-Card-Lion.png
Show in game

Description

GarageImage TAM.jpg


The Tanque Argentino Mediano (shortened to TAM, English translated as: Argentine Medium Tank) is a rank VI German light tanks with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".

It's one of the best tanks Germany has to offer at this battle rating, with slightly better mobility than the A1A1 and the ability to scout. The minimal armour and hullbreak vulnerability are downsides. Similar to the A1A1, it shares a horrible stock grind but holds its own very nicely once APFSDS is unlocked.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour Type:

  • Rolled Homogeneous Armor (hull, turret)
  • Cast Homogeneous Armor (gunner periscope)
Armour Front (Slope angle) Sides Rear Roof
Hull 11 mm (77°) Upper glacis - Engine access panel
32 mm (77°) Upper glacis - Sides
32 mm (29°) Lower glacis - Top
32 mm (60°) Lower glacis - Bottom
15 mm (30°) Top
15 mm Bottom
11 mm (23°) Upper plate
11 mm (27°) Lower plate
11-32 mm (13°) Front glacis
11 mm Crew compartment
5 mm Radiator vents
Turret 50 mm (5-35°) Turret front
30 mm (51-63°) Mantlet Front
25 mm (7-10°) Mantlet Sides
20 mm (79°) Roof glacis
30 mm (cylindrical) Gunner periscope
25 mm (24-27°) Crew Compartment
15 mm (27°) Bustle
25 mm Cupola well
15 mm (22°)
11 mm (79°) Turret underside
20 (11°) Roof glacis
11 mm
Cupola 35 mm (cylindrical) 35 mm Outer ring
11 mm Centre

Notes:

  • Suspension wheels, tracks and torsion bars are 20 mm thick.
  • The belly is 11 mm thick.

The armour is composed of welded steel, providing protection up to 32 mm. The front can defend against 12.7 mm machine gun ammo, but the side armour is only proof against standard machine guns of 7.62 mm. However, most enemies that can be faced will usually have a 12.7 mm machine gun or larger in their possession, making it so even a burst of bullets could riddle the TAM with holes. With this in mind, take caution when flanking a tank with a disabled gun to get a side shot, as you can easily lose a few crew members to machine gunfire. This becomes less of an issue after unlocking the APFSDS round when side shots are rarely as necessary. The TAM also is hull-breakable, so large-calibre rounds have a chance of instantly destroying the vehicle.

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 84 84 30.5 1116 1,374 36.59 45.05
Realistic 76 76 637 720 20.89 23.61

The mobility is not bad, with a max of 75 km/h (RB) on the road in forward and -50 km/h in reverse. Off-road mobility is quite average, especially on flat terrain, but there is a poor steering response. The TAM is powered by a MTU (Motoren- und Turbinen-Union Friedrichshafen GmbH) MB 833 Ka-500 520 kW (720 hp) that produces a good 720 hp at 2,400 rpm.

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm FMK.4 Modelo 1L Turret rotation speed (°/s) Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode Capacity Vertical Horizontal Stabilizer Stock Upgraded Full Expert Aced Stock Full Expert Aced
Arcade 50 -7°/+18° ±180° Two-plane 22.9 31.6 38.4 __._ 45.2 8.7 7.7 7.1 6.7
Realistic 14.3 16.8 20.4 __._ 24.0

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
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 4.00 N/A N/A N/A 75° 78° 80°
DM502 HESH 732 14.85 0.05 0.1 4,310 73° 77° 80°
DM12 HEATFS 1,173 10.50 0.05 0.1 1,270 65° 72° 75°
DM23 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 11.40 20 5 25 50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the TAM
Full
ammo
1st
rack empty
2nd
rack empty
3rd
rack empty
4th
rack empty
Visual
discrepancy
50 41 (+9) 30 (+20) 21 (+11) (+49) No

Notes:

  • Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
  • Racks 3 and 4 are first stage ammunition racks (29 shells total), meaning they will deplete first (in the order of 3 then 4) but will replenish from the other racks, starting with rack 1 and then rack 2.

Machine guns

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount Capacity (Belt) Fire rate Vertical Horizontal
Coaxial 2,000 (200) 600 N/A N/A
Commander cupola 2,000 (200) 60 -10°/+60° ±120°

The small calibre of the FN MAG 60-40 machine guns make 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 or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

Usage in battles

The TAM is a classic light tank, in that it has high mobility and a powerful armament with thin armor.

Characteristics

The mobility of the TAM is quite good, allowing it to out accelerate allies and enemies alike, as well as to reach the battle much quicker. This comes with a drawback though; the TAM has very little to speak of in terms of armor. Nearly every shot will penetrate the armor, and it is also vulnerable to hull break. Heavy machine gun rounds can even penetrate the side of the tank, and aircraft with cannons or machine guns are a great threat. Many autocannons from tanks or SPAAGs are able to penetrate the TAM from the front, although the steep slope of the upper glacis is able to bounce rounds.

DM23 APFSDS can penetrate most - if not all - enemies that can be faced by the TAM, making it the main ammunition choice of most TAM commanders. Despite having access to a decently powerful APFSDS round, there is more ammunition that should be considered. The DM12 HEATFS round can be used to hull break lightly armored vehicles, and also has a penetration of 400 mm - enough to penetrate anything but composite armor or ERA. The DM502 HESH round is probably the least useful of the ammunition choices, due to it being situational. It can be useful, but will often have trouble penetrating the front of enemy tanks; it is best used to hit the roof of a tank to splash down into the crew compartment. The M416 smoke round, while nearly useless against enemy tanks, can be incredibly useful in the right situation. It can be used to lay down visual cover for teammates or the TAM itself, to blind the enemy, or to lay a path to a well defended capture point. The -7° of gun depression is usable, but the commander must be careful not to put the TAM in a position where it has insufficient gun depression to fire without exposing too much of the tank.

Playstyle

Due to its characteristics, the TAM is a very versatile tank. The flanking and scouting gameplay style uses all the advantages of the TAM, while negating the disadvantages, making it one of the best ways to drive the TAM. The TAM's high mobility allows it to assume strong, advanced positions before the enemy expects it to. From there, the scouting ability and powerful armament can be used to mark enemy tanks on the map for friendly tankers to be aware of, or to annihilate them tanks from the side or front. It can do this either by sniping from longer ranges or by ambushing at closer ranges. The versatile ammunition selection allows practically any enemy tank to be engaged effectively from any angle. In closer range areas of a map, the TAM can use its high mobility to hit the enemy where they don't expect it or before they expect it. Hit and run tactics are good because it helps to prevent the enemy from honing in on the TAM's location to knock it out. Due to the low armor of the TAM, the best way to ensure survival is to not be hit. This is why ambushes, sniping, or flanking are the safest and most successful tactics, although aggressive pushes can work as well. Overall, the heavy firepower, scouting ability, and good mobility allow the TAM to be successful in any sort of map or situation.

Modules

Tier Mobility Protection Firepower
I Tracks Parts Horizontal Drive Laser rangefinder DM502
II Suspension Brake System FPE Adjustment of Fire Airstrike DM12
III Filters Crew Replenishment Elevation Mechanism M416 NVD
IV Transmission Engine Smoke grenade Artillery Support Improved optics DM23

After Parts and FPE, the most important modules are the DM23 shell and the NVD upgrade. After that, the focus should be on the Laser rangefinder or mobility upgrades, depending on personal preference.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Good firepower for such a light vehicle
  • Very accurate gun, lands rounds with pinpoint accuracy
  • Faster and more manoeuvrable than the Begleitpanzer 57
  • Wide variety of ammo - APFSDS, APDS, HEAT-FS, HESH, and smoke shells
  • Unlike other tanks, the gun doesn't bounce at high speed - very good stabilizator
  • Commander's machine gun has a very high elevation limit, letting you shoot at planes and helicopters passing by
  • Little armour sometimes lets you survive AP shots as they pass through the tank without dealing much damage
  • Absurdly fast traverse and elevation rates
  • Turret is on the back, by reversing out of cover, you don't expose the whole vehicle
  • First ammo rack has more than enough shells for a battle
  • Cheap repair cost

Cons:

  • Very thin armour providing little to no protection
  • Ammunition price is quite high (APFSDS shells are 600 Silver Lions each), each round fired from the TAM is much more expensive than the same shell from a Leopard A1A1
  • Impossible to depress the gun when facing backwards
  • Turret is on the back, in some situations, you will have to expose the whole tank to shoot, especially if you need gun depression (engine deck stops the gun from depressing)
  • Unlike other German tanks, TAM does not have a great zoom capability (just x8.00)

History

During the 1960s, Argentina was looking far and wide for offers to update its ageing fleet of WW2-era tanks. After obtaining some vehicles, the U.S. refused to make further vehicle sales. This forced Argentina to shift their attention towards the European market, resulting in the purchase of a number of French AMX-13s and its variants.

In 1973 however, the Ministry of Defense drew up a set of requirements for a completely new combat vehicle that would be produced domestically and would to enter service by 1980. Despite knowing what they wanted, Argentinian engineers lacked the technical know-how in order to actually design and produce such a vehicle. Faced with this problem, the Argentinian government sought collaboration with a foreign company in order to design and build the vehicle they wanted. Eventually, a contracted was signed with the German Thyssen-Henschel company, a joint development effort soon ensued.

The TAM (Tanque Argentino Mediano, eng: Argentinian Medium Tank), as it would be designated, was based off the German Marder IFV and equipped with a modification of the British, the Royal Ordnance L7A3 cannon that was produced in Germany. The first two prototypes of the TAM were built in 1976 and 1977 respectively and underwent extensive testing over the course of two years.

After successfully passing testing, the TAM was put into mass production in 1979. The vehicles were armed with FMK.4 Modelo 1L cannons, which was a domestic licensed copy of the original German cannon. The government ordered 200 vehicles of the IFV variant. However, economic difficulties resulted in the order being only partially fulfilled before production was restarted later on. Argentina was also very keen on exporting the TAM to other countries, but despite interest and some contracts being signed, the TAM was never widely exported for various reasons.

A total of around 280 TAMs were built and most of them still serve in the Argentinian army, albeit with upgraded equipment. The TAM was never deployed in any combat operations to this date.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins
Images
  • TAM.jpg
Videos

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

External links


Germany light tanks
Pz.II  Pz.II C · Pz.II C (DAK) · Pz.II C TD · Pz.II F · Pz.Sfl.Ic
Sd.Kfz.234  Sd.Kfz.234/1 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 · Sd.Kfz.234/2 TD
Marder  Marder A1- · Marder 1A3 · Begleitpanzer 57 · DF105
  PUMA
Wheeled  Sd.Kfz.221 (s.Pz.B.41) · Class 3 (P) · Radkampfwagen 90
Other  Ru 251 · SPz 12-3 LGS
Argentina  TAM · TAM 2C · TAM 2IP · JaPz.K A2
Czechoslovakia  Pz.35(t) · Pz.38(t) A · Pz.38(t) F · Pz.38(t) n.A. · Sd.Kfz. 140/1
France  Pz.Sp.Wg.P204(f) KwK
Lithuania  Vilkas
USA  leKPz M41
USSR  SPz BMP-1