Magach 3 (ERA)

This page is about the premium Israeli medium tank Magach 3 (ERA). For other versions, see Magach (Family).

Magach 3 (ERA)

Magach 3 (ERA)

Description

During its service with Israel, the M48 Patton was heavily modified and upgraded to the point that it was much superior to the base version. The Magach 3 was the first big upgrade plan for the M48, including the introduction of the American M68 105 mm gun, with access to APFSDS. This upgrade was deemed necessary after mediocre results during the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. Eventually, the Magach 3 received Blazer ERA to deal with RPGs and ATGMs that were starting to be fielded in large numbers by Egyptian and Syrian forces. The tank was meant to be a match to the Soviet-made T-54/55 and T-62. The tank also received improvements to the mobility, with the engine of the M60, a new transmission, and a low-profile commander's cupola.

Introduced in Update "Danger Zone", the Magach 3 is an improved M48 Patton tank with a 105 mm M68 cannon and the M60's engine installed. It has very similar mobility to the Magach 1 and 2, but it features a much more powerful cannon. Its primary ammunition would be either the HEAT or APDS shell. It has enough firepower to deal with pretty much any enemy, it has also access to ERA at a very low BR, which makes it very resistant against HEAT warheads, like rockets, HEAT shells or ATGMs that are very common. This also gives it more protection against autocannon shots, specially from 20 or 25 mm autocannons without APDS belts.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Front hull, Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Side, Rear, Roof)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	85-200 mm (59-74°) Front glacis 63-200 mm (13-60°) Lower glacis	76 mm (0-44°) Front 51 mm (0-44°) Rear	30 mm (0-3°) Top 25 mm (26-59°) Bottom	57 mm Front 20 mm Rear
Turret	105-128 mm (6-71°) Turret front 152 mm (3-28°) Gun mantlet	66-97 mm (2-46°)	45-50 mm (4-55°) 25.4 mm (70-71°) Turret underside	24-65 mm
Cupola	70 mm	70 mm	70 mm	30 mm

Special armour*	Kinetic	Chemical
ERA	5 mm	260 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 38 mm in the front and 25 mm in the rear.
• Rangefinder device on the turret sides count as 127 mm cast armour.
• ERA can be attached on turret and front hull via modification.

Mobility

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)		Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse	Stock	AoA	Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade			-0.9	0.876	1,162		-1326.48	__.__
Realistic					663		-756.85	__.__

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm M68					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	57	-9°/+19°	±180°	N/A	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	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
M392A2	APDS	350	347	333	317	302	287
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M392A2	APDS	1,478	4	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
M156	HESH	731	11.4	0.1	4	3.17	73°	77°	80°
M152	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°

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	732	11.6	16	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Magach 3 (ERA)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
57	49 (+8)	34 (+23)	23 (+34)	17 (+40)	1 (+56)	No

Machine guns

Both machine guns are rifle caliber and are not much help against ground targets, even light ones. They are however somewhat useful in the role of lightly damaging enemy helicopters and aircraft.

7.62 mm M73
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	6,000 (250)	500	N/A	N/A

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,250 (250)	500	-15°/+60°	±180°

Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

Cons:

History

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Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Magach 3 (ERA) from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• Gal Batash - Most modern and upgraded Magach
• Magach (Family)

External links

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