Merkava Mk.2B

2022-07-24T09:39:35Z

U54178319: Filled in many information about the Merkava Mk.2B tank (sorry pretty new to making wikis)

{{About
| about = Israeli medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = other versions
| link = Merkava (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=il_merkava_mk_2b_early
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The Merkava Mark IIB (Merkava Mk.2B) is a rank VI Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 9.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced to the game in [[Update "Wind of Change"|Update 2.15 "Wind of Change"]].

== General info ==
=== Survivability and armour ===
{{Specs-Tank-Armour}}

The frontal armour on the Merkava Mk.2B is is overall decent in terms of protection. Its turret in particular is a strongpoint in which it is compact and smaller than its battle-rating counterparts, making it a difficult target to hit when hull down at range. Moreover, the shape of its turret is rather unique as it features a complex design with extreme angles which boast high ricochet chances. The turret shape might confuse enemies who are unaccustomed to it, which might cause them to mess up their shots. But as a consequence to the turret being cramped as it is, penetrating shots at the turret's crew compartment might prove to be fatal.

The hull, seemingly at a glance, is not as impressive as the turret. On one hand, the lower and upper plates are rather thin, and despite the extreme angle of the upper plate, most APFSDS (Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot) and chemical rounds will punch through with ease. On the other hand, the Merkava's engine and transmission are conveniently placed at the front to soak up most of the penetrating shot's energy and shrapnel, preventing it from going further into the tank and protecting the crew at the cost of temporary immobilization.

'''Armour type:''' 


{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 60 mm (upper)
90 mm (lower)
| 50 mm (behind composite screen) || 70-100 mm (spaced) || 30 mm
|-
| Turret || 65 mm ''Turret front'' 100 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) || 110 mm (65+45mm spaced armour) || 30mm
|-
| Cupola || 30 mm || 30 mm || 30 mm || 30mm
|-
|}

'''Notes:''' 

* side composite screens are 20 mm thick.
* the turret features sides and rear spaced armour.
* ammo racks are stored in 5-10mm thick rolled homogenous armour.
* armour plates separate the engine and transmission from the fuel tank and crew compartment.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}
{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,492|rbMinHp=852}}
The Merkava Mk.2B has decent all around mobility, although it is slower than many other medium tanks at its BR. It is important to note that turning bleeds speed quickly, and that the reverse speed is decent at best.

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}Due to the fact that the engine, transmission, and fuel tank are all positioned right behind the frontal hull armour and serve the roll of additional protection, it is mandatory that the player prioritizes the research of parts and FPE first. The, the player can get the NVD and LWS/LR or adjustment of fire upgrades for more accurate shots. After that, the player should focus on getting the M111 upgrade, as they should use it as their main ammo type.

== Armaments ==
{{Specs-Tank-Armaments}}
=== Main armament ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|1}}

{{main|Sharir (105 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Sharir (105 mm)|105 mm Sharir]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 54 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 52.7 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 8.71 || rowspan="2" | 7.71 || rowspan="2" | 7.10 || rowspan="2" | 6.70
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 23.8 || 28.0 || 34.0 || 37.6 || 40.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="8" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! colspan="6" | 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
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="10" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! rowspan="2" | Type of warhead
! rowspan="2" | Velocity (m/s)
! rowspan="2" | Projectile Mass (kg)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay (m)
! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity (mm)
! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
! colspan="3" | 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°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan="7" | 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]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_Merkava_Mk.2D.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Full ammo
! 1st rack empty
! 2nd rack empty
! 3rd rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''54''' || 31 ''(+23)'' || 7 ''(+47)'' || 1 ''(+53)'' || No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}

{{main|FN MAG 60-40 (7.62 mm)}}

''Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[FN MAG 60-40 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
|-
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
|-
| || ___ (___) || ___ || __° || __°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Merkava Mk.2B is built for urban warfare and sniping, and should be played as such roles. The armour and the equipment it features will make it a formidable foe in the battlefield. Use its compact turret to peak from unexpected locations and utilize its excellent 4-20x commander's view to spot enemies from afar.

Enemies that you must be most worried about are the Russian T-72s and T-64B, as their frontal armour will be a difficult challenge to break through at range when they conceal their lower plate, and their guns are extremely dangerous from any range. The only viable tactic against them is to flank, but you must be very careful not to get flanked yourself, as your side armour can be easily penetrated by even SPAAs.

=== Pros and cons ===
'''Pros:'''

* Excellent hull-down capabilities.
* Effective protection of its crew members.
* Decent mobility to keep up with most other tanks.
* Excellent 4-20x commander's view.
* Comes stock with smoke grenades.

*

'''Cons:'''

* Only has rifle calibre machine guns, ineffective against lightly armoured vehicles.
* Engine compartment is prone to catch on fire, exhausting FPE.
* Prone to getting ammo-racked.
* Mediocre 8x gunner zoom (commander view balances this disadvantage, but cannot substitute gunner view)

*

== 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: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).''

== Media ==

{{Youtube-gallery|67n570MZRCY|'''Upgraded Israeli Grit - Merkava Mk.2B - War Thunder {{PAGENAME}}''' - ''JustinPlays''}}

== See also ==


* [[Merkava Mk.2B (USA)]]
* [[Merkava (Family)]]

== External links ==

''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''

* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''other literature.''

{{TankManufacturer Israeli Ordnance Corps}}
{{Israel medium tanks}}

War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Merkava Mk.2B