War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

M-51 (W)

2024-11-14T01:23:39Z

U69095245: I eliminated the last lines of the history of this tank since it mentions that it was the last Sherman and the most advanced, which is false since during the 80s Chile modified the M-50 to arm them with 60 mm IMI HVMS cannons capable of firing APFSDST

{{About
| about = Israeli premium medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = the regular version
| link = M-51
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=il_m_51_w
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|StoreImage_{{PAGENAME}}_003.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
|store= 10705
}}

== Description ==

The '''M-51 (W)''' was designed similarly to the [[M-51]]; the only difference was the hull. Instead of the M4A1 hull, it was built using the chassis of the M4A3 and M4A4. Considered to be the most advanced version of the Sherman ever produced, the M-51 featured a 105 mm gun, an improved engine, a new turret, and access to a powerful HEAT shell. Developed based on the M-50, it was Israel's primary tank against Soviet-made T-55s and T-62s during the Yom Kippur War. In this conflict, neither Centurions nor Patton tanks were capable of consistently penetrating the armour of the new Soviet designs. While the M-51 was unreliable, slow, and had little to no protection, its armament was the most capable of all tanks in service with the IDF. Despite being obsolete, 180 were built, and they achieved decent results during the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, even against the most modern Soviet designs.

Introduced in Update "Winged Lions", the M-51 (W) has two differences compared to the regular M-51 found in the tech tree. The first is that it uses the M4A3 chassis instead of the M4A1. While the difference in armour is not enough to make a significant difference, the shape of the armour makes it possible for the M-51 (W) to bounce some shells off the front. The second is that the pintle-mounted machine gun has been upgraded from a 7.62 mm LMG to a 12.7 mm HMG, allowing it to more easily deal with lightly armoured vehicles and break down obstructions. Its HEAT shell is capable of dealing with any enemy at its BR. However, it has very poor mobility, particularly off-road and in reverse, its armour is non-existent, and if it's penetrated, surviving is unlikely. It also does not have access to a stabilizer like the original Shermans. Since it relies on its firepower, it's recommended to stay back in comfortable positions behind the protection of your team, and if you are going to be at the frontline, stay close to your teammates.

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

While the Sherman had decent armour for its time, its armour will be penetrated by most enemies it will face at this rank. That's why you should adopt a playstyle similar to the [[Pz.IV F2]]: rely on your gun and mobility and keep distance between you and the enemy vehicles.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
* Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Transmission area, Cupola, MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 63.5 mm (48-57°) ''Upper glacis'' 25.4 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' 63.5-107.9 mm (cylindrical) ''Transmission housing'' 63.5 mm (53°) ''Lower glacis'' || 38.1 mm
| 38.1 mm (21°) ''Upper plate'' 38.1 mm (14-44°) ''Lower glacis'' || 63.5 mm (23-42°) ''Front glacis'' 19.5 mm ''Crew compartment'' 19.5 mm (8-24°) ''Engine compartment'' 9.5 mm ''Vents''
|-
| Turret || 51 mm (13°) ''Turret front'' 100 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 51 mm (0-13°) || 51 mm (55-64°) || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" | 63.5 mm (Conical) || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 20 mm thick, and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


The {{PAGENAME}}'s mobility is respectable. While the vehicle's top speed and acceleration lags behind contemporary vehicles, it can still allow the vehicle to perform in a somewhat-satisfactory manner as long as it is not expected to win races.

Reverse speed remains a common problem in the M4 Sherman platform, with the {{PAGENAME}} only able to reverse at -5 km/h. So when firing from a position, be aware of the reverse speed in order to afford the {{PAGENAME}} enough time to duck behind cover before enemy tanks can attack back, or instead push forward into cover to make the most of the forward speed available.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=713|rbMinHp=407}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

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


The most iconic feature of the {{PAGENAME}} is its large 105 mm M-51 gun, a variant of the French [[CN-105-F1 (105 mm)|CN-105-F1]] cannon for their [[AMX-30 (Family)|AMX-30 tanks]]. The gun's claim to fame is the OCC 105 F1 HEAT shell that allows the {{PAGENAME}} tank to penetrate up to 400 mm of armour from any distance.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M-51 (105 mm)|105 mm M-51]] || 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" | 56 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 22.8 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 8.63 || rowspan="2" | 7.95 || rowspan="2" | 7.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:M-51 (105 mm)/Ammunition|OCC 105 F1, OE 105 F1 Mle.60, OFPH 105 F1}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.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
|-
| '''56''' || 33 ''(+23)'' || 9 ''(+47)'' || 1 ''(+55)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
* Rack 3 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 8 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 ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}


Like most other M4 Sherman platforms, the {{PAGENAME}} contains a standard coaxial machine gun, and a pintle-mounted heavy machine gun. Both remain useful for harassing low-flying aircraft and defeating lightly-armoured vehicles that may not warrant a 105 mm round.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 600 (200) || 577 || -10°/+70° || ±60°
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 4,750 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The {{PAGENAME}} is a relatively complex tank to play as it has characteristics that serve the tank well, yet just as many characteristics that are a detriment to the tank's ability to perform its roles.

The {{PAGENAME}}'s weaknesses should be recognized first. Its survivability after a first hit is poor as the {{PAGENAME}} is built on a M4A3 hull with no substantial armour improvement. As such the front armour array has poor protection against the kind of armaments the tank is expected to go against. What is also not helping is the tank's relatively slow speed, which makes travelling from cover to cover a longer chore. Combined with the tank's large profile with the Sherman hull body and the long 105 mm gun, it would be relatively easy to spot an exposed {{PAGENAME}} from a distance and destroy it. Another drawback is the ammunition composition available, with only chemical-energy shells (HEAT, HE, Smoke) available. This means that the gunner must ensure there is no light cover or foliage that would detonate the shell before it can reach its target.

However, noteworthy characteristics of the {{PAGENAME}} for its favor is, of course, the armament. The large 105 mm gun is capable of delivering a HEAT shell a distance away. This allows the tank to attack targets of its choosing without regards to penetration drop-off with distance. The turret also has a reasonable traverse rate and elevation ranges, allowing for quick target responses and use in different terrain and hills.

With these considerations in mind, the {{PAGENAME}} would excel in the "sniper tank" or "ambusher" role. Play these roles in the defense as the {{PAGENAME}} does not have great mobility to get to certain locations before the enemy will. Instead, allow the enemy to roll into the {{PAGENAME}}'s field of fire closer in the friendly team side. Set up the {{PAGENAME}} in areas covering known enemy advances towards the objectives, their transit in between objectives, or their movements into friendly front-lines after capturing the objectives. Good fire zones can be established with the 105 mm's HEAT round, using the generous gun depression angles for hull-down locations to use terrain as cover. Alternatively, one may also exploit the {{PAGENAME}}'s height to find rock formations low enough to cover the hull, but also expose the turret to allow the {{PAGENAME}} to fire from behind cover before withdrawing to reload so the enemy doesn't hit and penetrate the turret.

Alternatively, the {{PAGENAME}} may be used as a "brawler" role by getting up close to the enemy. This role is not well-advised due to the {{PAGENAME}}'s weak armour, slow mobility, and average reload speed. However, the tank's gun and turret traverse rate allow the {{PAGENAME}} to be rather responsive in close-quarter combat. Perform this roles with allies, especially those in more dangerous tanks like heavy tanks, in order to reduce the likelihood that the {{PAGENAME}} is the first to be targeted during these attacks. If the {{PAGENAME}} is caught isolated, it will very quickly be torn to pieces. Use the available smoke grenades to make a retreat if needed.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Impressive firepower thanks to HEAT's 400 mm penetration
* Great long range cannon since HEAT retains penetration regardless of distance
* Wide FOV in the gunner's sight
* Quick turret traverse
* 4 turret-mounted smoke grenades

'''Cons:'''

* Massive gun wobbling: the gun is not stabilised and bounces a lot
* Poor top speed and acceleration
* With its poor armour and massive gun, close quarters combat is not recommended
* Cramped turret due to the large breech
* Fires only early HEAT shells, which are prone to ricochets and inconsistent damage
* The HEAT shell has low muzzle velocity and unreliable post-penetration damage, aiming at ammunition and crew positions is necessary
* The large muzzle brake catches a lot of shells, destroying the gun

== History ==

Upon its establishment in 1948, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was desperate to set up an armoured corps in order to contend with the multi-pronged Arab invasion. World War II surplus early-model [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tanks, many of them already rendered combat-ineffective, were purchased from any European source that would provide them. A significant Israeli repair effort finally managed to get most of these tanks working in time to defeat the invading armoured battalions, ultimately winning the war. The basic M4 remained the IDF's primary tank for more than half a decade, precisely because it was considered obsolete everywhere else and could therefore be purchased en-masse at scrapyard prices. During the early 1950s it was slowly replaced with more advanced Sherman models, whenever those could be acquired.

Unfortunately for the IDF, this situation could not continue for long. Newfound cooperation between the Arab states and the Soviet Union resulted in an influx of [[T-34-85]]s into the region, whose armour was very difficult to penetrate using the M4's original [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3]] cannon. It was obvious that the Shermans would need to be replaced in order to keep up with the arms race. Initially, the IDF considered purchasing the new [[AMX-13]] from France (which was rapidly becoming Israel's primary weapon supplier), but the tank was determined to be too lightly armoured. Instead, a number of French CN-75-50 cannons (also known as the [[SA50 L/57 (75 mm)|SA50 L/57]]) were purchased separately and installed into the turrets of existing [[M4A4 (France)|M4A4 Shermans]]. This resulted in the Sherman M-50, known abroad as the "Super Sherman" and in War Thunder as the [[M4A4 (SA50)]].

The M-50s proved highly effective during the Sinai War of 1956, but the lessons of that war resulted in the Soviets flooding the region - particularly Egypt and Syria - with the newest [[T-54/55 (Family)|T-54/55]], armed with a 100 mm cannon and carrying more modern curved armour. Once again, new French [[AMX-30]]s were rejected as replacements for the M-50, but their new [[CN-105-F1 (105 mm)|CN-105-F1 105 mm]] cannons proved quite suitable for the IDF's purposes. The Israelis modified these cannons to their own specifications, slightly reducing barrel length and muzzle velocity as well as fitting the cannon with a brand new muzzle brake. This modified cannon would be installed on an [[M4A1]] Sherman hull fitted with a T23 turret (the turret originally used for 76 mm Sherman variants). The tank was then fitted with a number of additional modernization features, including infrared spotlights and a better fire control system.

This new model was dubbed the Sherman M-51, of which 180 were constructed in total. They first saw action during the Six-Day War of 1967, where they often outmatched Syrian and Egyptian T-55s. In combat in the West Bank during that war, the M-51 exceeded expectations even further by thoroughly defeating Jordanian [[M48A1|M48 Pattons]] - very similar to the model that was in the process of replacing the M-51 in IDF service at the time. Despite becoming effectively obsolete by the 1970s, the M-51s were called back into action in 1973 during the desperate situation of the Yom Kippur War, and reportedly managed to hold their own even against late-model [[T-62]] tanks.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=il_m_51_w Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|BdZ8irRyr5o|'''Premium Vehicles: M-51 W''' - ''War Thunder Wiki''|jyKHrTMSd1o|'''Should You Buy The M-51? - Vehicle Review''' - ''Sako Sniper''}}

== See also ==


;Related development

* [[M4 Sherman (Family)]]
** [[M-51]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7483-development-shop-israeli-ground-forces-cbt-early-access-packs-en|[Devblog] Israeli Ground Forces CBT Early Access Packs!]]

{{TankManufacturer Israeli Ordnance Corps}}
{{Israel medium tanks}}
{{Israel premium ground vehicles}}

M-51

2024-11-14T01:16:45Z

U69095245: I corrected the tank service data in Chile

{{About
| about = Israeli medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| usage = the premium version
| link = M-51 (W)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=il_m_51
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

After the establishment of the Israeli State in 1948, the IDF faced numerous conflicts with various nations, and needed a cheap way to create a capable armoured force. Various modifications of the M4 Sherman had been supplied from France in the 1950s, but these were rather outdated by this point. Thus, the M-50 was developed, combining the chassis of the [[M4A1]] and a 76 mm cannon. However, this proved inadequate against more modern tanks like the T-54/55 that appeared in subsequent years. Consequently, the '''M-51''' was developed, equipped with a 105 mm rifled cannon (the same used by the [[AMX-30]]). The tank saw action during the Yom Kippur War alongside [[Sho't|Centurions]] and [[Magach 1|Patton]] tanks. The M-51, with its HEAT shell, proved more capable against the T-55 and T-62's armour; however, it suffered from poor engine reliability, mediocre off-road mobility, and minimal protection against enemy tanks, ATGMs, or RPGs. Eventually, the tanks were sold to Chile, where they became known as the M-60.

The M-51, introduced in Update "Wind of Change", boasts a powerful 105 mm cannon; however, unlike other Shermans, it lacks a stabiliser. Its HEAT shell is powerful enough to penetrate virtually every enemy at its BR, even the [[Maus]]. However, this is balanced by limited mobility and extremely weak armour; most times, the vehicle will be destroyed from a single hit. Moreover, its off-road mobility and reverse speed are subpar for its BR, even when compared to heavy tanks. Therefore, it excels in ambushes or a defensive playstyle. Rushing and remaining on the frontlines is ill-advised; instead, adopt a cautious approach and utilise the cover provided by your teammates.

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


The hull armour is mostly inadequate. Almost every popular tank in the BR range can penetrate the tank's front with ease even when it is presented at an extreme angle, short of light tanks and SPAAs. Still, frontal armour can protect the tank from bombs and rockets. The side armour is quite weak and is arguable the weakest part of the tank, as even SPAA can penetrate it at various angles. The rear is technically the best protected side when it comes to hopeless situations - if the opponent hits too high, then shell bounces into tough turret and does nothing; if opponent hits too low, then engine might stop the shell. Unfortunately, tank's awful reverse speed does not allow it to charge with rear forward, so it can only be used defensively.

The turret armour is bad and good. Turret sides are unlikely to protect from anything but 20 mm SPAA, but the front is decent. The gun mantlet actually allows the turret to deflect stray shots and can allow the tank to fight in hulldown position, but the turret's top is not cut off on the "mask" level, but higher. The actual roof is connected to it with 26 mm RHA plate, which is not even angled enough to bounce shells in the first place, and most of opponents in tank's rank are either extremely tall, have angle negating shells, or both. Because of this, if the M-51 is charging into high ground, it is easily destroyed before it can even fire, especially in AB. By keeping distance and vertical angle, the tank can reduce the probability of being penetrated.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull side bottom, hull roof - engine)
* Cast homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 63.5 mm (44°) ''Upper glacis'' 63.5 mm (cylindrical) ''Transmission housing'' 38.1 mm ''Hull corners'' || 38 mm (2-15°) ''Top'' 38 mm ''Bottom'' || 38 mm (14°) || 63.5 mm (46°) ''Front glacis'' 19.5 mm ''Crew compartment'' 20 mm ''Engine compartment'' 9.5-9.5+4 mm ''Engine vents''
|-
| Turret || 55 mm (12°) ''Turret front'' 80 - 250 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 51 mm (10-17°) || 51 mm 51 mm (65°) ''Bustle'' || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 63.5 mm (cylindrical) || 25.4 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, tracks are 20 mm thick, and torsion bars are 10 mm thick.

=== Mobility ===
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}}


Without upgrades, even in AB the tank will never be able to take initiative from opponents, as it accelerates poorly and loses a lot of momentum when turning at low/zero crew level - opponents will always be first to the capture point and almost always will react faster in combat.

With all the upgrades, it is still slower than most of other tanks, but it will feel far less clunky to drive and will more often reach maximum speed. It will also accelerate surprisingly fast, for how it performed before.

Remember, the reverse speed on this tank is only 3-5 km/h, combined with poor hull plating it requires the commander to make decisions count, or to not rely on mobility at all.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=713|rbMinHp=407}}

=== Modifications and economy ===
{{Specs-Economy}}

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

{{main|M-51 (105 mm)}}

The gun fires HEAT and HE with characteristics typical of a rank IV SPG, but its velocity is very close to the default APHE (usually a bit slower), which makes learning curve less strict than it normally is. The tank is also reasonably tall, so HEAT does not lose a lot of power like with the SPG of the rank, which struggle with heavy tanks due to an insane angle of attack.
[[File:M51 heat long range attack over cover.jpg|thumb|right|At medium to long range, the minor difference in HEAT and APHE velocity may allow M51 to outplay superior tanks]]
Gun accuracy is great even without the gun adjustment upgrade and with zero crew experience, but its vertical elevation speed is awful, and the gun is constantly tilted by changes of movement pace, which makes handling it difficult. This makes personal user skill to fire on move without braking a necessity.

The only way to reduce the tilt is to upgrade movement modules, as it reduces the tilt threefold. Due to the low gun elevation speed, the elevation mechanism upgrade is a must have, and it is generally a good idea to pull the gun up before charging downhill, as to not disarm the tank in process, particularly at low crew level.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M-51 (105 mm)|105 mm M-51]] || 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" | 56 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 22.8 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 8.63 || rowspan="2" | 7.95 || rowspan="2" | 7.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:M-51 (105 mm)/Ammunition|OCC 105 F1, OE 105 F1 Mle.60, OFPH 105 F1}}

HEAT shells destroy any tank regardless of its armour. They can be used at point blank range to knock out [[Panther tank (Family)|Panthers]] with a single shot by hitting their hull straight to the middle. They can also be used in typical HEAT fashion to bombard any enemy 600 m away over a hill, even without direct sight - returned APHE fire will not hit the tank back, since it's generally a bit faster, and even if there is an artillery genius on the other side, the gun mask should be able to handle it.

The HE shell is nice to have. Even if it's difficult to memorize which tank's roofs it can penetrate, the HE can be used to bully sneaky light tanks and beat certain SPGs like the [[Type 75 SPH]].

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.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
! 4th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| '''56''' || 33 ''(+23)'' || 9 ''(+47)'' || 4 ''(+52)'' || 1 ''(+55)'' || No
|-
|}

=== Machine guns ===
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|2}}
{{Specs-Tank-Weapon|3}}

{{main|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M1919A4]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 750 (250) || 500 || -10°/+60° || ±180°
|-
| Coaxial || 4,750 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The M-51 has poor armour for its BR, which is why you should never get into a brawl. Even though the overall armour might not be suited for close-range engagements, the hull armour is kind of decent at long ranges but is really good against bombs and rockets. Pick off targets from long range and avoid being spotted so do not hang around in one spot for too long. Your eather thin armour means that you cannot risk taking even a single hit especially from the side as you will be destroyed instantly. Aerial opponents are also a threat.

;Enemies worth noting

* [[Panther D]] - If the Panther presents its front, then shoot the left side of the mantlet where the gunner and the commander sits, which will effectively disable it. You can then try and shoot the front to knock out the rest of the crew.
* [[IS-2]] - This Soviet tank has better armour than you but your excellent 105 mm gun with HEAT shells should have no problem penetrating it. However, you must make sure that you shoot first to disable its gunner. Shoot at the turret if the IS-2 is presenting its front. The IS-2 has poor gun depression which can be used against it on hilly maps when it attempts to climb up a hill.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 400 mm penetration HEAT launcher is a death sentence for any tank
* Gun mantlet can block or bounce inaccurate shots, decent for hulldown tactics
* The gun is reasonably accurate even when stock and with untrained crew
* There are three of them, which means you only have to pay for the repair once (there are also free repairs several times)
* Gun scope has great zoom
* Decent gun depression

'''Cons:'''

* Very bouncy gun; paired with the poor vertical gun elevation speed any panic on commander's side is fatal
* HEAT rounds are highly unreliable with mostly poor post-penetration damage
* No .50 cal heavy machine gun
* Fire-on-the-move techniques take time to be fully mastered
* Turret armour has a fatal flaw which makes it weak when charging into high ground (or in general against good snipers in AB)
* The hull armour offers little protection at the rank, giving the vehicle a low survivability
* When initially unlocked, must be used with a level 1 crew with no expert training against elite crews of other nations - very high personal skill requirement or patience strain

== History ==

The M-51 was developed from an M-50 tank, whose project started in 1954 after Israel bought several AMX-13 tanks from France, although their armour protection was deemed inadequate. Israel purchased a number of the 75 mm guns in order to fit them onto M4 Sherman hulls as they constituted the backbone of the IDF tank force at that time. In 1955, a prototype turret was sent from France to Israel and Israeli Ordnance Corps military facilities began to up-gun the Sherman tanks with the French guns. The first 50 M-50 tanks were based on an M4A4 hull with a Continental R-975 gasoline engine and VVSS suspension. However, increased weight and narrow tracks of the tank, led to poor offroad mobility, so the rest of the M-50 were using M4A1 hulls with HVSS suspension and a Cummins VT-8-460 diesel engine instead. In total, about 300 M-50 Shermans were built by 1964.

In the 1960s, 180 M-50 Shermans were fitted with a shortened French 105 mm Modèle F1 gun with a barrel shortened to 51 calibres from the original 56. It was also equipped with a unique double-baffle muzzle brake and ammunition had to be altered to use a smaller cartridge. M4A1 hull and T23 turret from 76 mm gun-armed Shermans were used for the conversion. Both the M-50 and M-51 saw action during Six-Day Warfighting WWII era armour such as the T-34-85 of the Egyptian Army and newer tanks like the T-54/T-55 and T-62 series. The tanks saw action also in the 1973 Yom Kippur War alongside Israeli-upgraded Centurion and M48/M60 tanks. The M-51s gun was capable of penetrating its adversaries thanks to HEAT ammunition. M-50 with diesel engines and M-51 were retired between the 1970s and 1980s. About 150 M-51 tanks were sold to Chile in the early 1980s, in Chile they were equipped with new FCS (fire control systems) called MSZ-2 from Elop of Israel, which consisted of new vision systems for the commander and gunner plus a laser rangefinder, these tanks were in service until 2006 when they were replaced by the new Dutch Leopard 1V.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=il_m_51 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|MjrWPIFOiBA|'''M-51 "Super Sherman", Israeli, Tier-4, Medium Tank''' - ''Angry Nerd Gaming''}}

== See also ==


* [[M-51 (W)]]

== 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}}