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M4A4 (SA50)

2022-06-15T00:32:16Z

U74338054: /* Description */

{{About
| about = French medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = other M4 Shermans
| link-1 = M4 Sherman (Family)
| usage-2 = other uses
| link-2 = M4 (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=fr_m4a4_cn_75_50
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} French medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.75 "La Résistance"]]. This tank is the equivalent to the British [[Sherman Firefly]], it trades its top-mounted HMG and additional armour for a better main gun: the SA50 L/57 cannon, which is the same gun as the [[AMX-13]], providing an interesting perspective to what's coming next in terms of firepower. That being said, the rest of this tank is 100% Sherman, with all its good and bad.

As with any Sherman design, this tank is quite iconic of this vehicle's family: tall profile, sloped frontal armour, front-mounted transmission, plane radial engine power station, rounded turret with complex gun mantlet, it has got it all. The only difference from purely American Sherman is its long gun featuring a muzzle brake.

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

With its sloped frontal armour, many low-calibre shells will just bounce off the Sherman, any actual anti-tank gun you will face at this BR will easily go through this relatively thin armour at average combat ranges. Keep in mind not to linger too long is front of SPAAs as there is two very convenient flat plates in front of the driver and machine gunner. As for the turret, some angles may deflect shots but don't count on it. Side and rear armour plates are vulnerable to anything bigger than HMG rounds since they are only 38 mm thick. In sum, this armour is there to provide occasional protection from poorly aimed shots and autocannon fire, but nothing more.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
* Cast homogeneous armour (turret, gun mantlet, cupola, transmission carter, MG port)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50.8 mm (56°) ''Front glacis'' 50.8 mm (8-17°) ''Viewports'' 34 + 25.4 mm (spherical) ''MG port'' 50.8 mm (3°) ''Radio antenna bulge'' 50.8 mm (cylindrical) ''Transmission housing'' || 38.1 mm 38.1 + 25.4 mm ''Ammo racks'' || 38.1 mm (21°) ''Top'' 38.1 mm ''Bottom'' || 50.8 mm (34°) ''Front glacis'' 19.5 mm ''Centre'' 25.4 mm ''Centre - Turret base'' 25.4 mm (7°) ''Engine bay - centre'' 19.5 mm (23°) ''Engine bay - sides''
|-
| Turret || 76 mm (7-65°) ''Turret front'' 63-100 mm (0-62°) ''Gun mantlet'' 51 mm (0-80°) ''Protruding gun mantlet'' || 51 mm (0-68°) || 51 mm (3-68°) || 25.4 mm
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 63.5 mm (conical) || 63.5 mm ''Outer ring'' 25.4 mm ''Centre''
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, while bogies are 10 mm thick and tracks are 20 mm thick.

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


The Sherman chassis, with all its good and bad takes this tank around the battlefield. It will carry its user wherever it likes but it takes some time to do so. Don't count on it for hasty retreats as both reverse speed and hull turning are slow when this tank is stopped. As long as it is not required to do back-flips and drifting, this chassis does the job.

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

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

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

{{main|SA50 L/57 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[SA50 L/57 (75 mm)|75 mm SA50 L/57]] || 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" | 62 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+25° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 22.9 || 31.6 || 38.4 || 42.5 || 45.2 || rowspan="2" | 9.75 || rowspan="2" | 8.62 || rowspan="2" | 7.95 || rowspan="2" | 7.50
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 14.3 || 16.8 || 20.4 || 22.6 || 24.0
|-
|}
The Sherman's turret was not made for such a huge gun. this is why this tank has an elongated mantlet: to provide space for the long SA50 L/57 cannon. Originally, this tank was provided with a vertical stabiliser but it was disabled with this new gun mount as the strain was too great for this piece. Thus, unlike most Sherman, the French M4A4 SA50 does not have a stabilized gun, but what a gun it is ! This main armament performs a bit better than its British counter part, the [[Ordnance QF 17-pounder (76 mm)|QF 17-pounder]] as it has superior penetration rates at all ranges. With such a gun, sniping is an easy task as only [[Panther D|early Panthers]] will be able to defeat it (they still have weak spots, thought).

With such firepower, there is also concerns: as said above, this gun is not stabilized, which makes target acquisition quite slow. This specific Sherman's main weakness being its lack of top-mounted MG, leaving it mostly vulnerable to strafing planes.

==== 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
|-
| POT-51A || APC || 182 || 178 || 162 || 143 || 127 || 113
|-
| 75 mm HE || HE || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10 || 10
|-
| PCOT-51P || APCBC || 202 || 198 || 180 || 159 || 141 || 125
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| POT-51A || APC || 1,000 || 6.4 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| 75 mm HE || HE || 753 || 6.2 || 0.0 || 0.1 || 675 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| PCOT-51P || APCBC || 1,000 || 6.4 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
|}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====
[[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|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
! 5th rack empty
! 6th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
|-
| '''62''' || 57 ''(+5)'' || 51 ''(+11)'' || 42 ''(+20)'' || 33 ''(+29)'' || 17 ''(+45)'' || 1 ''(+61)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* As they are modeled by sets of 3 or 4, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the set.
* Flank racks empty: 33 (+29) shells.
* The top rows of all 4 floor racks deplete successively, followed by all bottom rows.

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

{{main|M1919A4 (7.62 mm)}}

The small calibre of the M1919A4 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.

{| 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 || 3,000 (250) || 500 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

Experienced Sherman commanders will like this tank as it drastically increases this old boy's lethality. This tank is a very good representative of the medium tanks line, with average mobility, sufficient armour and enjoyable firepower. Get into position, manage to avoid shots doing so and ensure any role an average tank could do: sniper, brawler, flanker, etc.

With good overall characteristics, this vehicle can play many roles on the battlefield, here is some of them:

'''Brawler:'''

This tank has bad armour for the BR and you assume it. Using its good turret turning speed and close-quarter penetration rates, it should blast through almost anything it looks at. This tactic is very efficient in urban combat, where long range precision shots are not required, only reaction time and situation awareness can save you. Make sure to surprise your enemies while avoiding being targeted yourself can grant you with a few points. The most important thing about this tactic is to know when to pull off, as enemies will be aware of a rampaging Sherman in the area and will take advantage of it as soon as they got the opportunity. This is a high risk/high stakes game-play.

'''Sniper:'''

To be used in open maps, preferably against lower BR vehicles. Keeping a good distance from your enemie's gun, use your own cannon to penetrate them from any range. Even if your armour is not the best, it should block most incoming round, which have lost most of their energy from traveling for so long. Make sure to reposition every 2-3 shots as you may get spotted by a big gun. This tactic is even more effective when hulled-down: this tank has -10° of depression, make good use of them.

Use your imagination: any tactic that do not rely too much on armour is a good one when using this tank. Want to follow the team? No problem. Want to find a good ambush spot? Go for it.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent 75 mm gun, arguably better than the legendary 17-pounder due to the penetration and accuracy of the gun
* Outstanding penetration on the default APCBC at all ranges
* Unlike the Sherman Firefly, the SA50 gets 10 degrees of gun depression. Makes cresting ridgelines a good tactic
* Set of optics with 7.5x magnification
* The gun mantlet is both large and V-shaped. Can reliably stop or bounce incoming fire
* Due to all the pros listed above, the SA50 is one of the best pound-for-pound snipers and ridgeline shooters in the game

'''Cons:'''

* Bad overall armour layout: doesn't have any add-on tracks lining the sides like the Firefly
* Doesn't have access to any shells with explosive filler
* Higher-than-average reload time for the battle rating
* No roof mounted .50 cal HMG like on other Shermans at the same BR

== History ==

===Israeli M4 Shermans===
During the Cold War, the Israelis received stocks of [[M4|M4 Sherman]] tanks to equip their armoured force. They were obtained from the British, French, and scrap yards across Europe.<ref name="ZalogaIsraeli">Zaloga 2008, "Chapter 11: Cold War Sherman"</ref> Their designations on the Shermans were based on their armaments, leading to names such as the ''Sherman M-1'' with the [[M1 (76 mm)|76 mm M1 gun]], the ''Sherman M-3'' with the [[M3 (75 mm)|75 mm M3 gun]], and the ''Sherman M-4'' with the [[M4 (105 mm)|105 mm M4 howitzer]], regardless of Sherman hull and engine model types. Sherman tanks equipped with the horizontal volute suspension system (HVSS) were given the added name "Super" in the designation.<ref name="ShermanTankIsraeli">Jeeps_Guns_Tanks 2015, ''#34''</ref>

The M4 Shermans were seen as adequate in the early 1950s conflicts, but the Soviet arms trade with the neighboring Arab countries in the 1950s caused the Israelis to focus on uparming their existing Sherman inventory. Their program was a 1954 joint venture with France to arm the Sherman with the 75 mm SA50 gun from the [[AMX-13]] light tank. The modifications to hold the 75 mm SA50 gun required the extension of the Sherman turret front and rear to make room for the gun and add a counterweight for the heavier front weight. With the success of this modification, the Israelis chose the 75 mm SA50 gun to be the new armament for the M4 Sherman inventory. The first fifty tanks with the 75 mm SA50 guns were added into a M4A4 Sherman hull converted to use a R975 radial engine by the French, these tanks designated as the '''M-50 Sherman''' by Israel. These used a vertical-volute suspension system (VVSS), but the added weight of the gun inhibited the M-50's flotation and mobility, so this was shifted to use the HVSS and the Cummins diesel engine. These two variants are distinguished by engine type as the ''M-50 Continental'' and the ''M-50 Cummins.'' Other hulls outside the M4A4 were also used in the conversions.<ref name="ShermanTankIsraeli" />

===Combat usage===
The M-50 Sherman was used by Israeli during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967 Six-Day War. The 1956 Suez Crisis against Egypt was a curious case as the Egyptians also send their M4 Sherman inventory through a similar uparm program by adding the [[M4A1 (FL10)|AMX-13 turret onto their M4 Shermans]], giving them their own usage of the 75 mm SA50 gun on the M4 Sherman tanks.<ref name="ZalogaIsraeli" />

Its use in the 1967 war was interleaved with the more powerful M-51 Sherman, a similar upgun program with the French 105 mm Modèle F1 from the [[AMX-30 (1972)|AMX-30]] tank.<ref name="ShermanTankIsraeli" /> Though the early M-50 Continentals were retired by 1972, the
the M-50 Cummins and M-51 served together up until the early 1980s, having to fight more modern Soviet tanks such as the [[T-55A|T-54/55]] tanks in the 1973 Yom-Kippur War. The Israeli gave away several of the M-50 Shermans to Lebanon to aid supporting militia groups in the Lebanese Civil War, in this conflict two were captured by Palestine, which they used against during the 1982 Lebanon War.<ref name="ChadM-50">Chad 2011</ref> About 50 M-50 were given to Chile in late 1980s, rearmed with an IMI-OTO 60 mm Hyper Velocity Medium Support gun, which they used until 1999 when they replaced them with the [[Leopard I|Leopard 1]] tanks. The Israelis cleared their stocks of M-50 and M-51 by this time, sold to collections, used as range targets, or repurposed to other usage such as engineer vehicles.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=fr_m4a4_cn_75_50 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|OoKX7cxoQbM|'''{{PAGENAME}}, French, Tier-3, Medium Tank / Israeli M50 Mk.I''' - ''Angry Nerd Gaming''|8uZ8yzvdPFY|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''}}

== See also ==


;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[M4 Sherman (Family)]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/5186-development-m4a4-sa50-the-desert-warrior-en|[Devblog] M4A4 (SA50) - The Desert Warrior]]
* [[wikipedia:Super_Sherman|[Wikipedia] Super Sherman]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/israel/m50-51_super-sherman.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> M-50]

===References===

;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography

* Chad. "Palestinian Armor." Military In the Middle East. WordPress, 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Dec. 2017. [https://milinme.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/palestinian-armor/ Website] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220511010339/https://milinme.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/palestinian-armor/ Archive]).
* Jeeps_Guns_Tanks. "#34 Israeli Shermans: The Most Powerful Shermans Ever To See Action." The Sherman Tank Site. WordPress, 20 Dec. 2015. Web. 30 Dec. 2017. [http://www.theshermantank.com/m50/israeli-shermans-the-most-powerful-shermans-ever-to-see-action/ Website] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20220511010517/http://www.theshermantank.com/m50/israeli-shermans-the-most-powerful-shermans-ever-to-see-action/ Archive]).
* Zaloga Steven. Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II Stackpole Books, 2008

{{France medium tanks}}

Ho-I

2022-06-01T18:09:30Z

U74338054: Fix I missed from last edit

{{Specs-Card
|code=jp_type_2_ho_i
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Japanese medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced with the rest of the Japanese ground forces tree with [[Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai"]].

The general configuration and proportions of the Ho-I are largely similar to the [[Chi-Ha Kai]]. The most apparent differences are the angular, welded hull and turret, which will become a familiar sight for the rest of the Japanese medium tanks in Rank II and III. The protection is improved significantly, no longer having the paper-thin armour plaguing previous tanks, but it is still nothing to boast about. Closer inspection reveals a larger, stubby 75 mm gun that is trickier to use than the reliable 47 mm gun on the Chi-Ha Kai but is fully capable of penetrating most tanks it will face. Overall, the Ho-I is comparable to the [[Pz.IV E]], a balanced medium tank with a short 75 mm gun.

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

The armour on the Ho-I, while being an upgrade over the Chi-Ha - 50 mm at the turret and hull front, compared to 25-, still leaves much to be desired. Most contemporary tank guns can penetrate the flatter surfaces and the side armour is not even completely proof to heavy machine guns. The internal modules aren't the most resilient, as the turret is rather cramped, stuffed with ammunition, the rather small cannon breech, and 3 crew members. A single APHE shell will almost invariably kill all the turret crew.

The armour consists of rolled mostly homogeneous armour, with cast homogeneous surrounding the gun barrel, protruding from the turret.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
* Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50 mm (16°) ''Front Plate'' 12 mm (76°) ''Front Glacis'' || 25 mm (30°) ''Hull below tracks'' 20 mm ''Hull above tracks'' || 20 mm ||12 mm (4°) ''Roof''
|-
| Turret || 50 mm (16°) ''Turret Front'' 50 mm (16°) ''Gun Mantlet'' || 25 mm (9-10°) || 25 mm (5°) || 12 mm (76°) ''Front'' 12 mm (89°) ''Middle'' 12 mm (74°) ''Rear''
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 50 mm ''Lower Part'' 25 mm ''Upper Part'' || 12 mm
|-
|}

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=372|rbMinHp=212}}

The mobility of the Ho-I is improved over the Chi-Ha, the more powerful engine giving it a higher power-to-weight ratio. The relatively long tracks for a vehicle of this weight and width lead to fairly good cross-country mobility. While not a speedster, the Ho-I will not be completely left in the dust by light tanks and can still arrive at the battlefield reasonably quickly.

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

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

{{main|Type 99 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Type 99 (75 mm)|75 mm Type 99]] || 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" | 63 || rowspan="2" | -15°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.33 || 18.45 || 22.40 || 24.77 || 26.35 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.33 || 9.80 || 11.90 || 13.16 || 14.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="7" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! colspan="6" | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| Type 95 APHE || 43 || 41 || 37 || 31 || 27 || 23
|-
| Type 94 HE || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12
|-
| Type 2 HEAT || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="9" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! 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%
|-
| Type 95 APHE || 450 || 6.21 || 1.2 || 14 || 460 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Type 94 HE || 522 || 6.02 || 0 || 0.1 || 810 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Type 2 HEAT || 350 || 3.56 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 640 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
|}
{| 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)
|-
| Type 90 Smoke || 570 || 5.72 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 100
|-
|}

==== [[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
|-
| '''63''' || 55 ''(+ 8)'' || 43 ''(+ 20)'' || 22 ''(+ 41)'' || 1 ''(+ 62)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
* Turret empty: 43 ''(+ 20)'' shells.

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

{{main|Type 97 (7.7 mm)}}

While it has the classic bow-mounted Type 97 machine gun featured by Japanese wartime tanks, the Ho-I also features another Type 97 on a pintle mount. The Type 97 is disappointing by rifle-calibre machine gun standards, having a very small magazine and a relatively low rate of fire. While this is not a big drawback when fighting other tanks, it makes mowing down open-topped SPAAs, fending off aircraft, and spotting enemies on the minimap more difficult. Having two of them compensates slightly for these flaws.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Type 97 (7.7 mm)|7.7 mm Type 97]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,000 (20) || 498 || -10°/+70° || ±60°
|-
| Hull || 3,000 (20) || 498 || ±8° || ±14°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Ho-I should generally be played as a support tank. While its mobility is good, its gun packs a punch, and its armour is halfway decent, the poor ballistics of its shells and the substandard gun handling are a considerable liability at its rank, where speedy light tanks are common. A missed shot at closer distances against a Stuart or BT tank could have unfortunate consequences, allowing them to flank or put a round into the Ho-I's weak spots. Conversely, it should go without saying that the Ho-I makes for a poor sniper, so staying in back of the map and providing covering fire is unlikely to be productive. For those not very familiar with the tank, it is best to stay just behind advancing teammates and allow them to attract attention; this provides extra time to line up shots and avoids sudden surprises. When missing shots is less of a concern (e.g. against slow targets or in close quarters), the great firepower can be brought to bear.

The Ho-I has a sizeable arsenal of shell types. The stock Type 95 APHE round is quite underwhelming, having a bit less penetration than the [[Ke-Ni]] reserve tank's gun. The larger calibre provides some overmatch effect, but in general it is not a reliable weapon against anything more heavily armoured than a reserve tank. The [[M3A1 Stuart]]'s turret is immune to the round and the hull has a decent chance of shrugging off the shot at a slight distance! On the bright side, it contains an enormous 460 g of TNT filler, so any target that the shell manages to penetrate will be annihilated in short order. The Type 94 HE round has 12 mm of penetration and is of little value, though it may be useful for destroying lightly armoured vehicles with overpressure effect. The unlockable Type 2 HEAT round has 90 mm of penetration at any distance. This is enough to go through the frontal armour of nearly all tanks at its rank, though the post-penetration damage can be punctual and it has the worst ballistics of any shell type available to the Ho-I. Try to aim for critical crew members or ammo racks. Lastly, the Type 90 smoke shell is available. While smoke is always nice to have, especially at lower ranks where fewer tanks have smoke grenades or shells, it is especially useful for tanks with low-velocity guns like the Ho-I. In a support role, smoke shells can be used to hide teammates and the user from view when driving in the open or capturing objectives, but they can also be used offensively by blinding entrenched targets. This makes it easier for the Ho-I to advance safely and get into firing range. If the enemies decide to leave the smoke cloud, they will be noticeable to the Ho-I slightly before their own vision clears up, providing time for a careful shot.

Experience gained with the Ho-I can be applied to some extent to the later [[Chi-He]], [[Chi-Nu]], and [[Chi-Nu II]], as they all use the same chassis. Out of these tanks, the Ho-I is the only model that has to deal with a low-velocity gun, but it currently has the lowest battle rating and the armour holds up the best as a result.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 75 mm cannon can do respectable damage against other vehicles
* Improved armour and mobility in comparison to prior tanks
* Early access to HEAT rounds with good penetration
* Fast reverse speed (2 reverse gears)
* Awesome gun depression of -15°

'''Cons:'''

* Stock grind is terrible with about 40 mm of penetration on stock APHE which won't do much initially at the comparable battle rating
* Gun is hard to use, all ammunition types have low muzzle velocity
* Poor turret rotation speed
* Armour still inadequate to block tank shells or 20 mm autocannons firing HVAP from the front
* Slow traverse speed

== History ==


The standard tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army for much of the 1930s were the [[Ha-Go]], [[I-Go Ko]], and [[Chi-Ha]]. The last two were equipped with larger 57 mm low-velocity guns intended for use against both tanks and infantry. When used in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, it was found that these weapons were still insufficient against fortifications, and hence an even bigger gun was required. The Chi-Ha was selected as a suitable platform for mounting a larger weapon due to its size and speed. The gun chosen was the Type 41 Mountain gun, a license built version of the Krupp 1908 Mountain gun originally purchased from Germany. After being adapted, it was redesignated the Type 99 75 mm gun, and the integration with the Chi-Ha chassis was completed around 1942.

The initial prototype Ho-I used the Chi-Ha chassis, but it was decided to switch to the improved [[Chi-He]] chassis for serial production. Further Ho-I examples were converted from existing Chi-He tanks. Mass production was not achieved due to the heavy bombing of Japanese industry in the later stages of World War II and the lack of raw materials. The program was finally cancelled in 1944 and completed Ho-I examples were reserved for home-defense in preparation for a US invasion of the Japanese mainland. The war ended before this came to pass. Details on the fate of the tanks in the postwar era are scarce. They were most likely examined and scrapped. No examples are known to exist today.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=jp_type_2_ho_i Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


;Related Development

* [[Chi-He (Family)]] - (Base hull)

;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[Chi-Ha]]
* German tanks equipped with [[KwK37 (75 mm)]]
** [[Pz.III N]]
** [[Pz.IV (Family)]] - (Early models)
* [[T-26-4]]
* {{Specs-Link|us_m8_scott}}

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

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

{{Japan medium tanks}}

Panther D

2022-06-01T18:07:24Z

U74338054: Grammar issues, rewording, structural issues

{{About
|about = German medium tank '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
|other
|usage-1 = other versions
|link-1 = Panzer V Panther (Family)
|usage-2 = other uses
|link-2 = Panther (Disambiguation)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=germ_pzkpfw_V_ausf_d_panther
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' ('''{{Specs|pseudonym}}''') is a rank {{Specs|rank}} German medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. Beginning a new generation of German tanks, the Panther medium tank was one of the most iconic tanks of World War II with its high velocity [[KwK 42 (75 mm)|75 mm gun]] and heavy front sloping armour.

The Panther is not like the [[Pz.IV H|Panzer IV]] you have become accustomed to in the line-up. The Panther D was historically made for long range combat with its long 75 mm KwK 42 gun. Close distance is not the greatest ally for the Panther, with its weak side armour and gun mantlet, it can be easily penetrated by most other tanks at its rank if they can hit these points. Also, the slow turret traverse speed makes it easy for enemy tanks to flank the Panther, therefore close-quarter combat should be avoided if possible. Thus, Panther should be played with a self-established "safe boundary" around the tank to stay safe from flankers. Despite that, as a front brawler, it excels due to the strong front armour and speed.

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

'''Armour type:'''

*Rolled homogeneous armour
*Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet, Cupola)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides (Slope angle) !! Rear (Slope angle) !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 80 mm (55°) ''Front glacis'' 60 mm (56°) ''Lower glacis'' || 40 mm (40°) ''Top'' 40 + 5 mm ''Lower'' || 40 mm (29-31°) || 16 mm
|-
| Turret || 100 mm (11-12°) ''Turret front'' 60-100 (7-80°) + 10 mm ''Gun mantlet''|| 45 mm (0-25°) || 45 mm (20-30°) || 16 mm
|-
! Armour !! Sides !! Roof
|-
| Cupola || 80 mm || 16 mm
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

*Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick. The interleaved suspension wheels means that there are places where it will be a cumulative 20 + 20 mm extra armour.
*Belly armour is 16 mm thick.
*A 30 mm RHA plate separates the engine compartment from the crew compartment.
*Tracks and lower side of the hull are covered by 5 mm thick armour plate, protecting them from HEAT and HE shells.
*Rear parts of the upper side hull armour have tracks attached to it, adding additional 20 mm of armour.
*The gun mantlet ring around the gun barrel is 300 mm thick.
*[[Add-on Armor|Add-on armour]] adds tracks around the turret side and rear.
*Never try to angle the Panther, its side is too vulnerable, especially above the tracks

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=1,007|rbMinHp=575|AoAweight=0.45}}

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

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

{{main|KwK42 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[KwK42 (75 mm)|75 mm KwK42]] || 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" | 79 || rowspan="2" | -8°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 5.7 || 7.9 || 9.6 || 10.6 || 11.3 || rowspan="2" | 9.62 || rowspan="2" | 8.51 || rowspan="2" | 7.84 || rowspan="2" | 7.40
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 3.6 || 4.2 || 5.1 || 5.6 || 6.0
|-
|}

==== 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
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC || 192 || 188 || 173 || 156 || 140 || 126
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11 || 11
|-
|}
{| 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%
|-
| PzGr 39/42 || APCBC || 935 || 6.8 || 1.2 || 14 || 28.9 || 48° || 63° || 71°
|-
| Sprgr. 42 || HE || 700 || 5.74 || 0 || 0.1 || 725 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
|}

==== [[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
! 5th rack empty
|-
| '''79''' || 77 ''(+2)'' || 71 ''(+8)'' || 62 ''(+17)'' || 53 ''(+26)'' || 44 ''(+35)''
|-
! 6th rack empty
! 7th rack empty
! 8th rack empty
! 9th rack empty
! 10th rack empty
! Visual discrepancy
|-
| 35 ''(+44)'' || 31 ''(+48)'' || 16 ''(+63)'' || 4 ''(+75)'' || 1 ''(+78)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Note''':

* Turret and large sides empty: 31 ''(+48)'' shells

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

{{main|MG34 (7.92 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[MG34 (7.92 mm)|7.92 mm MG34]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Coaxial || 2,700 (150) || 900 || N/A || N/A
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Panther has a much stronger front glacis armour than its heavy tank companion [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]], with ~140 mm effective thickness with sloping compared to the Tiger's 100 mm armour. However, only the frontal glacis is nigh impenetrable, the side armour and turret are very vulnerable and care must be taken to keep this safe.

One method is to exploit the Panther's long gun range with distance. Fight from a long distance from 800 m to 2,000 m away. At this range, the enemy's gun shells will lose most of their penetrative potential compared to the Panther's gun and will (hopefully) not be able to penetrate the Panther's weak point on the turret, plus you have the benefit of their lower aim accuracy due to distance. Of course, this scenario is very unlikely given the more close-oriented maps and games in War Thunder, so let's get to the alternative tactic...

In a more close-range tactic, stay with your allies. Allies will help you by covering your weak points on your sides. If you advance too far from your allies, the likelihood of your tank ending in a fiery ammunition explosion increases exponentially. Even in a close-range battle, try to maintain distance between you and the enemy tank to prevent them from easily flanking you and keep a range advantage to keep your weak points as hard to hit as possible. The slow turret traverse will also be a lower drawback at a longer range as you will not need to turn your turret as much to aim at different targets. Stay near the rear of the line while more mobile and aggressive allies charge forward and attract the enemy's attention so you can get the jump on them.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Excellent cannon has a range of ammo for any type of enemy: great stock AP for common targets (eg. [[T-34-85]], [[M4 Sherman (Family)|M4 Sherman]] or even the [[M4A3E2]]), piercing APCR for early Cold War tanks (eg. [[M26 (Family)|M26]], [[T-44]], early [[Centurion (Family)|Centurions]]) and HE for light vehicles. Great accuracy and velocity allows easy long-range sniping. Plenty of ammo capacity allows flexible ammo setups.
* Heavily armoured frontal hull is immune to most guns at its battle rating, e.g. the 85mm D5T or 76mm M1.
* Fast top speed, good hull traverse. Can get to positions in time.
* Adequate gun depression of -8° adapts most terrains well.
* Reasonably low repair cost
* Has a wide range of effective camouflage to unlock. Suitable for almost every terrain / map.
* Gun mantlet tends to sometimes absorb shells

'''Cons:'''

* Gun mantlet is only 100 mm thick, a huge and well-known weak spot to shoot at.
* Very poor turret traverse making it hard to respond to flankers or to get the gun on target. For close-quarter combat, great situational awareness and fast reaction is required which isn't beginner friendly.
* Side ammo racks are prone to detonation when hit.
* Terrible reverse speed of only -4 km/h, can get the player killed.
* Weak side armour gets penetrated easily by Russian APHEBC (eg. BR-365A, BR-471). Cannot angle too much.
* Lower glacis penetrations often start fires or break the transmission, leaving the tank immobile and vulnerable.
* High profile for a medium tank makes it harder to hide.
* Roof armour of 16 mm is vulnerable to [[M2 Browning (12.7 mm)|M2 Brownings]] which are widely seen on American planes.
* Although heavily armoured, it can still get frontally penetrated and one-shot easily by a rather common tank: [[IS-2 (Family)|IS-2]].
* The small calibre of the gun means the main APCBC shell has rather small amounts of explosive filler, resulting in it often being unable to one shot enemies.
* The curved gun mantlet is a shot trap- it will deflect rounds into the very weak hull roof armour.

== History ==

===Development===
The '''Panther''' development started as far back as 1938 as a replacement to the [[Pz.III F|Panzer IIIs]] and [[Pz.IV E|Panzer IVs]]. The program was called ''VK 20'' and it called for a 20 ton tracked vehicle design by Krupp, Daimler-Benz, and MAN. Krupp dropped out when the requirements changed to 30 tones in 1941 when the German encounters the Soviet [[T-34 (1941)|T-34]] and [[KV-1 (L-11)|KV-1]] tanks where the Panzer III and Panzer IV's performance have little effect due to its superior armour, mobility, and armament. The ''VK 20'' was abandoned for the ''VK 30.02'' in April 1942. Daimler-Benz design for this project looks similar to the T-34 with the turret far forward in the hull, plus the use of a diesel engine and external leaf spring suspension. MAN's design had a twin torsion bar, the interleaved suspension system (like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger I]]) with the turret situated in the middle of the hull, plus had a petrol Maybach engine. Hitler was reported to believe that the DB design was superior to the MAN design, and in a review between January to March 1942, Fritz Todt and Albert Speer also recommended the DB design. Then MAN revised their design, and a special commission by Hitler decided on the MAN design in May 1942, to which Hitler approved after reviewing it. One of the reasons the MAN was approved was that its turret was already in production while the DB used a completely new design. However, despite being built for a 30-ton design, Hitler decided to increase the armour on the MAN design and the weight went from 30 tons to 45 tons.

The MAN design was made into a prototype in September 1942, when it was officially accepted after testing and named the '''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'''. Where it remained so until 1944, where Hitler removed the '''V''' in the designation for the name '''Panther'''. Production started in December 1942, though the early models suffered from reliability issues. The production plants expanded from MAN to Daimler-Benz, MNH, and Henschel for increased output. Despite that, production was often delayed due to Allied air bombing, which targeted the Maybach engine plant and DB, MAN, and MNH tank factories. Nevertheless, the total number of Panther tanks produced was 6,706, making the Panther the third most produced armoured fighting vehicle in Germany behind the Panzer IV and the StuG III.

===Design===
The MAN design for the Panther featured a heavily sloped armour design, with the front glacis plate being 80 mm thick (from the original 60 mm before the weight increase) and when sloped at 55 degrees, it was 140 mm effective in thickness. This made the Panther one of the best-armoured vehicle in World War II. The side armour of the Panther was way thinner at 40 mm that could be pierced very easily. Additional side armour in the form of Schürzen could be placed on the sides hanging to cover the suspension and hull side from being penetrated by Soviet anti-tank rifle fire. The Panther used the same engine as the Tiger I, the Mayback HL 210 P30 engine, and had a similar suspension system, the ''Schachtellaufwerk'' interleaved wheel system, which complicated maintenance issues. The tank used the formidable 7.5 cm Kwk 42 cannon, which could destroy most of the allied tanks in service, though only possess a mediocre HE shell.

The '''Ausf. D''' variant was the first variant designed for the Panther, easily distinguishable by its drum-shaped commander cupola. The Ausf. D can also be distinguished by a unique machine gun port with a shape of a vertical "letterbox" flap from where the machine gun was fired (this was replaced by a standard ball mount in later variants). The Ausf. D also had the initial turret curved gun mantlet that was introduced to the Panther, though there were faults with the design as explained below. 842 Panther Ausf. D was produced from January to September 1943.

The Panther's rushed development and commitment into battle caused the design to have many flaws inhibiting its full potential. The most prominent flaw that lasted throughout the war was the weak final drive due to using a double spur system that made it more prone to failure from the Panther's torque requirements, which is averaged at around 150 km before failing. The curved gun mantlet design had an unfortunate tendency to ricochet deflected rounds into the roof, it was, however, not fixed until a new gun mantlet design with a flat "chin" shape was introduced on the [[Panther G|Panther G]]. The ''Schachtellaufwerk'' suspension system, like the [[Tiger H1|Tiger]], suffered from over-engineering and complicating maintenance of the tank. Smaller problems in the tank included not having a dedicated periscope for the gunner, lack of ventilation to the engine due to waterproofing, maintenance-heavy, fuel-hungry, and deteriorating armour quality as metal alloys in Germany began to run out.

Despite its heavier weight and slightly complex design, the cost of each Panther tank was not very high in relative to tanks with a price at 117,100 Reichmarks, compared to the 103,462 RM of Panzer IVs and 250,800 RM of the Tiger I. This made the tank rather economic for its fighting purposes despite being over-engineered.

===Combat usage===
The Panther was first issued to the Eastern Front, arming the 51st and 52nd Tank Battalions. Their usage presented mechanical problems of the Panther, forcing many of the early Panthers to be returned for rebuilding. Despite these issues, the Panther was deemed critical in the Battle of Kursk in ''Operation Citadel'', Hitler delayed the operation so more Panthers can reach the front. 200 Panthers were ready in June 1943, but its combat debut was disappointing. The Panthers, which arrived last minute before the operation started, meant that the crew serving the tanks had little time to train with the new tanks. Two tanks were lost to motor fires right after disembarking from the trains at the front lines. 184 were operational at the start of the operation on July 5, this dropped to 40 within two days. According to Heinz Guderian, five days into the offensive, only 10 operation Panthers were available with 25 completely lost, 100 in need of repairs, and 60 per cent of those mechanical breakdowns were easily repaired. Those that did work during the campaign were able to cause heavy casualties on the Soviet tank forces, but the Panther's lethality was mitigated by its low number available. When the operation turned and the Soviet counteroffensive pushed the Germans away from Kursk, the Panther loss rose to 156 on August 11, with many more lost as the Soviet kept gaining ground. Perhaps the Panther's biggest role in Operation Citadel was delaying the start of the operation by two months to allow the Soviet defences to be bolstered beyond the German's expectations, causing the failure of the offensive.

After the failure at Kursk, improvements on the Panther helped its reliability rate. By March 1944, Guderian reported that most of the Panther's flaws were ironed out, but the final drive and other mechanical issues were still a major issue to front-line units. The Panthers served the rest of the war as quick-reaction forces to fight off Allied offensives on both fronts. On the Eastern Front, some 700 Panthers were committed to the battle at all times, though the number of operational vehicles varies depending on the situation. The Panthers were also sent to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Two were captured by the Polish forces, who used them against the German forces. The captured Panthers were used until they became immobilized and were destroyed to prevent recapture by the Germans.

On the Western Front, the Panthers began being present in large numbers after the Invasion of Normandy. 156 Panthers were initially present between two Panzer regiments, but this increased by seven regiments after the Allied invasion, boosting the strength to 432 tanks. The high number of Panther situated in France, mostly around Caen, and their performance against the Allied armour caused many Allied tankers to fear it as much as the Tiger tanks. However, the Panther's reliability problem was still evident as many Panthers were left abandoned by the crew when they broke down. The mechanical breakdown, partly from the flaws in the machine, can also be attributed to the poor crew training given, which showed by crew overburdening the transmission or lacking regular maintenance on the tank. The Allied assessment of the Panther was that its mobility on soft grounds was superior due to its wider tracks giving more flotation over the ground, and armour and firepower value was superior to anything they had, though it was inferior in the bocage terrain of France due to the constrained nature of the environment. The Panther participated in the famed Battle of Arracourt, where a total of 262 German tanks were committed to battle. The battle, against the mostly [[M4|M4 Sherman]], equipped 4th Armored Division, routed the Germans after they suffered heavy casualties, while the Allies only losing 32 armoured fighting vehicles, a testament on how crew training and tactical advantage have a big impact on tank warfare. The highest concentration of Panthers on the Western Front was 471 Panthers (336 operational) in the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), where it showed its prowess in open terrain due to its superior gun. The Panthers also took place in Operation Grief, being disguised as [[M10 GMC|M10 tank destroyers]] to trick American soldiers. All of these mocked up Panthers were destroyed in battle or scrapped after it. After the Ardennes Offensive, eight Panzer division with 271 Panthers were transferred to the Eastern Front to beat back the Soviet offensive. Only five Panther battalions, 96 Panthers for each battalion, remained on the Western Front to fight the Allies.

After the war, Panther still saw a use for some time in various countries. Bulgaria and Romania received Panthers from the Soviets as aid, which they used until the 1950s. France was the most notable user of the Panther tanks after World War II due to the large quantities of operable vehicles left behind by the Germans during the Normandy invasion. The French raised a regiment of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, when they were replaced by the new ARL 44 tanks. The Panther also influenced the French AMX 50 tank design, and its gun was derived onto the AMX 13 light tank. In 1947, an evaluation was written by the French War Ministry on the Panthers which even made their own assessment of the Panther that pointed out most of the flaws of the Panthers, especially the mechanical failure and the deficiency of the armour later in the war due to alloy shortages.

=== In-game description ===
This combat vehicle was developed by the company MAN in 1941 and 1942 and was intended to become the Wehrmacht's primary tank. According to German classification, the Panther was considered a medium tank.

After the outbreak of war with the Soviet Union, German troops encountered the new Soviet T-34 and KV tanks, which were superior to all of the Wehrmacht's available models.

After examining the strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet tanks, German engineers added sloping armour and a new chassis with large rollers and wide treads to the project.

In the spring of 1942, MAN's prototype was approved and entered military service. This combat vehicle embodied the spirit of German tank construction: a front-mounted transmission compartment, rear engine compartment, and an individual, staggered torsion suspension designed by the engineer G. Kniepkamp. The tank's main armament was a 75 mm 7,5 cm KwK 42 L/70 tank gun produced by the company Rheinmetall-Borsig, with a long 70-caliber barrel.

The main advantage of this weapon was its high muzzle velocity, which gave it high accuracy and good penetration power. Its ability to knock tanks out was better than that of the majority of Soviet, American, and British tank guns. In this way, it even surpassed the famous 8,8 cm KwK 36 installed on the Tiger I.

Full-scale production of the tank began in January 1943. By September 1943, the companies Daimler-Benz AG, Henschel, and MAN had produced 850 Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. D tanks.

The vehicle's combat debut was the Battle of Kursk, where the variant exhibited low technical reliability. For this reason, the tank's losses were very high. Hasty development and adoption of tanks featuring a new design contributed to numerous minor flaws.

== Media ==


;Skins

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

;Sights

* [https://live.warthunder.com/post/675135/en/ RideR2's Realistic gunsight (TZF4a, TZF 5a/b/d/e/f/f2, TZF 9b/b1/c/d, TZF 12/a) for Pzkpfw II, Pzkpfw III, Pzkpfw IV, Pzkpfw V, Pzkpfw VI]

;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|E9574a7h9is|'''Panther D at BR 5.3 - Rewarding But Exhausting''' - ''Napalmratte''|y1S7jHyFxdA|'''The Shooting Range #34''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 02:36 discusses the Panther I.|QfSYTtUncF4|'''{{PAGENAME}} Tank Review''' - ''NUSensei''|9rUocSj2dHc|'''Tank Chats #16 Panther''' - ''The Tank Museum''}}

== See also ==
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the vehicles;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==


* [[wikipedia:Panther_tank|[Wikipedia] Panther tank]]
* [https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/nazi_germany/Panzer-V_Panther.php <nowiki>[Tanks Encyclopedia]</nowiki> Panzer V Panther]

{{Germany medium tanks}}

Ho-I

2022-06-01T04:36:45Z

U74338054: The Japanese tech tree changed, but nobody updated this page with it. Fixed!

{{Specs-Card
|code=jp_type_2_ho_i
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} Japanese medium tank {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced with the rest of the Japanese ground forces tree with [[Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai"]]. It follows the [[Chi-Ha]] and precedes the [[Chi-Ha Kai]].

The general configuration and proportions of the Ho-I are largely similar to the proceeding Chi-Ha Kai. The most apparent differences are the angular, welded hull and turret, which will become a familiar sight for the rest of the Japanese medium tanks in Rank II and III. The protection is improved significantly, no longer having the paper-thin armour plaguing previous tanks, but it is still nothing to boast about. Closer inspection reveals a larger, stubby 75 mm gun that is trickier to use than the reliable 47 mm gun on the Chi-Ha Kai but is fully capable of penetrating most tanks it will face. Overall, the Ho-I is comparable to the [[Pz.IV E]], a balanced medium tank with a short 75 mm gun.

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

The armour on the Ho-I, while being an upgrade over the Chi-Ha Kai - 50mm at the turret and hull front, compared to 32 on the turret and 25 on the hull for the Chi-Ha Kai, still leaves much to be desired. Most contemporary tank guns can penetrate the flatter surfaces and the side armour is not even completely proof to heavy machine guns. The internal modules aren't the most resilient, as the turret is rather cramped, stuffed with ammunition, the rather small cannon breech, and 3 crew members. A single APHE shell will almost invariably kill all the turret crew.

The armour consists of rolled mostly homogeneous armour, with cast homogeneous surrounding the gun barrel, protruding from the turret.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
* Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50 mm (16°) ''Front Plate'' 12 mm (76°) ''Front Glacis'' || 25 mm (30°) ''Hull below tracks'' 20 mm ''Hull above tracks'' || 20 mm ||12 mm (4°) ''Roof''
|-
| Turret || 50 mm (16°) ''Turret Front'' 50 mm (16°) ''Gun Mantlet'' || 25 mm (9-10°) || 25 mm (5°) || 12 mm (76°) ''Front'' 12 mm (89°) ''Middle'' 12 mm (74°) ''Rear''
|-
| Cupola || colspan="3" style="text-align:center" | 50 mm ''Lower Part'' 25 mm ''Upper Part'' || 12 mm
|-
|}

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=372|rbMinHp=212}}

The mobility of the Ho-I is improved over the Chi-Ha, the more powerful engine giving it a higher power-to-weight ratio. The relatively long tracks for a vehicle of this weight and width lead to fairly good cross-country mobility. While not a speedster, the Ho-I will not be completely left in the dust by light tanks and can still arrive at the battlefield reasonably quickly.

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

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

{{main|Type 99 (75 mm)}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Type 99 (75 mm)|75 mm Type 99]] || 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" | 63 || rowspan="2" | -15°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 13.33 || 18.45 || 22.40 || 24.77 || 26.35 || rowspan="2" | 7.67 || rowspan="2" | 6.79 || rowspan="2" | 6.25 || rowspan="2" | 5.90
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 8.33 || 9.80 || 11.90 || 13.16 || 14.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="7" | Penetration statistics
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! colspan="6" | Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
|-
! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
|-
| Type 95 APHE || 43 || 41 || 37 || 31 || 27 || 23
|-
| Type 94 HE || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12 || 12
|-
| Type 2 HEAT || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90 || 90
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
! colspan="9" | Shell details
|-
! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
! 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%
|-
| Type 95 APHE || 450 || 6.21 || 1.2 || 14 || 460 || 47° || 60° || 65°
|-
| Type 94 HE || 522 || 6.02 || 0 || 0.1 || 810 || 79° || 80° || 81°
|-
| Type 2 HEAT || 350 || 3.56 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 640 || 62° || 69° || 73°
|-
|}
{| 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)
|-
| Type 90 Smoke || 570 || 5.72 || 13 || 5 || 20 || 100
|-
|}

==== [[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
|-
| '''63''' || 55 ''(+ 8)'' || 43 ''(+ 20)'' || 22 ''(+ 41)'' || 1 ''(+ 62)'' || No
|-
|}
'''Notes''':

* Racks disappear after you've fired all shells in the rack.
* Turret empty: 43 ''(+ 20)'' shells.

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

{{main|Type 97 (7.7 mm)}}

While it has the classic bow-mounted Type 97 machine gun featured by Japanese wartime tanks, the Ho-I also features another Type 97 on a pintle mount. The Type 97 is disappointing by rifle-calibre machine gun standards, having a very small magazine and a relatively low rate of fire. While this is not a big drawback when fighting other tanks, it makes mowing down open-topped SPAAs, fending off aircraft, and spotting enemies on the minimap more difficult. Having two of them compensates slightly for these flaws.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="5" | [[Type 97 (7.7 mm)|7.7 mm Type 97]]
|-
! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal
|-
| Pintle || 1,000 (20) || 498 || -10°/+70° || ±60°
|-
| Hull || 3,000 (20) || 498 || ±8° || ±14°
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==


The Ho-I should generally be played as a support tank. While its mobility is good, its gun packs a punch, and its armour is halfway decent, the poor ballistics of its shells and the substandard gun handling are a considerable liability at its rank, where speedy light tanks are common. A missed shot at closer distances against a Stuart or BT tank could have unfortunate consequences, allowing them to flank or put a round into the Ho-I's weak spots. Conversely, it should go without saying that the Ho-I makes for a poor sniper, so staying in back of the map and providing covering fire is unlikely to be productive. For those not very familiar with the tank, it is best to stay just behind advancing teammates and allow them to attract attention; this provides extra time to line up shots and avoids sudden surprises. When missing shots is less of a concern (e.g. against slow targets or in close quarters), the great firepower can be brought to bear.

The Ho-I has a sizeable arsenal of shell types. The stock Type 95 APHE round is quite underwhelming, having a bit less penetration than the [[Ke-Ni]] reserve tank's gun. The larger calibre provides some overmatch effect, but in general it is not a reliable weapon against anything more heavily armoured than a reserve tank. The [[M3A1 Stuart]]'s turret is immune to the round and the hull has a decent chance of shrugging off the shot at a slight distance! On the bright side, it contains an enormous 460 g of TNT filler, so any target that the shell manages to penetrate will be annihilated in short order. The Type 94 HE round has 12 mm of penetration and is of little value, though it may be useful for destroying lightly armoured vehicles with overpressure effect. The unlockable Type 2 HEAT round has 90 mm of penetration at any distance. This is enough to go through the frontal armour of nearly all tanks at its rank, though the post-penetration damage can be punctual and it has the worst ballistics of any shell type available to the Ho-I. Try to aim for critical crew members or ammo racks. Lastly, the Type 90 smoke shell is available. While smoke is always nice to have, especially at lower ranks where fewer tanks have smoke grenades or shells, it is especially useful for tanks with low-velocity guns like the Ho-I. In a support role, smoke shells can be used to hide teammates and the user from view when driving in the open or capturing objectives, but they can also be used offensively by blinding entrenched targets. This makes it easier for the Ho-I to advance safely and get into firing range. If the enemies decide to leave the smoke cloud, they will be noticeable to the Ho-I slightly before their own vision clears up, providing time for a careful shot.

Experience gained with the Ho-I can be applied to some extent to the later [[Chi-He]], [[Chi-Nu]], and [[Chi-Nu II]], as they all use the same chassis. Out of these tanks, the Ho-I is the only model that has to deal with a low-velocity gun, but it currently has the lowest battle rating and the armour holds up the best as a result.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* 75 mm cannon can do respectable damage against other vehicles
* Improved armour and mobility in comparison to prior tanks
* Early access to HEAT rounds with good penetration
* Fast reverse speed (2 reverse gears)
* Awesome gun depression of -15°

'''Cons:'''

* Stock grind is terrible with about 40 mm of penetration on stock APHE which won't do much initially at the comparable battle rating
* Gun is hard to use, all ammunition types have low muzzle velocity
* Poor turret rotation speed
* Armour still inadequate to block tank shells or 20 mm autocannons firing HVAP from the front
* Slow traverse speed

== History ==


The standard tanks of the Imperial Japanese Army for much of the 1930s were the [[Ha-Go]], [[I-Go Ko]], and [[Chi-Ha]]. The last two were equipped with larger 57 mm low-velocity guns intended for use against both tanks and infantry. When used in the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, it was found that these weapons were still insufficient against fortifications, and hence an even bigger gun was required. The Chi-Ha was selected as a suitable platform for mounting a larger weapon due to its size and speed. The gun chosen was the Type 41 Mountain gun, a license built version of the Krupp 1908 Mountain gun originally purchased from Germany. After being adapted, it was redesignated the Type 99 75 mm gun, and the integration with the Chi-Ha chassis was completed around 1942.

The initial prototype Ho-I used the Chi-Ha chassis, but it was decided to switch to the improved [[Chi-He]] chassis for serial production. Further Ho-I examples were converted from existing Chi-He tanks. Mass production was not achieved due to the heavy bombing of Japanese industry in the later stages of World War II and the lack of raw materials. The program was finally cancelled in 1944 and completed Ho-I examples were reserved for home-defense in preparation for a US invasion of the Japanese mainland. The war ended before this came to pass. Details on the fate of the tanks in the postwar era are scarce. They were most likely examined and scrapped. No examples are known to exist today.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=jp_type_2_ho_i Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==


;Related Development

* [[Chi-He (Family)]] - (Base hull)

;Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

* [[Chi-Ha]]
* German tanks equipped with [[KwK37 (75 mm)]]
** [[Pz.III N]]
** [[Pz.IV (Family)]] - (Early models)
* [[T-26-4]]
* {{Specs-Link|us_m8_scott}}

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

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

{{Japan medium tanks}}