War Thunder Wiki - User contributions [en]

Pbv 301

2024-01-20T00:52:33Z

U89549472: /* Description */ fixed spelling of "infantry"

{{Specs-Card
|code=sw_pbv_301
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.png}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is an Swedish infantry fighting vehicle based on the aging [[Strv m/41 S-II|Strv m/41]] hulls that were no longer intended for service, the rebuilding of these hulls were tasked to Hägglund & Söner on design to have a vehicle able to safely carry a squad of 8 fully equipped soldiers that were gonna be used by the Swedish Army. A total of 220 [[Strv m/41 S-II|Strv m/41]]'s were converted to {{PAGENAME}}, where it would have a short service life but would prove valuable lessons for the upcoming Pbv 302 that were gonna replace them. {{PAGENAME}} were just an temporary solution in an situation where they needed vehicles for the infanteri to keep up with the tanks. Upon being able to carry eight soldiers, the {{PAGENAME}} were also equipped an oscillating casing with an 20mm [[Akan m/45B (20 mm)|Akan m/45B]] taken from old decommissioned [[J21A-2]]'s to be able provide an direct fire support for the infanteri, being able to deal with both hostile infanteri and light armored vehicles. The infantry could also fight from inside the vehicle via two hatches on the roof of the vehicle providing cover for the {{PAGENAME}} if the main armarment were occupied with other targets. It service were from 1962 and were gonna be the troop transport for the armored brigades until it were gonna be phased out in the early 1970s in favour of the newer Pbv 302.

Introduced in [[Update "Direct Hit"]], the pbv 301 is a fully enclosed infantry fighting vehicle within the Swedish Army's beginner ranks. The pbv 301 has a low profile, thus allowing players to simply hide behind obstacles to avoid unwanted attention from adversaries. The weapon has a high rate of fire and can attack both ground targets and low-flying aircraft. Furthermore, it is outfitted with hull-mounted smoke grenades to enable retreat in difficult situations, which is a feature that is unique among its counterparts. However, due to its incredibly low crew count (just two crew members), the chances of surviving penetrating shots are quite poor. Finally, since the vehicle has a high reload time, it is critical for players to save ammunition throughout combat.

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

The {{PAGENAME}} is a small casemate with a sloped front. The driver and the gunner are located on its right front side, while the engine is located on the left. The back has spare magazines on the floor and otherwise is completely empty.

Due to a slope and the 20 mm of RHA, the hull front will sustain 12.7 mm machine guns and might sustain 20 mm fire from the low ground (but not the high ground) or from about 500 m away. The lower frontal plate is 50 mm RHA and will sustain some explosions.

The sides and the back are only 8 mm RHA and should not be exposed if at all possible, whether fighting against tanks or aircraft. If it is necessary to flank other tanks and expose the sides, only the left side should be visible, as the engine will often take a hit for the crew. Despite poor side armour, the {{PAGENAME}} takes only minor overpressure damage from close artillery strike misses and can survive standing in it.

It's technically possible to penetrate the gunner cupola, since its edges are only 8 mm thick, but it is very difficult to do without knowing, and most opponents won't have a clue.

Due to its low profile, the {{PAGENAME}} can hide behind other tanks, rocks or hills and only expose the autocannon. In such case, it becomes anywhere from difficult to near impossible to take the {{PAGENAME}} out, as many will aim at the gun itself, but not at the ammo belt, and gun hits won't be fatal, unless made with high-explosive shells, which are mostly carried by SPGs at the BR, not to mention that medium tanks of some nations don't have any explosive filler at all in their rounds.

If everything else fails, this SPAA has smoke screens (which is already incredibly rare for SPAA as a class and won't be expected at all) and there is not just one, but two groups of them as well. These can blind enemy players and disable aim assist in AB after 5 seconds. Unfortunately, it is usually necessary to fire off both groups at once, as otherwise the smoke wall is often incomplete.

'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 50 mm (14°) ''Front plate'' 8 mm (63°) ''Lower glacis'' || 15 mm ''Bottom'' || 8 mm
!
|-
| Casemate || 20 mm (53°) ''Upper glacis'' 10 mm ''Gun mantlet'' || 8 mm (20°) ''Top'' || 8 mm || 20 mm (37°) ''Front glacis'' 10 mm ''Crew compartment''
|-
| Gun mount || colspan="3" | 15 mm (spherical) || 10 mm ''Centre'' 15 mm ''Outer ring''
|-
|}
'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
* Belly armour is 8 mm thick.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=213|rbMinHp=133}}

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

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

{{main|Akan m/45B (20 mm)}}

The gun is similar to 40B on the previous SPAA, but with a lot of quality of life upgrades.

There are now 6 belts with 75 shells each, and the gun can fire twice as fast, allowing for smoother shell streams. The turret turns a bit faster and allows the gun to turn slightly more down or up. All of this ensures that SPAA can take down planes before they get into the dead zone.

The {{PAGENAME}} still can fight back against other tanks, whether by firing at their weak spots, or by breaking their tracks (to force them to turn) and then hitting their side or running away. It is ill-advised to attack medium tanks frontally, particularly of higher BR. Most heavy tanks will ignore the 20 mm fire with the present ammunition. Most British and Soviet tanks at a higher BR are immune to the 20 mm attacks (in the case of the British, even their SPAAs can in some situations be immune to 20 mm cannon fire).
[[File:Pbv 301 ambushes other tanks over a wall.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Pbv 301 can fire over obstacles that other tanks can't use. Pay attention to the map.]]
Since the autocannon is placed above the tank and, if proper cover is taken, only the gun and ammo belt are visible, the {{PAGENAME}} can obliterate entire light tank squads at its leisure and make charging medium and heavy tanks slip up and become a target for allied SPGs without any fear. It's also possible to ambush tanks from usually impossible angles, as the gun is technically as tall as a heavy tank. This can be done over some hills as well due to a decent gun depression.

The downside of the new gun is that the reload now takes 10 seconds, which technically could be avoided on the predecessor by not overheating the weapon. It is better to unload the half-empty belt somewhere safe before trying to attack.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Akan m/45B (20 mm)|20 mm Akan m/45B]] || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 450 (75) || rowspan="2" | 725 || rowspan="2" | -15°/+48° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 26.4 || 36.6 || 44.4 || 49.1 || 52.2 || rowspan="2" | 10.40 || rowspan="2" | 9.20 || rowspan="2" | 8.48 || rowspan="2" | 8.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 17.9 || 21.0 || 25.5 || 28.2 || 30.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''slsgr m/42:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer}}
* '''slpgr m/42:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}

{{:Akan m/45B (20 mm)/Ammunition|Default AP-T, slsgr m/42, slpgr m/42}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| 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
|-
| '''6''' '''450''' || 5 ''(+1)'' 375 ''(+75)'' || 4 ''(+2)'' 300 ''(+150)'' || 3 ''(+3)'' 225 ''(+225)'' || 2 ''(+4)'' 150 ''(+300)'' || 1 ''(+5)'' 75 ''(+375)'' || 0 ''(+6)'' 0 ''(+450)'' || Yes
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

[[File:Pbv 301 supports from behind an ally.jpg|200px|thumb|right|It's usually safe to help your teammates when they are in trouble, just do not overextend.]]
The Pbv 301 shall be used mainly as an SPAA. Its cannon with its pinpoint accuracy and a high rate of fire for its BR along the slsgr m/42 HEFI-T belt prove devastating to deal with low-flying planes and bombers. During a game, it is recommended to either stay within the confines of your spawn or to stay somewhere safe nearby to the main allies group and scout the skies for any aircraft. The high muzzle velocity and rate of fire make this vehicle effective against aircraft at medium ranges.
[[File:Pbv 301 holds a capture point.jpg|300px|thumb|right|In proper cover and with decent support, the Pbv 301 is effectively invincible.]]
In an anti-tank role, the Pbv 301 is only effective against light tanks, light SPGs and SPAAGs, as the frontal armour of most medium tanks at its BR or higher is thick enough to resist 20 mm cannons shells. It is therefore not recommended to play this tank offensively in an uptier, since attacks have to be done from the sides, which is not always possible. Avoid playing super agressive against Soviet or British, which have a lot of tanks being completely immune to the 20 mm.

Situation changes drastically if proper medium-sized cover is present, as the {{PAGENAME}} then can work as a portable indestructible turret, particularly if that cover is also a capture point, as they provide spare ammunition. While it's still necessary to pay attention to the skies (to avoid being strafed through poor side armour or bombed), most tanks would need explosives or a lot of artillery to be able to deal any real damage or to force it to move. The engine also has a tendency to catch lucky overhill shots, if the left side is in the front. Depending on the distance between enemy cover and SPAA, it can cause various levels of nuisance even to the tanks which are immune to the 20 mm, starting with annoying sprays into their viewports (which can tilt them and force them to make a mistake) and ending with actually deadly track breaks, as charging behemoths will be forced to turn about 90 degrees upon losing a track if they do not hit the brakes immediately, which is more than enough for any medium tanks nearby to instantly destroy them.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Fully-enclosed design, granting the crew a higher chance of survival
* Can employ full hulldown tactics due to its cannon being mounted above the tank, effectively making it to be only vulnerable to explosives
* Front can sustain direct assault of a 12.7 mm and might sustain 20 mm from long range, will sustain some bombs from moderate range
* Equipped with hull-mounted smoke grenades, which is incredibly rare for an SPAA (and its BR in general)
* Low profile allows it to hide behind many other tanks
* Adequate mobility
* Good rate of fire, can sometimes win a fight with poor aim

'''Cons:'''

* Side, back and roof armour is still lacking and vulnerable to rifle-calibre machine gun fire at close range and to airstrikes in general
* Only 2 crew members, very low chance of surviving a penetrating shot, unless it was from the left
* Limited gun elevation angle, it's necessary to pay attention to the skies before it is too late
* Long reload time and rather limited belt capacity
* Confined to a strict AA role in an uptier when no good cover is present, inadequate on its own against ground forces consisting of medium or heavy tanks

== History ==

The Pbv 301's first prototype was made in 1959 and put into service in 1961. It was fitted with a 20 mm Bofors cannon and a crew of 2, with room for 7 soldiers. It had a Svenska Flygmotor B44 engine producing 160 hp.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=sw_pbv_301 Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==

{{main|LT-38 (Family)}}

;Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

* [[Strv m/41 S-I]]
* [[Strv m/41 S-II]]

;Related development

* [[Spj fm/43-44]]
* [[Sav m/43 (1944)]]
* [[Sav m/43 (1946)]]
* [[Pvkv II]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7283-development-pbv-301-trading-in-those-bicycles-en|[Devblog] Pbv 301: Trading In Those Bicycles]]

{{TankManufacturer Hagglund}}
{{Sweden anti-aircraft vehicles}}

Zachlam Tager

2023-12-23T00:57:40Z

U89549472: deleted unused "armour type" section and fixed fonts in /*Mobility*/ section

{{Specs-Card
|code=il_ss_11_halftrack
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|ArtImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

During the IDF arming process during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the IDF employed several American half-tracks as their main APCs. Vehicles like the M2, M3, M5, and M9 were acquired from different sources. Many were adapted for different purposes, like the [[TCM-20]] SPAA. With the introduction of the French SS.11 ATGM in the 1950s (locally designated "Tager"), it was decided to use the abundant American half-tracks for anti-armour purposes. Even though they were somewhat obsolete by then, they saw most of their action during the Six-Day War of 1967 against T-54s. However due to a lack of doctrinal knowledge in of ATGM usage, many Tagers were ignored during the conflict, and it is not clear if any scored kills.

Introduced in [[Update "Wind of Change"]], the '''Zachlam Tager'''<nowiki/>'s Tager missiles have, like most early ATGMs, uncomfortable controls and very slow speed. However, they do pack a heavy punch, and it should be used with its advantages and weaknesses in mind. Since the Zachlam Tager is fast, it can reach objectives faster than most MBTs, and then hide in well-camouflaged positions and strike any enemy that tries to take back the area with missiles. The missiles are slow and have a lot of inertia in their movements, thus, calm and steady changes of course are recommended instead of drastic changes of direction. The ideal range for missile shots in flat ground, is around 200-600 m, since less than 300 m may result in poor handling and more than 600 m is hard to hit because the missiles are very slow and many tanks can shoot them down with their machine guns.

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


The armour on this half-track is negligible, as it can be penetrated from every side by a 7.62 machine gun under 400 m range. The front could resist light machine guns, but the driver and gunner windows can be penetrated regardless, disabling the carrier instantly. On top of that, the truck is open-topped, which means if it's hit by any chemical shell anywhere, or another tank explodes right behind it, the crew is doomed. The side shielding is so poor, that the carrier can be sometimes overpressured even by a machine gun.
[[File:Zachlam horizontal exposure check.jpg|thumb|right|When standing on a hill, always check if the missile rack is actually protected by the cover. If you cross the line, any APHE tank can destroy the Zachlam in one hit. When fighting HEAT tanks, do not expose binoculars any more than you must.]]
This also makes the hull less vulnerable to APHE, as sometimes even some of the most sensitive shells will fail to detonate upon hitting it. Unfortunately, even a glancing hit will almost always take out two crew members, so it is usually only relevant in AB after researching "Crew Replenishment". The top panels and missiles themselves are thick enough to detonate APHE and AP-I of autocannon belts, so it is better to not expose the ammo racks during hull-down battles.

There are also two spare missiles in the back of the truck, hidden within ammo crates that are 6.35 mm RHA thick and may not explode if hit indirectly, but burn instead.

The truck is short enough to hide behind many medium tanks and cover, though the weapons and the very top of the hull is generally exposed, which makes it unreliable in AB and it is impossible to use sniper scope when hiding behind such objects.

The binocular on top of the vehicle cannot be targeted by AB aim assist or hit, but will make it visible. This is most relevant when fighting artillery tanks, as they can use HE-VT to shell Zachlam from almost anywhere, even if any other tank can't touch it.

'''Notes:''' 


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

{{PAGENAME}}is very fast when moving forward in a straight line, even competing with light tanks when spaded. Unfortunately, it has a poor reverse, so it's significantly less mobile than [[RakJPz 2]] and the operator must commit to their fights or be destroyed.

The Zachlam is both a wheeled and tracked vehicle; it heavily suffers from the downsides of both types until all upgrades are researched - it can't turn well in place due to the wheels and will outright refuse to readjust when standing on a hill or in the mud (maximum turn speed of 0.3° a second), and it can't really use roads to accelerate due to the tracks. Carrier also has nearly no mass and does not keep momentum after collisions, so it's best to avoid crashing into obstacles.

The drive wheels are the tracks in the back - the front wheels do not generate any momentum and if the half-track manages to hang itself on some ladder or rocks, it will be forever stuck there, unless the missile launch recoil managed to kick the front of the truck off it.

Until the Zachlam is spaded, it has a general forward speed of 42 km/h in AB and 30-35 km/h in RB. Researching all of the mobility modules together dramatically improves the acceleration, adds another 7 km/h of maximum off-road speed, allows the truck to almost spin in place on flat ground, and enables the ability to use paved roads to reach maximum speed of 70-80 km/h.

The truck barely has enough horsepower to push itself up steep hills, but it will still do so at 5 km/h speed in most cases.

{{tankMobility|abMinHp=210|rbMinHp=131}}

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

Due to the overall fragility of the Zachlam, it is technically possible to skip repair tools entirely. Parts can only be used if the launcher was hit with pure AP or APDS or to repair friendlies (which is generally dangerous to do), and FPE is only usable if ammo racks in the back were hit, but didn't explode, which is very rare. Mobility upgrades have a much higher priority, as being able to reach vantage points allows the truck to never be put in danger of being hit in the first place and being fast enough to reach a fortified capture point first gives it more chances to actually affect the battle in a meaningful way, especially in AB.

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

{{main|Tager}}

The main weapons are the LFK SS.11 missiles. There is 4 of them on the top of the truck and 2 reserve missiles are stored in the boxes in the very back.

These missiles are wire guided, which means that in RB you will have to guide them with WASD (tank movement inputs) and cannot move the vehicle until they hit a target. In AB, they are guided with the mouse and do not prevent the {{PAGENAME}} from moving after launching (it is still necessary to stop to fire). These missiles cannot be efficiently cut off to attack multiple targets, as they will immediately drop to the ground if the control signal is lost.

SS.11 missiles have a very long guidance dead zone (about 150 m) in which you cannot really control them, but they are generally more responsive than others. While they are responsive, they also have very high inertia, and when turning horizontally they also tend to drop down, so some care must be taken when guiding or launching them. It is important to avoid situations in which missile must be guided into some sort of a crack inbetween rocks, as even if it's possible to push SS.11 through, the enemy tanks can easily suppress missiles guided straight with their MG.

When launched, the missiles will fly straight for about 70 m, then attempt to turn towards initial sniper crosshairs position. If it's necessary to launch them to the side, launch them upwards, as otherwise they will usually crash to the ground. At melee range, treat them like rockets. After the guidance system activates, it becomes possible to correct their course. Since the truck does not turn well in place and does not turn at all when standing upright, positioning and planning becomes very important.

Missiles fire from the left to the right and reload from the right to the left. Each shot forces a 1 second "reload". The ready rack is reloaded at a rate of 1 missile per 3 seconds, but only when the carrier is not firing (like on the tank autoloaders) or reloading, resulting in atleast 5 seconds wait after firing. If entirety of the ready rack was used, a forced 13 seconds reload penalty is applied after the ready ammo rack reloaded one missile, effectively making the carrier to stop firing and reloading for at least 18-23 seconds. Do note, that ammo rack reload penalty is applied even if capture point or AB mechanics already rearmed ready rack completely.

Rearm on a capture point takes 8 seconds per missile and tends to put missiles straight into missile ready rack. Since reload penalty is applied even if the vehicle rearmed its entire ammo pool in AB, rearm outside of a capture point takes 70 seconds + the forced reload of 13 seconds.

As such, it's optimal to let the Zachlam reload both reserve missiles before the ready ammo rack was completely used up, and should it somehow manage to entrench on a capture point, it's generally better to not use the last missile and to wait 8 seconds until the capture point puts next missile into the ready rack instead of incurring the reload penalty and being forced to wait for 21 seconds. This is also true in AB - even though all 4 missiles are reloaded at the same time while rearming on a capture point from the scratch, the Zachlam cannot fire-and-forget multiple missiles, and it cannot really guide missiles at point blank range, so it's usually detrimental to wait longer.

Unlike with most of the other wire guided missile carriers, it is possible to choose if you want to launch the missile straight forward or upwards. This allows a smart operator to bombard enemy tanks out and over cover and then unload its entire ammo rack when they lose patience and try to rush the position. Keep in mind, the half track must be stationary for missiles to fire, so it is important to prepare for a counter-attack properly.

In AB, the missiles are guided with a binocular on top of the vehicle without dependency on sniper crosshair and can be guided anywhere. Since enemy tanks have aim assist in AB, the most sensible strategy is to only pull out the binoculars out of cover without exposing anything else.

{{Notice| Be aware, that while arcade mode allows the Zachlam to guide missiles with the mouse, it also restricts control of missiles - if binoculars can't see the target, they will fail to guide the missile. SACLOS also makes them vulnerable to IRCM jamming. If you do not want to deal with indirect fire techniques, to snipe above cover pull tank optics out of cover, so it does not block the space in between camera and target and ensure that you can aim at the target directly without anything else being in the way.|!}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="4" | [[Tager]] missile || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Capacity !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
| 6 || -5°/+20° || N/A || N/A || 13.00 || 11.50 || 10.60 || 10.00
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====
{{:Tager/Ammunition|LFK SS.11}}

==== [[Ammo racks]] ====


{| 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
|-
| '''6''' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __ ''(+__)'' || __
|-
|}

== Usage in battles ==

The Zachlam is technically a very straightforward vehicle to play - you want to occupy any vantage point that protects the hull and hides the missiles, but allows you to aim directly at the enemy. You can even try to use its high speed to rush and bombard enemy team from a relatively short range of 200-250 m. The difficulties come with the numerous drawbacks of the vehicle.
[[File:Zachlam medium range hill sniping.jpg|thumb|right|A decent vantage point allows the Zachlam to scout and/or attack enemies pushing for a capture point from complete safety. The closer the capture point is, the easier it is to rearm afterwards.]]
When launching the missile directly forward, the only real concern is to not push it down too quickly, as otherwise it will crash into the ground. While it's possible to launch missiles sideways, they can prove to be too difficult to put back on course due to a heavy inertia in missile movements, so it would still require at least 300-400 m of range to guarantee a decent launch to the side, and there may or may not be any suitable cover.

In any mode, the operator should always remain as cold-blooded as possible and avoid making frantic movements. Knowing which push directions resemble an inescapable tunnel, which cover the Zachlam can hide behind and where to scout for potential targets or countersnipers is half the battle. For example, if an enemy tank would suddenly appear, the truck must be immediately turned as straight to the target as possible and stopped without any additional corrections, then a missile must be fired. If you didn't know someone was coming, it's probably already too late. Even if you did expect them, by panicking you will only give the enemy the necessary split second to start firing an MG, which usually destroys the Zachlam nearly instantly. However, if enemy did not expect you, and you were completely prepared, it's entirely possible to overwhelm at least 2 tanks before dying.

The missiles have extraordinary range, but in practice will almost never reach a far-away target in time due to how slow and moody they are. The sweet spot for a target is between 400 and 600 m, past the 150 m dead zone and within 3 seconds of missile flight time at most. The Zachlam can find limited success in using hills at its advantage, by firing missiles upward and dropping them on enemies from the safety of cover; or at point-blank, without control over the missiles due to the deadzone but with the advantage of being able to fire 4 missiles in rapid succession.

Since SS.11 is a quite fragile missile, it is a decent idea to not guide missile straight at the enemy tank, but slightly to the side until the last 60 m. This makes enemy less likely to just shoot it down and might make some less aware people unlikely to duck back into cover (for example, when they think that they aren't the primary target and don't know that ATGM can very quickly snap onto them.)

There are also certain considerations to be made regarding the 6 missile ammo limit and different missile control schemes in AB/RB. While many attack techniques from AB may also work in RB, they would require far more range, far more practice and will leave not as much room for error, as in AB.

'''AB tips'''

Most of the drawbacks of the Zachlam are not present, as such it can be played relatively freely, but avoid directly attacking tanks or provoking any HEAT armed SPG without the safety of a full hulldown, as aim assist makes them borderline invincible for you. Most of APHE tanks are also deadly, so it's generally better to stay low.

If you choose to play safely, you can stand at about 400-600 m range like with sniper tanks, but such playstyle won't net you a lot of hits in AB, because enemy tanks always receive an ATGM alert on their screen whenever you fire at their front. At the very least, you should try to blindside your opponents, or train your ability to judge distance towards the target and guided missiles, so that you can attack them even if they duck back behind a hill. If you get an artillery alert, simply move away as nothing is really at stake with such playstyle.

Even if you have nothing to do, do not forget to constantly look around you and scout enemy tanks, as this will indirectly make your teammates protect you and may give you free assists, which you can use to spawn a bomber to kill time while your launchers rearm.

In some cases, it is possible to use the Zachlam even in a city by hiding behind concrete blocks, containers or dumpsters, as they often hide the hull completely and allow you to scout and guide missiles over them (at least 150 m range is necessary for them to connect). Even an inexperienced operator should manage atleast a 25% hit rate, and in AB it's possible to reload outside of a capture point, so it's a viable tactic. Here are some practical examples:

<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
File:Zachlam medium range entrench.jpg|By using indestructible decorations, try to deny enemy access to a capture point
File:Zachlam indirect fire sniper scope example.jpg|Fighting any rocket tank directly is definitely a suicide mission for the Zachlam, but you don't have to fight it head-on
</gallery>

Ultimately, the Zachlam's full attack potential is realized when standing on a fortified capture point, as it allows it to avoid waiting for 80 seconds to get more missiles and may lead to situations in which enemy team simply cannot move in to attack without an airstrike due to an endless suppressing fire from you. This only works on capture points which can fully protect the hull and missiles, which means that certain capture points, or even certain sides of those capture points are vastly superior to others.

Here are some examples of firing from well protected capture points. Do note, that missile rack should be pointing directly towards the target to reduce a chance of misfiring, and Zachlam must be parked at least 160 m away from opponents. Do not use the last missile to avoid the reload penalty and to continue supressing an enemy team:

<gallery mode="packed-hover" heights="200px">
File:Zachlam indirect suppressing fire from capture point risky.jpg|By getting to a fortified capture point fast enough, you can absolutely destroy enemy team's heavy or even medium tanks. But if it has no real cover for the truck, any light tank can easily annihilate you by intercepting you or attacking from the side.
File:Zachlam indirect suppressing fire from capture point safe.jpg|Some capture points are absolutely safe to rush to, but provide a very awkward firing position. Try to remove all fences and small objects that prevent direct line of sight towards binoculars, then rain hell onto incoming enemy team.
</gallery>

Unlike with the stand-off sniping, if enemy team calls artillery strike on you during this, fire off the last missile, let capture point instantly restore your ammo, then retreat. This will allow you to only wait for about 20 seconds instead of 80 before firing again, which means that you don't have to abandon the capture point completely.

'''RB tips'''

The Zachlam gets very few options. The safest way to play is simply as a scout, using hills for cover and scouting through the safety of your binoculars, occasionally sniping exposed tanks. Every enemy you encounter is an immense threat, and none is easy to destroy: even light vehicles may dodge or shoot down your missiles. You can only stay close to strategic points with the 6 missiles, and if none of the strategic points are in your team's control, there is simply nothing the Zachlam can do besides staying low and passively scouting.

'''Notable enemies'''

HEAT-wielding tanks - Any tank armed with a HEAT launcher like the familiar [[M-51]] is a threat to the Zachlam due to the ability to drop shells from a much higher angle than other tanks and no need to swap away from kinetic ammunition. Since the truck is open-topped, even a close miss might obliterate it. Make sure to duck further into cover when fighting these, especially in AB.

HE-wielding tanks - An even worse idea is to annoy dedicated artillery tanks like the [[2S3M]] or [[Type 75 SPH]]. Not only their users have much more experience with indirect fire than others, but most of such tanks also have HE-VT shells, which can explode above you, given the Zachlam no chance to retreat if you get in their way.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Has four missiles ready to fire
* Missiles are loaded and armed quickly if the ready rack is not expended
* Has significantly better maximum range than other missile carriers
* Missiles can deal significant damage to targets, especially if the explosion detonates ammo racks or fuel tanks
* Can attack both directly and indirectly depending on the terrain and range
* Relatively small profile and sight position allows this vehicle to stay low when hull down
* Zachlam chassis is highly maneuverable with a high top speed when modified
* Has access to scouting, which is especially useful if the vehicle runs out of missiles
* Unassuming truck-like profile may trick enemies into ignoring the vehicle in urban environments
* Missile can be guided without using the sniper sight in AB mode

'''Cons:'''

* Has very light armour and is open topped which makes this vehicle very vulnerable to enemy fire, artillery, and enemy aircraft
* Cannot fire on the move
* Relatively low ammunition count
* Slow reload penalty if the entire ready rack is fired too quickly
* Controls have a dead zone of ~150 m, which combined with launch/reload patterns makes fighting in cramped spaces difficult
* The missile's relatively slow speed can lead to a miss if the target is far away or moves and also allows a chance for the enemy to shoot it down
* Missiles can detonate prematurely on obstacles such as walls and trees
* Does not have horizontal traverse for its launcher which means the whole vehicle must be turned towards the direction of the target
* No secondary armament can force the vehicle out of combat if all missiles are expended
* Half-track chassis may get permanently stuck if driven carelessly into poor terrain
* Tall radio antenna can lead to the vehicle being spotted early by vigilant enemies
* Manual missile controls in RB and SB modes can be difficult to learn

== History ==

As part of its armament process leading up to and during the 1948 War of Independence, the armoured corps of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) acquired a large number of WW2 surplus M2, M3, M5 and M9 halftracks from a variety of sources. These vehicles rapidly became the IDF's primary armoured personnel carriers for mechanized infantry units, and participated in every Israeli war until their eventual replacement by the [[M113 (Family)|M113]].

While the Allies had experimented with a variety of different weapon mounts for these halftracks during the war, Israel continued to do so in the late 1940s and early 1950s, mostly using French and locally-produced weapons. Halftracks with cannons, howitzers and mortars became commonplace, and were used as fire support for both armoured units and mechanized infantry units.

The development of the French SS.11 anti-tank guided missile in the 1950s greatly intrigued the Israelis, and they decided to acquire large quantities of the weapon system. Among other implementations, Israeli military industries experimentally mounted the weapon on M3 halftracks. Four rails were installed, each carrying a missile ready to launch. The Israelis gave the SS.11 the codename ''Tagar'' ("Provocateur"), which is misspelled as "Tager" in War Thunder. The full name ''Zachlam Tagar'' means "Tagar Half-track". The vehicles were deployed as part of the IDF's artillery corps, organized into multiple batteries, and attached to various armoured and mechanized regiments.

The Tagar's primary action was during the 1967 Six-Day War, where it was mostly meant to engage Syrian and Egyptian [[T-54/55 (Family)|T-54s]]. Tagars were thus possibly the first guided missile tank-destroyers ever to be used in actual combat. Unfortunately for the Israelis, their doctrine for the tactical application of high-mobility ATGM platforms was practically non-existent, resulting in the weapon being almost completely ignored by the armoured unit commanders, and being deployed sub-optimally in most battles where its was present. However, they reportedly did fire at enemy targets during the initial push into the Syrian Golan Heights, as well as during the battle of Abu-Ageila which directly paved the way to the Israeli takeover of the entire Sinai peninsula from Egypt. It is unclear whether the Tagars scored any kills during their engagements.

The Tagars were soon decommissioned following the Six-Day War. By the time the importance of ATGMs in modern warfare had become clear, Israel was already well on its way to replacing most of its halftracks with M113s.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=il_ss_11_halftrack Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

== See also ==
Vehicles of similar design or capabilities

* [[Type 60 ATM]]

* [[RakJPz 2]]
* [[AMX-13 (SS.11)]]
* [[Striker]]

Vehicles with the same chassis

* [[M3 Half-Track (Family)]]
** [[TCM-20]]

== External links ==


* [[wt:en/news/7573-development-zachlam-m3-tager-half-track-abroad-en|[Devblog] Zachlam M3 (Tager): Half-Track Abroad]]

{{TankManufacturer Israeli Ordnance Corps}}
{{Israel tank destroyers}}
[[Category:Half-tracks]]

Phòng không T-34

2023-11-26T14:21:53Z

U89549472:

{{About
| about = Chinese SPAA '''{{PAGENAME}}'''
| other
| usage-1 = the gift vehicle in the Russian tree
| link-1 = Phòng không T-34 (USSR)
| usage-2 = other vehicles using the T-34 chassis
| link-2 = T-34 (Family)
}}
{{Specs-Card
|code=cn_type_65_aa
|images={{Specs-Card-Image|GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg}}
}}

== Description ==

The '''{{Specs|name}}''' (37 mm anti air tank), known as the '''Phòng không T-34''' (Chữ Nôm''':''' 防空 T-34; English: Anti-air T-34) for short or by its erroneous designation "Type 65" in Chinese sources, was a North Vietnamese SPAAG created during the mid-1960s for the Vietnam war. It uses the hull of a Soviet [[T-34-85]] but features an original open-top box turret fitted with dual Chinese 37 mm [[Type 65 (37 mm)|Type 65]] cannons. It's likely that the NVA improvised this build during the Vietnam War, since North Vietnam invested heavily in anti-air weaponry to combat the US air support. However no NVA documentation on the vehicle is known and all known information comes from one unit captured by US forces during the war, which is now displayed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The name "{{Specs|name}}" was created for the game as the vehicle's real name is unknown, based on the descriptive names of other NVA vehicles of the time.

Introduced in [[Update 1.91 "Night Vision"]] alongside the initial Chinese tech tree, the Phòng không T-34 is easily recognized because of the box-shaped and open turret on a T-34-85 hull and lacking the single 85 mm main armament, it also has a higher profile than a regular T-34-85. Although the turret's protection is not rated for anything larger than rifle-calibre firearms and close-calls from explosives will very likely disable the vehicle at once, thanks to the higher turret traverse speed, sufficient rate of fire, and HVAP shells, it can serve the team in both air defense and flanking operations.

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


'''Armour type:'''

* Rolled homogeneous armour

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof
|-
| Hull || 45 mm (60°) ''Upper glacis'' 75 mm (21-61°) ''Driver's hatch'' 45 mm (55°) ''Lower glacis'' || 45 mm (41°) ''Upper'' 45 mm ''Lower'' || 45 mm (46°) ''Upper'' 10 mm (48°) ''Lower'' || 20 mm
|-
| Turret || 15 mm (11-29°) || 15 mm (8-26°) || 15 mm (8-27°)
|-
|}

'''Notes:'''

* Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick
* Tracks are 20 mm thick

The armour of Phòng không T-34 turret is an easy target to penetrate with it consisting of only 15 mm all-around armour it makes it easy to disable with most type of shells that it might face and machine guns are a danger for it too with the 12.7 mm calibre able to penetrate that thin armour even smaller machine guns can disable the turret. Mainly because the front of the turret got gaps for the gunner and commander where the bullets can easily find its way in and damage the crew. With is being an open-top SPAA makes it as many other open SPAA making it a tasty snack for aircraft machine guns and cannons. One of the drawbacks with the Phòng không T-34 is that 80% of its crew sits in the turret, 2 of them looking up from the turret making them extremely vulnerable to machine gun fire.

The hull is better armoured like a T-34-85 and its strongest armour is the front hull armour, It's missing the hull-mounted machine gun that there is on the T-34-85 making it have an exposed hole on the front left hull when facing it, it's a trap shot location so it would be best to try angle the tank to remove the open machine gun port for easy access for enemy Shells.

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


{{tankMobility|abMinHp=710|rbMinHp=442}}

The mobility of the Phòng không T-34 is good at its battle rating, easy to manoeuvre on- and off-road. It has similar mobility characteristics as the T-34-85 with an engine that produces 500 hp at 1800 RPM giving it a top speed of 55 km/h (34mph).

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

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

{{main|Type 65 (37 mm)}}

The {{PAGENAME}} has a pair of decent 37 mm autocannons. The full AP belt is great at both anti-tank and anti-air roles. For AT duty, it is capable of penetrating almost all light tanks and SPAAs frontally, such as the [[M24|M24 Chaffee]], [[M41A1]], etc, most medium tanks from the side like the [[M4A1]]/[[M4A2|2]], [[Panther A]]/[[Panther D|D]], [[Comet I]], and some TDs from the side like the [[Panzer IV/70(V)]]. Upon penetration, the shells create quite a bit of shrapnel which makes wiping out crew very easy. It also works great against planes, especially when shooting those attacking you from head-on. The AP shell can easily go through the engine or armour plates and knock out the pilot. One shell is also enough to instantly snap off the wing spar, destroying the plane. Of course, the full HE belt is recommended for dedicated AA duty. Its large calibre plus the 34 g TNT makes the {{PAGENAME}} a lethal threat to almost all planes. Even if the shell hits an unimportant part (e.g. wingtip), it can still blow off parts of the plane while the AP will over-penetrate without doing much damage.

The HVAP belt can become handy when you are facing targets whose armour thickness is right between 70-87 mm, for example the Comet's hull, and the sides of the [[Tiger H1]] and [[M4A3E2]]. However, there is only 1 HVAP in a 3-shell clip thus careful aiming must be applied.

Note, when shooting distant targets (tanks 300 m away, or planes around 750 m away) you want to slow down the fire, as the {{PAGENAME}} shakes violently in a continuous spray, therefore greatly reducing its accuracy. However the accuracy is very good when firing single shells and waiting for the guns to stabilise before the next shot.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
|-
! colspan="6" | [[Type 65 (37 mm)|37 mm Type 65]] (x2) || colspan="5" | Turret rotation speed (°/s) || colspan="4" | Reloading rate (seconds)
|-
! Mode !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal !! Stabilizer
! Stock !! Upgraded !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
! Stock !! Full !! Expert !! Aced
|-
! ''Arcade''
| rowspan="2" | 390 (5) || rowspan="2" | 160 || rowspan="2" | -5°/+85° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | N/A || 52.8 || 73.1 || 88.8 || 98.2 || 104.5 || rowspan="2" | 1.30 || rowspan="2" | 1.15 || rowspan="2" | 1.06 || rowspan="2" | 1.00
|-
! ''Realistic''
| 35.7 || 42.0 || 51.0 || 56.4 || 60.0
|-
|}

==== Ammunition ====

* '''Default:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}{{-}}{{Annotation|HEFI-T*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer (self-destroying)}}
* '''UO-167:''' {{Annotation|HEFI-T*|High-explosive fragmentation incendiary tracer (self-destroying)}}
* '''BR-167:''' {{Annotation|AP-T|Armour-piercing tracer}}
* '''BR-167P:''' {{Annotation|HVAP-T|High-velocity armour-piercing tracer}}

{{:Type 65 (37 mm)/Ammunition|HEFI-T*, AP-T, HVAP-T}}

==== [[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
|-
| '''78''' || 66 ''(+12)'' || 54 ''(+24)'' || 2 ''(+76)'' || No
|-
|}


== Usage in battles ==

The Phòng không T-34 is an excellent self-propelled anti-air vehicle, but its slow dual 37 mm guns make it hard to hit fast low flying targets if you are not a good shot with SPAA. Its mobility and speed combined with the fast turret rotation make it a deadly opponent for the enemy if ambushed or flanked.

The Phòng không T-34 is an excellent self-propelled anti-air vehicle, but also a great vehicle for ambushes on the enemy side and rear armour. Be aware that all the tanks and aircraft it will oppose are deadly opponents to it, the exposed crew makes it an easy target from both air and ground.

One way to tactically use the Phòng không T-34 is to stay behind the main force and cover them from possible air threats or light flanking tanks. Its dual 37 mm will make quick work of the air and lighter tanks that you will face. Another way is when enemy players are distracted by your teams player you can use your speed and manoeuvrability to flank around and hit them from the side or rear with AP-T or HVAP-T rounds.They will deal with most side armour. Flanking might not work as well in Arcade Battle as in Realistic or Simulator Battle.

Some players might find this tank hard to hit aerial targets, since the Phòng không T-34 's guns have rather slow fire rate and velocity. A good tactic is to find a place that is not too far away from the frontline (planes usually go for the crowded frontline) but also not too close to it (easier to get shot by tanks), so you can fully concentrate on planes and not worry about tanks. The place should have a hard cover that is wide and tall enough to hide from strafing aircraft. Then just wait til the enemy begins to spawn in planes. You want to hold fire and let them close in to around 1 km from you. If their target appears to be a teammate near you, then utilise your head-on techniques as this is a slanted head-on. Even if you did not hit you will still get their attention. Most ground pounders in ground RB will do loops / high yoyos a lot (dive at a target, pull up vertically, dive again). If you see a plane pulling up, climbing to its peak, aim carefully but hold fire. When it reaches the peak and begins to slowly fall down, spray shells at it, because that is when the plane has the slowest speed, making it an easier target. If you lured a plane into diving on you, aim slightly above it (usually aim near the cockpit) and fire continuously, there is a good chance of hitting and crippling it. Head-on is the most effective yet most risky way to get kills. Overall, for the Phòng không T-34, do not fire until the target is around 1 km or closer.

'''Enemies worth noting:'''

* [[Wirbelwind]]: This SPAA is equipped with four fast-firing 20 mm autocannons, allowing it to fire a dense barrage of shells in a matter of seconds. This means that the Wirbelwind can quickly knock out all 4 crew in the {{PAGENAME}}'s turret, making it defenseless. Plus the Wirbelwind has a more stable chassis that wobbles less in a brake, meaning that in a sudden encounter the Wirbelwind is more likely to stabilise its guns and fire first. Therefore, if you know a Wirbelwind is somewhere near, be very alert and try to spot it before it spots you. Aim at the turret to disable its gunner first. Note: your firing speed depends on the distance, as the {{PAGENAME}} shakes violently when firing. So if you are face to face with the enemy, fire continuously. If it is more than 200 m away, only fire in short bursts or even single shots to avoid missing due to the shake. Wait for the guns to stabilise before firing the next salvo.

=== Pros and cons ===


'''Pros:'''

* Destructive damage upon hitting an aircraft
* Fast turret rotation of more than 40°/sec allows it to deal with agile targets easily
* Powerful engine/weight ratio gives it good manoeuvrability
* Has a crew of 6, can replace unconscious ones multiple times which increases survivability.
* Good gun elevation of 85°, crucial for an SPAA
* Multiple belt types allows flexible gameplay: full HE belt for anti-air. Full AP belt can penetrate common tanks' side, e.g. [[M4]], [[Panther A]]/[[Panther D|D]], [[Chi-Ri II|Chi-Ri]]. HVAP belt (mixed with HE) for side of heavy targets up close, like [[Tiger H1]]/[[Tiger E|E]], [[Ho-Ri Production|Ho-Ri]], [[Ferdinand]].

'''Cons:'''

* Open turret exposes 4 crew directly to enemy fire. Very vulnerable to top attacks.
* High profile makes it easier to be seen & hit
* Below-average gun depression of -5° combined with the high mount makes it useless in hilly terrains
* Guns are super unstable during continuous fire. Can only fire short bursts to maintain accuracy. The [[Wirbelwind]] and [[Ostwind II]] (also twin 37 mm), in comparison, are way more stable.
* Thin turret armour of 15 mm is prone to be penetrated by heavy MG/shrapnel. SPAA like [[Wirbelwind]] and [[M16 MGMC|M16]] can easily disable all turret crew
* Awkward to place bushes on upper front hull due to the obstruction of MG port and driver's optics

== History ==

=== Historical problems ===
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a bit of an enigma as no official known North Vietnamese documentation exists concerning its design or construction. Even today, almost half a century after the type first became known, little is known about it. What is known comes from a single unit captured by US-forces during the Vietnam war, which have miraculously survived the test of time. Thus it is important to first focus on what little is known about this unique T-34-based SPAAG, before going into theories.

=== US capture and evaluation ===
During the 1972 Spring-Summer Offensive of the Vietnam War, a single example of a SPAAG was captured by the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam on August 13th 1972. This vehicle was subsequently transferred to the United States military, who eventually shipped it to the Aberdeen Proving Ground for technical evaluation. After testing was concluded, the vehicle was put on display at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, where it stood until the early 2010s when it was transferred along with the rest of the collection to the Air Defence Artillery Museum in Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

==== Construction ====
Evaluation of this single example showed that it consisted of a T-34-85 chassis which was made at UTZ 183 (Uralsky Tankovij Zavod) in the USSR sometime between 1944 and 1947, featuring a number of modifications. The most important one concerned the removal of the turret, with a solid reinforced steel slab being bolted onto the turret aperture on top of which a twin AA gun was mounted. Other modifications included the removal of the hull-mounted 7.62 mm machine gun, and the removal of part of the engine top deck to allow the gun turret to freely rotate.

The main weaponry of the vehicles consisted of a Chinese [[Type 65 (37 mm)|37 mm Type 65]] twin gun system, a Chinese-built variant of the Soviet [[61-K (37 mm)|37 mm M1939 (61-K)]]. NORINCO of China copied the original Soviet single design and produced it under the Chinese designation 37 mm Type 55 (most likely after the year it was first constructed). The Chinese would later update the design by developing a twin mount around the same gun, designated 37 mm Type 65. Such guns were supplied to the NVA by China to help them counter the US air supremacy during the war.

As mounted on the tank, the Type 65 gun mount was surrounded by a box-like open-topped structure composed of 16-mm thick armour plates, large enough to house both the gun and a crew of five. Similar in concept to the US-built [[M42|M42 Duster]], the vehicle lacked any advanced aiming system or power-assisted gun traverse or elevation, making it less efficient in use against low-flying high-speed jets, but still deadly to slower attackers and helicopters.

=== Name and creation ===
The vehicle is commonly called the Type 63 or the Type 65, however the vehicle's real name is unknown. The origin of the names comes from the lack of any official documentation on the vehicle, which has lead to a lot of speculation regarding its creation and history.

==== Outdated theories ====
Since the vehicle was fitted with a Chinese-built AA gun, the US Military speculated that this vehicle was a Chinese-built dedicated SPAAG. As such, the vehicle commonly became known as the ''Type 63 SPAAG'', this name first appearing in the 1987 publication ''A Compendium of Armaments and Military Hardware'' by Christopher Chant, after the assumption that the ''Type 63'' was a variant of the ''Type 65'' specifically built for use on this SPAAG. However, more recently the vehicle has become known as the Type 65 - or Type 63/65 - after the NORINCO-built gun. However there exists no real indication that the Chinese had anything to do directly with the creation of this vehicle.

==== Current theories ====
With the lifting of the US embargo on North Vietnam in 1994, new information about the Vietnam War from (formerly North) Vietnamese sources finally became available, and visitors to the Vietnam People's Air Force Museum in Hanoi noticed a photograph on display which gives an entirely different turn to the "Type 65's" story. This singular photograph, with the texts ''three SPAAG's moving to the front'' in English, and "improvised 14,5 mm, 37 mm, 57 mm self propelled anti air gun tanks on their way to the front" in Vietnamese, shows three tank-mounted anti-aircraft guns, one mounted on a T-34-85, the two others on the chassis of an SU-76. The nature of their construction seems to indicate that they - and the captured "Type 65" - were in fact locally-built improvised vehicles, combining the hulls of discarded or damaged tanks with AA guns to increase the number of available anti-aircraft guns for use against US forces, the Hanoi-displayed picture showing a T-34-85 hull with a ''[[S-68 (57 mm)|57 mm S-60]] AA gun'' rather than the ''37 mm Type 65 AA gun'' used on the captured vehicle.

As such, it can be concluded that the captured vehicle was in fact an improvised locally-built SPAAG, possibly an attempt at creating a cheap alternative to the more advanced [[ZSU-57-2|Soviet ZSU-57-2]], using the hulls of T-34-85s that had been delivered to North Vietnam in 1965.

=== In-game name ===
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' was originally implemented into War Thunder with the name Type 65, due to the lack of historical NVA sources. This was later changed to the current names {{Specs|name}} (English: 37 mm anti air tank) and Phòng không T-34 (English: Anti-air T-34), a shortened name for the research tree. This Change was done as it seems the NVA lacked a proper indigenous designation system during the war and instead gave vehicles descriptive names, for example "anti-air gun truck", etc. Such descriptive names can be found on a lot of name signs in Vietnamese war museums featuring vehicles and weaponry. However in some cases it seems the NVA also used the original designations of the equipment they received, such as the [[ZSU-23-4]] (although spelled 3CY-23 from the Cyrillic name "ЗСУ-23"). However since the vehicle in question most likely is an original creation by the NVA, this cannot be applied here. Thus the vehicle received its current name.

== Media ==


;Skins

* [https://live.warthunder.com/feed/camouflages/?vehicle=cn_type_65_aa Skins and camouflages for the {{PAGENAME}} from live.warthunder.com.]

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

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

{{China anti-aircraft vehicles}}

M3 Stuart (Family)

2023-10-15T22:20:59Z

U89549472:

== Description ==
The '''Light Tank, M3''' was an American light tank which was nicknamed in British service under '''Stuart''', after American Civil War Confederate general ''J. E. B. Stuart''.

== Vehicles ==

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== History ==


=== Development ===

=== Design ===
The M3 Stuart was a comprehensive upgrade of the earlier M2 light tank. It featured a new Continental petrol engine - more powerful than on the preceding M2, a new vertical volute suspension system (VVSS), an M5 37 mm main gun (later replaced by the M6 37 mm gun) with a new recoil system. The secondary armament consisted of up to 5 .30 cal (7.62 mm) M1919 machine guns. One was coaxial to the main gun, one was ball-mounted in the hull front, two were mounted in sponsons in the hull, and one was located on an anti-aircraft mounting on the turret. Often, the two sponson-mounted machine guns would be removed by the crew to save space and reduce weight. The M3 was manned by a crew of four: driver, co-driver, commander, and gunner.

The main armour composition was of face-hardened rolled homogeneous armour. The sides and rear of the hull and turret were 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick. The turret front was 38.1 mm thick, and so was the gun mantlet. The hull lower glacis was 44.4 mm thick, and the angled upper glacis was 15.8 mm thick and angled at 70 degrees. The upper front plate was 38.1 mm thick and angled at 18 degrees. The turret and hull roofs were 12.7 mm thick.
==== M3 Stuart (Stuart Mk I/II) ====
The M3 was the first production model of the series, and it was introduced in March of 1941. 5811 M3 Stuarts were built and they were called the Stuart Mk I in British service. 1285 of those were built with Guiberson diesel engines and were designated as Stuart Mk II by the British. The diesel engine Stuarts were built to British specification, not for American service. The British often referred to the Stuarts as the Honey tank, because of how smooth the ride was. A turret basket was added for the commander and gunner to sit in. Many of the original M3 Stuarts were sent to Britain under the Lend-Lease Act.

==== M3A1 Stuart (Stuart Mk III/IV) ====
Introduced in 1942, the M3A1 featured an improved turret. The new turret featured a turret basket and a different AA machine gun mount. Additionally, all of the sponson-mounted machine guns were removed on the M3A1 version. This left only three .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns; one hull-mounted, one AA mounted, and one coaxial. Additionally, the vertical stabilizer for the gun was improved. 4,621 M3A1 Stuarts were produced, and production ended in February 1943. The M3A1 was exported to the British as the Stuart Mk III, and the diesel version was called the Stuart Mk IV in British service.

==== M3A3 Stuart (Stuart Mk V) ====
The M3A3 variant featured sloped frontal armour very similar to that of the M5 Stuart. The new armour arrangement was easier to produce and it also offered better protection. As a side effect, the M3A3 hull was heavier than the earlier version; the hull also had increased volume, which allowed for more fuel and ammunition storage. The M3A3 also introduced an improved turret with a larger bustle on the rear for the storage of a SCR 508 radio. Because of the increased space inside the hull, the ammunition storage was increased to 174 37 mm rounds and 7,500 7.62 mm rounds. 3,427 M3A3s were produced, with production ending in October 1943. In British service they were called Stuart Mk V.

=== Service ===

13,800 M3 Stuarts were used in all the theaters of World War 2 with a number of different nations.

=== Variants ===
The M3 Stuart, the first production series, was not intended for fighting other tanks but instead was meant to fight infantry units. With an armament of five .30 cal machine guns and one 37 mm gun the M3 was quite capable of its job. The standard livery was khaki-olive paint with US identification markings. The turret was often painted with a white or yellow horizontal band, and some units also added unit markings. Extra tracks and fuel were often stored on the exterior of the tank, and the sponson machine guns were often removed to save space and weight.

The M3A1 was an improved version which was produced until 1942, when the M3A3 and M5 Stuart were introduced. During Operation Torch in 1942 the M3A1 was often painted olive drab with the standard US identification markings. The M3A1s were painted very similarly to the M3s, and American identification markings were made very large, as the French (who held West North Africa during Operation Torch) held no anti-American sentiment. Additionally, the M20 anti-aircraft mounting for a .30 cal machine gun became common during this campaign. Extra tracks and fuel were mounted just the same as on the M3. The M3 was heavily used by the British, and British Stuarts were often covered in extra supplies and equipment. British Stuarts were painted in straight line blue-sand livery, with pale green upper surfaces.

The M3A2 was an experimental design that was not produced.

The M3A3 was the final design of the series, as the M3 series was replaced by the M5 series. The M3A3 was built with the intention to simplify production without reducing the performance. The M3A3 featured a single sloped upper glacis and new turret. The M3 series was mostly replaced by the M24 Chaffee in the European Theater after the North African campaign, but they were used heavily in the Pacific theater as the Japanese tanks were easier to deal with.

==== Britain and the Commonwealth ====
The British found the Stuart to be much more reliable than the Crusader tanks they were also operating at the time. The Stuarts were put to good use in the North African campaign, but the protection was found to be lacking against contemporary German tanks and anti-tank guns. As such, the Stuart was not heavily used by the British in the European theater, but was instead shifted to the India-Burma theater in British and Australian units. The Japanese tanks they faced their were much easier targets for the Stuarts as they were much less armoured and had less firepower. The British and Australians often converted their Stuarts to non-combat roles.

==== United States ====
In North Africa, the M3 Stuart was proven to be vulnerable to enemy anti-tank weapons whilst having an Armament that was seen as insufficient. As such, the Stuart was relegated to non-combat roles such as rearguard and reconnaissance. The M3 Stuart was mostly replaced by the M24 Chaffee in the European theater, but they saw significant service in the Pacific. In the European theater they were only used to support the more capable M4 Shermans and the crews of M3 Stuarts made sure to avoid frontal engagement of enemy armour.

The M3s in the Pacific did not see much armoured opposition and there was only one anti-tank gun that posed a major threat, the 45 mm gun of the Chi-Ha and its variants. The Japanese tanks they did face were mostly less capable than the M3, with less armour and firepower. The first tank on tank combat the M3 saw in the Pacific was in the Philippines in December of 1941. There, the 192nd and 194th Light Tank Battalions saw combat mostly against Japanese Ha-Go tanks.

==== Soviet Union ====
The Soviet Union received 1,000 M3 Stuarts along with M3 Lees and M3 Half-tracks through the Lend-Lease Act. The M3 Stuarts delivered to the USSR were of differing variants. The USSR did not like the M3 Stuart. They believed the armour and firepower was inadequate, the tracks were not suited to Russian winters, and the fuel was too flammable. As such, the USSR turned down American proposals for the delivery of M5 Stuarts, and sent their M3s to the Manchurian front where they would face less armoured opposition.

== Variants ==

=== American ===

==== '''Direct M3 Variants''' ====
'''M3 Stuart (Stuart Mk I/II)'''

'''Stuart Hybrid'''

'''M3A1 Stuart (Stuart Mk III/IV)'''

'''M3A2'''

'''M3A3 Stuart (Stuart Mk V)'''

'''75 mm T18 HMC'''

'''T82 HMC'''

'''T56 3in GMC'''

'''T57 3in GMC'''

'''M3 COM'''

'''M3 (T2 Light Mine Exploder)'''

'''M3 (Satan Flame-Gun)'''

'''M3A1 (Satan Flame-Gun)'''

'''M3A1 (E5R2-M3)'''

==== M5 Stuart ====

==== HMC M8 Scott ====

=== British and Commonwealth ===
'''Stuart Command'''

'''Stuart Kangaroo'''

'''Stuart Recce'''

'''Stuart Artillery Tractor'''

=== Brazilian ===
'''X1A'''

The Berdinandi X1A is a heavily upgraded M3A1 Stuart tank, created after Brazil needed superior tanks but was unwilling to waste the large amounts of WW2 surplus they still operated. Armed with a 90 mm DEFA gun and modernized with a new Saab-Scania engine, fire control system, armour scheme, suspension and a radio. 35 of these were made and remained in service until the 70s along with other M3 variants.

'''X1A1'''

'''X1A2'''

=== Yugoslav Partisans ===
'''M3A1 (81 mm Mortar)'''

'''M3A1 (7.5 cm Pak 40)'''

'''M3A3 (7.5 cm Pak 40)'''

'''M3A3 (2 cm Flak 38)'''

'''M3A3 (7.5 cm Pak 50)'''

'''M3A3 (15 cm SiG 33)'''

== Operators ==

=== Current ===

* '''Paraguay -''' 10 total (5 M3, 5 M3A1), 4 in storage as of 2014

=== Former ===

* Australia
* Belgium
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* People's Republic of China
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Columbia
* Cuba
* Czechoslovakia
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* France
* Haiti
* Hungary
* India
* Indonesia
* Italy
* Korea
* Japan
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Nicaragua
* Philippines
* Poland Portugal
* Romania
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* Uruguay
* United States
* Soviet Union
* Venezuela
* Yugoslavia

==== Note: ====

* The Indonesian Army operates one M3A1 Stuart for historical theater shows.

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|1yg1DAEbG8A|'''The Stuart Family''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|KUSnuNXASxE|'''Most produced tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 1:50 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


* [[M5 Stuart (Family)]]

[[Category:Family pages]]

F-104 (Family)

2023-10-15T22:13:54Z

U89549472: /* Vehicles */

==Description==
The Lockheed '''F-104 ''Starfighter''''' is an American single-engined, supersonic interceptor aircraft which became widely used as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was later sold to and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.

===Nicknames===
{{Navigation-Start|F-104 Nicknames}}

{{Navigation-First-Line|'''▃ Lockheed'''}}''missile with a man in it''

{{Navigation-First-Line|'''▃ Official'''}}Starfighter

{{Navigation-Line|'''▅ Official'''}}Eiko (栄光, Glory)

{{Navigation-First-Line|'''▃ Pilots'''}}Oh-Four{{-}}Zip-Four{{-}}Zipper / Zip

{{Navigation-Line|'''▀ Pilots'''}}Zipper{{-}}Gustav ({{Specs-Link|f-104g}})

{{Navigation-Line|'''▅ Pilots'''}}Mitubishi Pencil

{{Navigation-Line|'''▄ Pilots'''}}Spillone (Hatpin)

{{Navigation-First-Line|'''▃ Public'''}}Widowmaker

{{Navigation-Line|'''▀ Public'''}}Witwenmacher (Widowmaker){{-}}Fliegender Sarg (Flying coffin){{-}}Erdnagel (Ground nail)

{{Navigation-Line|'''␗ Public'''}}寡婦製造者 (Widowmaker){{-}}飛行棺材 (Flying coffin){{-}}人間飛彈 (Manned missile)
{{Navigation-End}}

== Vehicles ==
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=== Rank VI ===

* ▃{{Specs-Link|f-104a}} - Initial US variant solely for intercept missions
* {{Specs-Link|f-104a_china}} - Identical to US F-104A; surplus jets supplied to ROCAF through MAP program under the name Project Alishan (阿里山計劃)
* ▃{{Specs-Link|f-104c}} - Improved US variant with improved engine, RWR, and ground attack ordnance compared to the F-104A
* ▅{{Specs-Link|f-104j}} - Exported F-104G to Japan minus ground-attacking capabilities, comes with 4 x AIM-9P Sidewinders
* {{Specs-Link|f-104g_italy}} - Exported F-104G to Italy, comes with 60 countermeasures and 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinders
* ▄{{Specs-Link|f-104s}} - Italian-built (by FIAT) variant, improved F-104G with a stronger engine, improved ground attack ordnance, 6 x AIM-9J Sidewinders or 2 x AIM-7E Sparrow SARH missiles

=== Rank VII ===

* {{Specs-Link|f-104g}} - Export F-104G to Germany, comes with 60 countermeasures, a large array of ground attack ordnance, and 4 x AIM-9J Sidewinders
* {{Specs-Link|f-104g_china}} - Very similar to German F-104G without AGM; newly-built airframes acquired through MAP program or used F-104G from NATO countries under the name Project Alishan (阿里山計劃)
* {{Specs-Link|f-104s_cb}} - Turkish F-104S imported from Italy as the supplements to their own F-104G and F-4E fleet
* ▄{{Specs-Link|f-104s_asa}} - Italian F-104S upgrade; ASA stands for ''Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma'' ("Weapon Systems Update"). Equipped with a stronger engine, 60 countermeasures, AIM-9L Sidewinders, a look-down/shoot-down radar, and Aspide-1A SARH missiles.

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|S9qfGHj1YcI|'''The Shooting Range #211''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:15 discusses the Starfighter.}}

[[Category:Family pages]]

M3 Stuart (Family)

2023-10-15T22:03:59Z

U89549472: /* Vehicles */ changed prc flag to roc for historical accuracy

== Description ==
The '''Light Tank, M3''' was an American light tank which was nicknamed in British service under '''Stuart''', after American Civil War Confederate general ''J. E. B. Stuart''.

== Vehicles ==

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== History ==


=== Development ===

=== Design ===
The M3 Stuart was a comprehensive upgrade of the earlier M2 light tank. It featured a new Continental petrol engine - more powerful than on the preceding M2, a new vertical volute suspension system (VVSS), an M5 37 mm main gun (later replaced by the M6 37 mm gun) with a new recoil system. The secondary armament consisted of up to 5 .30 cal (7.62 mm) M1919 machine guns. One was coaxial to the main gun, one was ball-mounted in the hull front, two were mounted in sponsons in the hull, and one was located on an anti-aircraft mounting on the turret. Often, the two sponson-mounted machine guns would be removed by the crew to save space and reduce weight. The M3 was manned by a crew of four: driver, co-driver, commander, and gunner.

The main armour composition was of face-hardened rolled homogeneous armour. The sides and rear of the hull and turret were 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick. The turret front was 38.1 mm thick, and so was the gun mantlet. The hull lower glacis was 44.4 mm thick, and the angled upper glacis was 15.8 mm thick and angled at 70 degrees. The upper front plate was 38.1 mm thick and angled at 18 degrees. The turret and hull roofs were 12.7 mm thick.
==== M3 Stuart (Stuart Mk I/II) ====
The M3 was the first production model of the series, and it was introduced in March of 1941. 5811 M3 Stuarts were built and they were called the Stuart Mk I in British service. 1285 of those were built with Guiberson diesel engines and were designated as Stuart Mk II by the British. The diesel engine Stuarts were built to British specification, not for American service. The British often referred to the Stuarts as the Honey tank, because of how smooth the ride was. A turret basket was added for the commander and gunner to sit in. Many of the original M3 Stuarts were sent to Britain under the Lend-Lease Act.

==== M3A1 Stuart (Stuart Mk III/IV) ====
Introduced in 1942, the M3A1 featured an improved turret. The new turret featured a turret basket and a different AA machine gun mount. Additionally, all of the sponson-mounted machine guns were removed on the M3A1 version. This left only three .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns; one hull-mounted, one AA mounted, and one coaxial. Additionally, the vertical stabilizer for the gun was improved. 4,621 M3A1 Stuarts were produced, and production ended in February 1943. The M3A1 was exported to the British as the Stuart Mk III, and the diesel version was called the Stuart Mk IV in British service.

==== M3A3 Stuart (Stuart Mk V) ====
The M3A3 variant featured sloped frontal armour very similar to that of the M5 Stuart. The new armour arrangement was easier to produce and it also offered better protection. As a side effect, the M3A3 hull was heavier than the earlier version; the hull also had increased volume, which allowed for more fuel and ammunition storage. The M3A3 also introduced an improved turret with a larger bustle on the rear for the storage of a SCR 508 radio. Because of the increased space inside the hull, the ammunition storage was increased to 174 37 mm rounds and 7,500 7.62 mm rounds. 3,427 M3A3s were produced, with production ending in October 1943. In British service they were called Stuart Mk V.

=== Service ===

13,800 M3 Stuarts were used in all the theaters of World War 2 with a number of different nations.

=== Variants ===
The M3 Stuart, the first production series, was not intended for fighting other tanks but instead was meant to fight infantry units. With an armament of five .30 cal machine guns and one 37 mm gun the M3 was quite capable of its job. The standard livery was khaki-olive paint with US identification markings. The turret was often painted with a white or yellow horizontal band, and some units also added unit markings. Extra tracks and fuel were often stored on the exterior of the tank, and the sponson machine guns were often removed to save space and weight.

The M3A1 was an improved version which was produced until 1942, when the M3A3 and M5 Stuart were introduced. During Operation Torch in 1942 the M3A1 was often painted olive drab with the standard US identification markings. The M3A1s were painted very similarly to the M3s, and American identification markings were made very large, as the French (who held West North Africa during Operation Torch) held no anti-American sentiment. Additionally, the M20 anti-aircraft mounting for a .30 cal machine gun became common during this campaign. Extra tracks and fuel were mounted just the same as on the M3. The M3 was heavily used by the British, and British Stuarts were often covered in extra supplies and equipment. British Stuarts were painted in straight line blue-sand livery, with pale green upper surfaces.

The M3A2 was an experimental design that was not produced.

The M3A3 was the final design of the series, as the M3 series was replaced by the M5 series. The M3A3 was built with the intention to simplify production without reducing the performance. The M3A3 featured a single sloped upper glacis and new turret. The M3 series was mostly replaced by the M24 Chaffee in the European Theater after the North African campaign, but they were used heavily in the Pacific theater as the Japanese tanks were easier to deal with.

==== Britain and the Commonwealth ====
The British found the Stuart to be much more reliable than the Crusader tanks they were also operating at the time. The Stuarts were put to good use in the North African campaign, but the protection was found to be lacking against contemporary German tanks and anti-tank guns. As such, the Stuart was not heavily used by the British in the European theater, but was instead shifted to the India-Burma theater in British and Australian units. The Japanese tanks they faced their were much easier targets for the Stuarts as they were much less armoured and had less firepower. The British and Australians often converted their Stuarts to non-combat roles.

==== United States ====
In North Africa, the M3 Stuart was proven to be vulnerable to enemy anti-tank weapons whilst having an Armament that was seen as insufficient. As such, the Stuart was relegated to non-combat roles such as rearguard and reconnaissance. The M3 Stuart was mostly replaced by the M24 Chaffee in the European theater, but they saw significant service in the Pacific. In the European theater they were only used to support the more capable M4 Shermans and the crews of M3 Stuarts made sure to avoid frontal engagement of enemy armour.

The M3s in the Pacific did not see much armoured opposition and there was only one anti-tank gun that posed a major threat, the 45 mm gun of the Chi-Ha and its variants. The Japanese tanks they did face were mostly less capable than the M3, with less armour and firepower. The first tank on tank combat the M3 saw in the Pacific was in the Philippines in December of 1941. There, the 192nd and 194th Light Tank Battalions saw combat mostly against Japanese Ha-Go tanks.

==== Soviet Union ====
The Soviet Union received 1,000 M3 Stuarts along with M3 Lees and M3 Half-tracks through the Lend-Lease Act. The M3 Stuarts delivered to the USSR were of differing variants. The USSR did not like the M3 Stuart. They believed the armour and firepower was inadequate, the tracks were not suited to Russian winters, and the fuel was too flammable. As such, the USSR turned down American proposals for the delivery of M5 Stuarts, and sent their M3s to the Manchurian front where they would face less armoured opposition.

== Variants ==

=== American ===

==== '''Direct M3 Variants''' ====
'''M3 Stuart (Stuart Mk I/II)'''

'''Stuart Hybrid'''

'''M3A1 Stuart (Stuart Mk III/IV)'''

'''M3A2'''

'''M3A3 Stuart (Stuart Mk V)'''

'''75 mm T18 HMC'''

'''T82 HMC'''

'''T56 3in GMC'''

'''T57 3in GMC'''

'''M3 COM'''

'''M3 (T2 Light Mine Exploder)'''

'''M3 (Satan Flame-Gun)'''

'''M3A1 (Satan Flame-Gun)'''

'''M3A1 (E5R2-M3)'''

==== M5 Stuart ====

==== HMC M8 Scott ====

=== British and Commonwealth ===
'''Stuart Command'''

'''Stuart Kangaroo'''

'''Stuart Recce'''

'''Stuart Artillery Tractor'''

=== Brazilian ===
'''X1A'''

The Berdinandi X1A is a heavily upgraded M3A1 Stuart tank, created after Brazil needed superior tanks but was unwilling to waste the large amounts of WW2 surplus they still operated. Armed with a 90 mm DEFA gun and modernized with a new Saab-Scania engine, fire control system, armour scheme, suspension and a radio. 35 of these were made and remained in service until the 70s along with other M3 variants.

'''X1A1'''

'''X1A2'''

=== Yugoslav Partisans ===
'''M3A1 (81 mm Mortar)'''

'''M3A1 (7.5 cm Pak 40)'''

'''M3A3 (7.5 cm Pak 40)'''

'''M3A3 (2 cm Flak 38)'''

'''M3A3 (7.5 cm Pak 50)'''

'''M3A3 (15 cm SiG 33)'''

== Operators ==

=== Current ===

* '''Paraguay -''' 10 total (5 M3, 5 M3A1), 4 in storage as of 2014

=== Former ===

* Australia
* Belgium
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* People's Republic of China
* Republic of China (Taiwan)
* Columbia
* Cuba
* Czechoslovakia
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* France
* Haiti
* Hungary
* India
* Indonesia
* Italy
* Korea
* Japan
* Mexico
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Nicaragua
* Philippines
* Poland Portugal
* Romania
* South Africa
* Southern Rhodesia
* Turkey
* United Kingdom
* Uruguay
* United States
* Soviet Union
* Venezuela
* Yugoslavia

==== Note: ====

* The Indonesian Army operates one M3A1 Stuart for historical theater shows.

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|1yg1DAEbG8A|'''The Stuart Family''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|KUSnuNXASxE|'''Most produced tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 1:50 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

== See also ==


* [[M5 Stuart (Family)]]

[[Category:Family pages]]

M4 Sherman (Family)

2023-10-15T21:38:11Z

U89549472: Undo revision 174569 by U44629479 (talk)

== Description ==
The '''M4 ''Sherman''''', designated '''Medium Tank, M4''', named after the American Civil-War General William T. Sherman.

The M4 was the most widely-used American tank ever developed, originally meant for World War II, but seeing service far after 1957, when the US retired them, with its latest retirement nation being Paraguay in April 2018.

==Vehicles==
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===Other===

* [[SPS-255]] - "Special Purpose Sherman", a vehicle in the [[Unrealistic Battles]] [[April Fool's Day|April Fools event]].



== Major Variants ==



===M4A3E2 Sherman "Jumbo" ===

==== Design ====
'''Hull'''

The M4A3E2 had 1.5 in (38 mm) armor plates added to the front and upper sides of the hull. The additional armor was welded onto the original armor, which brought the total thickness of the frontal armor to 4 in (101 mm) and the upper side thickness to 3 in (76 mm). The rear and top armor remained the same, and the lower hull sides were also unchanged. The frontal plate had a cutout in the hull to allow for fitting the plate over the machine gun ball mount. Additionally, the final drive assembly cover was replaced by a more heavily armored version. The thickness was from 4 in (101 mm) to 5.5 in (129 mm).

'''Turret'''

The M4A3E2 received a new turret. The new turret was based on the T23 turret (used on 76 mm gun armed Shermans), but it had the pistol port removed. The armor was also increased to 6 in (152 mm) all round, but the area under the rear turret basket was only 2.5 in (63 mm). Despite using the M62 gun mount that was normally used for 76 mm guns, a 75 mm gun was mounted as standard. The standard 2 in (50 mm) gun shield had 5 in (127 mm) of armor added to it, increasing both the size and thickness of the mantlet. The standard ammunition load was 104 75 mm rounds, 600 .50 cal (12.7 mm) rounds, 6,250 .30 cal (7.62 mm) rounds, 900 .45 cal rounds for the crew's defensive pistols, 18 hand grenades, and 18 2-inch smoke grenades.

Note: Many M4A3E2 Shermans were up-gunned to the 76 mm caliber during the war.

'''Mobility'''

Because of the immense weight of the additional armor, extended end connectors were fitted to the tracks, reducing the ground pressure. The engine was the same Ford GAA V8 as was standard on the M4A3. The maximum speed was reduced to 22 mph (35 km/h), but the acceleration was still manageable. It could climb a 60% slope, cross a 7’6” (2286 mm) trench, climb a 24” (609 mm) vertical wall and ford 36” (914 mm) of water.

=== Field Expedient Jumbo ===
The Field Expedient Jumbos were M4A3 (76) HVSS (a.k.a. M4A3E8 Easy Eight) up-armored with armor plates welded to the hull upper glacis and turret by the 12th Army Group. The Field Expedient Jumbos often had a frontal armor profile similar to the purpose-built M4A3E2 tanks. The additional armor was taken from knocked out tanks, often from M4 Shermans or Panzer V Panthers. In the case of another Sherman the entire upper glacis of the could be cut out and then welded to the front of the tank. The 6th Armoured Division stated in a report:<blockquote>A recently modified M4A3E8 took a direct hit from a German 75 mm shell with the only resulting damage being the complete separation of the middle section of additional armour from the hull. The tank continued in the action and succeeded in “knocking out” the opposing vehicle.The crew whose lives were saved by this additional protection were loud in their praise of this modification.</blockquote>



== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|p_25MEJkZQc|'''The Shooting Range #364''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:45 discusses Sherman engines.|IVdvgpcGYg8|'''Best Shermans''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|TQEq6hjxGdM|'''The Shooting Range #292''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 03:59 discusses the Shermans in Normandy.|RkzTeKDqmnw|'''Long-serving tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 07:03 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|KUSnuNXASxE|'''Most produced tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 3:20 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|siBiZuv58vk|'''The Sherman Family''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

[[Category:Family pages]]

M8 LAC (Family)

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U89549472: Undo revision 174563 by U44629479 (talk)

{{DISPLAYTITLE:M8 Light Armored Car (Family)}}
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M60 (Family)

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U89549472: changed chinese flag to taiwanese flag for the purpose of historical accuracy

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'''Note:''' The [[CM11|CM-11 "Brave Tiger"]] or M48H uses the hull of the M60A3 and the turret of the M48A3 Patton. It is listed here for informative purpose but is classified as a [[M48 Patton (Family)|M48]].

== Development ==

=== 105 mm M68 Gun ===
To determine the main gun of the XM60, a competition was held to test six different guns at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. All six were evaluated for accuracy, rate of fire, post-penetration damage, and penetration. The first gun evaluated was the 90 mm M41, mounted on the M48A2C, with the T300E53 HEAT round. The 90 mm T208E9 was mounted on the T95E1 and used the T320E62 APDS round. The 105 mm T254E1 (a US version of the L7) was mounted on the T95E2 to test British APDS ammunition. The 120 mm M58 from the M103 was tested, and so was the 120 mm T123E6, a lighter version of the M58, and it was mounted on the T95E4.

The T123E6 was preferred by Ordnance Department because it had ammunition that was similar to that already in production for the M58. It used two-piece ammunition, with the shell and propellant charges being separate. Because of this, the M103 design incorporated two loaders, but this would be impossible on a smaller medium tank. A rate of fire of only four rounds per minute was achieved during testing, which was unacceptable. The 105 mm T254E1 achieved a fire rate of 7 rounds per minute.

The T254E1 was selected, and it was modified to the T254E2, which used a sliding breechblock instead of the original horizontal breechblock.. The T254E2 became standardized as the Cannon, 105 mm Gun, M68. The barrel used was the British X15/L52, as American barrels were not available at the time with the same amount of accuracy. Starting in June of 1959, the American XM24/L52 barrels replaced the British barrels in production, but they were still interchangeable. The evacuator was located lower on the American gun barrels, so they were fitted with an eccentric evacuator instead of a concentric evacuator in order to increase clearance over the rear engine deck.

The M60 used the M68 gun in the M116 mount, while the later M60A1 and M60A3 along with the early XM-1 prototype used the M60E1 gun. The M60E1 shares firing characteristics with the original M68, but it has a number of improvements. The M60E1 has a new hydraulic configuration, a stabilization upgrade, an elevation kill switch, an improved ballistic drive, and other minor improvements. The M68 was later fitted on M48A3 tanks in service with the National Guard, which were then redesignated as the M48A5. In 1973, thermal sleeves began to be used on the gun barrels.

==== Ammunition ====

* '''APDS-T'''
** M774
** M735
* '''APFSDS-T'''
** M735
** M774
* '''HEAT'''
** M456
* '''HEP/HESH'''
** M393
* '''Training'''
** Practice APDS
** Dummy APDS
* '''Other'''
** White Phosphorous Rounds
** Canister Rounds

=== Armour ===

==== Turret ====
The T95E5 turret was used on the first production M60. It was shaped like a hemisphere, and was well rounded; it looked very similar to the turret of the preceding M48 Patton III. The M60A1 series had a new turret which came from the T95E7. The T95E7 turret was significantly different from the T95E5 turret and it had a redesigned bustle, which allowed more ammunition to be carried. The M60A2 had a completely redesigned turret for the mounting of the 152mm M162 gun. The M60A3 series used a turret based on the T95E7 turret, but it featured increased frontal armour protection.

== Design ==

=== M60 ===

=== M60A1 Series ===

==== M60A1 ====
'''Development'''

In 1960, work was started to upgrade the M60 main battle tank, as the T95 project and the project to create composite armour were closed. The prototypes fitted the T95E7 turret on the hull of the M60. In order to increase the room in the turret for the crew the gun used the M140 mount, which moved the gun forward 5 inches. The first two prototypes (Pilot 1 and 2) were ready in May 1961, and the third prototype (Pilot 3) was ready in June 1961. The prototypes were designated as the M60E1, and they were all built by Chrysler Defense. Pilot 1 was tested at Eglin Air Force Base, Pilot 2 was tested at Yuma Test Station, and Pilot 3 was tested at Fort Knox. The M60E1 was accepted for American service on 22 October 1962. The designation for production M60E1 tanks was Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60A1. Production began on 13 October 1962, with an order of 720 units by the Army.

'''Hull'''

The upper glacis armour of the hull was upgraded from 3.67 inches to 4.29 inches at 65°. The steering wheel was replaced with a T-bar control, and the break and accelerator pedals were rearranged for easier usage by the driver. The tank was upgraded to the Continental AVDS-1790-2A engine and the CD-850-5 cross drive transmission, and it used the T97 track assembly. The first return roller was moved slightly, and shock absorbers were added to the second road wheel pair. The addition of the shock absorbers was due to the increased weight of the armour and new M60A1 turret.

'''Turret'''

The main feature of the M60A1 was a new turret, which was the turret of the T95E7 medium tank prototype. The new turret had more armour protection, and it also could had more room for the crew, because of the new M140 gun mount. A fume extractor was added to the rear of the turret bustle, on the left side; this would prevent fumes and smoke from accumulating inside the vehicle when the weapons were fired. The loader and gunner received padded seats, replacing the wire mesh seats which were uncomfortable. Ammunition for the main gun was increased to 63 rounds, with 15 rounds in the turret bustle, several rounds in the turret ring, and the rest stored in the hull. The turret was equipped with a new traversing mechanism, and an AN/VSS-1(V)1 IR searchlight was fitted above the gun mantlet. It received the M19 FCS, which consisted of the M17A1 coincidence rangefinder, M10A1 ballistic drive, and the mechanical M19E1 ballistic computer for the gunner. The M60A1 tank uses the M68E1 105 mm gun. The M68E1 gun shared the same firing characteristics as the M68, but had several design improvements including an updated gun hydraulic configuration, a stabilization upgrade for the gun (but not a full stabilizer), a gun elevation kill switch for the loader, an improved ballistic drive, and other component refinements.

==== M60A1 (AOS) ====
In 1972, the M60A1 (AOS) was introduced, which gave the tank an add-on stabilization (AOS) system. It was a kit that could be applied to M60A1 tanks with very little modification to the hydraulic gun control system. The AOS allows for stabilization of the gun vertically and of the turret horizontally. This allowed the gunner to track targets and control the gun and turret while the vehicle was moving; this increased the hit-on-the-move capability significantly. Before the AOS upgrade the fire-on-the-move accuracy at 2,000 m was practically 0%, whereas with the upgrade 70% accuracy was achieved. The AOS had three modes: power-with-stabilization-on, power-with-stabilization-off, and manual. Power-with-stabilization-on was the mode which stabilized the gun, power-with-stabilization-off allowed the turret to be controlled electrically when the stabilizer was not necessary, and the manual mode allowed the crew to still traverse the turret and elevate the gun if the electrical or hydraulic systems were inoperable.

'''M60A1 (AOS)+'''

M60A1 (AOS)+ is the designation for M60A1 tanks that were equipped with the TLAC, AOS, and T142 tracks. The T142 track debuted in 1974, and it had replaceable rubber pads, improved end connectors, and had a better service life.

==== M60A1 RISE ====
The M60A1 RISE integrated the upgrades of the M60A1 (AOS)+ and TLAC, along with new features, and it first debuted in 1975. It featured the improved AVDS-1790-2C RISE diesel engine and CD-850-6 transmission. These parts were more reliable than the earlier types used. A 650 ampere oil-cooled alternator, a solid state regulator and new wiring harness with more accessible disconnectors was also incorporated into the hull's electrical system. Additionally, steel road wheels and return rollers were used, and new, armoured TLAC panels replaced the unarmoured panels. It featured an M32E1 passive sight for the gunner, an M36E1 passive periscope for the commander, and an M24E1 IR night vision block for the driver. The new optical equipment allowed for recognition at longer range and at lower light levels for the commander and gunner. In conditions with only starlight, the optics allowed for vision past 500 m with the use of an IR searchlight. The driver's M24E1 IR night vision block gave the driver second generation night vision capability.

'''M60A1 RISE+'''

The usage of the M735 APFSDS round required a cam update to the gun's mechanical ballistic drive in order to allow for accurate firing. With the update the tanks were designated as M60A1 RISE+.

'''M60A1 RISE Passive'''

The Passive upgrade for the M60A1 RISE incorporated all the features of the M60A1 RISE+, but with a number of improvements. It was equipped with Kevlar spall liners in the turret, AN/VVS-2 passive night vision block, a deep water fording kit, and brackets for the mounting of ERA armour. It received the improved AVDS-1790-2D RISE engine and CD-850-6A transmission; it was capable of using a vehicle engine exhaust smoke system. The VEESS smoke screen does not protect against infrared, thermal, or laser detection methods, but only obscures the tank visually. In 1978, a kit entered service that installed an M240C machine gun in the coaxial position, and it equipped the tank with two six-barreled M239 smoke grenade launchers (electronically fired), with one mounted on each side of the turret front. The smoke grenades masks the tank both visually and the thermal signature using a phosphor compound.

=== M60A2 Starship ===

===M60A3 Series ===
The official full name of the M60A3 was Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60A3. It was also known as the 105 mm Gun Tank M60A3.

'''Development'''

During the 1970's there was a rapid advancement in anti-tank technology, and with the failure of the M60A2 program to produce a sufficient fighting vehicle an upgrade of the M60A1 series was necessary. In 1976, a program to do just that was initiated; the intention was to increase the turret armour and to modernize and improve the technological systems in the tank. The product of the program was the M60A3 tank, a significant improvement over the M60A1 series. Despite the improvement over the earlier M60 models, the M60A3 was viewed as a stop-gap measure, as the M1 Abrams was already being developed and was planned to enter service in 1981. The M60A3 eventually replaced all US Army M60A1 and M48A5 tanks (used by the National Guard until 1987) in service. But, the Marine Corps still used the M60A1 RISE tanks until the M60 was retired from front line service in 1991.

'''Production'''

In February of 1978, the first M60A3 tanks were finished at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant. The low-rate initial production run was completed at the DATP in October, which consisted of 296 M60A3 tanks; the tanks were first fielded by the US Army in May of 1979. Chrysler Defense was purchased by General Dynamics Land Division in 1982. In May 1983, production of the M60A3 ended with a total of 1,052 M60A3 and M60A3 TTS tanks built. At this time, the Detroit Tank Plant closed, and production of the M1 Abrams was at the Lima Tank Plant in Ohio. Despite this, the conversion of earlier M60 tanks to the M60A3/E60B standard was still occurring, specifically for other nations through the Foreign Military Sales program. The last M60A3 tanks were delivered through the FMS in May of 1986 to Israel, with a total of 3,268 tanks converted. The tanks upgraded for Israel were surplus US Army M60A1 RISE tanks. Earlier M60 tanks were also converted to the M60A3 TTS standard for the US Army. Other nations including Italy, Austria, Greece, Morocco, and Taiwan upgraded their M60s to the M60A3 standard through FMS contracts with Raytheon and General Dynamics in the 1980's. In 1990, surplus M60A3/E60B tanks were sold to Oman, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

==== M60A3 Passive ====
This was the first model of the M60A3 series; it was known simply as the M60A3, but was also known as the M60A3 Passive in order to better distinguish it from the later M60A3 TTS. The M60A3 was based on the M60A1 RISE Passive tank, but with a number of upgrades for the turret - most notably changes to the armour and fire control system. The armour on the turret face was increased to 276 mm and the armour on the gun mantlet was changed to 330 mm. The M60A1 RISE Passive tanks uses a coincidence rangefinder and the mechanical M19 ballistic computer. The M60A3 received the M21 fire control system which includes an AN/VVS2 flash-lamp pumped ruby-laser rangefinder for the commander and gunner, solid-state M21E1 gun data computer, improved stabilization mechanism, improved electrical system, and an improved solid-state analog data card bus. The M10A2E3 ballistic drive is an electro-mechanical unit.The commander received an M36E1 passive periscope and the gunner received an M32E1 passive sight. The hydraulic fluid in the turret was changed to a type that was non-flammable. The M60A3 turret was mounted on the chassis of the M60A1 RISE Passive hull, with the same AVDS-1790-2D RISE engine and CD-850-6A transmission, with a Halon fire-suppression system. A total of 748 M60A3 Passive tanks were built, and all were later upgraded to the M60A3 TTS standard.

==== M60A3 TTS ====

The M60A3 TTS was an improved model of the earlier M60A3. The gunner received an AN/VSG2 Tank Thermal Sight (TTS), which was the only major improvement over the M60A3 Passive. 304 M60A3 TTS tanks were built (with production ending in 1983), 1,391 of the US Army M60A1 RISE tanks were converted to the M60A3 TTS standard by the Anniston Army Depot and Mainz Army Depot by 1990, and all 748 US Army M60A3 tanks were also upgraded to the TTS standard by 1984.

===M60AX/Super M60 ===
'''Development'''

The M60AX, commonly known as the Super M60, was an upgrade package for the M60A1 and M60A3 tanks offered by General Dynamics in 1985. It was developed as a private venture for foreign nations that already operated M60s; it was never considered for service with the US Military. The US Army decided not to develop a new power pack or suspension system for the M60, but General Dynamics formed a co-operative private venture with Teledyne Continental to do just that. Additional armour was also fitted.

'''Design'''

The M60AX was based on the M60A1 RISE hull and the T95E7 turret from the M60A1 and M60A3 series. The power pack was replaced by the AVCR-1790-1B engine and the Renk RK-304 transmission. The torsion bar suspension was replaced with the National Waterlift hydropneumatic suspension system. These upgrades increased the mobility of the tank by 20%. The protection of the vehicle was also improved with a layer of composite armour on the turret and laminate steel panels on the front of the hull. Steel side skirts were added to the sides of the tank as well, and Kevlar spall liners were added to the crew compartment. The tank kept the standard crew of 4 of the M60, with the driver in the hull and the gunner, commander, and loader in the turret.

The armament of the M60AX remained similar to that of the M60A3. The main gun was a 105 mm/L55 M68A1E2 gun; this was the same model as used on the M1 and IPM1 Abrams, which had a longer XM24 tube and a thermal sleeve when compared to the gun of the M60A3. Additionally, the coaxial 7.62 mm M73 machine gun was replaced by a 7.62 mm M240C machine gun. The commander's cupola (formerly the M19 model) was replaced with a low-profile cupola, with a pop-up hatch. A 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun was mounted on a pintle mount for operation by the vehicle commander. The fire control system (FCS) was nearly identical to that of the M60A3 TTS. It consisted of the M21E1 solid-state ballistic computer, Raytheon AN/VSG2 Tank Thermal Sight (TTS) for the gunner, a Raytheon AN/VVS2 laser rangefinder, an M10A2E3 electro-mechanical ballistic drive, and solid-state analog data card bus. No optical rangefinder was fitted to the prototype, but one could have been fitted with ease.

'''Production'''

The M60AX was one of the first private upgrade packages offered for the M60 series of tanks. Despite the largely increased capability of the M60AX when compared to standard M60 tanks, no nation bought any, and the total production remained at only 1 prototype. This may have been because there was no need at the time as the Cold War was winding down. The project was effectively over by the time the Cold War ended, as newer tanks became more widely available.

=== M60-2000/120S Main Battle Tank ===
'''Development'''

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) began work on an upgrade of the M60 platform as a private venture in 1999. It was originally called the M60-2000, but the name was then changed to 120S, as the vehicle was more than just a simple upgrade of the M60. The 120 stood for the 120 mm gun, and the S stood for speed and survivability. A number of nations were briefed on the design in 2000, and a working prototype was built in 2001. The prototype was shown in Turkey at the IDEF Exhibition in October.

'''Design'''

The tank consisted of an M60A1 chassis with an M1A1 Abrams turret mounted on it, both parts loaned by the US Army. Originally, an upgraded M60A3 turret was considered, but the M1A1 turret was preferred. The M1A1 turret could be fitted to the M60 chassis by using an adapter ring; very few modifications to the turret were needed. The turret is that of the standard M1A1, and not the M1A1HA - so no depleted uranium was used in the composite armour. The armour package was customizable for the customer, and one of the options consisted of STANAG Level 6 armour plates being added to the hull front and sides up until the third road wheel. Slat or cage armour could be added to the turret, steel or composite side skirts could be added, and spall liner and ERA packages were also available. The prototype was fitted with mock side skirts lacking the protection of production side skirts; it was also fitted with new sponsons more similar visually to those on the Abrams. The 120S had a crew of 4, with the driver in the hull and the commander, gunner, and loader in the turret.

The suspension of the hull was changed to the same torsion bar suspension system as used on the M1 Abrams, in order to compensate for the increased weight. If the customer preferred, hydropneumatic suspension could be used instead. The powerplant used on the prototype was the same as on the M60A1, the Continental V-12 750 hp (560 kW) air-cooled AVDS-1790-2 diesel engine with a CD-850-6 cross drive transmission, with a range of 275 miles. It was planned that the production vehicles would use the more powerful General Dynamics Land Systems AVDS-1790-9 diesel engine (1,200 hp) and Allison X-1100-5 series automatic giving a range of over 300 miles. Other powerplants were offered as well, and the road wheels and drive sprocket could be changed the type used on the M1 Abrams, and the T158 lightweight track from the Abrams was also offered.

The armament of the 120S consisted of the 120 mm M256 gun with a thermal sleeve; this was the exact same as on the M1A1 Abrams. 36 rounds were carried in the turret bustle rack with blowout panels for increased survivability. It was planned that there would be additional ammunition stowage in the floor of the hull for production models. The secondary armament consisted of a coaxial 7.62 mm M240C machine gun, a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted on the loader's hatch, and a 12.7 mm M2HB machine gun mounted on the commander's hatch. Two M250 smoke grenade launchers are carried, one on each side of the turret. Each launcher has six barrels for smoke grenades. Not only do the smoke grenades visually conceal the tank, but they also conceal the thermal signature of the vehicle. The tank is also capable of using a vehicle engine exhaust smoke system , which creates smoke by spraying oil on the engine. The tank was equipped with a 240X4 Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), day/FLIR stabilized sight with an eye-safe laser range-finder, a thermal imaging system, and an onboard digital fire control computer and data bus similar to the M1 Abrams Mark 1 Advanced Fire Control System.

'''Production'''

The 120S was mainly marketed to Turkey in order to fill their M60 upgrade requirements, but that contract was won by Israel Military Industries with the Sabra III upgrade. The Egyptian Army considered the 120S upgrade, but decided to license-build M1 Abrams tanks instead. In total, only one prototype was completed, and the 120S never entered production. The prototype was disassembled and both parts were returned to the US Army in 2003. The 120S is no longer being marketed by General Dynamics.

=== M60A3 SLEP ===
In May 2016, Raytheon offered the M60A3 Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). The SLEP was designed for export to current M60 operating nations, in order to allow for an upgrade of the M60s used by those nations as a cheaper alternative to buying a fleet of newer tanks. The SLEP is a multiple of modular upgrades to the M60 that cover mobility, armour, and firepower. The modularity of the components allow customization for the needs of each country.

The main armament was upgraded to the 120 mm M256 L/44 gun, the same gun as used by the M1A1 Abrams. A fire rate of 6 to 10 rounds per minute with the load assist system. The Integrated Fire Control System (IFCS) was added. The IFCS consisted of a laser rangefinder, second generation night sight for the gunner, digital ballistic computer, cant sensors, electrical superelevation resolver, and MIL-STD 1553 data bus. Additionally, the Curtis-Wright Gun Turret Drive was added, and the M19 commander's cupola was replaced with the Hitrole remote controlled weapon system, which allowed the commander to view the surrounding are from inside the tank, via the .50 cal M2HB machine gun. The engine was replaced with a 950 hp AVCR-1790-2C engine, and the suspension was improved. An Automatic Fire and Explosion Sensing and Suppressing system (AFSS) was added. Slat armour was added to the turret bustle, to protect against RPG and ATGM attacks, and armour plates rated at STANAG 4569 Level 6 protection were added to the front of the vehicle. The finished vehicle weighed about 63 tons.

=== Leonardo M60A3 ===
The Leonardo M60A3 was unveiled in October 2017 by Leonardo DRS at the Bahrain International Defense Exhibition and Conference (BIDEC). It is intended as an alternative to the M60A3 SLEP upgrade program in order to allow nations using the M60 to bring their tanks up to more modern standards.

The upgrade consists of thorough modernization throughout the different parts of the tank. The 120/54 gun from the Centauro II/MGS is used instead of the 120 mm L/44 gun, in order to reduce the weight by 500 kg. The M19 commander's cupola was replaced with an armoured circular cupola protected with slat armour; the new cupola has a much lower profile than the M19 model, and it also weighs less. A HITROLE-L 12.7 mm remote weapons station has been added to the loader's side of the turret roof. The turret was upgraded with a new hydraulic and servo control system, which improves the reliability and performance of the turret. The tank comes equipped with the LOTHAR gun sight, DNVS-4 Driver's Night Vision Sight and TURMS digital fire control system. A daytime thermal camera and an eye-safe laser rangefinder are equipped.

The armour of the tank has also been substantially upgraded. Passive armour protection claimed to meet STANAG Level 6 protection standards has been added to the turret and hull. The armour is focused on the front of the turret in order to protect against chemical rounds, and it is also applied to the front of the hull and the hull sides until the third road wheel. Slat armour was added to the back of the turret, in order to protect against RPG attacks. If the client requests, IED jamming systems and a laser warning receiver can be fitted.

The powerplant can either be refurbished or replaced with an improved version. The improved powerplant consists of the AVDS-1790-5T 908 hp engine (replacing the old 750 hp engine) and the CD-850-B1 transmission. The tank is fitted with the Automatic Fire and Explosion Sensing and Suppression System (AFSS). Additionally, the torsion bar suspension, brakes, fuel supply, electric system, wheels, seals, paint, and smoke grenades were all changed and improved.

=== M60T Sabra ===
The Turkish M60T main battle tank (MBT) stems from the Israeli Sabra Mk I tank, a heavily upgraded Magach 7, which itself came from the American M60A3 tank.

'''Development'''

After the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US released surplus M60 tanks for the export market. Turkey purchased 274 M60A1 and 658 M60A3 tanks starting in 1993. In the early 2000s, it was decided by Turkey that new tanks must be purchased, their Leopard 1 tanks must be upgraded, and their M60s must be upgraded. There were two options for the upgrade of the M60s: the General Dynamics 120S and the Israeli Military Industries Sabra. In 2002, a contract was signed between IMI and Turkey for purchase of the Sabra. The Sabra Mk I tank was too expensive, so a new version called the Sabra Mk II was procured instead and designated by Turkey as the M60T.

'''Design'''

The M60T features extensive armour additions at the front of the turret, giving it a wedge shape. The frontal hull armour was also improved with additional armour layers. Slat armour was added to the rear of the turret, the ammunition storage was improved, a fire suppression system was added, an IR and laser warning system was added, and new smoke grenade launchers were fitted. An NBC protection system is fitted as standard.

An active protection system was offered, but the Turks decided not to include it. In addition to the main changes listed above, the commander received a panoramic sight, extra roof protection was fitted, and a new navigation system was added. Explosive reactive armour (ERA) is able to be fitted. Notably, the M60T retains the M19 commander's cupola from the M60 series.

Due to all the additions, the M60T weighs up to 59 tons. As such, a more powerful MTU MT-881 KA-501 diesel engine is fitted, producing 1,000 horsepower. A Renk 304S transmission is fitted, and the maximum speed is 55 km/h. The suspension and tracks were also improved for a smoother ride and ease of maintenance.

The M60T is armed with the M253 120 mm smoothbore gun, controlled by an Elbit Knight III fire control system (FCS). A thermal sight is provided for the gunner along with a laser rangefinder. The turret traverse was changed from a hydraulic type to an electrical one. The crew's electronics and displays were modernized, but a battle management system was turned down by the Turks.

'''Production and Service'''

170 M60T tanks were delivered to Turkey from 2006 to 2010. M60T tanks were deployed to Syria, and that is their only known combat deployment. During the operations in Syria, several M60Ts were hit by Russian-built Kornet anti-tank missiles, which penetrated the armour and knocked out the tanks. There is a debate as to whether the losses were due to tactics or to obsolescence. It is unlikely that another nation will choose to procure the Sabra tank, due to its disappointing combat record and its obsolescence on the modern battlefield.

=== Zulfiqar 1/2/3 MBT ===
The Iranian Zulfiqar main battle tanks (MBT) family were originated from a modified M48/60 hull. The latter variant of the Zulfiqar can be considered an entirely different design, as it only shared reverse-engineered copy of M60 parts and components.

'''Development'''

Prior to the Iranian Revolution (or the Islamic Revolution) in 1979, the Imperial Iran was a major non-NATO ally of the United States, as the Shahist regime and the US sought to counter the influence of the Soviet Union to the north of the country. Because of this, the US (and other western allies) exported a large number of modern military hardware to Iran, with some (such as the [[F-14A Early|F-14A]]) transferred even before their home country had adopted them for their own service. Among them were 460 M60A1 tanks being sent along with numbers of surplus M48A5 and M47M Patton tanks.

After the Iranian Revolution, the new Islamic Republic regime took a staunch anti-Western stance, which led to a fallout of diplomatic relations between the US and Iran, resulting in economic and military sanctions that prevented Iran from freely acquiring western military hardware. By the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iran had lost large numbers of American MBTs to the better-equipped Ba'athist Iraqi forces fielding large numbers of Soviet T-72M tanks, though not without capturing huge quantities of Iraqi hardware during the defensive phase of the war. Based on the experience of operating the captured T-72s, Iran contracted Russia (which had only broken off from the USSR a few months prior) in 1992 for a licensed production of the T-72 tanks in Iran. The deal was made between both countries and Iran started producing their own T-72 tanks, designated T-72S.

A year after gaining the T-72S license and developed a sizeable military industry, the Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization of Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Force, the weapon research institute of the Iranian Army, started the project for the first Iranian-designed MBT in order to fulfil the "self-sufficiency" needs of the Iranian Army. The tank, which was based on the hull of the M48/60 MBT, was named the "Zulfiqar" after the two-pronged sword of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam and the first Shiite Imam. The Zulfiqar (later known as Zulfiqar 1) entered production in 1997.

Around the 2000s, the Zulfiqar 2, an extended version of the Zulfiqar 1 was unveiled and used as an interim, more modern design of the tank. In 2013, the Zulfiqar 3, currently the latest iteration of the Zulfiqar with a completely new design, was revealed.

'''Design'''

The Zulfiqar 1 (or 1A) tank uses a lowered, widened chassis of the M48/60. The tank is outfitted with a boxy-shaped turret housing the 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore cannon, derived from Iranian T-72S, as the main armament. The turret is said to feature an Iranian-designed composite armour, though the hull is not outfitted with any NERA elements. The tank is outfitted with a 780 hp engine, giving a top speed of 70 km/h. A modernization of the Zulfiqar 1 (designated 1B) features a slightly angled turret cheeks for more optimal protection and improved electrical components.

The early Zulfiqar 2, designated 2C, features a drastic redesign for the hull and turret. The transmissions now sports seven roadwheels rather than six of the Zulfiqar 1/M60, while the hull was enlarged to accommodate composite armour. The turret is also enlarged to fit them with autoloaders, electro-optical device, and more composite armour, giving a striking resemblance with the American M1 Abrams MBT. In the later Zulfiqar 2 variants, designated 2D, the hull was further reshaped to accommodate more protection.

The Zulfiqar 3 (or 3E) is the latest iteration of the Zulfiqar series. The tank's hull were completely redesigned from the Zulfiqar 2 and built from ground-up, with only the suspension components shared from the M60 giving the clue of the original design of the tank. The Zulfiqar 3's turret even more closely resembles the M1 Abrams in appearance, though can be easily distinguished by a large cupola sporting an improved FCS.

'''Production and Service'''

The exact numbers of Zulfiqar tanks in service are unknown, as multiple analysis often varied in whether to count the Zulfiqar as an M60 variant or an entirely different tank series. Based on most estimates, around 100 Zulfiqar 1, a few numbers of Zulfiqar 2, and 150 Zulfiqar 3 were produced.

== Variants ==

=== American Variants ===

* XM60
* M60
* M60E1
* M60A1
** M60A1 (AOS)
*** M60A1 (AOS)+
** M60A1 RISE
*** M60A1 RISE+
*** M60A1 RISE Passive

* XM66
* M60A1E1
* M60A1E2
* M60A1E3
* M60A1E4
* M60A2
* M60A3
** M60A3 TTS
* QM60

==== Specialized ====

* M60 AVLB
** M60A1 AVLB
** M60 AVLM
** M60A1 AVLM

* XM1060 ROBAT
* M60 Panther MDCV
* M88 Recovery Vehicle
** M88A1
** M88A2 Hercules
* M728 CEV
** M728A1
* M9 Bulldozer Kit

==== Export ====

* '''E60 Series:''' M60s that were to be exported to foreign nations were designated as E60s by the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS). They were modified to requests by nations that were approved to receive them. These were mostly minor modifications, such as the removal of the M19 commander's cupola, changing of machine gun models, changing of electronic systems, changing of radios or fire-control systems, different engines, or additional armour plates.
** '''E60:''' Modified M60.
** '''E60A:''' Modified M60A1.
** '''E60B:''' Modified M60A3.

'''Note:''' The M60A2 Starship was never approved for export to foreign nations.

=== International ===
'''Egyptian Variants'''

* Ramses II

'''Iranian Variants'''

* Zulfiqar 1
* Zulfiqar 2
* Zulfiqar 3
* Samsam

'''Israeli Variants'''

* Magach 6
* Magach 7
* Pereh/Onager
* M60 Tagash AVLB

'''Jordanian Variants'''

* M60 Phoenix

'''Taiwanese Variants'''

* M60A3 Chariot
* M48H/CM-11 Brave Tiger

'''Turkish Variants'''

* M60T Sabra Mk I
* M60T Sabra Mk II
* M60T Sabra MK III
** FIRAT-M60T/M60TM

'''Spanish Variants'''

* M60 VLPD 26/70E
* M60CZ-10/25E Alacran

==== Commercial Upgrades ====

* M60AX/Super M60
* M60-2000/120S
* M60A3 SLEP
* Leonardo M60A3

== Operators ==

=== Current Operators ===
* Afghanistan
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bahrain
* Brazil
* Egypt
* Iran
* Israel
* Jordan
* Lebanon
* Morocco
* Oman
* Saudi Arabia
* Spain
* Sudan
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* United States
* Yemen

=== Former Operators ===
* Argentina
* Austria
* Ethiopia
* Greece
* Iraq
* Italy
* Portugal

== Media ==


;Videos
{{Youtube-gallery|RkzTeKDqmnw|'''Long-serving tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 00:57 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|z0uJNBq7p2w|'''The Shooting Range #261''' - ''Pages of History'' section at 04:13 discusses the M60.|KUSnuNXASxE|'''Most produced tanks''' discusses the {{PAGENAME}} at 0:45 - ''War Thunder Official Channel''|zoBPU0n65_A|'''The M60 family''' - ''War Thunder Official Channel''}}

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