Magach 6B Gal

This page is about the squadron Israeli medium tank Magach 6B Gal. For other versions, see Magach (Family).

Magach 6B Gal

Magach 6B Gal

Description

The Magach 6B Gal was an important upgrade developed by Israel before the 1990s. Since it was obvious that the Merkava would not entirely replace the Magach in service it was deemed necessary an upgrade to older models like the Magach 6B and A that lacked any sort of modern military electronics and optics. As such, the "Gal" Fire Control System was created and then fitted into the Magach 6B and 6A models. It was not given to the C model since this used a more modern American fire control system. The Magach 6B Gal would later be upgraded to the Magach 6B Gal Batash with improvements to the protection and powerplant.

It was introduced in Update "La Royale". The Magach 6B Gal has a decent performance for it's BR, compared to very common tanks like the T-72M1 and Leopard 1A1, it lacks the mobility of the former and the protection of the latter, but it compensates this with a decent protection against HEAT projectiles and missiles, as well as autocannon ammunition. This is very important at it's BR and is thanks to the Blazer ERA, it would be enough to stop small rockets and missiles, which are very common at that BR with early ATGMs launched from rockets and different IFVs. The mobility, while poor, is not enough to make the vehicle slow, and the Magach 6B Gal has decent acceleration and top speed, it mostly lacks reverse speed like Soviet Tanks around it's BR.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Magach 6B has the same amount of protection as the M60A1, that is, a weak hull with a turret capable of deflecting some shots coming from steep angles. However it has the added benefit of the Blazer ERA, it would be enough to stop older early ATGMs fired from IFVs and Helicopters, as well as HE and small HEAT rounds. It can also help against rockets and autocannon shots. But it would not be enough to stop any sort of APDS or APFSDS projectiles.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

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

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

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm Sharir					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	63	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	21.4	29.6	36.0	39.8	42.4	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					13.4	15.8	19.1	21.2	22.5

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M111	APFSDS	337	335	330	322	314	306
M426	APFSDS	430	427	420	409	400	390

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M152	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°
M156	HESH	731	11.4	0.1	4	3.17	73°	77°	80°
M111	APFSDS	1,455	4.2	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
M426	APFSDS	1,455	4.4	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
M416	732	11.6	20	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
63	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,000 (200)	575	-	-

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Commander's cupola	1,800 (200)	600	-5°/+50°	-120°/+60°
Loader's cupola	1,800 (200)	600	-5°/+50°	-60°/+120°
Coaxial	6,000 (200)	600	-	-

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very powerful cannon
• Large ERA protection

Cons:

• Mobility is lacking
• Inadequate armour against most medium tanks at the same BR

History

The Magach 6B Gal was part of the Magach 6 family, that is, modified American M60 tanks suited to Israeli needs. This modernization was made to the Magach 6B model and incorporated several changes to the electronics and systems inside the tank, as well as the armour.

Since the Merkava tanks were still not available in enough numbers to completely replace the Magach, it was decided to introduce upgrades to the Magach 6B in order to improve survivability and lethality. The most important weaknesses of the Magach 6 were the firepower and optics of the tank and the protection of the tank.

The first upgrade was the installation of the "Gal" Fire Control System that was installed in all Magach 6B tanks, this was a huge improvement over the old M13 and M17 optical rangefinders, since the upgrade introduced laser rangefinders and thermal imaging system for the gunner. This thermal imaging system was the same used in the first models of the Merkava. By the 1990s the Magach 6B Gal was the best Magach in service with Israeli forces, in fact, it's fire control system was offered in the international markets under the name "Matador".

The Gal later received even more upgrades, since it was clear that Blazer ERA was not enough to deal with modern threats in the battlefield, of course, it was not going to be enough to stop modern anti tank projectiles fired from enemy tanks. But it was intended to be enough to stop older missiles and RPGs that were commonly used by Hezbollah militias and other paramilitary groups. This upgrade of the ERA was incorporated in some models of the Magach 6B Gal, however it was mostly used in the Gal Batash model.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Magach 6B Gal from live.warthunder.com.

See also

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

External links

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

Squadron ground vehicles
USA	M901 · M1A1 AIM
Germany	Leopard 2 PL
USSR	BMP-2M · T-80UK
Britain	Bhishma TWMP
Japan	RCV (P)
China	Object 122MT "MC"
France	CV 9035NL
Sweden	T 80 U
Israel	Magach 6B Gal