XM803

XM803

T95E1

MBT-70

XM803

T95E1

MBT-70

USA

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	9.0	9.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:190 000

Purchase:520 000

Description

The Tank, Combat, Full-Tracked, 152 mm Gun/Launcher XM-803, developed from the MBT-70, was part of the abandoned collaborative U.S. and West German initiative to develop a new main battle tank to replace the existing M60 family of MBT during the 1960s. The program experienced significant challenges from the start, with the United States Army and the German Bundeswehr having diverging doctrines that were not coordinated and were not resolved before the project was too far along to be modified. By the late 1960s, West Germany abandoned the project and the U.S. solely funded the project for the next few years. The MBT-70 was redesigned and designated the XM-803, as an attempt to modify the MBT-70 design into a low-cost substitution using entirely U.S.-made components, resulting in the strikingly similar XM-803 prototype. The biggest cost savings came from switching to less expensive steel armour plates. Costs were also decreased by using an engine built in the U.S. instead of West Germany. The prototype was a little heavier and a little slower compared to the original MBT-70. Despite these savings, the XM-803 design began to match the MBT-70 in sophistication as development progressed and was ultimately terminated. The XM-803 program was cancelled by Congress in December 1971, and work on a new tank program began, the XM-1, which ultimately resulted in the production-model M1 Abrams MBT.

Introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X", the XM-803 offers players unique insights into the pathway of U.S. tank development that ultimately leads to the current-day M1 Abrams MBT. Despite the program's eventual demise, the XM-803 gives several unique capabilities for Cold War U.S. Army ground forces players, particularly the capacity to launch anti-tank guided missiles from the gun barrel, which is unusual in Western MBTs but prevalent in Soviet MBTs. The XM-803 performs very similarly to its ancestor, the MBT-70; however, it suffers from a slightly lower top speed and lacks the original 20 mm cannon mounted on the turret roof. Overall, the MBT strikes a good balance between protection, speed, and firepower, allowing players to easily engage most threats.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull89 / 35 / 25

Turret203 / 165 / 25

Crew3 people

Visibility86 %

The XM-803's frontal armour is only effective versus full-calibre AP and APHE rounds and certain APDS rounds. Almost all large calibre (76 mm and up) sabot rounds will have no trouble slicing through it, even when hitting the frontal armour at an angle. Large calibre HEAT-FS has no problem going through it too, although the large fuel tank behind the frontal hull armour can sometimes absorb a lot of the damage. The fuel tank is also completely separate from the rest of the tank, and as a result, often burns out without damaging the rest of the vehicle. The spaced armour proves effective against HESH rounds as the spall generated upon detonation on the external armour will be soaked by the underlying layers, significantly reducing the damaging effect of the round. One big weak spot on the turret is the left turret cheek (the right from the view of the tank commander). This is because this part of the turret is not protected by spaced armour and only consists of a 177.8 mm thick CHA plate, which most chemical and kinetic energy projectiles can penetrate with ease.

Armour type:

• Spaced armour (Hull front, Turret front)
• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	38.1 mm (64°) Front glacis 76 mm (63°) Lower glacis	35 mm Top 25.4 mm Bottom	25.4 mm (12°) Top 25.4 mm (67°) Bottom 5 mm (13°) Engine exhaust	25.4 mm Front 5-12.7 mm Engine deck
Turret	38.1-203 mm (0-75°)	12.7-38.1* mm (29-34°)	12.7* mm (27-84°)	25.4-76 mm Front 12.7 mm Rear turret
Cupola	25.4 mm	25.4 mm	25.4 mm	25.4 mm

Spaced armour*	Front	Sides	Rear
Hull	250 mm Kinetic 240 mm Chemical	N/A	N/A
Turret	270-300 mm Kinetic 220-350 mm Chemical	38 mm sections: 200 mm Kinetic 220 mm Chemical 12.7 mm sections: 50 mm Kinetic 60 mm Chemical	30 mm Kinetic 40 mm Chemical

Notes:

• Road wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 30 mm thick.
• A 6.35 mm RHA plate separates the engine from the crew compartment
• The crew is protected by a 6.35mm thick turret basket
• Hull spaced armour configuration is 38 mm RHA + 127 mm air + 51 mm RHA.
• Turret spaced armour configuration is 38 mm RHA + 127 mm air + 127 mm CHA.
• Turret rear side spaced armour configuration is 12.7 mm RHA + 38 mm air + 25.4 mm RHA
• Turret rear spaced armour configuration is 12.7 mm RHA + 38 mm air + 12.7 mm RHA.

Mobility

 

Controlled suspension

It is possible to adjust the ground clearance or more complex suspension positions

Speedforward / back

AB72 / 33 km/h

RB and SB64 / 30 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

6 back

Weight51.7 t

Engine power

AB2 385 hp

RB and SB1 250 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB46.1 hp/t

RB and SB24.2 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	72	33	51.7	1,937	2,385	37.47	46.13
Realistic	64	30		1,106	1,250	21.39	24.18

The mobility of the XM803 is worse than that of the MBT-70. In its stock configuration, it has a horsepower/ton ratio of 21.39, while with all upgrades this increases to 24.08 HP/t. The top speed (both forward and reverse) is 64 km/h (40 mph) with 8 gears for both directions. The tank can reach its top speed quickly on flat roads, while on more difficult terrain the top speed drops by around 20 km/h. The tank has neutral steering and good turning ability on all terrains.

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 515 → 6 230

RB4 520 → 6 237

SB5 775 → 7 969

Total cost of modifications160 400

268 000

Talisman cost2 600

Crew training150 000

Experts520 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces950 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 200 / 230 %

220 / 220 / 220 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 8 400 Cost: 13 000 320 Suspension Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 290 Brake System Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 290 Filters Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 410 Transmission Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 530 Engine Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 530	Improved Parts Research: 2 500 Cost: 13 000 320 Improved FPE Research: 2 300 Cost: 12 000 290 Crew Replenishment Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 410	Horizontal Drive Research: 8 400 Cost: 13 000 320 152mm_XM410E1_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 8 400 Cost: 13 000 320 Adjustment of Fire Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 290 152mm_usa_XM578E1_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 7 600 Cost: 12 000 290 Elevation Mechanism Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 410 Smoke grenade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 410 Artillery Support Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 530 Laser rangefinder Research: 14 000 Cost: 22 000 530

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Main armament

152 mm XM150E6 gun/launcher

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition53 rounds

First-order25 rounds

Reload7.5 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

152 mm XM150E5					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate rounds (seconds)	Reloading rate ATGM (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Autoloader	Autoloader
Arcade	53	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	40.0	55.4	67.2	74.3	79.1	7.50	10.00
Realistic					25.0	29.4	35.7	39.5	42.0

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
XM578E1	APFSDS	285	281	270	254	239	223
M409A1	HEAT	380	380	380	380	380	380
MGM-51C	ATGM	431	431	431	431	431	431

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%
XM578E1	APFSDS	1,509	3.79	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°
M409A1	HEAT	754	18.9	0.05	0.1	3.73	62°	69°	73°

Missile details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Range (m)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
								0%	50%	100%
MGM-51C	ATGM	286	3,200	27.8	0.05	0.1	5.72	80°	82°	90°

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)
XM410E1	754	18.9	21	5	30	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the XM803

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
53	48 (+5)	46 (+7)	34 (+19)	27 (+26)	1 (+52)	No

Notes:

• Rack 5 is a first-stage ammo rack, meaning it depletes first but refills from the other racks in the order they are listed. As such, it is the last rack to deplete.

Machine guns

12.7 mm M85 machine gun

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition1 080 rounds

Belt capacity180 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate626 shots/min

Vertical guidance-15° / 60°

7.62 mm M73 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition6 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

12.7 mm M85
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,080 (180)	626	-15°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm M73
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	6,000 (250)	500	-	-

Usage in battles

XM803 represents a change in direction when compared to previous US tanks. Previous tanks in the tech tree like the M4s and M60s serve much more as jack-of-all-trade vehicles. Their mobility, guns and armour are all average and do not have especially potent features that user can exploit. This, however, is completely flipped on its head with the transition to the XM803. The survivability, on paper, is extremely poor. It will not survive many hits, if any, from ATGMs or cannon fire thanks to only a three-man crew layout. However, this can be completely disregarded by focusing on the mobility instead. The XM803 has almost twice the horsepower of M60s, and weighs significantly less. This makes the tank extremely fast and agile, sometimes even faster than light tanks at the same BR.

Thanks to the extremely good mobility, it can be incredibly difficult for opponents to keep track of it in close range brawls. Thanks to this, the first priority of the user would be to catch single or small groups of enemies off-guard, destroy them, and run away. In the opening stages of a match, it may be tempting to drive in guns-blazing to try and snatch a couple of free kills, however the distribution of enemies across the map and the sheer number of them will mean that they will simply hunt the user down. To avoid a premature and frankly embarrassing demise, move into the centre of the map and wait behind solid cover. Use visual and audio-cues to take note of the number of enemies. If there are lots of enemies, use the solid cover to remain hidden and allow them to prepare for an engagement with your teammates first and pick them off. Avoid getting shot during this time, as the longer into the match the XM803 lasts, the better it will perform. After this, the latter parts of the game are simply a point-and-click adventure.

The APFSDS round has decent penetration and will defeat most foes easily. It also has very high muzzle velocity, almost 1,500 m/s, making aiming at longer ranges easy. The ATGM which comes stock can be very useful, especially when first unlocking the vehicle. Though it has an increased reload time of 12 seconds, it can extend your engagement distance significantly if you lack the necessary means otherwise.

When faced with an enemy around a corner, one can attempt to bait shots by only exposing the frontal hull - opponents will often shoot this, only to find, much to their dismay, that there is nothing of value inside and you may not even have to use your fire extinguisher to put it out due to the fact that it is separate from the rest of the tank. If this is not desirable, one can simply 'pop smoke' and simply reverse out of the way using the exceptional reverse gears.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good selection of ammunition types (Stock ATGM, stock HEAT shell, APFSDS)
• The ATGMs can be fired at any time, even when not stationary.
• Good mobility and acceleration, high speed both forwards and backwards
• Top mounted .50 cal can allow you to damage low-flying aircraft
• Frontal Fuel tank behind the spaced armour which can sometimes absorb enemy chemical effect rounds
• Steady reload time thanks to the autoloader: losing a crew member will not impact the reload speed, and it still functions when putting out a fire
• Has smoke grenade launchers
• Turret mantlet is strong, can even resist certain APFSDS rounds
• Features a hydropneumatic suspension which can have its clearance raised or lowered
• Excellent dual zoom of 8x and 12x

Cons:

• The spaced armour is not composite armour and cannot provide adequate protection against most guns of its rank
• Frontal armour can be penetrated even by some APHE rounds
• Weak sides and LFP
• Only the clearance can be adjusted with the hydropneumatic suspension
• Ammo racks are large, can be easily hit, and do not have blowout panels
• Vulnerable to the rear due to raised engine deck
• Cramped interior, loss of more than one crew member more likely when penetrated
• Poor roof armour protection on the ammo and engine section
• Chemical projectiles (HEAT and ATGM) will struggle a lot at this battle rating as vehicles with ERA protection are common, especially on Soviet vehicles.
• Reload rate of 7.5s is terrible.

History

Once it became apparent that the MBT-70 project was doomed to fail in the early '70s due to high costs and reliability issues, the U.S. Congress decided to cut their losses on the project by cancelling the MBT-70, and instead, diverted funding to the development of a new project called XM803.

The XM803 was, in essence, envisioned to be a "budget version" of the MBT-70. Although the new vehicle would heavily be based on the MBT-70, inheriting many of its design solutions, it would also try to drastically reduce production costs by using more conventional and only American-made parts. Although this meant that the XM803 had to give up some of its high-tech equipment in favour of lower production costs, it was projected that the influence of these changes on the XM803's combat performance would be minimal.

Despite showing favourable performance and being seen as a promising design by the Army, the XM803 still remained a comparably expensive tank to produce even with the applied changes over the MBT-70. Moreover, neither the MBT-70 nor the XM803 seemed to offer any substantial increase in combat performance over the already in service M60 Patton to justify the high production cost. This ultimately led to the Congress cancelling work on the XM803 only a short while after the cancellation of the MBT-70. In the late 1970s, some funding of the two failed projects would, later on, find its way to support the development of an entirely new, but this time around, more conventional tank project. That tank, of course, being the legendary M1 Abrams itself.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the XM803 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #104 - Metal Beasts section at 00:32 discusses the XM-803.

The Shooting Range #106 - Pages of History section at 12:39 discusses the XM-803.

See also

Related development

• MBT-70
• KPz-70

Similar vehicles with large-calibre gun/launcher systems:

• M551

External links

• [Devblog] XM803: The Second Chance

General Motors Company (GM)
MBTs
MBT-70	MBT-70* · XM803
XM-1	XM1 (GM)
	*Designed in collaboration with the Deutsche Entwicklungsgesellschaft.
Tank Destroyers	T114
Export
GMC CCKW	CCKW 353 (M45) · CCKW 353 AA
Note	General Motors has several divisions, including Buick, Cadillac, and Chevrolet.