Difference between revisions of "AMX M4"
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The '''{{specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{specs|rank}} French medium tank {{Battle-rating|1}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.75 "La Résistance"]]. It uses the same 90 mm SA45 cannon as the [[ARL-44]] but has a 7 rounds auto-loader and a better armour pattern while being more mobile. It is clearly better than any rank III French tank, offering a new battle opportunities. | The '''{{specs|name}}''' is a Rank {{specs|rank}} French medium tank {{Battle-rating|1}}. It was introduced in [[Update 1.75 "La Résistance"]]. It uses the same 90 mm SA45 cannon as the [[ARL-44]] but has a 7 rounds auto-loader and a better armour pattern while being more mobile. It is clearly better than any rank III French tank, offering a new battle opportunities. | ||
| − | This is the sturdiest representative of French rank IV vehicles, from which he shares some common features: it has good mobility, an oscillating turret (fitted with an auto-loader), sloped armour in front and back, high hull, high gun placement, good gun depression, 4 crew member, a coaxial MAC 31 machine gun and large tracks. What distinguishes the AMX M4 is its [[ | + | This is the sturdiest representative of French rank IV vehicles, from which he shares some common features: it has good mobility, an oscillating turret (fitted with an auto-loader), sloped armour in front and back, high hull, high gun placement, good gun depression, 4 crew member, a coaxial MAC 31 machine gun and large tracks. What distinguishes the AMX M4 is its [[Panther D|Panther]]-like hull, its efficient 90 mm SA45 gun inherited from the [[ARL-44]] and the thickest armour pattern of all French ground forces with 80 mm sloped at ~55° in the frontal area. |
As said above, this tank's armour is very similar to that of the famous German tanks, it's hull even shares the same general patterns and dimensions, the distinctive features being...weak spots: an almost flat portion between UFP and LFP and two 60 mm "corners" above the tracks. As for the frontal turret part, it is sufficiently thick to endure many nasty hits, as long as you do not leave your foe enough time to aim: the turret ring area, while still being 80 mm thick, is flat. As for side armour, it is a good reason to keep away from front line duty: 35 mm flat armour does not protect from anything bigger than HMG fire. the hull's back is sloped, which may deviate some shots and prevent long-range "back flanking". The most exposed part of this tank is the turret's back, with only 20 mm of armour between the bulge and the turret ring. | As said above, this tank's armour is very similar to that of the famous German tanks, it's hull even shares the same general patterns and dimensions, the distinctive features being...weak spots: an almost flat portion between UFP and LFP and two 60 mm "corners" above the tracks. As for the frontal turret part, it is sufficiently thick to endure many nasty hits, as long as you do not leave your foe enough time to aim: the turret ring area, while still being 80 mm thick, is flat. As for side armour, it is a good reason to keep away from front line duty: 35 mm flat armour does not protect from anything bigger than HMG fire. the hull's back is sloped, which may deviate some shots and prevent long-range "back flanking". The most exposed part of this tank is the turret's back, with only 20 mm of armour between the bulge and the turret ring. | ||
| − | In sum, engage frontally, avoid anything bigger than a slight angle as it may expose the 60 mm UFP "corners". Distance is a great tool to avoid your weak spots being easily targeted. This armour's role is quite fluctuent as it depends on if what it face can penetrate it or not | + | In sum, engage frontally, avoid anything bigger than a slight angle as it may expose the 60 mm UFP "corners". Distance is a great tool to avoid your weak spots being easily targeted. This armour's role is quite fluctuent as it depends on if what it face can penetrate it or not. |
Post-war French designs are all very good at moving around: they have good engines, wide tracks and can easily achieve ~40 km/h on most terrains. The AMX M4 may be the worst of them all, on par with the [[AMX-50|AMX-50-100]] as they share a ''very similar'' hull, they still have ''above average'' mobility, when compared to other medium tanks at the BR. This observation is imbued by the fact that this tank's reverse speed only reaches -5 km/h and it does not have the ability to do neutral steering, anything else is comparable to its contemporaries. | Post-war French designs are all very good at moving around: they have good engines, wide tracks and can easily achieve ~40 km/h on most terrains. The AMX M4 may be the worst of them all, on par with the [[AMX-50|AMX-50-100]] as they share a ''very similar'' hull, they still have ''above average'' mobility, when compared to other medium tanks at the BR. This observation is imbued by the fact that this tank's reverse speed only reaches -5 km/h and it does not have the ability to do neutral steering, anything else is comparable to its contemporaries. | ||
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! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof | ! Armour !! Front (Slope angle) !! Sides !! Rear !! Roof | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | Hull || 80 mm (27-55°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 35 mm (61°) ''Lower glacis'' <br> 60 mm (39°) ''Cheeks'' || 40 mm (24°) ''Top'' <br> 40 mm | + | | Hull || 80 mm (27-55°) ''Front glacis'' <br> 35 mm (61°) ''Lower glacis'' <br> 60 mm (39°) ''Cheeks'' || 40 mm (24°) ''Top'' <br> 40 mm || 40 mm (30°) <br> 30 mm (30°) ''Hatch'' || 20 mm <br> 8 mm ''Engine grille'' |
|- | |- | ||
| Turret || 85 mm (0-79°) ''Turret front'' <br> 60 mm (29-86°)''Gun mantlet'' <br> 40 mm (0-17°) ''Turret base'' <br> 85-100 mm (18-79°) ''Barrel shroud'' || 60 mm (0-61°) ''Turret'' <br> 40 mm (0-27°) ''Turret base'' || 40 mm (0-60°) ''Turret bustle'' <br> 25 mm (16-25°) ''Pivot ball'' <br> 20 mm ''Turret underside'' || 20 mm | | Turret || 85 mm (0-79°) ''Turret front'' <br> 60 mm (29-86°)''Gun mantlet'' <br> 40 mm (0-17°) ''Turret base'' <br> 85-100 mm (18-79°) ''Barrel shroud'' || 60 mm (0-61°) ''Turret'' <br> 40 mm (0-27°) ''Turret base'' || 40 mm (0-60°) ''Turret bustle'' <br> 25 mm (16-25°) ''Pivot ball'' <br> 20 mm ''Turret underside'' || 20 mm | ||
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* The turret and the base overlap in some areas, leading to cumulative armour. | * The turret and the base overlap in some areas, leading to cumulative armour. | ||
| − | In general, this tank is hard to | + | In general, this tank is hard to penetrate from a distance, but if you can do it, then it's sniper battle time. If your guns does not provide enough power at distances, then, get personal: the closer you are, the better you can disable it, here is a few tips for these kind of scenarios: |
'''Frontal assault:''' | '''Frontal assault:''' | ||
| − | Any French rank IV tank has a good gun capable of going through most armours at standard combat ranges (and above), they are even more frightful when knowing about their good reload rates (they all have autoloaders). With that in mind, engage them first so that they (maybe) will not have enough time to reload a second shell. Specifically to the AMX M4, this tank's armour is virtually as resistant as a Panther tank: if you can't go through a Panther, you neither cannot with this tank, unless you shoot its weak spots (see [[ | + | Any French rank IV tank has a good gun capable of going through most armours at standard combat ranges (and above), they are even more frightful when knowing about their good reload rates (they all have autoloaders). With that in mind, engage them first so that they (maybe) will not have enough time to reload a second shell. Specifically to the AMX M4, this tank's armour is virtually as resistant as a Panther tank: if you can't go through a Panther, you neither cannot with this tank, unless you shoot its weak spots (see [[#Survivability_and_armour|armour]]). Don't panic, thought, its side armour is only 35 mm, which makes it very vulnerable to flanking and "multi-target" engagements: it can't protect itself well from two tank if they are enough apart from each other. |
'''Flanking:''' | '''Flanking:''' | ||
| − | As for flanking from a single foe, it must be dealt with quick: its fast turret turning speed allows it to react quite fast to either of its sides. Try to disable its ''large gun breech'' first so it won't be able to fire in a long time (this may also ammo-rack it if detonating a pre-loaded ammo), only then finish it off, if the first hit/series of hits (SPAAs) does not disable it from firing back, consider yourself | + | As for flanking from a single foe, it must be dealt with quick: its fast turret turning speed allows it to react quite fast to either of its sides. Try to disable its ''large gun breech'' first so it won't be able to fire in a long time (this may also ammo-rack it if detonating a pre-loaded ammo), only then finish it off, if the first hit/series of hits (SPAAs) does not disable it from firing back, consider yourself done. |
=== Mobility === | === Mobility === | ||
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<!--''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''--> | <!--''Summarize and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Do not use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - they have a substitution in the form of softer "inadequate", "effective".''--> | ||
'''Pros:''' | '''Pros:''' | ||
| − | * Good 90 mm gun inherited from [[ARL 44]] (easy learning curve) | + | * Good 90 mm gun inherited from [[ARL-44]] (easy learning curve) |
| − | * Front glacis is 80 mm and is heavily sloped for a high chance of ricochets, similar to [[ | + | * Front glacis is 80 mm and is heavily sloped for a high chance of ricochets, similar to [[Panther D|Panther]]'s. |
* Very good reload rate between 7 shots due to auto-loader. | * Very good reload rate between 7 shots due to auto-loader. | ||
* Good maneuverability. | * Good maneuverability. | ||
Revision as of 19:55, 13 January 2019
Contents
Description
The AMX M4 is a Rank IV French medium tank
with a battle rating of 6.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". It uses the same 90 mm SA45 cannon as the ARL-44 but has a 7 rounds auto-loader and a better armour pattern while being more mobile. It is clearly better than any rank III French tank, offering a new battle opportunities.
This is the sturdiest representative of French rank IV vehicles, from which he shares some common features: it has good mobility, an oscillating turret (fitted with an auto-loader), sloped armour in front and back, high hull, high gun placement, good gun depression, 4 crew member, a coaxial MAC 31 machine gun and large tracks. What distinguishes the AMX M4 is its Panther-like hull, its efficient 90 mm SA45 gun inherited from the ARL-44 and the thickest armour pattern of all French ground forces with 80 mm sloped at ~55° in the frontal area.
As said above, this tank's armour is very similar to that of the famous German tanks, it's hull even shares the same general patterns and dimensions, the distinctive features being...weak spots: an almost flat portion between UFP and LFP and two 60 mm "corners" above the tracks. As for the frontal turret part, it is sufficiently thick to endure many nasty hits, as long as you do not leave your foe enough time to aim: the turret ring area, while still being 80 mm thick, is flat. As for side armour, it is a good reason to keep away from front line duty: 35 mm flat armour does not protect from anything bigger than HMG fire. the hull's back is sloped, which may deviate some shots and prevent long-range "back flanking". The most exposed part of this tank is the turret's back, with only 20 mm of armour between the bulge and the turret ring.
In sum, engage frontally, avoid anything bigger than a slight angle as it may expose the 60 mm UFP "corners". Distance is a great tool to avoid your weak spots being easily targeted. This armour's role is quite fluctuent as it depends on if what it face can penetrate it or not.
Post-war French designs are all very good at moving around: they have good engines, wide tracks and can easily achieve ~40 km/h on most terrains. The AMX M4 may be the worst of them all, on par with the AMX-50-100 as they share a very similar hull, they still have above average mobility, when compared to other medium tanks at the BR. This observation is imbued by the fact that this tank's reverse speed only reaches -5 km/h and it does not have the ability to do neutral steering, anything else is comparable to its contemporaries.
This feature may feel a little lackluster in terms of penetration: at the same BR, some tanks can consistently punch through more than 200 mm of armour while this tank's gun can't. This little defect is palliated by its auto-loader mechanism, providing up to 9 rounds a minute, a very good firing rate for the BR. All French medium rank IV tanks share this good reload rate, this is their prominent selling point.
The oscillating turret design also allows an high gun placement, this means you can fire over hills by exposing only the strong top portion of your tank, even more so with its good depression angles. When it comes to elevation, there is a problem: this tank can only lift its gun 15°, which make defending against planes impossible and uphill battle a bit challenging.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 80 mm (27-55°) Front glacis 35 mm (61°) Lower glacis 60 mm (39°) Cheeks |
40 mm (24°) Top 40 mm |
40 mm (30°) 30 mm (30°) Hatch |
20 mm 8 mm Engine grille |
| Turret | 85 mm (0-79°) Turret front 60 mm (29-86°)Gun mantlet 40 mm (0-17°) Turret base 85-100 mm (18-79°) Barrel shroud |
60 mm (0-61°) Turret 40 mm (0-27°) Turret base |
40 mm (0-60°) Turret bustle 25 mm (16-25°) Pivot ball 20 mm Turret underside |
20 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 60 mm | 20 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
- The turret and the base overlap in some areas, leading to cumulative armour.
In general, this tank is hard to penetrate from a distance, but if you can do it, then it's sniper battle time. If your guns does not provide enough power at distances, then, get personal: the closer you are, the better you can disable it, here is a few tips for these kind of scenarios:
Frontal assault:
Any French rank IV tank has a good gun capable of going through most armours at standard combat ranges (and above), they are even more frightful when knowing about their good reload rates (they all have autoloaders). With that in mind, engage them first so that they (maybe) will not have enough time to reload a second shell. Specifically to the AMX M4, this tank's armour is virtually as resistant as a Panther tank: if you can't go through a Panther, you neither cannot with this tank, unless you shoot its weak spots (see armour). Don't panic, thought, its side armour is only 35 mm, which makes it very vulnerable to flanking and "multi-target" engagements: it can't protect itself well from two tank if they are enough apart from each other.
Flanking:
As for flanking from a single foe, it must be dealt with quick: its fast turret turning speed allows it to react quite fast to either of its sides. Try to disable its large gun breech first so it won't be able to fire in a long time (this may also ammo-rack it if detonating a pre-loaded ammo), only then finish it off, if the first hit/series of hits (SPAAs) does not disable it from firing back, consider yourself done.
Mobility
| Mobility characteristic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tons) | Add-on Armour weight (tons) |
Max speed (km/h) |
| 52.0 | N/A | 57 (AB) |
| 51 (RB/SB) | ||
| Engine power (horsepower) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 1,550 | _,___ |
| Realistic/Simulator | 884 | 1,000 |
| Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 29.81 | __.__ |
| Realistic/Simulator | 17.00 | 19.23 |
Armaments
Main armament
| 90 mm SA45 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
| 49 | -8°/+15° | ±180° | N/A | ||
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | 17.9 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
| Realistic | 17.9 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| 38.0 | __.__ | __.__ | __.__ | ||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 90° | |||||
| 10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | ||
| 90 mm Obus de rupture | APC | 193 | 191 | 180 | 168 | 156 | 145 |
| 90 mm Obus explosif | HE | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Fuse delay
in m: |
Fuse sensitivity
in mm: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
Normalization At 30° from horizontal: |
Ricochet: | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| 90 mm Obus de rupture | APC | 1000 | 11 | N/A | N/A | N/A | ° | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| 90 mm Obus explosif | HE | 700 | 11 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 945 | +0° | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
8th rack empty |
9th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 44 (X+5) | 42 (+7) | 35 (+14) | 28 (+21) | 21 (+28) | 14 (+35) | 10 (+39) | 7 (+42) | 1 (+48) | no |
Machine guns
| 7.5 mm MAC 31 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaxial mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 5,000 (150) | 1,350 | N/A | N/A | |||
Usage in the battles
At its BR, 80 mm of sloped frontal armour is more than sufficient to endure close range fights (as long as it is facing the enemy with its frontal armour). But what this tank is really good at is, as any other French rank IV, sniping: a very good gun, great depression and fire rate make it very deadly, even more so that it can take a few hits. The AMX M4 offers the best survivability of all French rank IV tanks since its BR is low and armour, thick. It is a true "medium tank" capable of all roles, given the good context.
This tank can be used in almost all roles on the battlefield, as long as context is on its side. Here is some roles this tank is the most efficient at:
Sniper:
This is clearly this tank's intended role: at all BR placements, it provides the best results from this tank. There is only a few things that can defeat such tactic: drastically better firepower and thick frontal armour faced towards it. This gun's performance is not the best at its rank, in that way, the AMX M4 may have to rely on surprise attacks to its foe's sides in order to disable them. Use this tank's great mobility to get into a good spot and reposition whenever it is needed do not allow approaching targets as they increase your chances to be dealt with. Don't bother falling back before it is needed: your reverse speed won't allow for hasty retreats.
Frontline fights:
When facing lower BR tanks, the AMX can easily be used in the same role as Panther tanks: breakthrough...but with reserve, your side armour won't allow even the slightest side shot. Use your good reload speed and turret rate to their best: fast reaction times and multi-target engagements are possible.
Flanker:
Got a light tank squad wanting to flank ? Go with them and provide extra firepower for these vulnerable scouted targets. All considerations from the "sniper" role can be taken into consideration when flanking, the only difference being a more consistent usage of this tank's mobility.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Good 90 mm gun inherited from ARL-44 (easy learning curve)
- Front glacis is 80 mm and is heavily sloped for a high chance of ricochets, similar to Panther's.
- Very good reload rate between 7 shots due to auto-loader.
- Good maneuverability.
- Fast.
- Decent reverse speed.
- Good gun depression of -8°.
- Good turret rotation.
Cons:
- Overall armour is quite thin as for 6.0 medium tank.
- Long reload time after 7 shots due to auto-loader.
- Only two ammo choice between APC and HE rounds.
- Ammo always held in reload mechanism makes it easy ammo rack targets.
- Thin side armour
- 60 mm UFP "corners" makes angling ineffective.
- Bad elevation angles
- Vulnerable to planes (thin top armour)
History
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read also
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
