Tiran 4

This page is about the Israeli medium tank Tiran 4. For the other version, see Tiran 4S.

Tiran 4

Sho't

Tiran 4S

Tiran 4

Sho't

Tiran 4S

Israel

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:82 000

Purchase:240 000

Description

The Tiran 4 (רודן; lit. Tyrant) was a captured and slightly-modified Arabic T-54 in Israeli service. The IDF was well-known for receiving different types of tank both from military sales and capture of enemy vehicles; after Soviet Union supplied an abundance of T-54/55/62 series medium tanks to Arabic countries neighbouring Israel (i.e. Egypt, Syria, Lebanon) since the 1960s, Israel had the chance to capture hundreds of vehicles during the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, replenishing the heavy losses of the Israeli armoured corps, as well as using them to disguise as Arabic armoured corps to hit them unexpectedly. These captured Soviet-built tanks were named Tiran and the different numbers represented different types of tanks; in this case, Tiran 4 was the designation of modified T-54 with logistical modifications.

Introduced in Update "Danger Zone", the Tiran 4 provides the same firepower and mobility of a T-54 while still suffering from the same cramped interior space, a downgraded anti-aircraft machine gun (from DShK to M1919A4), unprotected ammo racks, and slow turret traverse speed. It's a good brawler and frontline tank, with access to a good APHE shell that can one-shot most enemies if you are able to penetrate the enemy tank. Its low profile and sloped armour make it very well protected against conventional projectiles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull100 / 80 / 45

Turret200 / 160 / 65

Crew4 people

Visibility83 %

Since the Tiran 4 is mostly identical to the original T-54s other than its machine guns, the overall appearance is basically the same as well. While the armour is sufficient to stop most full-calibre kinetic shells, it might not be enough to survive HEAT, APDS, or even APFSDS at higher tiers. Another problem is the unprotected ammo rack located on the right side of the hull, any penetrating shots that hit the remaining ammo will certainly blow the tank sky-high.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	100 mm (60°) Front glacis 100 mm (54°) Lower glacis	80 mm	45 mm (16°) Upper 30 mm (72°) Lower	30 mm Front 20 mm Back
Turret	160 mm (14-39°) Turret front 200 mm (4-78°) Gun mantlet	115 mm (45-50°) Upper 155 mm (10-30°) Lower	65 mm (9-35°)	30 mm
Cupola	100 mm (35-40°)			40 mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB56 / 9 km/h

RB and SB51 / 8 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight35.5 t

Engine power

AB992 hp

RB and SB520 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB27.9 hp/t

RB and SB14.6 hp/t

Due to the lack of resources during the wars, Israeli didn't replace the powerplants and retained the same V-54 engine for its reliability; while this doesn't make Tiran 4 a fast tank, it is still able to keep up with teammates.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	56	9	35.5	806	992	22.7	27.94
Realistic	51	8		460	520	12.96	14.65

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 023 → 5 177

RB4 478 → 5 763

SB6 354 → 8 177

Total cost of modifications68 700

116 600

Talisman cost1 900

Crew training68 000

Experts240 000

Aces990

Research Aces620 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

120 / 190 / 220 %

184 / 184 / 184 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 Suspension Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 210 Brake System Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 210 Filters Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 Transmission Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 500 240 Engine Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 500 240	Improved Parts Research: 2 300 Cost: 5 900 190 Improved FPE Research: 2 600 Cost: 6 500 210 Crew Replenishment Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190	Horizontal Drive Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 100mm_APHE_ammo_pack Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 Adjustment of Fire Research: 4 000 Cost: 6 500 210 Elevation Mechanism Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 100mm_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 100mm_ussr_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 900 190 Artillery Support Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 500 240 100mm_APDS_ammo_pack Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 500 240 100mm_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 500 240

Armaments

Main armament

100 mm D-10T cannon

Ammunition34 rounds

First-order20 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.7 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-4° / 17°

100 mm D-10T					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	34	-4°/+17°	±180°	-	9.5	13.2	16.0	17.7	18.8	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					6.0	7.0	8.5	9.4	10.0

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
BR-412	APHE	218	212	189	164	142	124
BR-412B	APHEBC	218	215	201	184	169	155
BR-412D	APCBC	239	236	220	202	185	170
3BM-8	APDS	336	332	317	299	282	265
3BK-5	HEATFS	380	380	380	380	380	380
OF-412	HE	27	27	26	24	23	21

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-412	APHE	895	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	47°	60°	65°
BR-412B	APHEBC	895	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	48°	63°	71°
BR-412D	APCBC	887	15.88	1.2	19	100.1	48°	63°	71°
3BM-8	APDS	1,415	4.13	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
3BK-5	HEATFS	900	12.38	0.05	0.1	1,240	65°	72°	77°
OF-412	HE	900	15.6	0.2	0.1	1,460	79°	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)
3D3	880	15.6	16	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-54 (1951) (identical)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
34	33 (+1)	28 (+6)	24 (+10)	23 (+11)	21 (+13)	1 (+33)	No

Machine guns

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	-	-
Pintle	1,000 (250)	500	-10°/+60°	±180°

Due to the logistical reasons, all Warsaw Pact small-calibre firearms were replaced by US-made M1919A4s, which are only good for gunning down exposed crews; the chances of shooting down any aircraft are minimal.

Usage in battles

For players who have played the T-54 series in other trees (Soviet, Chinese, Finnish), the Tiran 4 is yet another T-54 Model 1951, but this time in the Israeli tech tree as their captured tanks from Arabic countries. Aside from the Chinese Type 59 which is in fact T-54A, the remaining two are identical to the Tiran 4. Thanks to its revolutionary design back in the 1950s and devastating firepower upon penetrating enemy armour, the Tiran 4 can still serve as a spearhead for Israeli players alongside the US-originated Magachs (M48 Patton, M60 series).

The Tiran 4 features the same D-10T cannon as the T-54 series, and receives the full range of available ammunition, ranging from full-calibre BR-412 up to subcalibre 3BM8 or 3BK5 HEAT-FS shells, giving it flexibility to handle most enemies at its tier - whether it is a "Doomsday" heavy tank or wheeled armoured cars, there is always a type of ammunition that fits the need. On the flanks, the BR-412 series is the best way to wipe out enemy vehicles from the side thanks to its sufficient penetration and explosive content, a hit in the enemies' centre-mass is more than enough to disable them if not knocking them out right away. In the case of heavy targets like Maus or M103, the 3BK5 HEAT-FS is sufficient to penetrate these targets with its up to 380 mm penetration.

While the gun is powerful, players will have to be prepared for enemies beforehand as the turret traverse rate, both vertically and horizontally, is rather slow; it is not a good idea to only turn the turret after enemies suddenly appear in front of you. Most NATO enemies have much higher traverse speed than the T-54s, let alone wheeled assault guns that might appear when uptiered.

Although the armour is enough to stop most full-calibre APCBC at lower tiers, it may also face more advanced shells - APFSDS, HEAT-FS, and missiles, to name a few. T-54s are infamous for their cramped interior space, and the "wet"-stowage ammo rack is yet to be introduced in T-55: if the vehicle is penetrated from the right side of the front plate (from the player's perspective), chances are the fuel tank might sometimes absorb the damage and leaving a fire onboard, or detonation of the ammo/fuel tank and complete destruction of the tank. If the situation turns into complete chaos, it is better to find cover and return fire instead of rushing into the most heated battlefield recklessly, any damage to the components or crew will further decrease the Tiran 4's combat efficiency and eventually bring its demise. Another note is that for logistical reasons, all the machine guns, including the DShK on commander's side, have been replaced by .30 cal M1919A4 machine gun; so bringing some HE shells or HEAT-FS for light vehicles is still viable to overpressure them.

Overall, the Tiran 4 provides a different playstyle for the Israeli tech tree; while there are options to use NATO tanks, opting for Warsaw Pact tanks with better firepower is always viable to bring down as many targets as possible.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 100 mm gun with a variety of ammunition
• Sufficient speed and mobility at its rank
• Sufficient protection

Cons:

• Having only a M1919A4 as pintle machine gun
• Slower reload rate than NATO tanks
• Slow turret traverse speed
• Unprotected ammo rack

History

As part of the Cold War and long-lasting Jewish-Arab conflicts, the Soviet Union sold many T-54 and T-55 to Syria and Egypt as part of their military sales. While the reliability of these tanks was proven throughout the conflicts, during the 1967 Six-Day War and the sequential Yom Kippur War in 1973, Israel captured at least 300 T-54/55/62 series tanks during these two wars to resupply their heavily devastated armoured corps, dubbed "Tiran" (lit. "Tyrant") in Israeli service. Captured tanks were dubbed Tiran 1/2/3 for T-54/55/62 respectively, while Tirans which received some logistic modification were designated Tiran 4/5/6 instead. Israel used some of these tanks with their original Egyptian markings to cause harassment behind enemy lines along the Suez Canal.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Tiran 4 from live.warthunder.com.

See also

• T-54/55 (Family)