M1A2 Abrams

M1A2 Abrams

IPM1

M1A2 SEP

M1A2 Abrams

IPM1

M1A2 SEP

USA

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.7	11.7	11.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:400 000

Purchase:1 080 000

Description

The Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 120-mm Gun M1A2 (shortened to M1A2 Abrams) is a rank VII American main battle tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.93 "Shark Attack" as the top-researchable vehicle in the US Ground Forces tech tree.

General info

Survivability and armour

The M1A2's armour is a massive improvement in comparison to its predecessor, the M1A1 and is the first Abrams in the game to be equipped with depleted uranium composite armour, located on the turret cheeks of the tank. The protection afforded by the use of depleted uranium amounts to roughly over 200 mm RHAe more armour against kinetic energy projectiles whilst retaining the near impenetrable chemical protection of the M1A1. However the M1A2 has no depleted uranium located in the lower front plate and retains the same protection there, retaining the same weak spots as the M1A1 there. The turret ring and breech also are weakspots, though the breech on the Abrams series is notably some of the strongest out of all NATO main battle tanks being small and well protected against chemical energy rounds and some early APFSDS rounds.

Mobility

The M1A2 retains the same 1500 horsepower AGT-1500 gas turbine on previous Abrams variants, though the tank has gained an additional 4 metric tons of weight, putting the total mass of the tank at 61.7 tonnes. This translates to a noticeable decrease in acceleration and manoeuvrability due to a lower hp/ton ratio. However the tank retains the same 68 km/h top speed and 40 km/h reverse speed and compared to its counterparts the M1A2 is still quite mobile, especially at speeds over 40 km/h. When stock, the hull traverse is quite horrendous and acceleration is lacking, though these are largely remedied by researching the engine, filters, transmission and tracks modules.

Armaments

Main armament

Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Give advice on how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.

Machine guns

Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.

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:

• New composite armour layout makes the frontal turret extremely difficult to penetrate
• Can effectively destroy aircraft or helicopters with new HEATFS shell through proximity detonation

Cons:

• Has the same weak spots as the preceding Abrams
• The mantlet can be penetrated by almost all shells, will only stop HEATFS
• The Italian Cl3143 APFSDS found on the Ariete line of tanks has a chance to penetrate its frontal turret armour
• If it is shot from above, such as from a hilltop, any APFSDS round will go straight through the frontal mantlet with no issues

History

In the second half of the 1980s, a development project was launched to increase the combat effectiveness of the Abrams MBT. The result of this undertaking became the M1A2 version of the Abrams.

The new version featured an upgraded fire control system, a new independent commander’s panoramic sight as well as improved protection thanks to the use of second generation depleted uranium composite armor. All of these upgrades combined significantly bolstered the combat capabilities of the Abrams tank. Production of the M1A2 began in 1986 and the modification was formally introduced into US service in 1992.

The M1A2 and its sub-variants are the most advanced modifications of the Abrams tank fielded to date. Over 1,500 M1A2s have been built with some older variants also being upgraded to the M1A2 standard. Apart from the U.S. as its primary operator, the M1A2 also sees service with the armed forces of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

- From Devblog

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

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

• [Development] M1A2 Abrams - Higher and Higher