Difference between revisions of "M1 Abrams"
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Armour is decent, with an heavily sloped hull which can sometimes ricochet shots, sometimes into the turret, which may cause shots to go trough the turret ring or disable the gun barrel and or mantlet. | Armour is decent, with an heavily sloped hull which can sometimes ricochet shots, sometimes into the turret, which may cause shots to go trough the turret ring or disable the gun barrel and or mantlet. | ||
| − | The turret fares much better against incoming shots, it can consistently stop most lower penetrating shots, it should however not be relied on, shells with over | + | The turret fares much better against incoming shots, it can consistently stop most lower penetrating shots, it should however not be relied on, shells with over 440 mm of penetration will go straight trough the turret front, which are more than common at this Battle Rating, and even slight angles will drastically reduce the protection the turret provides. |
The gun mantlet is also huge and all APFSDS and HEAT-FS rounds it faces can go trough (though this is a weakspot all vehicles have). Like most western MBT's, survivability is good, with the crew being far apart from each other aswell as wet ammo racks | The gun mantlet is also huge and all APFSDS and HEAT-FS rounds it faces can go trough (though this is a weakspot all vehicles have). Like most western MBT's, survivability is good, with the crew being far apart from each other aswell as wet ammo racks | ||
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=== Mobility === | === Mobility === | ||
{{Specs-Tank-Mobility}} | {{Specs-Tank-Mobility}} | ||
| − | |||
<!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' --> | <!-- ''Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.'' --> | ||
Overall mobility is superb, even without mobility modifications researched it can still outaccelerate most contemporary vehicles. Hull traverse is however poor, with it becoming only decent when all mobility modifications researched. | Overall mobility is superb, even without mobility modifications researched it can still outaccelerate most contemporary vehicles. Hull traverse is however poor, with it becoming only decent when all mobility modifications researched. | ||
| − | {{tankMobility|abMinHp= | + | {{tankMobility|abMinHp=2,058|rbMinHp=1,343}} |
=== Modifications and economy === | === Modifications and economy === | ||
| Line 94: | Line 93: | ||
{{main|M68A1 (105 mm)}} | {{main|M68A1 (105 mm)}} | ||
| − | Gun performance is adequate, while the shells are are good against angles, can penetrate weakspots and the sides of enemy vehicles, with ease. At far ranges the gun can struggle, especially against enemies in a hull down position for example: most Russian | + | Gun performance is adequate, while the shells are are good against angles, can penetrate weakspots and the sides of enemy vehicles, with ease. At far ranges the gun can struggle, especially against enemies in a hull down position for example: most Russian MBTs in a hull down position only have the following weakspots, gun mantlet and the driver hatch window, located just below the gun. |
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="100%" | ||
| Line 105: | Line 104: | ||
|- | |- | ||
! ''Arcade'' | ! ''Arcade'' | ||
| − | | rowspan="2" | 55 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38. | + | | rowspan="2" | 55 || rowspan="2" | -10°/+20° || rowspan="2" | ±180° || rowspan="2" | Two-plane || 38.1 || 52.7 || 64.0 || 70.8 || 75.3 || rowspan="2" | 6.50 || rowspan="2" | 5.75 || rowspan="2" | 5.30 || rowspan="2" | 5.00 |
|- | |- | ||
! ''Realistic'' | ! ''Realistic'' | ||
| Line 128: | Line 127: | ||
| M735 || APFSDS || 353 || 350 || 342 || 333 || 322 || 312 | | M735 || APFSDS || 353 || 350 || 342 || 333 || 322 || 312 | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | M774 || APFSDS || | + | | M774 || APFSDS || 372 || 370 || 365 || 358 || 351 || 343 |
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
| Line 145: | Line 144: | ||
! 0% !! 50% !! 100% | ! 0% !! 50% !! 100% | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | M456A2 || HEATFS || 1,173 || 10.5 || 0. | + | | M456A2 || HEATFS || 1,173 || 10.5 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 1,270 || 65° || 72° || 77° |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | M393A2 || HESH || 732 || 14.85 || 0. | + | | M393A2 || HESH || 732 || 14.85 || 0.05 || 0.1 || 4,310 || 73° || 77° || 80° |
|- | |- | ||
| M735 || APFSDS || 1,501 || 3.7 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80° | | M735 || APFSDS || 1,501 || 3.7 || N/A || N/A || N/A || 76° || 77° || 80° | ||
| Line 154: | Line 153: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
| − | {| class="wikitable | + | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics | ! colspan="7" | Smoke shell characteristics | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 170: | Line 169: | ||
==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ==== [[Ammo racks]] ==== | ||
| + | [[File:Ammoracks_{{PAGENAME}}.png|right|thumb|x250px|[[Ammo racks]] of the {{PAGENAME}}]] | ||
<!-- '''Last updated: 1.77.2.68''' --> | <!-- '''Last updated: 1.77.2.68''' --> | ||
| − | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Line 213: | Line 212: | ||
{{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M240 (7.62 mm)}} | {{main|M2HB (12.7 mm)|M240 (7.62 mm)}} | ||
| − | With three machine guns (two light 7.62 mm and one heavy 12.7 mm), the Abrams is well equipped at dealing with helicopters and lightly | + | With three machine guns (two light 7.62 mm and one heavy 12.7 mm), the Abrams is well equipped at dealing with helicopters and lightly armoured SPAA. |
| − | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | + | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%" |
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]] | ! colspan="5" | [[M2HB (12.7 mm)|12.7 mm M2HB]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | ! Mount | + | ! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal |
| − | ! Capacity | ||
| − | ! | ||
| − | ! Vertical | ||
| − | ! Horizontal | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | Commander's cupola || 1,000 (200) || | + | | Commander's cupola || 1,000 (200) || 577 || -9°/+65° || ±180° |
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
| − | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | + | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%" |
|- | |- | ||
! colspan="5" | [[M240 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M240]] | ! colspan="5" | [[M240 (7.62 mm)|7.62 mm M240]] | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | ! Mount | + | ! Mount !! Capacity (Belt) !! Fire rate !! Vertical !! Horizontal |
| − | ! Capacity | ||
| − | ! | ||
| − | ! Vertical | ||
| − | ! Horizontal | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | Loader's cupola || 1,400 (200) || | + | | Loader's cupola || 1,400 (200) || 941 || -9°/+65° || -77°/+135° |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | Coaxial || 10,000 (200) || | + | | Coaxial || 10,000 (200) || 941 || N/A || N/A |
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
| Line 291: | Line 282: | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> | <!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' --> | ||
| − | Once the unsuccessful joint German-American MBT-70 project had been shut down in 1971, the Congress redistributed funds to the further development of the XM815 project, later known as the XM1 Abrams. The development of the XM1 Abrams was a competition between two designs of the Chrysler and General Motors companies, respectively. Early July 1973 marks an important date for the project after representatives of both companies travelled to Great Britain to witness the development of the new composite armor, named Burlington. Impressed by what they saw, both companies decided to reevaluate and optimize their | + | Once the unsuccessful joint German-American MBT-70 project had been shut down in 1971, the Congress redistributed funds to the further development of the XM815 project, later known as the XM1 Abrams. The development of the XM1 Abrams was a competition between two designs of the Chrysler and General Motors companies, respectively. Early July 1973 marks an important date for the project after representatives of both companies travelled to Great Britain to witness the development of the new composite armor, named Burlington. Impressed by what they saw, both companies decided to reevaluate and optimize their designs' armor layout to increase its effectiveness, with General Motors changing the front shape of the turret to a sloped surface, whilst Chrysler retained its vertical design. By 1976, the XM1 prototypes were being readied for testing, with the finishing touch being the installation of the M68 cannon.. Testing of both prototypes took place in the presence of the new German Leopard 2 tank, which was shipped to the U.S. for comparison purposes. Once testing was concluded and the results evaluated, the turbine-powered Chrysler design was proclaimed the winner of the competition and thus the Chrysler design would soon enter production as the M1 Abrams. |
The M1 entered production in 1979, with the first production version M1 leaving the factory floor in February 1980. Production of the M1 continued until 1985, with an improved M1IP version being produced briefly between 1984 -1986. By 1985, several thousands of M1s had already been manufactured and put into service. In August 1985 however, the M1 was outfitted with the license-built version of the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, as found on the Leopard 2 tank and subsequently entered production as the M1A1 Abrams. Following this modification, earlier M1 units would progressively be upgraded to M1A1 standard, but this is a story for another devblog in the future. The M1 Abrams saw the most active service with US forces primarily in operations in the Middle East, but known operators also include Australia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others. Nonetheless, the American M1 Abrams is one of the most successful and widely fielded modern-day MBTs in use anywhere in the world, and rightfully deserves its iconic status alongside other American legends such as the M4 Sherman and M60 Patton, to name but a few. The fact that the M1 Abrams is still being manufactured and used today, almost four decades after its introduction, serves as a testimony to that statement. | The M1 entered production in 1979, with the first production version M1 leaving the factory floor in February 1980. Production of the M1 continued until 1985, with an improved M1IP version being produced briefly between 1984 -1986. By 1985, several thousands of M1s had already been manufactured and put into service. In August 1985 however, the M1 was outfitted with the license-built version of the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, as found on the Leopard 2 tank and subsequently entered production as the M1A1 Abrams. Following this modification, earlier M1 units would progressively be upgraded to M1A1 standard, but this is a story for another devblog in the future. The M1 Abrams saw the most active service with US forces primarily in operations in the Middle East, but known operators also include Australia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others. Nonetheless, the American M1 Abrams is one of the most successful and widely fielded modern-day MBTs in use anywhere in the world, and rightfully deserves its iconic status alongside other American legends such as the M4 Sherman and M60 Patton, to name but a few. The fact that the M1 Abrams is still being manufactured and used today, almost four decades after its introduction, serves as a testimony to that statement. | ||
Revision as of 10:03, 13 March 2021
| This page is about the American medium tank M1 Abrams. For other vehicles of the family, see M1 Abrams (Family). For other uses of the designation, see M1 (Disambiguation). |
Contents
Description
The Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 105-mm Gun M1, or just M1 Abrams, is a rank VII American medium tank with a battle rating of 10.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm".
In-game, the M1 Abrams is a fairly quick main battle tank. It accelerates quickly, and will hold a speed of 32 miles an hour (52 km/h) over rough terrain. On city maps or paved surfaces, an M1 Abrams can easily reach its top speed of 45 miles an hour (72 km/h), thanks to its monstrously powerful turbine engine. With three speeds in reverse, it is also capable of an impressive 25 miles an hour (40 km/h) to back away from troublesome situations.
As powerful as the motor may be, the M1 Abrams has a slow to respond, and relatively slow traverse rate for its neutral steering. In some circumstances, it may be more beneficial to back away before turning around, as waiting for the neutral steering to turn 180 degrees is lengthy.
The M1 Abrams also suffers from a raised engine deck. As such, its capacity for "over the shoulder" shots and shots directly over the rear is very limited, because the engine deck prevents lowering the cannon.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour is decent, with an heavily sloped hull which can sometimes ricochet shots, sometimes into the turret, which may cause shots to go trough the turret ring or disable the gun barrel and or mantlet.
The turret fares much better against incoming shots, it can consistently stop most lower penetrating shots, it should however not be relied on, shells with over 440 mm of penetration will go straight trough the turret front, which are more than common at this Battle Rating, and even slight angles will drastically reduce the protection the turret provides.
The gun mantlet is also huge and all APFSDS and HEAT-FS rounds it faces can go trough (though this is a weakspot all vehicles have). Like most western MBT's, survivability is good, with the crew being far apart from each other aswell as wet ammo racks
Armour type:
- Composite armour (hull, turret)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 19-38.1 mm (82-83°) Front glacis 32*+101* mm (40°) Lower glacis 25.4-38.1 mm (82°) Belly glacis |
25.4+65** Front tip 30+30+65** mm Front half 12.7 mm Rear half - Top 27.6+6.35 mm Rear half - Bottom 28.4+6.35 mm Rear tip |
31.75 mm (5-37°) 12.7 mm (53-54°) |
31.75 mm 5 mm Engine grille |
| Turret | 38*+101* mm (21-30°) 38*+18* mm (30-36°) Gun mantlet 25.4 mm (74-82°) Turret underside |
19*+101* mm (30°) Crew compartment 6*+13* (30°) Ammo rack bustle |
12.7 mm (43-48°) 25.4 mm (80-83°) Turret underside |
38.1 mm Front 25.4 mm Rear 12.7 mm Panels |
| Cupola | 25.4 mm (conical) | 25.4 mm (conical) Outer ring 25.4 mm Centre | ||
* RHA plates part of composite armour ** Composite screens
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
- Turret ring is 50.8 + 50.8 mm thick.
- 19 mm RHA plates are positioned behind the front fuel tanks.
- 19 mm RHA plates surround the turret rear ammo racks.
- Additionally to RHA, the M1 Abrams is equipped with composite armour plates:
| Composite armour | Front | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| Hull | Lower glacis: 380 mm Kinetic / 600 mm Chemical |
N/A |
| Turret | Turret front: Angles ±0°: 400 mm Kinetic / 650 mm Chemical Angles ±25°: 380 mm Kinetic / 600 mm Chemical Gun mantlet: 240 mm Kinetic / 450 mm Chemical |
31.75 mm sections: 160 mm Kinetic / 400 mm Chemical 12.7 mm sections: 80 mm Kinetic / 400 mm Chemical |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
- Turret ring is 50.8 + 50.8 mm thick.
- 19 mm RHA plates are positioned behind the front fuel tanks.
- 19 mm RHA plates surround the turret rear ammo racks.
Mobility
Overall mobility is superb, even without mobility modifications researched it can still outaccelerate most contemporary vehicles. Hull traverse is however poor, with it becoming only decent when all mobility modifications researched.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 80 | 43 | 55.7 | 2,058 | 2,898 | 36.95 | 52.03 |
| Realistic | 72 | 39 | 1,343 | 1,519 | 24.11 | 27.27 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
Gun performance is adequate, while the shells are are good against angles, can penetrate weakspots and the sides of enemy vehicles, with ease. At far ranges the gun can struggle, especially against enemies in a hull down position for example: most Russian MBTs in a hull down position only have the following weakspots, gun mantlet and the driver hatch window, located just below the gun.
| 105 mm M68A1 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 55 | -10°/+20° | ±180° | Two-plane | 38.1 | 52.7 | 64.0 | 70.8 | 75.3 | 6.50 | 5.75 | 5.30 | 5.00 |
| Realistic | 23.8 | 28.0 | 34.0 | 37.6 | 40.0 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M456A2 | HEATFS | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
| M393A2 | HESH | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 | 127 |
| M735 | APFSDS | 353 | 350 | 342 | 333 | 322 | 312 |
| M774 | APFSDS | 372 | 370 | 365 | 358 | 351 | 343 |
| 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% | |||||||
| M456A2 | HEATFS | 1,173 | 10.5 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,270 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| M393A2 | HESH | 732 | 14.85 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 4,310 | 73° | 77° | 80° |
| M735 | APFSDS | 1,501 | 3.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 76° | 77° | 80° |
| M774 | APFSDS | 1,509 | 3.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 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 | 730 | 11.4 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | 33 (+22) | 25 (+30) | 3 (+52) | 0 (+55) | No |
Blowout rack only: 45 (+10)
First ammo rack will replenish when not reloading
Machine guns
With three machine guns (two light 7.62 mm and one heavy 12.7 mm), the Abrams is well equipped at dealing with helicopters and lightly armoured SPAA.
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Commander's cupola | 1,000 (200) | 577 | -9°/+65° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm M240 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Loader's cupola | 1,400 (200) | 941 | -9°/+65° | -77°/+135° |
| Coaxial | 10,000 (200) | 941 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Due to its unreliable armour, it is suggested to always try to find a sniping spot; in the maps where it is not an option, advance facing forward after checking for enemies. As long as your armour faces the enemy, you are relatively safe. When defending, go hull-down. Make sure there are places to retreat to if needed, and take advantage of the reverse speed and smoke grenades to run from ATGMs. Use the rangefinder when you can, but if the target is moving, you will probably miss. Try to guess based on experience if it comes to it. A good tactic would be to bind RMB to rangefinding and the mouse wheel for elevation adjustments. The M68A1 is a very good gun, but at 10.0, even with APFSDS, it struggles to penetrate many enemies even in the LFP, and trying to fight any soviet MBT in close quarters is just as fun as getting kicked in the teeth but thanks to its good zoom and field of view, a good way to play it safe would be sniping from far away and hoping to get lucky shots, since the ammo rack can hold 45 rounds. It is suggested to use the M735, since at distance many rounds will not hit the target and the M774 costs 600 SL to fire and has only got a better angle penetration. Although it has a low penetration, the M735 and the M774 are still APFSDS, and as such, you can get a penetrating hit on an enemy's side even with a very low impact angle.
The Abrams main strength its its extreme mobility, even by MBT standards, and the very good ballistics of the dart rounds. However, the price comes in protection; the Abrams is quite vulnerable, and struggles to deflect incoming shells with anything: even its turret cheeks are very vulnerable to any top tier round excluding HEATFS. Additionally, The M1 has somewhat sub-par penetration even with its best shell. Because of these factors, it is recommended that you do not use this tank as a front line brawler. Instead, use your speed to quickly appear from angles your opponents are not expecting you to come from. This can take the form of flanking in order to get side shots, Rushing at the start of the game to take an advantageous position, or getting to choke points before the enemy does, in order to be ready to knock them out. Essentially, This tank should be played much like the M18 Hellcat at Rank III, though unlike the Hellcat it is not impossible for your armour to help you occasionally.
A useful thing to note when playing the Abrams, and most MBTs in general, is that if your opponent shows any side armour, you can penetrate them almost every time. if someone is coming towards you even at a slight angle, aim for the the front drive wheel on their tracks. Your shell will be able to penetrate into the tank and likely one shot kill them. It is recommended to use APFSDS as the main loadout, as the HEAT-FS ammunition starts coming against tanks with armour types specifically designed to resist it.
In terms of threats:
- Most tanks at its Battle rating, due to the relatively poor armour
- Type 90 and AMX-40, as their incredibly powerful shots can penetrate you anywhere, at any angle, at almost any distance
- The T-80B, because of its strong armament and very strong armour; it can be penetrated through its lower front plate, the drivers viewport below the gun, and just to the side or below the gun; if a T80B shows any of its side, you can penetrate it there
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very good mobility for its weight
- Good chemical protection from composite armour
- Turret also has composite armour on the side
- Turns very fast, even in neutral steering
- Internal armour plating helps with increasing the crew survivability
- Very accurate main gun with very good gun stabilizers and good rate of fire
- Great forward and reverse speed
- Very good acceleration
- Blowout panels protect the crew from ammo-racks detonation
- Although composite armour is absent on the upper glacis plate, the extreme sloping makes shells bounce every time
Cons:
- Large target
- The three shells under the gun do NOT have blowout panels, if detonated you will die
- No composite armour on the upper glacis plate and in the rear of the turret, so remaining on level terrain is priority
- Low APFSDS penetration compared to Challenger 1 and T-64B
- Inadequate stock ammo loadout; Both the M735 and M456 shells are no longer effective at top rank
- Weakest composite armour compared to Challenger and T-64B
- Losing some crew members will prevent you from firing some of your smoke grenades
- The armour's chemical resistance against HEAT and such is not relevant against contemporary enemies usually equipped with APFSDS
- NVD are a tier III modification
- M774 is a tier IV modification and it is still a pretty weak round for 10.0
- The turret ring is a massive weak spot since any shell at 10.0 can penetrate it
- Like with most Abrams series tanks, the engine deck is slightly raised, meaning that you will not be able to depress the gun over the rear of the tank.
History
Once the unsuccessful joint German-American MBT-70 project had been shut down in 1971, the Congress redistributed funds to the further development of the XM815 project, later known as the XM1 Abrams. The development of the XM1 Abrams was a competition between two designs of the Chrysler and General Motors companies, respectively. Early July 1973 marks an important date for the project after representatives of both companies travelled to Great Britain to witness the development of the new composite armor, named Burlington. Impressed by what they saw, both companies decided to reevaluate and optimize their designs' armor layout to increase its effectiveness, with General Motors changing the front shape of the turret to a sloped surface, whilst Chrysler retained its vertical design. By 1976, the XM1 prototypes were being readied for testing, with the finishing touch being the installation of the M68 cannon.. Testing of both prototypes took place in the presence of the new German Leopard 2 tank, which was shipped to the U.S. for comparison purposes. Once testing was concluded and the results evaluated, the turbine-powered Chrysler design was proclaimed the winner of the competition and thus the Chrysler design would soon enter production as the M1 Abrams.
The M1 entered production in 1979, with the first production version M1 leaving the factory floor in February 1980. Production of the M1 continued until 1985, with an improved M1IP version being produced briefly between 1984 -1986. By 1985, several thousands of M1s had already been manufactured and put into service. In August 1985 however, the M1 was outfitted with the license-built version of the Rheinmetall 120mm gun, as found on the Leopard 2 tank and subsequently entered production as the M1A1 Abrams. Following this modification, earlier M1 units would progressively be upgraded to M1A1 standard, but this is a story for another devblog in the future. The M1 Abrams saw the most active service with US forces primarily in operations in the Middle East, but known operators also include Australia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others. Nonetheless, the American M1 Abrams is one of the most successful and widely fielded modern-day MBTs in use anywhere in the world, and rightfully deserves its iconic status alongside other American legends such as the M4 Sherman and M60 Patton, to name but a few. The fact that the M1 Abrams is still being manufactured and used today, almost four decades after its introduction, serves as a testimony to that statement.
- From Devblog
Media
- Skins
- Videos
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
| Chrysler Defense | |
|---|---|
| MBTs | |
| M48 Patton | M48A1 |
| M60 | M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A2 · M60A1 RISE (P) · M60A3 TTS |
| M1 | XM1 (Chrysler) · M1 Abrams |
| Export | |
| M48 | M48A2 C · M48A2 G A2 · ␗M48A1 · Magach 1 · Magach 2 |
| M60 | ␗M60A3 TTS · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" · |
| Note | Chrysler Defense was purchased by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) in 1982. |
| USA medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M2 | M2 |
| M3 | M3 Lee · ▃Grant I |
| M4 | M4 · Calliope · M4A1 · M4A1 (76) W · M4A2 · M4A2 (76) W · M4A3 (105) · M4A3 (76) W · M4/T26 |
| M26 Pershing | T20 · T25 · M26 · M26 T99 · M26E1 |
| M46/47/48 Patton | M46 · M46 "Tiger" · M47 · M48A1 · T54E1 · T54E2 |
| M60 | M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A1 RISE (P) · M60A2 · M60A3 TTS · M728 CEV · 120S |
| MBT-70 | MBT-70 · XM803 |
| M1 Abrams | XM1 (Chrysler) · XM1 (GM) |
| M1 Abrams · M1 KVT · IPM1 | |
| M1A1 · M1A1 HC · M1A1 Click-Bait | |
| M1A2 Abrams · M1A2 SEP · M1A2 SEP V2 | |
| Other | T95E1 |
| Australia | M1A1 AIM |
| Canada | M4A5 |
| Israel | ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Merkava Mk.1 · ▃Merkava Mk.2B · ▃Merkava Mk.3D |
| Turkey | M60 AMBT |
- Ground vehicles
- USA ground vehicles
- Seventh rank ground vehicles
- Medium tanks
- Ground vehicles with composite armour
- Ground vehicles with smoke grenades
- Ground vehicles with engine smoke generating system
- Ground vehicles with night vision device
- Ground vehicles with thermal sight
- Ground vehicles with gun stabilizer
