M4A4 (SA50)
| This page is about the French medium tank M4A4 (SA50). For other M4 Shermans, see M4 Sherman (Family). For other uses, see M4 (Disambiguation). |
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Contents
Description
The M4A4 (SA50) is a rank III French medium tank with a battle rating of 5.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.75 "La Résistance". This tank is the equivalent to the British Sherman Firefly, trading its top-mounted HMG and additional armour for a better main gun: the SA50 L/57 cannon, which is the same gun as the one featured on the well-known AMX-13, providing an interesting perspective to what's coming next in terms of firepower. That being said, the rest of this tank is 100% Sherman, with all its pros and cons.
As with any Sherman design, this tank is quite similar to the iconic look of this vehicle's family: tall profile, sloped frontal armour, front-mounted transmission, radial engine, rounded turret with complex gun mantlet, it's got it all. The only difference from the original American Sherman is its long gun featuring a muzzle brake.
General info
Survivability and armour
With its sloped frontal armour, many low-calibre shells will just bounce off the Sherman, though any actual anti-tank gun you will face at this BR will easily go through this relatively thin armour at medium range. Keep in mind not to linger too long in front of SPAAs as there are two very convenient flat plates in front of the driver and machine gunner which can possibly be penetrated by AA's of the BR. As for the turret, some angles may deflect shots but don't count on it. Side and rear armour plates are vulnerable to anything bigger than HMG rounds since they are only 38 mm thick. In conclusion, this armour is there to provide occasional protection from poorly aimed shots and autocannon fire, but nothing more.
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (hull)
- Cast homogeneous armour (turret, gun mantlet, cupola, transmission carter, MG port)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50.8 mm (56°) Front glacis 50.8 mm (8-17°) Viewports 34 + 25.4 mm (spherical) MG port 50.8 mm (3°) Radio antenna bulge 50.8 mm (cylindrical) Transmission housing |
38.1 mm 38.1 + 25.4 mm Ammo racks |
38.1 mm (21°) Top 38.1 mm Bottom |
50.8 mm (34°) Front glacis 19.5 mm Centre 25.4 mm Centre - Turret base 25.4 mm (7°) Engine bay - centre 19.5 mm (23°) Engine bay - sides |
| Turret | 76 mm (7-65°) Turret front 63-100 mm (0-62°) Gun mantlet 51 mm (0-80°) Protruding gun mantlet |
51 mm (0-68°) | 51 mm (3-68°) | 25.4 mm |
| Cupola | 63.5 mm (conical) | 63.5 mm Outer ring 25.4 mm Centre | ||
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, while bogies are 10 mm thick and tracks are 20 mm thick.
Mobility
The Sherman chassis, with all its good and bad attributes carries this tank around on the battlefield. It will carry its user wherever it likes but it takes some time to do so; don't count on it for hasty retreats as both reverse speed and hull turning are slow when this tank is stopped. As long as it is not required to do back-flips and drifting, this chassis does it's job fairly well.
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 45 | 6 | 34.3 | 620 | 763 | 18.08 | 22.24 |
| Realistic | 41 | 5 | 354 | 400 | 10.32 | 11.66 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Main armament
| 75 mm SA50 L/57 | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 62 | -10°/+25° | ±180° | N/A | 22.9 | 31.6 | 38.4 | 42.5 | 45.2 | 9.75 | 8.62 | 7.95 | 7.50 |
| Realistic | 14.3 | 16.8 | 20.4 | 22.6 | 24.0 | ||||||||
The Sherman's turret was not made for such a huge gun. This is why this tank has an elongated mantlet: to provide space for the long SA50 L/57 cannon. Originally, this tank was provided with a vertical stabiliser but it was disabled with this new gun mount as the strain was too great for this piece. Thus, unlike most Shermans, the French M4A4 SA50 does not have a stabilized gun; this however is more than made up for by the egregious penetration rates of the high-velocity cannon. This main armament performs a bit better than its British counterpart, the QF 17-pounder, as it has superior penetration rates at all ranges. With such a gun, sniping is an easy task as only early Panthers will be able to bounce an incoming round (they still have weak spots, though).
With this great amount of firepower come some downsides however: it is not stabilized which makes target acquisition quite slow and the lack of explosive filler means that you will have to aim each shot to make it count. This specific Sherman's main weakness however is its lack of top-mounted MG, leaving it mostly vulnerable to strafing planes.
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 | ||
| POT-51A | APBC | 182 | 178 | 162 | 143 | 127 | 113 |
| OE Mle 1951 | HE | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| PCOT-51P | APCBC | 202 | 198 | 180 | 159 | 141 | 125 |
| 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% | ||||||||||
| POT-51A | APBC | 1,000 | 6.4 | - | - | - | 47° | 60° | 65° | |||
| OE Mle 1951 | HE | 753 | 6.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 675 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| PCOT-51P | APCBC | 1,000 | 6.4 | - | - | - | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
Ammo racks
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| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 57 (+5) | 51 (+11) | 42 (+20) | 33 (+29) | 17 (+45) | 1 (+61) | No |
Notes:
- As they are modeled by sets of 3 or 4, shells disappear from the rack only after you've fired all shells in the set.
- Flank racks empty: 33 (+29) shells.
- The top rows of all 4 floor racks deplete successively, followed by all bottom rows.
Machine guns
The small calibre of the M1919A4 machine gun makes it largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. It still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight.
| 7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount | Capacity (Belt) | Fire rate | Vertical | Horizontal |
| Coaxial | 3,000 (250) | 500 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
Experienced Sherman commanders will like this tank as it drastically increases this old boy's lethality. This tank is a very good representative of the medium tank line, with average mobility, sufficient armour and enjoyable firepower. Get into position, manage to avoid shots doing so and play any role an average tank can fit into: sniper, brawler, flanker, etc.
With good overall characteristics, this vehicle can play many roles on the battlefield. Here are some of them:
Brawler:
This tank has bad armour for the BR and the tank gives that away very clearly. Using its good turret traverse rate and close-quarter penetration rates, it should blast through almost anything it looks at. This tactic is very efficient in urban combat, where long range precision shots are not required. Do note that only reaction time and situation awareness can save you, as any main gun will make short work of you. Make sure to surprise your enemies while you avoid being targeted yourself. This tactic can deliver you some points if executed well. The most important thing about this tactic is to know when to hold back, as enemies will be aware of a rampaging Sherman in the area and will take advantage of it as soon as they get the opportunity. This is a high risk/high reward type of playstyle.
Sniper:
This scenario is the most advantagious for the M4A4 (SA50) because the vehicle is very suited to open maps. It can easily dominate the field (especially against tanks of a lower BR) when you employ the right tactics; keep a good distance from your enemy and use your own cannon to penetrate them from any range. Even if your armour is not the best, it should block most incoming rounds which will have lost most of their penetration power at those ranges. Make sure to reposition your vehicle after every 2-3 shots as you may get spotted by a tank destroyer, which is one of the few dangerous foes even on longer ranges. This tactic is even more effective when you are in a hull-down position: unlike Soviet vehicles, this tank has -10° of depression which you can make good use of.
Use your imagination: any tactic that doesn't rely on your armour is effective with the M4A4 (SA50). Supporting your teammates, ambushing oblivious enemies, many tactics are effective with this versatile tank.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent 75 mm gun, arguably better than the legendary 17-pounder due to the penetration and accuracy of the gun
- Outstanding penetration on the default APCBC at all ranges
- Unlike the Sherman Firefly, the SA50 gets 10 degrees of gun depression. Makes cresting ridgelines a good tactic
- Set of optics with 7.5x magnification
- The gun mantlet is both large and V-shaped. Can reliably stop or bounce incoming fire
- Due to all the pros listed above, the SA50 is one of the best pound-for-pound snipers and ridgeline shooters in the game
Cons:
- Bad overall armour layout: doesn't have any add-on tracks lining the sides like the Firefly
- Doesn't have access to any shells with explosive filler
- Higher-than-average reload time for the battle rating
- No roof mounted .50 cal HMG like on other Shermans at the same BR
History
Israeli M4 Shermans
During the Cold War, the Israelis received stocks of M4 Sherman tanks to equip their armoured force. They were obtained from the British, French, and scrap yards across Europe.[1] Their designations on the Shermans were based on their armaments, leading to names such as the Sherman M-1 with the 76 mm M1 gun, the Sherman M-3 with the 75 mm M3 gun, and the Sherman M-4 with the 105 mm M4 howitzer, regardless of Sherman hull and engine model types. Sherman tanks equipped with the horizontal volute suspension system (HVSS) were given the added name "Super" in the designation.[2]
The M4 Shermans were seen as adequate in the early 1950s conflicts, but the Soviet arms trade with the neighboring Arab countries in the 1950s caused the Israelis to focus on uparming their existing Sherman inventory. Their program was a 1954 joint venture with France to arm the Sherman with the 75 mm SA50 gun from the AMX-13 light tank. The modifications to hold the 75 mm SA50 gun required the extension of the Sherman turret front and rear to make room for the gun and add a counterweight for the heavier front weight. With the success of this modification, the Israelis chose the 75 mm SA50 gun to be the new armament for the M4 Sherman inventory. The first fifty tanks with the 75 mm SA50 guns were added into a M4A4 Sherman hull converted to use a R975 radial engine by the French, these tanks designated as the M-50 Sherman by Israel. These used a vertical-volute suspension system (VVSS), but the added weight of the gun inhibited the M-50's flotation and mobility, so this was shifted to use the HVSS and the Cummins diesel engine. These two variants are distinguished by engine type as the M-50 Continental and the M-50 Cummins. Other hulls outside the M4A4 were also used in the conversions.[2]
Combat usage
The M-50 Sherman was used by Israeli during the 1956 Suez Crisis and the 1967 Six-Day War. The 1956 Suez Crisis against Egypt was a curious case as the Egyptians also send their M4 Sherman inventory through a similar uparm program by adding the AMX-13 turret onto their M4 Shermans, giving them their own usage of the 75 mm SA50 gun on the M4 Sherman tanks.[1]
Its use in the 1967 war was interleaved with the more powerful M-51 Sherman, a similar upgun program with the French 105 mm Modèle F1 from the AMX-30 tank.[2] Though the early M-50 Continentals were retired by 1972, the the M-50 Cummins and M-51 served together up until the early 1980s, having to fight more modern Soviet tanks such as the T-54/55 tanks in the 1973 Yom-Kippur War. The Israeli gave away several of the M-50 Shermans to Lebanon to aid supporting militia groups in the Lebanese Civil War, in this conflict two were captured by Palestine, which they used against during the 1982 Lebanon War.[3] About 50 M-50 were given to Chile in late 1980s, rearmed with an IMI-OTO 60 mm Hyper Velocity Medium Support gun, which they used until 1999 when they replaced them with the Leopard 1 tanks. The Israelis cleared their stocks of M-50 and M-51 by this time, sold to collections, used as range targets, or repurposed to other usage such as engineer vehicles.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
See also
- Vehicles equipped with the same chassis
External links
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Chad. "Palestinian Armor." Military In the Middle East. WordPress, 12 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Dec. 2017. Website (Archive).
- Jeeps_Guns_Tanks. "#34 Israeli Shermans: The Most Powerful Shermans Ever To See Action." The Sherman Tank Site. WordPress, 20 Dec. 2015. Web. 30 Dec. 2017. Website (Archive).
- Zaloga Steven. Armored Thunderbolt: The U.S. Army Sherman in World War II Stackpole Books, 2008
| France medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| M4 Derivatives | M4A1 (FL10) · M4A4 (SA50) |
| AMX-50 | AMX M4 · AMX-50 (TOA100) · AMX-50 (TO90/930) |
| AMX-30 | AMX-30 · AMX-30 (1972) · AMX-30B2 · AMX-30B2 BRENUS · AMX-30 ACRA · AMX-30 Super |
| AMX-32/40 | AMX-32 · AMX-32 (105) · AMX-40 |
| Leclerc | Leclerc · Leclerc S2 · Leclerc SXXI · Leclerc AZUR |
| Other | D2 · S.35 · Lorraine 40t |
| Germany | Panther "Dauphiné" |
| USA | ▄M4A1 · ▄M4A3 (105) · ▄M4A4 · ▄M26 |
