M24
Contents
Description
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The Light Tank M24 SDF is a Rank III Japanese light tank with a battle rating of 3.3. It was introduced along with the initial Japanese Ground Forces tree in Update 1.65 "Way of the Samurai". This Japanese vehicle is identical to the American M24 Chaffee.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour
- Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 25.4 mm (60°) Front glacis 25.4 mm (44°) Lower glacis |
25.4 mm (13°) Front 12.7 mm (13°) Rear |
12.7 mm (71-74°) Top 19 mm (1-43°) Bottom |
12.7 mm |
| Turret | 38.1 mm (8-40°) Turret front 38.1 mm (1-45°) Gun mantlet |
25.4 mm (17-26°) | 25.4 mm | 12.7 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 38.1 mm | 38.1 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels and tracks are 15 mm thick.
- Belly armour is 12.7 mm thick.
- Gun barrel is 20 mm thick.
- Gun breech is 300 mm thick in structural steel
Mobility
| Mobility characteristic | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tons) | Add-on Armor weight (tons) |
Max speed (km/h) |
| 18.4 | N/A | 63 (AB) |
| 56 (RB/SB) | ||
| Engine power (horsepower) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 459 | 565 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 262 | 296 |
| Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 24.94 | 30.71 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 14.24 | 16.09 |
Armaments
Main armament
| 75 mm M6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 48 | -10°/+15° | ±180° | |||
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | 14.28 | 19.80 | 24.0 | 26.60 | 28.20 |
| Realistic | 14.28 | 16.80 | 20.4 | 22.60 | 24.00 |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew | Prior + Expert qualif. | Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| 8.45 | 7.47 | 6.89 | 6.50 | ||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration in mm @ 90° | |||||
| 10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | ||
| M72 shot | AP | 110 | 109 | 92 | 76 | 62 | 51 |
| M48 shell | HE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| M61 shot | APCBC | 90 | 88 | 81 | 73 | 65 | 59 |
| Shell details | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | 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% | |||||||
| M72 shot | 619 | 6.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | -1° | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| M48 shell | 463 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 666 | +0° | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| M61 shot | 618 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 20 | 63.7 | +4° | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| Smoke characteristic | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Screen radius in m |
Screen time in s |
Screen hold time in s: |
Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent): |
| M89 | 381 | 6.9 | 13 | 5 | 20 | 50 |
- M61 shells are for:
Heavy tanks like KV-1 (L-11)s and KV-2s or possibly Shermans if in a mixed game. Medium tanks with applique armour such as the Panzer III Ausf. M and etc.
- M72 shells are for:
Medium tanks and Light tanks like Panzer III Ausf. J1 or the T-50.
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 25 (+23) | 1 (+47) | No |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm M2HB | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pintle mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 1,000 (200) | 576 | -10°/+70° | ±60° | |||
| 7.62 mm M1919A4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coaxial mount | ||||||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) | Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance | |||
| 1,800 (250) | 500 | N/A | N/A | |||
Usage in the battles
The M24 (Japan) is a very good tank with a fairly interesting play style. Instead of being permanently stationed at a single point and continuously firing at an enemy, this tank offers impressive maneuverability and speed which allows it to perform impressive flanking maneuvers. The M24 can travel at around 38 km/h forward and -25 km/h backwards. Its reverse speed is very good if a quick getaway by going backwards is needed. Thus, this tank excels at "peek-a-boo" tactics in which one hides behind a rock or other large piece of cover and repeatedly inches out to fire at an enemy.
The tank offers a 75 mm M6 gun, which has a slower reload than the Sherman's 75mm M3 gun but is otherwise the same. Its shells come in handy for certain tanks; they generally penetrate armour very well. It is rare to experience a ricochet or be to unable to penetrate any armour.
Do not: Continuously shoot at a tank without backing up/moving. The vehicle's armour is very thin and will most likely be destroyed if it stays in one position and does not stop changing positions. Always try to get the first shot off in a head-on attack. Typically, the best shell to use is the M61 shell but it can also be beneficial to have M72 shells as well.
Another way to go around is to flank the enemy. If attacking with a more direct approach, keep hidden behind a building or boulder and pop out every now and then to take a shot at the enemy. Also, prioritize targets who are busy fighting others and cannot retaliate. Usually, after the first shot, it may disable their tank depending on what it is. Disabling the enemy tank's crew, tracks, engine, etc. allows for retaliation without the risk of any incoming enemy shells.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Low profile.
- The best cannon for light tanks in its rank.
- Very agile.
- Very fast reverse, thanks to the 4-speed reverse gear.
- Fast turret traverse.
- Equipped with a vertical plane stabilizer, allowing for more accurate shots on the move or shoot-n-scoot tactics.
- Pintle mounted HMG allows for air defense.
Cons:
- Thin armour on all sides.
- Low ammo count can be a problem in long games or RB/SB matches.
- Vulnerable to nearby explosions.
- Reload is quite slow for its caliber.
History
Development
As early as 1942, the light tanks M3 and M5 Stuart have been seen as severely lacking in the modernizing design of tanks and how they fight. The armour was seen as insufficient and the 37 mm gun was also deemed useless against newer German tanks like the Panzer III and Panzer IV. The system needed an upgrade, specifically a light tank that mounts the 75 mm gun seen on the Shermans. An attempt to mount a 75 mm gun on a Stuart was deemed inefficient as it reduced ammo stowage and left the armour too thin on the design.
In April 1943, Ordnance with Cadillac started on a project for the new light tank, designation Light Tank T24. The powertrain and transmission of the M5 Stuart was used with the ultimate goal of producing a vehicle weighing less than 20 tons. This left the vehicle with relatively thin armour to keep light. At the time, a lighter 75 mm gun was developed for mounting on the B-25 Mitchell bomber without sacrificing performance, and this was mounted onto the light tank in development. The tank used 410 mm wide tracks with a torsion bar suspension that greatly improves cross-country travel. The engine was a Cadillac 44T24 V-8 petrol engine. The chassis was designed with the expectation that it would be used as a basis of many different vehicle roles so it was called the "Light Combat Team". The light tank end design had a low profile at 9 ft. 1 in. height and featuring a crew of five with a three-man turret, an improvement over the two-man turrets of the Stuarts. The first finished vehicle arrived on October 15, 1943 and was deemed a success, starting a contract for 1,000 units that was later raised to 5,000 units. The vehicle was classified as the Light Tank M24 and as the Chaffee by the British after US General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who helped develop some of America's earliest tank designs. The vehicle was produced by Cadillac and Massey-Harris from April 1944 to August 1945 with a total of 4,731 units produced.
Japanese Service
In July 1st, 1954, Japan set up its post-war military force, the Japan Self-Defense Forces with the purpose of defending Japan should it come under conflict in the ongoing Cold War between America and the Soviet Union. To jump start the remilitarization, America gave the newly formed JSDF several M24 Chaffees along with some M4A3E8 Shermans. The M24 would soon be retired once it was found that they were unable to contend against the Soviet's T-34-85, leading to a limited use until replaced by more capable tanks.
Media
An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.
Read 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.
ETC.
Sources
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Japan light tanks | |
|---|---|
| Type 89 | I-Go Ko |
| Type 95 | Ha-Go · Ha-Go Commander |
| Type 98 | Ke-Ni |
| Other | Ka-Mi |
| IFV | Type 89 |
| RCV | Type 87 RCV (P) · Type 87 RCV · RCV (P) |
| MCV | Type 16 (P) · Type 16 (FPS) · Type 16 |
| USA | ▅M24 · ▅M41A1 |
