Merkava Mk.2D

This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.2D. For other versions, see Merkava (Family).

Merkava Mk.2D

Merkava Mk.2D

Israel

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.7	9.7	9.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

STORE

Description

The Merkava Siman 2 Bet Dor Dalet is a premium gift rank VI Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 9.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Winged Lions".

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

LWS

Notifies about the vehicle's exposure to laser emissions

Armourfront / side / back

Hull90 / 50 / 30

Turret65 / 65 / 65

Crew4 people

Visibility103 %

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB60 / 26 km/h

RB and SB54 / 24 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight63.0 t

Engine power

AB1 717 hp

RB and SB900 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB27.3 hp/t

RB and SB14.3 hp/t

Write about the mobility of the ground vehicle. Estimate the specific power and manoeuvrability, as well as the maximum speed forwards and backwards.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	60	26	63	_,___	1,717	__.__	27.25
Realistic	54	24		_,___	900	__.__	14.29

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB3 082

RB2 987

SB3 876

Crew training10 000

Experts850 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 900 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 150 / 200 / 230 %

2 × 220 / 220 / 220 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment Mine protection ESS	Horizontal Drive 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack 105mm_usa_M735_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Adjustment of Fire LWS/LR NVD Elevation Mechanism 105mm_us_M416_Smoke_ammo_pack Smoke grenade Artillery Support 105mm_DM33_APDS_FS_ammo_pack

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

105 mm Sharir cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition54 rounds

First-order6 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-8° / 20°

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.

105 mm Sharir					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	62	-8°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
Realistic					__._	__._	__._	__._	__._

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
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M111	APFSDS	337	335	330	322	314	306

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%
M152	HEATFS	1,137	10.5	0.05	0.1	1,270	65°	72°	77°
M156	HESH	732	14.85	0.1	4	4,310	73°	77°	80°
M111	APFSDS	1,455	3.79	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	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
62	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate575 shots/min

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition6 000 rounds

Belt capacity200 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate1 001 shots/min

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.

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
	___ (___)	___	__°	__°

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
	___ (___)	___	__°	__°
	___ (___)	___	__°	__°
	___ (___)	___	__°	__°

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

Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in a bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".

Pros:

Cons:

History

IDF Artillery Corps cadets being tested with a Merkava Mk.2D.

Merkava Mk.1 tanks served in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) from 1979 as the primary Israeli MBT. Not long after its introduction into service, this tank was sent to lead the way during the First Lebanon War of 1982. Despite proving itself under fire against Syrian T-72As and a variety of other threats, it was obvious that the first iteration of the design was not suitable for the changing combat environment of the 1980s Middle East. In particular, it was found to be lacking in close-quarters and urban combat against asymmetric threats - primarily guerilla infantry using unguided rocket launchers.

The second generation of the Merkava was already under development when the First Lebanon War broke out, but benefited greatly from lessons learned during combat. Over the 6 years in which the Merkava Mk.2 was in production, several important changes were made to compensate for the Mk.1's deficiencies. The Merkava Mk.2D represents the final variant of this generation of Merkava tanks, including all of those modifications.

Firstly, a very familiar feature of all modern Merkava tanks was added to the first Mk.2: the Hairs of Shulamit, a line of heavy iron spheres dangling on chains around the rear rim of the turret. This simple device helps deflect incoming rounds away from the vulnerable turret ring, and increases the chance of prematurely detonating HEAT rockets and missiles. This feature proved to be so successful and cost-efficient that it was retroactively added to all Mk.1 variants as well.

A Merkava Mk.2D in a staging area during Operation "Pillar of Defense".

Another major improvement was made to the fire control system, whose computer was updated to take many additional factors into consideration, such as air temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. This significantly improved the accuracy of the tank's 105 mm cannon, allowing it to reliably outperform the T-72 at long-range combat. The computer was also taught to handle a variety of new shells made available for the Mk.2, and to be able to record its ballistic calculations in order to gradually improve accuracy over time for the specific cannon it was controlling.

The Mk.2's powertrain also saw several improvements, the most major of which was an upgraded transmission that could pivot the tank in-place - a feature sorely required for manoeuvres in dense urban terrain. The Mk.2's engine itself was also slightly more powerful than the Mk.1's.

Other features included thermal optics, additional top armour, and finally (unique to the Mk.2D) a modular armour system allowing damaged segments to be quickly replaced after a battle.

The Mk.2 continued to serve until as late as 2016. As of 2021, some Merkava Mk.2 hulls are being converted into heavily-armoured APCs, primarily to serve as Command and Control vehicles known as Ofek ("Horizon").

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

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.