Merkava Mk.3C

This page is about the Israeli medium tank Merkava Mk.3C. For other versions, see Merkava (Family).

Merkava Mk.3C

Merkava Mk.3C

Description

The Merkava Siman 3 Bet Baz is a rank Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".

General info

Survivability and armour

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

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				1,860			__.__
Realistic				1,061			__.__

Armaments

Main armament

120 mm IMI MG251					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	46	-7°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	32.4	44.8	54.4	60.2	64.0	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					20.2	23.8	28.9	32.0	34.0

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
M325	HEATFS	480	480	480	480	480	480
M339	HE-TF	65	65	60	58	53	50
M322	APFSDS	589	586	577	565	553	541

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M325	HEATFS	1,078	15.81	0.05	0.1	2.36	65°	72°	77°
M339	HE-TF	900	17	1.5	3	3.66	79°	80°	81°
M322	APFSDS	1,705	5.6	-	-	-	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Merkava Mk.3C

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
46	45 (+1)	43 (+3)	42 (+4)	24 (+22)	6 (+40)	1 (+45)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,000 (200)	577	N/A	N/A

7.62 mm FN MAG 60-40
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	6,000 (200)	600	N/A	N/A
Pintle (loader)	1,800 (200)	600	-10°/+50°	±120°
Pintle (commander)	1,800 (200)	600	-10°/+50°	±120°

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:

• Effective Armor

• Superior Crew Layout

• High amount of Smokes

Cons:

• Large Weak Spots

• Slow

• Large Profile

• Very weak hull

History

The Merkava Mark III was introduced in December 1989 and was in production until 2003. As of 2016, the Merkava III is by far the most numerous tank in frontline IDF service. Compared to the Merkava II, it has upgrades to the drivetrain, powertrain, armament, and electronic systems. The most prominent addition was the incorporation of the locally developed IMI 120 mm gun. This gun and a larger 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) diesel engine raised the total weight of the tank to 65 tonnes (143,000 lb), but the larger engine raised the maximum cruising speed to 60 km/h (37 mph).

The turret was re-engineered for movement independent of the tank chassis, allowing it to track a target regardless of the tank's movement. Many other changes were made, including:

• External two-way telephone for secure communications between the tank crew and dismounted infantry,
• Upgraded ammunition storage containers to minimize ammunition cook-off,
• Addition of laser designators,
• Incorporation of the Kasag modular armor system, designed for rapid replacement and repair in the battlefield and for quick upgrading as new designs and sophisticated materials become available,

BAZ System

The 1995 Mark III BAZ (Hebrew acronym for ברק זוהר, Barak Zoher, signifying Shining Lightning^{[citation needed]}) had several updates and added systems including:

• NBC protection systems,
• Locally developed central air-conditioning system,
• Added improvements in ballistic protection,
• The Mark IIID has removable modular composite armor on the chassis and turret.

Dor-Dalet

The last generation of the Mark III class was the Mark IIID Dor-Dalet (Hebrew: Fourth Generation), which included several components as prototypes to be introduced in the Mark IV.

• Upgraded and strengthened tracks (built by Caterpillar, designed in Israel),
• Installation of the Rafael Overhead Weapon Station.
• Independent, fully stabilised, panoramic commander's sights allowing "hunter-killer" ability.
• Advanced thermal imagers for both gunner and commander.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Merkava Mk.3C from live.warthunder.com.

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

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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