Tiran 4S

This page is about the Israeli medium tank Tiran 4S. For the other version, see Tiran 4.

Tiran 4S

Tiran 4

Sho't Kal Alef

Tiran 4S

Tiran 4

Sho't Kal Alef

Israel

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	8.0	8.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:48 000

Purchase:270 000

Description

The Tiran 4S is a rank V Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Wind of Change".

It is a captured T-54 (1951) from the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli Wars. The Tiran 4S offers the major change of switching to the American M68 cannon which is shared by other Israeli tanks. Beside that, the changes are minimal: from the outside, an added jerry can and rear stowage boxes, and the commander-controlled machine gun being swapped to a 7.62 mm M1919A4.

It plays similarly to the Soviet T-54 (1951) and Chinese type 59, and is therefore not vulnerable to the shot-traps of earlier models. However, the new gun grants unique gunplay options with options for APDS, HESH, HEAT and Smoke shells. It will offer a fresh experience compared to the Soviet and Chinese T-54s.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull100 / 80 / 45

Turret200 / 160 / 65

Crew4 people

Visibility83 %

Being a near perfect copy of the T-54 (1951), the Tiran 4S offers very good protection. It is able to survive all solid shot rounds, but offers no protection against HEAT-based options, leaving it weak in that aspect, especially at its battle rating where this type of ammunition is the norm.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (hull, turret, cupola)
• Cast homogeneous armour (gun mantlet)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	100 mm (60°) Upper glacis 100 mm (63°) Lower glacis	80 mm Top 20 mm + 20 mm (31°) Bottom	45 mm (16°) Upper plate 30 mm (72°) Lower glacis	100 mm (30°) Front glacis 30 mm Crew compartment 10-20 mm Engine compartment
Turret	200 mm (spherical) Turret front 100 mm (cylindrical) Gun mantlet	160 mm (spherical)	65 mm (spherical)	30 mm
Cupola	100 mm (conical)			40 mm

Notes:

• Tracks and suspension wheels are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
• Jerry cans, storage boxes, and mudguards are 4 mm thick.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB56 / 9 km/h

RB and SB51 / 8 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight35.5 t

Engine power

AB992 hp

RB and SB520 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB27.9 hp/t

RB and SB14.6 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	56	9	35.5	806	992	22.7	27.94
Realistic	51	8		460	520	12.96	14.65

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 293 → 5 525

RB4 782 → 6 154

SB6 780 → 8 725

Total cost of modifications76 700

127 200

Talisman cost2 000

Crew training78 000

Experts270 000

Aces1 100

Research Aces670 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

130 / 190 / 220 %

190 / 190 / 190 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 5 300 Cost: 8 600 230 Suspension Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 800 155 Brake System Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 800 155 Filters Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 220 Transmission Research: 6 500 Cost: 10 000 280 Engine Research: 6 500 Cost: 10 000 280	Improved Parts Research: 3 400 Cost: 8 600 230 Improved FPE Research: 2 300 Cost: 5 800 155 Crew Replenishment Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 220	Horizontal Drive Research: 5 300 Cost: 8 600 230 Adjustment of Fire Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 800 155 105mm_usa_HESH_ammo_pack Research: 3 600 Cost: 5 800 155 Elevation Mechanism Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 220 105mm_us_M416_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 5 000 Cost: 8 100 220 Artillery Support Research: 6 500 Cost: 10 000 280 105mm_usa_HEAT_FS_ammo_pack Research: 6 500 Cost: 10 000 280

Armaments

Main armament

105 mm M68 cannon

Ammunition34 rounds

First-order20 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

9.7 → 7.5 s

Vertical guidance-4° / 17°

105 mm M68					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	34	-4°/+17°	±180°	-	9.5	13.2	16.0	17.7	18.8	9.75	8.63	7.95	7.50
Realistic					5.9	7.0	8.5	9.4	10.0

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
M392A2	APDS	350	347	333	317	302	287
M156	HESH	127	127	127	127	127	127
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400

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%
M392A2	APDS	1,478	4	-	-	-	75°	78°	80°
M156	HESH	731	11.4	0.1	4	3.17	73°	77°	80°
M152	HEATFS	1,174	10.5	0.05	0.1	1.27	65°	72°	77°

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	732	11.6	16	5	25	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-54 (1951) (identical)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
34	33 (+1)	28 (+6)	24 (+10)	23 (+11)	21 (+13)	1 (+33)	No

Machine guns

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition3 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm M1919A4 machine gun

Ammunition1 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate500 shots/min

7.62 mm M1919A4
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	1,000 (250)	500	-10°/+60°	±180°
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	500	-	-

Usage in battles

The Tiran 4S combines the mobility and armour of the T-54 series of tanks in the USSR tree and the 105 mm M68 in the US tree. However, it comes with a caveat, the Tiran 4 and Tiran 4S have a significantly slower turret traverse at 5.9°/s. This limitation is somewhat exacerbated by the lack of stabilization on the Tiran 4 and 4S as the gun can be moved much faster by moving the hull in the same direction the gun is traversing. Most of its peers at its BR range have stabilizers which puts the Tiran 4S at a disadvantage. Furthermore, the front ammunition rack is only covered by a small fuel tank in the side and front. Any piercing shot from a high penetration shell or anti-tank guided missile that passes through the fuel tanks will guarantee an ammunition explosion. Unfortunately, the front ammunition rack is the first stage ammo rack thus it is impossible to leave it empty.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Adequate mobility and agility
• Access to the M68 105 mm cannon with APDS, HESH, and HEAT-FS ammunition
• Excellent protection against solid shot shells and smaller calibre APDS ammunition

Cons:

• Poor turret traverse
• Low gun elevation
• Unprotected ammo rack

History

The Tiran 4S is an upgrade to the captured T-54s in Israeli service. The "S" in the Tiran 4S stands for "Sharir", which was the name of the 105 mm M68 gun in Israeli service. Aside from storage and logistical modifications to the vehicle, the M68's loading system was also redesigned in part due to the T-54's loader being seated on the right of the gun and the M68 being designed to be loaded from the left. Another modification added to the Tiran 4S was the replacement of the hydraulic gun drive with an electrical gun drive similar to the Sho't tanks in service. The hydraulic gun drive was deemed too dangerous by the IDF as penetration of the gun drive caused hydraulic lines to snap and release hydraulic gases inside the crew compartment that would inflict burns and incapacitate the crew, a lesson learned from the Magachs in the Yom Kippur War. The electrical traverse caused the turret to be more cramped and the turret rotation was made slower but was generally safer.

The Tiran series and its variants, while not used as extensively as the Magach, Sho't, and Merkava series of tanks, continued to serve in the IDF well into the 1980s.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Tiran 4S from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The Shooting Range #303 - Metal Beasts section at 00:26 discusses the Tiran 4S.

See also

• T-54/55 (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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