Ra'am Sagol

Ra'am Sagol

Ra'am Sagol

Israel

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
11.3	11.3	11.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The Merkava Siman 3 Ra'am Sagol is a premium gift rank VII Israeli medium tank with a battle rating of 11.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Alpha Strike".

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

Turret150 / 65 / 65

Crew4 people

Visibility107 %

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

AB67 / 29 km/h

RB and SB60 / 26 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight65.0 t

Engine power

AB2 290 hp

RB and SB1 200 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB35.2 hp/t

RB and SB18.5 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	67	29	65	_,___	2,290	__.__	35.23
Realistic	60	26		_,___	1,200	__.__	18.46

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB3 304

RB3 384

SB4 003

Crew training10 000

Experts1 560 000

Aces2 200

Research Aces2 420 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 150 / 190 / 220 %

2 × 244 / 244 / 244 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Suspension Brake System Filters Transmission Engine	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment Mine protection ESS Smoke grenade	Horizontal Drive Adjustment of Fire 120mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Elevation Mechanism LWS/LR Artillery Support NVD

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

120 mm IMI MG251 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition46 rounds

First-order5 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

7.8 → 6.0 s

Vertical guidance-7° / 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.

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	__._	__._	__._	__._	__._	_.__	_.__	_.__	_.__
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
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

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
46	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

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

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

Pros:

• Extremely large amount of smoke grenades, practically infinite for most battles
• Strong APFSDS shells, with great velocity and penetration
• Unique HE-TF that can be used as a pseudo-SAP round
• Good crew survivability
• Well-protected against IFV autocannons and HEAT rounds

Cons:

• Poor KE protection overall, weak turret cheeks and little meaningful hull armor
• Vulnerable engine and transmission due to frontal placement
• Rear-mounted turret can make it hard to fight around corners
• No thermals for the commander sight

History

In 2020, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) authorized the declassification of a unique tank unit -- long-since disbanded -- which had been used to test Israel's first Active Protection System.

The declassified tank unit operated in Israel's "Security Zone" in southern Lebanon, between around 1998 and Israel's eventual withdrawal in 2000. It was a company of Merkava Mk.3 tanks belonging to the IDF's 188th Armored Regiment -- at the time some of the most advanced Merkava tanks in service -- and mostly carried out patrols and ambushes against Hezbollah guerillas. Unlike other Israeli tanks at the time, however, the unit's tanks carried a unique new system known only by the code-name Ra'am Segol ("Purple Thunder"). The few existing photographs of the company's tanks from that period show the system as a pair of opaque boxes on the turret's forward cheeks, and an additional box at the rear of the turret. The system has never been showcased publicly, nor have any of its specifications been made clear; though the declassification of the armored company that utilized it has led to a somewhat solid conclusion about its intended function.

If the speculation is correct, Ra'am Segol was a "soft-kill" APS: a radar/laser warning system that could detect incoming missiles, then perform some sort of reaction to neutralize them and/or reduce threat to the tank. Ra'am Segol could not intercept the incoming missile directly, instead performing electro-optical jamming (similar to the Russian Shtora-1, found on the T-90A) against SACLOS-guided missiles such as the TOW and MILAN, deflecting the missile's trajectory away from the tank. Additionally, it seems likely that the system would automatically deploy the Merkava's smoke grenades, and may have also automatically rotated the turret to face the incoming projectile and allow quick return-fire against the launcher.

In newspaper interviews following the declassification, crews from the Ra'am Segol unit reported exposing their tanks deliberately to potential threats in order to test the system directly, sometimes going out on patrols without any infantry support (very unusual for armored units during that particular conflict) or even stopping the tank at an exposed position in order to draw missile fire. Official IDF Armored Corps sources, however, have so far denied that the tanks had been utilized any differently from any other unit. There have been no reports of the system ever triggering in action, though the crews have reported never coming under any missile attacks, despite their deliberate efforts.

Whatever the case may be, the Ra'am Segol unit was disbanded once the IDF withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, and the APS itself was dismantled from all of the tanks, never to be seen again. It is unknown whether the system had failed in some way, or simply deemed unsuitable for the IDF's purposes. Nevertheless, just over a decade later, another Active Protection System was revealed in active service with the IDF, this time being the world's first "hard-kill" APS: the "Trophy".

Media

Videos

The Shooting Range #406 - Metal Beasts section at 00:25 discusses the Ra'am Sagol.

See also

Related development

• Merkava (Family)

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

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