M24 (Italy)
Contents
Description
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The Carro Armato Leggero M24 is a rank III Italian light tank
with a battle rating of 3.3 (AB) and 3.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Starfighters".
General info
Survivability and armour
The M24 Chaffee has thin armour on all sides, and can only effectively resist machine gun fire or very low-penetrating shells. Its crews are also very close to each other, increasing the chance of it getting one-shotted. The V-shaped gun mantlet might bounce some small caliber shells if you are lucky enough. However, don't rely on it as the rest of the tank is still poorly protected.
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
| Game Mode | Max Speed (km/h) | Weight (tons) | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Reverse | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | ||
| Arcade | 63 | 26 | 18.4 | 459 | 565 | 24.95 | 30.71 |
| Realistic | 57 | 24 | 262 | 296 | 14.24 | 16.09 | |
Armaments
Main armament
The tank offers the 75 mm M6 gun, which only differs from the M4/M4A1 Sherman's 75 mm M3 gun with its slower reloading rate due to the smaller confines of the M24 Chaffee. The 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.
| 75 mm M6 cannon | Turret rotation speed (°/s) | Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mode | Capacity | Vertical | Horizontal | Stabilizer | Stock | Upgraded | Full | Expert | Aced | Stock | Full | Expert | Aced |
| Arcade | 48 | -10°/+15° | ±180° | Vertical | 14.28 | 19.80 | 24.0 | 26.60 | 28.20 | 8.45 | 7.47 | 6.89 | 6.50 |
| Realistic | 14.28 | 16.80 | 20.40 | 22.60 | 24.00 | ||||||||
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 | ||
| M72 Shot | AP | 90 | 88 | 78 | 66 | 57 | 49 |
| M48 Shell | HE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| M61 Shot | APCBC | 101 | 99 | 88 | 76 | 66 | 57 |
| 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% | |||||||
| M72 Shot | AP | 619 | 6.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| M48 Shell | HE | 463 | 6.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 666 | 79° | 80° | 81° |
| M61 Shot | APCBC | 618 | 6.8 | 1.2 | 20 | 63.7 | 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 |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 25 (+23) | 1 (+47) | No |
Machine guns
The two machine guns on the M24 Chaffee are the good old .50 cal M2HB and the 7.62 mm M1919A4. The roof-mounted .50 cal can traverse 360 degrees and has great depression & elevation, posting a big threat to any plane that is flying too close to the M24. It has an unbelievable penetration of 31mm at 10m, meaning it can easily penetrate plenty of lightly armoured vehicles and even the side of some low rank medium tanks. The 7.62mm, on the other hand, can only efficiently damage exposed crews due to its low penetration.| 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 Chaffee 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 manoeuvrability and speed which allows it to perform impressive flanking manoeuvres. 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.
An extension of this "peek-a-boo" tactic is to also use the tank's mobility for "scoot-and-shoot" tactics by firing and then moving to another firing location so as to prevent enemy tanks and tank destroyers from accurately guessing range. This can be difficult, however, as you must be very versed in your own tank's ballistics to make shots as you will have to estimate range on the fly. Don't think this means firing on the move - if you are going faster than 16 km/h (10 mph), the stabilizer will not allow for accurate shots, and it is only a vertical stabilizer.
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.
Enemies worth noting:
- Sd.Kfz.234 series: The M24, although agile, is still not the fastest tank at its rank. When your opposite team has Germany, you might want to reconsider the option of capping a point straight away, since the German Sd.Kfz.234 series are very likely to be there first. The Sd.Kfz.234/2 (also known as the Puma) is a turreted 8-wheel vehicle with a small profile, extremely high on-road speed and a powerful 50mm gun. But it cannot turn in place, has a very slow turret traverse and only 8mm of side hull armour, so a good tactic is to circle with it and utilise your stabiliser, fast turret and the piercing .50 cal. In an intense tank "dogfight", you might miss your shots. Don't worry, your reliable .50 cal got you! It can penetrate the sides, or even the front of the puma easily. The Sd.Kfz.234/3 and Sd.Kfz.234/4, although being equally deadly, are turretless. You can use some quick turns to avoid their guns or tear through the thin armour plate protecting their gunners with your .50 cal.
- KV-1, KV-IB, KV I C 756 (r): The famous KV series can cause a bit of troubles too. They are well know for their well-protected hull and turrets. The M24 can manoeuvre to point-blank range, line up your gun so it's pointing dead flat at the armour and fire. The 104mm penetration of the M61 shell should punch a hole in the KV's armour with ease. If you are close enough but do not have the space to manoeuvre, shoot their gun barrel to prevent them from getting a shot off, then go for their turret ring or the vertical part on their gun mantlet, which is only 90mm. For the KV-1B, do not try and fire at its turret from the front and side, as they are 105mm thick and will never get penetrated. For the KV I C 756, aim for the cupola (50m) or the gun mantlet (50mm) to knock out the turret crew or the gun breech. Don't shoot at anywhere else, the shell won't penetrate.
- Churchill Mk I, Churchill Mk III, Pz.Kpfw. Churchill: The Churchills, with their complex hulls and sturdy turrets, can be quite hard to kill at range. Again, maneuver as close to them as possible, the idea distance being no more than 200m. If they are angling their hull but facing their turret at you, only go for the turret. For the Mk I Churchills, aim at the near-vertical part of their rounded cheeks to ensure successful penetrations. For the Mk III and the German Churchill, also aim for their flat turret which is at most 89mm. The shell should go in easily and knock out most, if not all of the crew. Only when you are facing their hull without any angles should you shoot the hull, otherwise shoot the turret only, as their big tracks can easily get in front of the frontal hull. The side hull have multiple layers of armor, some of which are weirdly angled and can absorb plenty of shells.
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | Horizontal Drive | |||
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | Adjustment of Fire | Airstrike | M61 Shot |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Elevation Mechanism | Smoke grenade | ||
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Artillery Support | Improved optics | M64 | |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Low profile
- Uses the same gun as the 75mm Shermans: various shell types, great penetration & damage and good gun depression
- Very agile
- Very fast reverse, thanks to the 4-speed reverse gear
- Fast turret traverse of about 20 deg/sec
- 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 defence and destruction of thin-skinned vehicles
- 13 smoke grenade launcher and smoke shells for self defense and team support
- Effective even in uptiers if used for flanking shots or hunting soft targets
Cons:
- Thin armour on all sides
- Acceleration is rather sluggish, especially on soft terrains
- Low ammo count can be a problem in long games or RB/SB matches
- Reload is quite slow for its calibre
- On-road top speed is still inferior to some wheeled vehicles like the Sd.Kfz.234/2
- Shells drop dramatically at long distances
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| Italy light tanks | |
|---|---|
| Italy | |
| L6/40 | L6/40 · L6/40 (31 Rgt.) |
| M11/39 | M11/39 |
| Autoblindo | AB 41 · AB 43 |
| Fiat 6614/6616 | FIAT 6614 · AUBL/74 · AUBL/74 HVG |
| R3 Capraia | R3 T106 FA |
| Centauro | Centauro I 105 · Centauro I 105 R · Centauro I 120 · Centauro RGO · VRCC |
| Freccia | VBC (PT2) · Freccia |
| Dardo | Dardo · VCC-80/60 · VCC-80/30 |
| Other | C13 T90 |
| USA | ▄M3A3 · ▄M24 · ▄M18 |
| Hungary | |
| WWII | Csaba · Toldi IIA |
| Post | ◔BTR-80A · KF41 |
