Magach 3 (ERA) (USA)

Description

The ▃Magach 3 (ERA) is a premium gift rank American medium tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced as a premium pack in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm". It was removed from the store at the start of the Israeli ground forces CBT.

In a sense, the Magach 3 is a combination of features between the M48 Patton and the M60. Sharing the rounded cast hull shape of the M48 hull chassis and a rounded turret housing the 105 mm M68 gun. However, unlike the usual M48A1, the Magach 3 has the M60 engine installed and its engine grilles and exhausts on the rear are similar to that of the M60.

Features exclusive to the Magach 3 are plentiful however. From the front, smoke grenade launchers can be seen on the gun mantlet sides, with a total of 20 smoke grenades that could be launched. On the turret roof, the prominent commander's cupola infamous on the M48A1 and the M60 designs has been replaced with the Urdan design, which has a drastically smaller profile at the expense of the commander's 12.7 mm machine gun. In its place, a 7.62 mm Browning on a pintle-mount is available on the roof.

More prominently throughout the Magach 3 are mountings for the Blazer ERA on the hull front, turret front, and turret sides. More than likely however, these mountings on the battlefield would be covered by the Blazer ERA which would fill up the Magach 3 profile with large blocks running vertically throughout the design. Though similar to the M60A1 RISE (P) in ERA placement, the ERA on the Magach 3 are long smooth blocks running up and down with the tank's profile while the M60A1 RISE (P) has them in tiles, each with four bolts on that mounts them onto the tank.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour (Front hull, Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Side, Rear, Roof)

Notes:

• Suspension wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 38 mm in the front and 25 mm in the rear.
• Rangefinder device on the turret sides count as 127 mm cast armour.
• ERA can be attached on turret and front hull via modification.

Mobility

Modifications and economy

Armaments

Main armament

Ammunition

• M392A2 APDS (Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot) is capable of easily penetrating the majority of the foes it meets, but these rounds do require finesse as to their placing.
  Because the shell lacks an explosive filler, the best bet is to try and either knock out the majority of the enemy tank's crew, or to destroy the enemy by ammo or fuel detonation through hitting their respective storage capacities. This, of course, requires knowledge about the vehicles the Magach may face - so be sure to use the game's X-Ray view in the hangar and analyse the potential foes for their weak spots! Also keep in mind that with increased armour thickness the amount of shrapnels shrinks.

• M156 HESH (High-Explosive Squash-Head) works very differently than other shell-types. It ignores any angle, except for ricochet and deals damage by metal-flakes which are blown off inside the armour by the exterior explosion. Basically the fighting compartment is showered in metal rain. Currently only true armour thickness (opposed to line of sight thickness) will provide sufficient means of protection, benefitting the USSR turret designs and in general German tanks. Like all high-explosive shells the fuse is very sensitive and can be set-off by most objects e.g. fences, trees, pillars.

• M152 HEATFS (High-Explosive Anti-Tank Fin-Stabilised): The knowledge of enemy vehicle layouts gained from the stock shell (M392A2), will be handy to use for the Magach's fullest potential - as the M152 is a round that can penetrate most vehicle's armour frontally. Like the APDS shot, increased armour thickness results in reduced amount of shrapnels after penetration. Unlike APDS it has one downside: Given that it is a chemical energy round, its fuse is highly sensitive in regards to its practical application in battle. As a result, virtually anything, such as trees or even a fence, will set it off prematurely, so the HEATFS round cannot fire through obstructions with this kind.

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Magach 3 (ERA) (USA)

Machine guns

Usage in battles

To use this tank effectively do not charge straight into battle, instead, go around. Use the terrain, make it harder to be identifiable by selecting the appropriate camouflage and navigate using the map. To flank, the opponents from the sides or the rear, use a flanking tactic to surprise the enemy tankers and destroy them. However, do not let the Magach be seen and the longer it can stay hidden, the higher the chances of finding more tanks off guard and surviving the match. Try to attack from long distances: The Magach has a very powerful and accurate cannon. This can be equipped with some of the most lethal ammunition in the game. It will turn the biggest and most powerful tanks into blazing wrecks.

The Magach looks similar to the T-54 series of tanks an unskilled T-54 player will pause for a short amount of time to identify the tank. This will give the tank extra time to angle the tank and to calculate a perfect shot and destroy vital parts of the enemy tank. Do not expose/show the rear of the tank as this will give away the Magach immediately since the rear does not resemble a T-54 and is one of the weakest places on this tank.

Playing on maps which have villages, towns, and city centres modelled, such as Poland, Advance to the Rhine, Normandy etc. These require a more specific tactic to survive in these locations as being flanked and not knowing about it until it's too late is very common. A good way of preventing this while using a Magach tank is to not enter the urban environment. In these environments, the Magach will be normally too close for the armour to work as effectively. However, if going around the sides of the town and move in and out of streets, this will prevent the enemy team to predict where the Magach will go. The Magach, once upgraded, offers some of the best handling in the game, use that as an advantage in narrow and congested streets.

When engaging with other medium tanks, the Magach offers an excellent gun which can dominate any other medium tank. If the HEATFS is unlocked, the Magach will be able to terminate any tank with one hit most of the time. The closer to the enemy tank, the higher the odds of ending it with an instant termination. When using HESH rounds, do not hit the sides of the enemy tank, it won't really do much damage. However, when the enemy has exposed the front, especially the Upper Glacis of the tank, using the HESH rounds will cause a lot of damage to the Crew and could also end that tank in one shot. Examples are the T-54's, IS-3 and -4Ms. Against T-10Ms, its not that reliable because of spaced armour.

Make sure to not expose the rear or sides of the tank and turret. These are weakest parts and if hit is likely to end the tank.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• E.R.A. provides some extra protection from Sabot and HEAT rounds
• Removal of the tall commander's cupola on the M48A1 Patton = slightly lower silhouette
• Hard-hitting and accurate 105 mm L7 gun
• Very accurate gun at long ranges when upgraded
• Good stock shell (APDS)
• HEATFS and HESH shells available
• Decent turning capability
• Very good stock turret transverse speed
• Great off-road speed (but not as great compared to Leopards and T-10Ms)
• Front hull impenetrable against most Rank IV & some Rank V tanks

Cons:

• Sides are only 41 mm thick, they can be penetrated easily
• Gun mantlet is 152 mm thick with little sloping, can easily be penetrated even by lower-tier tanks
• Turret ring can be penetrated by enemy rounds
• Front is vulnerable to HEAT and the most powerful APHE (T-10M, Maus) at close range
• No shells with HE core
• Gun can't depress over the engine bay; makes it difficult to combat flankers.
• E.R.A. doesn't help against regular AP rounds

History

During the 1960s and '70s, Israel purchased a number of M48 and M60 tanks from West Germany and later the USA. These tanks and their subsequent upgraded versions were named Magach. The first two Magach tanks were for the most part "stock" versions Israel initially received, without any significant retrofits. However, the first wave of major upgrades became visible with the Magach 3. This version intended to upgrade the Israeli M48s to the A4 standard, following the Six-Day-War of 1967. The Magach 3 introduced several major improvements over the previous versions, including the replacement of the 90 mm with the L7 105 mm cannon, an improved diesel engine and transmission as well as a low-profile commanders cupola, just to name a few.

During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Israel suffered heavy tank losses at the hands of entrenched Egyptian infantry on the Sinai peninsula. After the war, the Israeli tank force was more than halved. Once a critical vulnerability was discovered with the location of the highly flammable hydraulic fluid of the Magach tanks, the decision was made to replace the losses sustained in the previous war with newer Magach 5 and 6 tanks during the 1970s. The newer Magach tanks would introduce more improvements over time that further tailored their performance to the IDF's needs, but that's a story for another day. The Magachs remained the frontline MBT of the IDF until the '80s and '90s until they were gradually being replaced by Israel's new domestically designed Merkava tank. By 2006, all Megachs were decommissioned from active service.

- From Devblog

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Magach 3 (ERA) (USA) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

See also

• Magach (Family)
  • Magach 3
• M48A1 - The original vehicle base that make up the Magach 3.
• M48A2 G A2 - Similarly modified M48 with a 105 mm gun in the German tech tree.

External links

• [Devblog] Magach 3 - Chariot of War
• [Devblog] Magach 3: New Defensive Abilities