Mighty_Zuk Posted September 20 Author Share Posted September 20 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Marsh said: The Merkava 4 Barak does not appear to be fitted with smoke grenade launchers. I may be imagining it, but is there a subtle re-profiling of the turret front and roof? A somewhat flatter, less acute angle to the armour modules? I thought I wrote about it here, seems I forgot. Yes, there are indeed no grenade launchers which is odd. Someone at another forum told me it's the result of studies and tests the IDF conducted in which it was concluded it's best to get rid of them. The reason was not revealed, but I imagine that an automated system that sprays hot white phosphorus in a tight urban environment where there may be friendlies may not be such an obvious choice for a situational awareness-challenged vehicle. I'm not sure why this drastic measure was taken. They could have just left them there and keep them empty, or modify training. They could also experiment with other uses, like launching drones as SpearUAV have demonstrated on a Merkava. A coax 12.7mm M2 was also removed but its mount is retained, and parts of the IronVision are also missing so I assume the tank as presented isn't fully kitted. The armor definitely hasn't changed, externally at least. Same bolt patterns and everything. New video: Edited September 20 by Mighty_Zuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardaukar Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 I did read an article that called Merkava Mk. 4 Barak as "Merkava Mk. 5". I think that is obviously wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty_Zuk Posted September 20 Author Share Posted September 20 1 minute ago, Sardaukar said: I did read an article that called Merkava Mk. 4 Barak as "Merkava Mk. 5". I think that is obviously wrong. It is wrong indeed. Imagine someone called the AbramsX the M1A3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardaukar Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 12 minutes ago, Mighty_Zuk said: It is wrong indeed. Imagine someone called the AbramsX the M1A3. Well, US apparently want to use designation M1E3 for new Abrams version. Will be interesting to see eventually what Merkava 4 Barak actually will contain, since as said before, it seems to lack some equipment from previous versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Galbraith Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 (edited) Someone nicked a merkava..... https://reddit.com/r/TankPorn/s/AIveJFJsnK Edited September 20 by Stuart Galbraith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanch90 Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 Is that an RCWS replacing the old commander´s MG? If so, its another element that its not present yet on the real life samples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alejandro_ Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Interesting concept... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucklucky Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I am not seeing any search radar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty_Zuk Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 I found no evidence of this being a Magach or any relation to Israel. The Marksman system has similar air filters in different configurations. I decided to search "M48 marksman" instead and immediately found these: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardaukar Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 12 hours ago, lucklucky said: I am not seeing any search radar It's radar has dual use, no need to separate search radar: British Marconi 400 series frequency agile surveillance and tracking X/J-band radar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 7 hours ago, Mighty_Zuk said: I decided to search "M48 marksman" instead and immediately found these... That is M60 hull. Straight vs oval glacis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty_Zuk Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 1 hour ago, bojan said: That is M60 hull. Straight vs oval glacis. Which both invalidates the claim it's a Magach 3, and reduces the likelihood it's any variant of a Magach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sielbeck Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 7 hours ago, Mighty_Zuk said: Which both invalidates the claim it's a Magach 3, and reduces the likelihood it's any variant of a Magach. The original picture from the tweet is an M48 hull. Note the number of support rollers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojan Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 So those two pics are of different vehicle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sielbeck Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 Yes. If you look at the original picture you can also see that the engine deck and front fender are wrong for an M60 hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty_Zuk Posted October 4 Author Share Posted October 4 5 hours ago, Tim Sielbeck said: Yes. If you look at the original picture you can also see that the engine deck and front fender are wrong for an M60 hull. Nice. Can we somehow verify the specific type of M48? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sielbeck Posted October 4 Share Posted October 4 7 hours ago, Mighty_Zuk said: Nice. Can we somehow verify the specific type of M48? It's not an A5 because it's not got the deck for the diesel. My best guess it's an A3 hull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marsh Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 (edited) The Marksman was tested on 7 different tank hulls. (I don't know exactly which ones). I know it was offered to Egypt, but have no firm information as to how far the effort went before it failed. Could the M48 in the photo be part of that marketing effort? To the best of my knowledge, Marksman was never offered to the Israelis. Apologies for the lack of hard information. It's just from half-remembered conversations I had whilst attending armour symposiums in the 1990s. Edited October 6 by Marsh Extra info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sardaukar Posted October 6 Share Posted October 6 Seems that Marksman turret did fit to almost any tank hull. FDF originally had them on T-55AM hulls (I think those were purchased from Poland) and they were later transferred to Leopard 2A4 hulls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiGG0 Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 Merkava getting hit by drone dropped bomb: https://x.com/gammonbadge/status/1710589338608636393?s=46&t=L-M0VMlG0asymAkWk83krw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 What seems to be pictures from an overrun israeli base near the Gaza border: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QOHC32 Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 7 hours ago, MiGG0 said: Merkava getting hit by drone dropped bomb: https://x.com/gammonbadge/status/1710589338608636393?s=46&t=L-M0VMlG0asymAkWk83krw So, what happened ? Seems that fire comes out from the right side of the hull where the exhaust is and later, but crew survived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucklucky Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 (edited) The bomb appears to have hit the top hull glacis in front of the turret. There is minimal armour there so it penetrated. That area should be part of the engine separated from the crew if what you said is correct. Mobility kill right there. Edited October 7 by lucklucky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiGG0 Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 12 minutes ago, lucklucky said: The bomb appears to have hit the top hull glacis in front of the turret. There is minimal armour there so it penetrated. That area should be part of the engine separated from the crew if what you said is correct. Mobility kill right there. There are videos, where some of the tank crew was captured (2 people bulled from turret hatches) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRW Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 45 minutes ago, lucklucky said: The bomb appears to have hit the top hull glacis in front of the turret. There is minimal armour there so it penetrated. That area should be part of the engine separated from the crew if what you said is correct. Mobility kill right there. is - then a big oops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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