Israeli tanks: "Merkava MK.4", "Mage 3", "Sabra"

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In this article, let's talk about weapons. Let's analyze in detail the three models of the most common Israeli tanks, consider their combat characteristics and use.

Merkava MK.4

One of the brightest representatives of our list. The project was developed and approved in August 1970. In December 1974, the first two prototypes of the Merkava MK.1 tank were produced, and 5 years later this tank was officially adopted by the Israeli army.

After the "MK.1" will participate in the Lebanese war, the Israeli government will decide to modernize this model. In the period from 1982 to 2002, the combat vehicle will be modernized three times, and in 2004 the final version of the Merkava MK.4 tank will appear in service with the Israeli army.

The tank is equipped with a diesel engine from the American manufacturer Generals Dinamics, whose power is 1500 horsepower. There is no equipment designed to overcome water obstacles on the combat vehicle, there are no mechanisms for self-digging either.

Israeli tank has a mass of 70 tons, but the degree of its protection is lower,than the "T-90", whose mass is 50 tons. The new turret, after a series of changes, received the highest armor, but the lower armor plate of the tank has only 100 mm of armor.

The "Merkava MK.4" is equipped with a MG 253 gun, which has an excellent rate of fire and a drum loading mechanism, the number of rounds in the drum is ten. The entire ammunition load is 46 rounds (together with the initially loaded drum). Another advantage of this weapon is that the crew has the ability to fire LAHAT light anti-tank missiles.

During its entire existence in combat, Israeli Merkava MK.4 tanks were tested twice: the Second Lebanese War (2006), the Gaza Strip (2011).

Magah 3

In the period from 1964 to 1966, the Israeli army received 150 M48A1 tanks and about 100 M48A2C combat vehicles from Germany and the United States, which were later called "Magah", which means "ramming strike".

December 15, 1966, work began on the modernization of the Magah 1 and Magah 2 models. As a result, after a series of changes, the Israeli tank "Magah 3" appeared, which differed from its predecessors in the new English L7 gun with a caliber of 105 mm, the American M41 gun with a caliber of 85 mm was previously installed. The turret was completely replaced and had a very low profile, the petrol engine was replaced with a diesel one,the power of which was 750 horsepower, and a non-flammable liquid began to be used for the operation of the hydraulic system, for greater protection of the crew, Blazer dynamic protection was added to the tank.

Later, the Magah-3 tank went through about 15 upgrades, at the beginning of the 1990s, more than 1,800 units of the Magah family of various modifications were in service with the Israeli army.

Israeli tanks of the "Magah" family proved to be excellent in combat operations and participated in such wars as the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, the Yom Kippur War, the Lebanon War. Also, these combat vehicles participated in the fighting in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, all obsolete Magah tanks were replaced by Israeli Merkava tanks. After replacing all the old models, it was decided that the 460th training brigade would be armed with tanks of the Magah model, the rest of the combat units were transferred to the army reserve.

A brief history of the "Magah 3" tank in the Russian Tank Museum

During the fighting in Lebanon, Syrian troops managed to capture the Magah 3 tank, three members went missing, the Israeli government announced a reward of 10 million dollars for information about their whereabouts, at the moment an Israeli tank in Kubinka. The media have previously discussed many different versions about the capture of a military vehicle by Syrian troops.

In the suburbsthe tank museum does not have such exhibits that have Blazer dynamic protection or something like that installed, "Magi 3" remains the only representative for now, but most likely the tank will be returned to its homeland in the near future.

Sabra

Israeli tanks are also represented by a combat vehicle, which was developed by an Israeli company in the period from 2002 to 2005, its name is "Sabra".

This model is a deep modernization of the US M60A3 tank. Compared to its American predecessor, the armor and security of the Sabra is much higher, and due to the fact that the vehicle is equipped with a passive modular armor protection kit, it is possible to change the mass of the combat vehicle depending on the situation on the battlefield, which is a big plus.

The tank is equipped with a MG 253 gun with a caliber of 120 mm. The advantages of this choice are that the gun has a very long target engagement range, for its guidance a periscope day vision device with a magnification of X8 and a night vision device with a magnification of X5.3 are used.

It is possible to fire using a computer, the development of this function was carried out by the Israeli companies Elbit Systems and El-Op. The fire extinguishing system of the machine is automatic.

In addition to the main gun, the tank is equipped with a 60 mm mortar and two machine guns of 7.62 and 5.56 mm calibers. Ammunitionmain gun includes 42 rounds.

Israeli Tank Forces

Israeli tank forces consist of four tank brigades:

• 7th - in service with "Merkava 4" tanks
• 188th - "Merkava 3".
• 401st - "Merkava 4".
• 460 Tank Training Brigade - armed with many different types of equipment.

Since July 2016, Major General Kobi Barak has taken over command of the Israeli army.

Conclusion

During the existence of the Israeli army, the country participated in many military conflicts, so the development of the military industry in Israel remained one of the main tasks. To date, the Sabra tank is adequately capable of competing in the world market with its "classmates" from other countries. Although most models of Israeli tanks are based on American combat vehicles, the differences in them are really significant.