The Merkava, The Chariot Of The IDF

The Merkava, The Chariot Of The IDF By Kyle Perry The Merkava tank (translation from Hebrew meaning Chariot), has been employed by the Israeli Defense Forces since its adoption in 1979. After the United Kingdom decided to not allow Israel to license the Chieftain tank for their own domestic production or even export them from the UK itself, development of the Merkava began. The design process of the tanks was interupted by the 1973 Yom Kippur War. While the war ended in a negotiated peace-treaty without a clear victor, tank losses for Israeli forces against Egyptian and Syrian forces numbered around 1,700 tanks (primarily US-made M48 and M60 Patton tanks) was severe and the number of crews lost was not as easily replaceable as the tanks themselves.

Development focused on the survivability of crews, far more than traditional tanks designs of the time had. The first major choice to ensure survivability was to move the tank engine to the front of the vehicle and the turret being moved further back towards the rear, allowing any shot that broke through the Merkava's armor to then be stopped ideally by the engine itself, protecting the crew.

The other major feature as a departure from traditional tank design was the inclusion of an open compartment in the back. The compartment could be used to transport four stretchers for wounded men, up to four armed infantry, or additional ammo which allows for resupply quickly, or miscellaneous gear and supplies. The tank finished testing and entered Israeli service in the late 70s. The tank continued to be upgraded throughout its life as it continues today in the Mark 4 variant.

Merkava 1 The Mark 1 was deployed by the IDF starting in 1979. Weighing in at 61 tonnes, it sported the American M64 105mm rifled tank gun, a combination of casted and welded steel armor, and multiple Fabrique Nationale MAG58 general purpose machine guns to deal with infantry and soft-target threats. The Merkava 1 In World War III: Team Yankee With solid 18 front armor, and the standard AT 19 with a 2+ Firepower, the Merkava 1 sits as a heavily armored but lighter gun combination for most NATO armored units. But with this combination, it comes in at a decent point cost, making fielding an entire full strength company of them with support options very doable.

Merkava 2 The Mark 2 rolled off of production lines in 1983, a combination of small changes based on lessons learned from various engagements including war in Lebanon. With 4 different subdivisions of the Mark II, she added 1 tonne in weight, bringing it to 62 tonnes, improved targeting, sensor suites, increase in armor thickness and added composite armour pieces to the turret for rapid replacement when damaged. The Merkava 2 In World War III: Team Yankee The Mk 2 maintains the same armament, but increases front and side armor, as well as gaining the BDD Armour rule in trade for losing the inferior Bazooka Skirts rule and a small point increase, while still being fieldable in large numbers.

Merkava 3 The Mark 3 was introduced in late 1989 and went into production in early 1990. The main gun was changed to a domestically developed and produced IMI 120mm smoothbore gun, composite armor replaced all steel armor plates, it's weight increasing to over 63 tonnes, but a large upgrade to the engine added an extra 250 horsepower which more than compensated for the weight changes and the tank was actually now capable of faster acceleration. The Merkava 3 In World War III: Team Yankee A new contender to the king of armored units in game, the Merkava Mk III drastically increases front armor to a whopping 23, while also seeing an increase in side armor, changing BDD Armour to Chobham Armour. Offensively, the standard 105mm AT 19 FP 2+ of many NATO Tanks is outclassed by the new 120mm gun with a devastating AT 22 and the unit trades Infra-Red (IR) for Thermal Imaging. While these upgrades are impressive and make it a tough unit to fight against, it does come with a large point cost increase, making full companies worth harder to fit into lists unless you are using the new Dynamic Points option.

The Merkava has served the IDF well for over 45 years, with over 2,000 of all variants having been delivered with production still ongoing. Whether you prefer the original Mark I, the upgraded version Mark II, or the rebuilt best-in-class of the Mark III, all can be fielded in force in the new World War III: Israeli book.

~ Kyle