Merkava: is the Israeli tank the most protected in the world

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the next hot phase of which began on October 7 with an attack by Hamas militants, caused a strong resonance in the world media.

At the same time, one of the topics that gave rise to heated debate among experts was the destroyed IDF Merkava tank, which was supposedly considered the most protected in the world. But is the last statement true?

In general, this is true. But only partly. "Merkava" is the most protected in the world a tank from cumulative ammunition, that is, from hand-held shots. This is precisely what the emphasis was placed on, starting from the first versions of the tank.

The thing is that Merkava was created in the 70s of the last century for the war with Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, which at that time did not have serious armored vehicles, especially tanks. At the same time, the militants already had enough hand grenade launchers.

As a result, the Israeli tank received spaced armor from rolled armor plates. That is, the protection of the machine is built on the overall thickness, which weakens the impact of the cumulative jet. In addition, between the layers of armor there are fuel tanks (at the rear), and in the lower frontal part there is an engine, which, according to the designers, also help defocus the cumulative jet.

At the same time, such armor plates, the total thickness of which in the lower frontal part of the hull reaches about 150 mm, are unlikely to protect the engine (and maybe the crew) from fragments of a large-caliber artillery shell falling nearby. There is nothing to say about a direct hit from a 120 mm projectile.

But that's not all. No matter how strange it may sound today, even the latest version of the Merkava uses spring rather than torsion bar suspension. This design is very vulnerable.

Again, fragments from a shell exploding nearby can break one of the springs, which will instantly disable the tank.

As a result, yes, the Merkava is the most protected tank from cumulative impact. But at the same time, it is not very resistant to kinetics.

Comments

[Machito]

There is a video on the Internet of Palestinians destroying Merkava with a cheap drone.
Russian tanks are the most protected in the world. But the time has come for Terminators and the war of Drones, robots.

[Aaron Zawi]

Quote: Bearded

There is a video on the Internet of Palestinians destroying Merkava with a cheap drone.
Russian tanks are the most protected in the world. But the time has come for Terminators and the war of Drones, robots.

If you are interested, you will soon see more damaged and damaged Mk. There is no invulnerable technology.

[Aaron Zawi]

What is the most secure? What threats is the Merkava better protected from than other tanks? Some are worse. And it has long been clear that the training of the crew, competent commanders and the interaction of military branches are no less useful for a tank than doubling the armor from all projections.

[rocket757]

For every “iron can” there is an opener!

[Smoked]

A normal mobile firing point, especially on its own theater of operations, in a war of the past era. Now, when the threats are not only in the horizontal plane, but also in the vertical plane, like everyone else. If Merkava puts a kind of visor on the turret, which will protrude forward protecting the MTO, it will look like a cap :) Hump-nosed in a cap :)

[alexoff]

They knew before from an RPG attack from a window or from a helicopter, but for the former there was infantry, and for the latter there was air defense. With such an army, the IDF would have lost the Yom Kippur War

[rytik32]

Compare the thickness of the VLD of the Merkava (including the hatch cover) and that of the T-64BV (but on the T-90 the overall dimensions have become a little larger, and they have become larger and there is also a relic on top). After such photos, I don’t understand at all where the myth about “the most protected” comes from.

[MSN]

Behind the VLD the Merkava has an engine, which gives another 150-170 mm of equivalent armor from the BPS or 450-470 mm from the KS (see Bulletin of Armored Vehicles No. 12 1991) and behind it there is also an armored partition.

[rytik32]

The numbers you give must be divided by about 10 to get the real values. Because, as practice shows, if a sub-caliber projectile or a cumulative jet reaches the MTO, then they usually pass right through it.

[MSN]

Source unavailable? I’ll give you https://gurkhan.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_13.html

[rytik32]

Have you tried reading it yourself?
1. There is not a word about "Merkava"
2. The calculation was made with the roughest tolerances, as if the entire block was all-metal, without cavities for pistons, cooling and lubrication systems...
3. The calculation is as if the engine occupies the entire volume of the MTO and the projectile will not fly past it...
4. In fact, the Merkava has a cylinder head made of gray cast iron - its strength is far from that of steel. kBPS = 1...1,1 is not about cast iron at all. Engine sump made of aluminum and hollow inside

[MSN]

1 There is not a word about "Merkava"
Is it possible to work with sources? Eliminate everything unnecessary, focus on what is necessary - ENGINE.
2 The calculations were made with the roughest tolerances, as if the entire block was all-metal
ρmotor = mmotor/Vmotor - average engine density; mdv = 1450 kg - engine weight; Vdv = abc - engine volume; a = 760; b = 1290; c = 820 mm - overall dimensions of the engine.
Do you know what this is about? Take a look, you will be surprised.
3 The calculation is as if the engine occupies the entire volume of the MTO
Yes, yes. Free space is extremely limited.

[rytik32]

Quote: MSN

Is it possible to work with sources?

Since when did an article published “as a matter of discussion” become a source?

Quote: MSN

Take a look, you will be surprised.

I've already gotten into it. Here is the formula: VBPS eq = a*ρdv/(kBPS*ρst)
a is the size, no questions asked
ρdv/ρst - the ratio of the average density of the engine and the density of steel. The most interesting thing is next
kBPS = 1...1,1 This is where all the crap in this formula lies. For some reason, the author believes that the engine’s mass equivalent is almost equal to medium-hard armor steel. But this is far from true for the following reasons:
1. There is no armor steel in the engine at all. There, at best, there is brittle cast iron which, if hit by a shell, will produce a lot of secondary fragments. Or pistons-connecting rods-shafts that will also fly like fragments.
2. For metal to work as armor, it must be solid, and not like an engine: wall-cylinder-wall-cylinder-wall-oil channel-wall-coolant channel. And also well secured.

Quote: MSN

Yes, yes. Free space is extremely limited

Most of the MTO space is occupied by all sorts of filters, casings, pipes, and attachments, which are in no way capable of slowing down the projectile.

But the trashiest part comes next. The author uses the same formula to calculate the generator. Type copper wire is equivalent to armor steel. Laughed heartily!

[MSN]

Since when did an article published “as a matter of discussion” become a source?

Yes, as soon as it was published in this magazine, it immediately became so. Do you know anything about him? However, I won’t even try to convince you. Stand by your opinion.

[rytik32]

In reality, if instead of an engine a cast iron monolithic plate weighing 1450 kg was attached to the rear wall of the MTO, then it could be calculated according to the indicated formula with kBPS ~ 4...5.
And since in fact the engine parts are hollow and poorly secured, and not only cast iron, then kBPS may well be 10...11

[Sergey T19]

Nowadays, a tank is primarily a powerful and mobile weapon. He took up the position, worked and left. When a tank is detected, everything that can fly will fly into it.

[Amateur]

Merkava: is the Israeli tank the most protected in the world

For every cunning *(merkava) there is a crowbar with a reverse thread.
(Folk wisdom)

The question itself is completely stupid.

[陈乐为]

The problem now is not so much tanks as the rapid development of anti-tank weapons. An unmanned quadcopter carrying one RPG-7 grenade is capable of destroying any modern tank.

[bone1]

Why talk on your fingers - show the author the armoring scheme for the Merkava - we’ll evaluate it - we’ll laugh - and a broken spring is powerful - how long has the tank had a spring suspension - except for the early versions?

[Grossvater]

Hm! Merkava has springs and all have English springs.

[Grossvater]

By the way, the springs aren't that bad. The Jews chose this pendant taking into account the high mine danger. A broken suspension block is replaced in the field; a twisted torsion bar is not guaranteed to be replaced at the factory.

[ln_ln]

On the Challenger - hydropneumatic.

[Grossvater]

The Merkava scheme has another catch, this time concerning protection. The front engine location, combined with thin side armor, makes the driver very vulnerable.
The mechanical drive sits very far from the armor and when it hits the front side, it ends up right in the path of the cumulative jet or the BOPS core.

[Grossvater]

It is impossible to create an absolute tank. In 44, in Normandy, a German tank column came under fire from American and British battleships. They couldn’t even count how many tanks there were.
Therefore, the tank must have a SUFFICIENT level of protection, while maintaining low cost and good mobility.
While the 70-ton, super-expensive Merkava will save its crew of four, the enemy, taking advantage of the lack of tanks at the right time and in the right place, will wrap a couple of battalions on the tracks.

[Grossvater]

It is impossible to create an absolute tank. In 44, in Normandy, a German tank column came under fire from American and British battleships. They couldn’t even count how many tanks there were.
Therefore, the tank must have a SUFFICIENT level of protection, while maintaining low cost and good mobility.
While the 70-ton, super-expensive Merkava will save its crew of four, the enemy, taking advantage of the lack of tanks at the right time and in the right place, will wrap a couple of battalions on the tracks.

[Fitter65]

"Merkava" is the most protected tank in the world from cumulative ammunition, that is, from hand shots

Look how interesting it is!!! Whatever the article is, it’s a gem!!!! It turns out that cumulative ammunition is only hand-held!!!! And here they write to us that

Cumulative ammunition - artillery and other main-purpose ammunition with a charge of cumulative action.... Cumulative ammunition (shells, bombs, grenades, and so on) are designed to destroy armored mobile and stationary targets (armored cars, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and so on, and reinforced concrete fortifications). Cumulative ammunition can be used to destroy armored vehicles and garrisons of long-term fortifications by creating a narrowly directed jet of explosion products with high penetrating ability: during an explosion from the lining material of a special recess in the explosive, a thin cumulative jet is formed, which is in a state of superplasticity, directed along the axis of the recess.

And then again - and here is a new discovery for you.

[flyer]

The tank is protected by a trained crew. If the crew is not trained, not prepared, and there is also no motivation, then the thickness of the armor is of no use.

[lynnot]

As they say: "The sea does not like unsinkable ships"