The more I look into the Merkava, the more it seems that its armor is quite bad compared to contemporary Soviet and Western MBTs, all for a vehicle that weighs more than even the Chieftain does. My personal tinfoil hat theory is that the armor actually being garbage is the main reason information on the vehicle is still classified. It doesn't help when even the relatively new Namer APC which is built on the Merkava IV chassis, uses welded interlocking plates like the Germans did during WWII. Anyway, thoughts on the Merkava? Is there any definitive data out there on armor thickness that could shed some light on this, or is the Merkava only really suited for defensive hull down work where the extreme slope of the upper plate negates its downsides? And is it just me, or does the turret look like a giant shot trap waiting to happen?
Life_In_Black got a reaction from LostCosmonaut in The Merkava, Israel's Chieftain?
