The M4 FL-10 is a Tier 4 premium French (previously American) medium tank.
Background Story
In 1955, the M4 Sherman was completely phased out by the French Army, which left many Shermans waiting to be scrapped, or sold to third-world countries. In the same year, the French engineering company, Batignolles-Chatillon, realized that it could upgun the M4, and then sell it both easier, and at a higher price on the international market, potentially also getting adopted by the French Army. The company chose the FL-10 turret, and the CN-75-50 gun, both found on the AMX-13, as the major upgrades, using any M4 hull asked.[1]
One prototype was made (see Gallery), which used the M4A1 hull. The French Army was not impressed with the tank, as it towered at 3m, slow, and generally (other than the gun) not much better than a standard Sherman. It was abandonded by the end of the year, and proposed to the Israelis, as they already had a project of putting the AMX-13 armament on a Sherman. Israel however, refused. Instead, France received a request for help from Egypt.[1]
France happily complied, even if they were working with Israel on the M-50. Egypt mainly had M4A4s under their belt, so conversions were done on those tanks, specifically the M4A4(75)D variant, which had slightly larger internal volume (used for shells) than most M4s. Tanks were sent to France for conversion, and arrived in late 1955. The tanks also received a new engine, with some having welded plates for extra protection. The tanks would serve Egypt until the Yom Kippur of 1973, by which point they were far outmatched.[1][2]
Playstyle
The M4 FL-10, like all autoloaders, specializes in dealing a lot of damage in a (relatively short) period of time, compared to other tanks. However, this comes at the cost that the clip reloads are usually half a minute long. This tank is no different: it has 6 shells per clip, and each shell does an average of 175 damage. After emptying the clip, it takes 32 seconds at crew level 0 to reload the clip. This, combined with the fact that it has Tier 2 levels of armor, sluggish maneuverability, but an excellent gun, gives it the same role as the Revalorisé: a support (sniper) tank.
The user should find a nice place to snipe (preferably a hill, like on OpenSpaces, or Belgium), with the optimal shooting distance around 300-400m, but the tank can reliably go up to 600m. The player would need to be accurate with their shots, as the 6 shells can be depleted rather quickly if not careful. After emptying the clip, simply go behind cover to reload, or move to another spot to avoid detection.
If they see that the enemy is approaching them, they should assess whether their team will stop them, or the player has to take care of it themselves. If the team can handle it, the user should simply wait, or, if safe, engage the enemy if they're distracted by friendlies. If not however, the player should see if they have enough shells for the tank in question. If there's not enough time to reload, the user should simply try to run to their team (while reloading), or die trying, as the clip reload is unforgiving.
Pros
- Has an autoloader, which means its capable of firing multiple quick shots.
- A fast intershot reload time of 2.8 seconds.
- Excellent penetration value, the same as the M4A1 Revalorisé (since it's the same gun).
- Compared to other AMX autoloading tanks, the FL-10 has better gun depression, making it easier to fight over hills.
- Good reverse speed which can be quickly reached due to great acceleration rate, allowing to pull back easily after unloading a clip.
- Mediocre DPM but great burst damage averaging 1,050 damage due to the autoloader.
Cons
- Non-existent armor, and somewhat poor healthpool for a Tier 4.
- It can be a rather easy target to hit due to its large profile.
- Painfully slow clip reload of 32 seconds at crew level 0.
- Sluggish maneuverability.
- Takes a total of 14 seconds to fire the 6 shells, which at the most may deal 1314 damage, but even that may not kill some tanks at full health, like the Ferdinand.
Trivia
- This tank was added in the December 20th, 2018 Holiday Update under the American tech tree. It was taken off sale on 12th January, 2019, when it cost 1800 gold. It was then moved to the French tree in the September 26th, 2019 "Vive La France" update, and put back on sale with a new model, and a new price: 2000 gold.
- The actual tank in game is the production version, the M4A4 FL-10. There was one M4A1 prototype, however the M4A1 and M4A4 differ at the front, which can clearly be seen by comparing pictures. Also, the exact Sherman variant is the M4A4(75)D.
- The tank's name is... probably wrong? In official documents by the French, the tank is named as "Char Sherman à Tourelle FL. 10." Tank Encyclopedia lists it as "M4A4 FL-10," while War Thunder has it as "M4A1 (FL10)," and World of Tanks (where Greg gets many of his tanks names) named it "M4A1 FL-10" (obviously note both games have the prototypes, M4A1). It's unknown why Greg omitted the variant part (A4) of the name.
- This tank, along with the AMX 13 75 (they share the same gun and turret) have the 4th fastest intershot reloads in the game, at 2.8 Sec.
- This is one of the two Egyptian tanks in the game, the other one being the T-34-122.
- The M4 FL-10 is one of the 5 tanks in game with a unique oscillating turret, all of which are in the French tech tree.
- This is one of the first medium tanks with an autoloader added in the game.
Gallery
The M4A4 FL-10, the tank in game, at Yad La-Shiryon Tank Museum, in Israel. This particular tank was captured by Israel, probably during the Six-Day War in June of 1967. Photo taken 2005.
The M4A1 FL-10 prototype's left side.
