M4-85
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M4-85
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[Client Values; Actual values in
1,500  Cost |
| 630126 HP Hit Points |
| 30.69/33.314.23/33.3 t Weight Limit |
- Commander (Gunner)
- Driver
- Radio Operator
- Loader
| 420420 hp Engine Power |
| 52/18 km/h Speed Limit |
| 3737 deg/s Traverse |
| 13.6929.52 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| NoNo Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
| 52/52/4552/52/45 mm Turret Armor |
AP/APCR/HE
AP/APCR/HE Shells |
109/2800/98
109/2800/98 Shell Cost |
| 160/160/280160/160/280 HP Damage |
| 150/196/43150/196/43 mm Penetration |
|
8.57 r/m ▲
8.57 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
1371.2 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
1371.2 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.44 m ▲
0.44 m With 50% Crew: 0.56 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.56 m |
| 3 s 3 s Aim time |
| 4444 deg/s Turret Traverse |
| 360° Gun Arc |
| -5°/+17°-5°/+17° Elevation Arc |
| 7070 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 1515 % Chance of Fire |
| 350 m 350 m View Range |
| 525 m 525 m Signal Range |
V
1500
The M4-85 is a Soviet tier 5 premium medium tank.
From 1943 through 1944, the Soviet Central Artillery Design Bureau was working on improving the characteristics of the vehicles of the Red Army. In particular, it was planned to mount more powerful guns on the vehicles supplied under the Lend-Lease Act. One promising solution was modifying the American M4A2 medium tanks by mounting them with Soviet T-34 turrets. The turret was designed for an 85 mm gun. The project existed only in blueprints.
The M4-85 first appeared in the Holiday Ops 2022 Large Boxes and then again as a Battle Pass reward in Summer/Autumn 2023. It's a rather unique tank that's a combination of a Soviet 85mm S-31MA main gun mounted in a T-34 mod. 1942 turret and mated to an American M4A2 Sherman hull. It suffers from terrible aim time and DPM, plus poor accuracy, gun depression, and concealment, but shines in penetration and alpha damage.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI | 85 mm S-31MA | 150/196/43 | 160/160/280 | 8.57 | 0.44 | 3 | 1500 | 49200 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | General Motors 6046 | 420 | 15 | 549 | 13500 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | VVSS T54 | 33.3 | 37 | B/2 | 8000 | 8300 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | 9RM | 525 | 30 | 24240 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Compared to other tanks of its class (Tier V mediums) . . .
- Very good turret traverse speed
- Second-best AP penetration for both AP and APCR, only the VK 30.01 H offers better
- The best AP alpha damage, better than even the Strv m/42
- Decent HE pen and damage for a non-derp main gun
Cons:
- The Commander is also the Gunner, forcing two sets of perks into one crew member
- Poor gun depression
- The worst aim time, hands down
- Poor accuracy for a non-derp gun
- Almost the worst DPM, only 1430 base
- Poor gun cyclic, base reload time is well over six seconds
- Poor concealment values in all categories
Performance
The M4-85 is in many ways all about its main gun, the Soviet 85mm S-31MA (apparently an inferior variant of the KV-1S's S-31M), and very much defines the tank's rather polarized performance.
Probably the first thing noticed is the gun's terrible aim time of three seconds, which is as bad as it gets amongst Soviet Tier V mediums. This makes snap-shotting difficult at best but the tank's turret traverse accuracy penalty is good enough to allow aiming at slowly moving targets. The M4A2 hull could accommodate better but the mod. 1942 turret limits gun depression to only five degrees all around, in turn limiting positions the tank can use effectively. Accuracy at 0.44 is sub-standard but Brothers in Arms, Improved Ventilation, and an aiming device can get that down to a respectable 0.4. The S-31MA also can't be reloaded very quickly, giving a cyclic rate of almost seven seconds and in turn making damage per minute suffer.
However there's some good news. Damage from all shell types is best in class, and penetration for both armor piercing and APCR shells is second only to the VK 30.01 H and its squeeze-bore gun -- if you can hit it you can hurt it, and badly. The main gun's UOK-365K high-explosive shells have better than average penetration, very good average damage (75% greater than AP), and have the exact same muzzle velocity as the AP shells -- a viable option against soft targets. And very good turret traverse speed (combined with decent hull traverse) should keep the M4-85 from being outflanked by faster light tanks, allowing it to continue to fight back.
The M4-85's defensive abilities aren't particularly good. Concealment is close to the worst possible in all categories, e.g.: Firing-while-stationary concealment is third-worst after the Pz. V/IV and 25TP.
Not surprisingly turret protection is the same as the T-34/Type T-34 but hull armor is about on par with the M4A2E4 Sherman; both are enough to attenuate HE damage. Optimal armor angling is done by -- with your main gun pointed at the most dangerous foe -- turn your hull so your front drive wheel is right under the gun, giving roughly 90-120mm of effective protection against AP -- enough to bounce some low-caliber guns found at Tier V. Health is average at 630 HP.
In top speed, reverse, and specific power mobility is above average. You're not going to be chasing down many lights but you have enough mobility to get around the battlefield to flank, go back to defend your cap circle, get up hills, and keep up with the advance. Reverse speed is good for taking cover while waiting for your slow gun reload.
Base view range is already good, with a Binocular Telescope and a 100% commander one can get up to 437m, even more with Vents, BIA, Situational Awareness, and Recon. The gun isn't very accurate so you'll usually want to be stationary to fire, which makes binos preferable over Coated Optics.
With a crew layout of Commander (Gunner), Driver, Radio Operator, Loader the M4-85 is crew-compatible with the T-34, T-34 1941, and the T-34S -- your T-34 crew can be used in all three other Soviet mediums without penalty.
Despite its shortcomings the M4-85 can be a fun tank to play; certainly worth a try, especially if you already have one. Keep yourself hidden with bushes or hard cover until you're ready to fire.
Early Research
The M4-85 is already fully researched. There are no Field Modifications or Tier VI tanks to research so be sure to turn on Accelerated Crew Training right away.
Suggested Equipment
Documented Tank and Crew Builds
At low tiers a Binocular Telescope is almost mandatory. Shaving the aim time down to a manageable size means also taking Improved Ventilation and a Gun Laying Drive, but a case could be made for replacing either with Improved Aiming.
External Reviews and Opinions
Gallery
Historical Info
