The M52 self propelled howitzer was a further development of the M41 “Bulldog”, alongside the M44 self propelled howitzer, also developed from the M41. The main difference between the M44 and the M52, is the armament and turret, the M44 adopted an open top turret housing a M45 155mm howitzer, while the M52 adopted a enclosed turret housing a M49 105mm Howitzer. Both adopted a reversed drivetrain, as well as a AOS-895-3/5.
Development of the M52 started in 1948 when Detroit arsenal was tasked with initiating the development of an innovative combat vehicle in the Howitzer Motor Carriage (Later SPH) class. The requirement was for the new model to utilize the chassis of the latest light tank M41 Walker Bulldog and feature a 105 mm caliber cannon mounted in a rotating turret. Considering the lessons learned from previous self-propelled artillery models, the customer insisted on a fully enclosed turret capable of shielding the crew from attacks from any direction. This new endeavor was assigned the working title T98.
The M52 first rolled off the production line in 1951. but it was plagued by many issues and withheld from service until the year 1955, too late to see service in the Korean war. The M52 was exported to Germany, Jordan, Austria, Greece, Spain, Tunisia, Japan, Turkey, Taiwan, etc…
Taiwan acquired the M52 in 1962 and allocated it to its armored units. Following the introduction of the M108, it was reassigned to the 3rd Battalion within the Artillery Division of the 333rd Infantry Division. There is no information that stands out about the M52’s service life, it is unknown if any ever saw action. It is presumed that all of the M52s were retired sometime between the 1970s into the 1980s.
If anyone has more information, feel free to share. (I could not dig up a lot of info for this)
Personally, i would see this maybe being a 5.7 (without HEAT), or 6.0-6.3 with HEAT (same as M4 105), due to its poor protection and rather large silhouette.
you really wanna put this thing up against T-34-85 D-5T and T-34-85 lol, Also make it play against tigers?? How would it even kill anything if the M109G already exists at that BR range?
No thank you. It’s just a faster but less armored M4A3 (105) that also has limited turret traverse. It’s mobility isn’t even that fantastic despite being on a Bulldog. It’s just barely on par with the Chaffee, which isn’t good for something of this size and armor thickness. No greater than 4.7 WITH HEAT. At 6.0, it’d be worse than all of its contemporaries by far.
4.7 With HEAT? You want this thing to face T-34-57s which would 1. reload wayyyy faster 2. have good enough armor to stop most shells and 3. This is the same tier Flakbus exists at and Dikie max is very good at; don’t ruin the ballance :)
Yes 4.7 with HEAT because it would be even worse at 5.0 to 6.0. 130mm of crappy HEAT pen is not enough to fight Panthers, Tigers, and IS-1/2s let alone vehicles with more reactive ability. That’s without even considering uptiers.
It being at a similar BR as the FlakBus and Dicker Max is irrelevant. Those vehicles trade mobility and armor for consistent and massive damage output. The M52 trades consistent and massive damage output for mobility. The M52 simply has nothing worth putting it at 5.7.
Erm, so you want a 1950s Howitzer built on the M41 chassis (a 6.3-light tank) and armed with the same gun the M4A3 (105) has at 3.0 to fight against late Cold War to modern-day tanks? If I may say, that hardly seems balanced, in my humble opinion
this is an interesting tank to consider, but what is the firepower of this gun?
does it use the same ammo as the 105mm M4?
what is the velocity of those projectiles?
Around the same as the 105mm M4 Sherman thats currently in game, i couldn’t find much on the M49 105mm, but i do know it fires same ammo type as the 105mm found on the sherman.
there is a difference in the ammunition available. i believe somewhere in the 50s they upgrade the ammunition the HE round will get a decent buff with about 35mm of penetration, and the HEAT will get up to 183mm if I recall. but there is a need for confirmation. there is also a possibility other rounds were used for greater effect or range. as soon the barrel is changer for a longer one, the velocity is also changed. This are information that will greatly affect the BR of the vehicle
the M1 in-game for the M4a3 (105) has TNT filler, which is not bad. it gives 25mm of penetration and honestly, I often use it and find it more effective than the HEAT as it easily overpressures the tanks as soon there is a part near that is not 25mm thick. if you aim the lower part of the turret, the roof of the chassis is seldom 27mm so it’s often resulting into a one-hit kill. i can even one-shot a panther at 600m hitting the front of the turret. As long you hit the lower part, most tanks will be destroyed.
but the later round didn’t had 2.18 kg of TnT, it had 2.3 kg of Composite B. which not only has more, but Composite B is stronger than TnT. 1.33x stronger, which give 3.06 kg of TnTe. it should give about 35mm of penetration ingame for the same round with the same velocity just because the explosive filler is stronger
the M67 too was improved. but the extent of the effectiveness, when they changed between the composite B and Pentolite, is not sourced. some say it improved the penetration up to 183mm but most sources I found to state a penetration ranging from 127 mm to 141 mm in which case, the 130mm is correct.
additionally, there is a HESH round that could be interesting to have. It was intended to replace the M67 HEAT in the late 50s. it is quite interesting as the velocity is much better with 579 m/sec. and could be useful against most tanks in rank 3 & 4. but the HESH rounds are notorious in the game for not working well against tanks. But is still 127mm of penetration. so I would still keep the HEAT in the available rounds.
here is a little summary which can help the players to figure out what would be good about this tank
Firepower
the main gun has a good depression which is rare for such an artillery tank and gives a good introduction for a first artillery tank
the ammunition isn’t as powerful as the 155 mm, but also offers some ammunition fit for direct fire in a more conventional way
the M23 gun sight offer 4x zoom and 10° FoV which is slightly better than the 3.5x of the M4A3(105) for long range
the commander use a M100 panoramic telescope with 4x zoon and 10° FoV just like the gunner
the HE round is more powerful than those used on the M4A3 (105) which allows it a higher BR and makes it more representative of its ERA
there is 2x loader instant of 1x loader for the M4A3 (105) which allows the reload to be faster.
the Roof HMG will allow a limited defense against aircraft and light vehicles such as other M52
Mobility
the tank is based on the M41 bulldogWalker and shares the same transmission and engine. however, due to the center of gravity, the top speed is reduced to 56 km/h instead of 72 km/h
the tank offers a good reverse speed which would be quite useful for giving pop shot
the tank is a bit heavier than the M41 which will slightly reduce the acceleration.
Protection
the tank has the entire crew in the turret (drive included) which makes them vulnerable
the engine is at the front of the chassis which allows additional protection at the cost of the engine when hit in the area
the crew of 5 men is common and sufficient for such a tank
the armor only offers protection against LMG.
the armor is entirely made of RhA
all the ammunition is stored in the same compartment of the crew, which allows regular fireworks when hit.
the HE rounds is more than enough to one-shot a panther as long you know how to use the HE.
and the HE from the M4A3(105) is not the same as this one. it have a more powerful filler of composite B. it will give a much better penetration
but if you absolutely one to fight a panther, this tank should also have access to HESH rounds and have 127mm of penetration. the front of the panther will not take it.
i would then to say the M52 is in almost every way superior to the Ikv 103 despite having inferior penetration. it’s survivability notably will be better as it has a larger crew and a fair bit more protection on the roof.
