There is a plate that covers the driver which is flat and thin enough for it to pen the plate at about 400m. I found this out when my obj279’s driver got killed by one
I dont deny it is good. But i dont see its reload as a reason for it to fight more stabilized HEATFS and APFSDS.
If it had the APHE, i would move it up no problem.
It stays at 7.7, because tf you do at 8.0 in a full uptier? The solid shot is great, but you soon start facing tanks you’ll have a big trouble with (some you can’t even frontally pen, only barrel and track). If it had HEAT-FS or something, sure, put it at 8.3 for all I care. But being locked with solid shot only, its uptierability is questionable unless the vehicle in question is something like the E.B.R 1954 with its nutty mobility.
french cannons don’t have sense.
also the surbaisse has good armor, even if it doesn’t look like, one time a surbaisse survived to a 239mm soviet 100mm shot in the side of the turret at the ring.
and the surbaisse has better reload and mobility than the M103, so its a 50:50
Depends if you aim it properly, i use the french 7.7, lorrain and surbaisse etc.
I see, that would of been extremely handy to know a few years ago 😂now it aint too bad at its br.
Same as all 7.7 heavies but isnt it, moves up its useless in a downtier theyre near untouchable.
Is4, t32e1, m103, surbaisse, conq, somua.
I think people forget that if jt moved to 8.0 it would see the likes of the ztz88’s, and ofc m60 rise, megachs, strv105 which sll throw darts as standard munitions.
Infact most 9.0a do
its funny that people always bring up that french has overtiered vehicles, but its exactly the opposite… the hole french 7.7 need to go to at least to 8.0. The Somua was my go to tank to club all the mauses when people were researching it.
its a freaking racecar with an 4 sec. autoloader - compared it to a slow is4 is laughable
Did you even play it recently? The max speed increase completely butchered the smooth acceleration of the Somua SM. Now after you go to 4th gear, you will have significantly worse acceleration and struggle to speed up if there’s even the slightest slope. I literally have to keep the tank in gear 3 with any kind of slope unless it’s already fast, because it struggles to speed up in gear 4.
It Is fine.
Armor isn’t very good. Unlike IS-4M And M103, both also 7.7, it can’t bounce first shot APDS rounds (which most people load as their general purpose round) and
The turret armor is trolly but has large vulnerable area
.
well people view things white and black. Le can pen T-72 but the somua sm realistically can pen a small aspect of the T-72 which is stabilized and has an massive first shot advantage (you don’t really have time to choose a fancy weak spots)
like a extremely small area that can be penned? yeah this isnt practical in actual combat because T-72 will fire first before you have time to line up a perfect shot
The whole vehicle has incorrect armour according to the bug reports on it, it would be fine at 7.7 if it was given it’s correct armour.
Again, the problem is decompression of BR’s :(
guess what, german main
I feel like France 7.7 as a whole should be nerfed
Just nerf france overall
Ridiculously OP nation all under BR’d
ARL 44 to 8.7
Don’t forget EBR to 11.7
more front hull armour maybe.
not all too special for that BR tbh
M103 and conqueror both beat it on pen and armour. however its ROF is better.
TLDRL: its strong but not OP by any means. France mains are also competent unlike the majority
SM can Tank/face multiple vehicule with its fast reload, armor and with good players, nuke is here.
The hull (Better angle for the same armor UFP, but the ROF is weaker, less exposed than Tiger to be M-kill with transmission) + the turret is better (190-500mm thickness), more difficult to one shot in frontal.
The only thing is, the SM is weak if the vehicul is angled ( shot at 650 meters with Shot mk.1):
I shred them in scimitars all the time. sometimes even front on they are a pretty free kill.
It’s main thing going for it is that it filters noobs that just shoot centre mass on everything
It’s a ton better than Conq and M103. But I agree it’s not OP. Especially with all the big HE slingers that melt Somua with a turret hit.
Love killing Somuas in Tiger IIs. Keep em at 7.7.
U do realize they’re BT-7 food from the side right