page_title: Merkava
section_title: Merkava Mark I
hierarchical_section_title: Merkava / Variants / Merkava Mark I
caption_attribution_description: English: Israeli Merkava Mk.IB tank during 7th 'Tank Day' in Military Technical Museum Lešany.
context_page_description: The Merkava is a main battle tank used by the Israel Defense Forces. The tank began development in 1970, and entered official service in 1979. Four main variants of the tank have been deployed. It was first used extensively in the 1982 Lebanon War. The name "Merkava" was derived from the IDF's initial development program name.
  Design criteria include rapid repair of battle damage, survivability, cost-effectiveness and off-road performance. Following the model of contemporary self-propelled howitzers, the turret assembly is located closer to the rear than in most main battle tanks. With the engine in front, this layout is intended to grant additional protection against a frontal attack, so as to absorb some of the force of incoming shells, especially for the personnel in the main hull, such as the driver. It also creates more space in the rear of the tank that allows increased storage capacity and a rear entrance to the main crew compartment allowing easy access under enemy fire. This allows the tank to be used as a platform for medical disembarkation, a forward command and control station, and an infantry fighting vehicle.
context_section_description: The Mark I, operational since 1978, is the original design created as a result of Israel Tal's decision, and was fabricated and designed for mass production.
  The Mark I weighed 63 tonnes and had a 900 horsepower (670 kW) diesel engine, with a power-to-weight ratio of 14 hp/ton. It was armed with the 105 millimeter M64 L71A main gun (a licensed copy of the British Royal Ordnance L7), two 7.62 mm machine guns for anti-infantry defense, and a 60 mm mortar mounted externally, with the mortar operator not completely protected by the tank's hull.
  The general design borrows the tracks and road wheels from the British Centurion tank, which had seen extensive use during the Yom Kippur war and performed well in the rocky terrain of the Golan.
  The Merkava was first used in combat during the 1982 Lebanon War, where Israel deployed 180 units. Although they were a success, the M113 APCs that accompanied them were found to have several defects and were withdrawn. Merkavas were converted into makeshift APCs or armored ambulances by taking out the palleted ammunition racks in storage. Ten soldiers or walking wounded could enter and exit through the rear door.
  After the war, many adjustments and additions were noted and designed, the most important being that the 60 mm mortar needed to be installed within the hull and engineered for remote firing—a valuable feature that the Israelis had initially encountered on their Centurion Mk3s with their 2" Mk.III mortar. A shot trap was found beneath the rear of the turret bustle, where a well-placed shot could jam the turret completely. The installation of chain netting to disperse and destroy rocket propelled grenades and anti-tank rockets before impacting the primary armor increased survivability.
caption: Merkava Mark I tank at the Military museum Lešany, Czech Republic
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2010:10:19 14:36:35", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "122", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "206", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8399", "EXIF SubSecTime": "419", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1024", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "768"}