Academy 1/35 Merkava Mk.IID Tank ACA13286

Building Quality & Realistic Models Since 1969

• Academy Israel Defence Forces Main Battle Tank Merkava Mk.IID
• Plastic model kit requires assembly and painting. Glue and paint NOT included.
• 1:35 Scale Kit. Finished size: 242mm Length
• 105mm main gun, turret, basket and two kinds of side skirt from new tooling
• Reproduction of ERA armour on upper turret and front body

 The Merkava (Hebrew: מרכבה‎, [mɛʁkaˈva], "chariot") is a main battle tank used by the Israel Defense Forces. The tank began development in 1970

The Mark II was first introduced into general service in April 1983. While fundamentally the same as the Merkava Mark I, it incorporated numerous small adjustments as a result of the previous year's incursion into Lebanon. The new tank was optimized for urban warfare and low intensity conflicts, with a weight and engine no greater than the Mark I.

The Mark II used the same 105 mm main gun and 7.62 mm machine guns as the Mark I, but the 60 mm mortar was redesigned during construction to be located within the hull and configured for remote firing to remove the need to expose the operator to enemy small-arms fire. An Israeli-designed automatic transmission and increased fuel storage for increased range was installed on all further Mark IIs. Anti-rocket netting was fitted for increased survivability against infantry equipped with anti-tank rockets. Many minor improvements were made to the fire-control system. Updated meteorological sensors, crosswind analyzers, and thermographic optics and image intensifiers gave greater visibility and battlefield awareness.

Newer versions of the original Mark II were designated:

Mark IIB, with thermal optics[citation needed] and unspecified updates to the fire control system.
Mark IIC, with more armor on the top of the turret to improve protection against attack from the air.
Mark IID, with modular composite armor on the chassis and turret, allowing rapid replacement of damaged armor.
In 2015 the IDF had begun a plan to take the old models out of storage and repurpose them as heavy armored personnel carriers. Cannons, turrets, and spaces used to store tank shells inside the hull were removed to create a personnel carrier that outperforms the lighter M113 APC. Converting hundreds of Mark II chassis provides a low-cost way to upgrade support units' capabilities to perform medical, logistical, and rescue missions.

By late 2016, after 33 years of service, the last conscripted brigade to operate Merkava IIs was scheduled to transition to Merkava III and Merkava IV tanks for battlefield missions, relegating the vehicles to reserve forces for border patrols during conflicts and conversion to personnel carriers.

(Wikipedia)