.: Adrian Gowers 1/35th Israeli Merkava by Academy
The Merkava (Hebrew: Chariot) is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name.
The legacy of the Merkava series of tanks dates back to the 1960s. Plans were drawn up to isolate Israel's military-industrial complex from foreign reliance. Israel's economy and national reserves allowed it to purchase nearly any land, sea, or air platform and weapon from friendly nations, but Israel's infrastructure was not capable of producing those items domestically.
In 1965, Israel's military establishment initiated research and development for a domestically-produced tank, the Sabra (Hebrew slang: "Native"). During the design of this platform, Britain approached Israel and requested their assistance in developing the United Kingdom's newest line of tanks, the Chieftain. When two prototypes arrived for field testing in 1967, Israel shelved the Sabra program. As a result of political pressure from the British Foreign Ministry, the two prototypes were recalled to England in 1969 and Israel lost five years with which it could have pursued its own development program.
By 1974, initial designs were completed and prototypes were fabricated. After a brief set of trials, work began to retool the Tel-Hashomer ordnance depot for full-time development and construction of the infant platform. After the new facilities were completed, the Merkava was officially released to the public in the International Defense Review periodical. Additionally, the first official images of the tank were then released to other publications, specifically the American periodical Armed Forces Journal on May 14, 1977. The IDF's official adoption would not occur until December of 1978 when the first full battalion of thirty tanks was delivered for initial unit training.
Merkava Mark III
The Merkava Mark III was introduced in December 1989, and had many major upgrades to the drivetrain, powertrain, armament, and safety systems. The most prominent addition was the incorporation of the Rheinmetall 120mm Gun developed in Germany. This gun and a larger 1,200 horsepower diesel motor increased the total weight of the tank to 65 tonnes, but the larger motor increased the maximum cruising speed to 60 km/h.
Many other improvements were made including the re-engineering of the turret for movement independent of the tank chassis, allowing it to track a target regardless of the tank's movement.
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