In memory of a prominent contributor to the Merkava project, Yehiam Herpez, a book was written to describe his life work, in the form of interviews of colleagues and friends.
What caught my eye was a unrevealed project the IDF once had - a light tank!
The book can be found here in hebrew:
http://www.himush.co.il/himush.co.il/originals/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%20%D7%99%D7%97%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%9D.pdf
Although he participated in the development of every generation of the Merkava and their automotive components and especially suspension, he was most highly appreciated for his success in developing the Merkava 3's suspension, which was considered no less than revolutionary at the time.
Since the Mark 4 relied on a slightly improved Merkava 3 suspension and didn't take much of the development time, Yehiam was reassigned to the Light Tank project.
The Light Tank was developed in parallel with the Merkava 4 but doesn't seem to be based on any existing vehicle.
Despite having a frontally mounted engine, similar to the Merkava, there is no relation between the two.
It has an MG253 gun, an Achzarit Mk 1's engine Detroit Diesel 8V71TA (radiator moved to the hull floor below crew compartment), and a newly developed torsion bar suspension.
This decision seems odd, as there is no place in the Israeli doctrine for a light tank for many reasons, the most prominent of which are the lack of protection and no need for strategic transportation.
It was most likely related to the then-efforts to create a future tank based on requirements of low weight and easy transportation.
The real reason it was ever made is still a mystery.
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