Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnews!military From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Tanks in the Persian Gulf Crisis--The M1 Abrams Keywords: tanks, facts, figures Message-ID: <1990Sep14.042819.1844@cbnews.att.com> Date: 14 Sep 90 04:28:19 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Indian Hill - Naperville, Illinois Lines: 132 Approved: military@att.att.com From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) There has been much talk recently in sci.military about the M1 Abrams tank. Here's a few facts which I dug up which I thought might be of interest. Enjoy! M1 and M1A1 Abrams Engine: One 1500 hp Avco Lycoming AGT-1500 gas turbine of 1500 hp. Torsion bar suspension with rotary shock absorbers. Drive sprocket at rear, idler sprocket at front. Crew: Four (commander, driver, loader, gunner) Driver sits in forward area of main hull. Performance: Maximum road range: 300 miles. Maximum speed: 45 mi/hr. Can climb 60-percent grade. Can crawl over 4-foot obstacle. Height of turret roof: 7.8 feet. Acceleration: 0-20 mph in six seconds. Weight: Combat weight: 120,000 pounds (60 tons) Armament: Main gun: One 105-mm M68E1 gun (M1) One 120-mm M256 smooth bore gun (M1A1) Can be elevated at much as 20 degrees or depressed as much as 9 degrees Can fire depleted uranium or HEAT rounds. Stabilized in both elevation and transit. Secondary armament: One 7.62 mm machine gun mounted coaxially to the right of the main gun One 7.62 mm machine gun at loader's position on the left side on top of main turret. One 12.7 mm machine gun at commander's position on top of main turret. I think that this gun can be fired remotely from inside the turret, aimed by an optical periscope system, but I'm not sure. Smoke dischargers on either side of main turret. Armor: Most details appear to be classified. The armor seems to be similar to Chobham armor developed in UK and used on the Challenger and Leopard 2 tanks. This provides enhanced protection against antitank missiles. Crew compartment is separated from the fuel tanks by armored bulkheads. Sliding armor doors and spall-protected boxes help to protect the crew from on-board main ammunition explosions. Top of suspension protected by armored skirts. Some of the TV news footage from Saudi Arabia shows M1s with what appears to be applique armor strapped to the sides of the main turret. Weapons systems: Commander is provided with six periscopes, plus a magnifying sight for the 12.7mm machine gun. Gunner has an optical sighting system which can produce scenes of variable magnification during day or night. This sighting system is stabilized in elevation, making it possible to do accurate aiming while the tank is moving. Turret is equipped with Hughes laser (Nd-YAG) rangefinder Gun is equipped with a bend sensor, and there is a wind sensor on top of the main turret. All of these sensors input data into the full-solution digital main computer. The gunner puts the graticules of his sighting system on the target that he wants to destroy, and the computer calculates the amount of sighting offset that must be applied to the main gun in order to achieve a direct hit. Remarks: The M256 gun of the M1A1 was designed by the German Rheinmetall corporation. Engine can be completely removed and replaced in one hour. The turbine engine suffered a lot of teething troubles during development and early deployment. It is claimed that these problems have been resolved and that the MTBF of the M1 engine is much superior to that of conventional Diesel tank engines. There were some initial problems with dust ingestion into the turbine engine. I wonder how the M1 will handle sand? Loader's position appears to be safe for fast loading in a high mobility environment. Standard equipment includes a radiological warning device, chemical agent detector kit, a collective NBC protection unit, and personnel heaters. The turbine engine has a conspicuous infrared signature. Assuming that everything on board is working, the M1 should be able to defeat any Iraqi tank that is foolish enough to challenge it in battle. [mod.note: I'm reminded of an anecdote related by George Forty in his book, _M4 Sherman_. He got it from an American correspondent, Frank Woolner, who said that many captured German tankers used the same joke. "Von off our tanks iss better than ten off yours," they'd say; and just when their captors started to get angry, they'd add, "but you always haff eleven !" - Bill ] Up to a thousand M1 Abrams tanks may ultimately be transferred to the Persian Gulf. What happens in battle if your computer goes down? Is there a manual backup or are you dead meat? Sources: Jane's Main Battle Tanks, Christopher Foss Modern Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Ray Bonds. Joe Baugher ************************************* AT&T Bell Laboratories * "Good against remotes is one * 200 Park Plaza * thing. Good against the living * Naperville, Illinois 60566-7050 * is something else." * (708) 713 4548 ************************************* ihlpm!jfb jfb200@cbnewsd.att.com Who, me? Speak for AT&T? Surely you jest!