New member introduction

[BillyBones]

Frosty about that slip and slide for tanks.

When i was stationed in Germany we were in the feild and along came a lot of rain. Mud knee deep. We were on a tank trail going down hill with a sharp right hand curve at the bottom. We started at the top and 1 by 1 went down as fast as we could. Ever see an Abrams tank slide sideways through a curve? I guess kids now a days call it drifting in a car. Good times.

[Frosty]

Drifty tankers? Sounds like a good time. My only track vehicle time is in Nodwell type tracks and sliding one sideways is a WAY bad idea. Do it with any sort of traction and you get to spend as long as it takes to put the track back on. An icy sidehill or someone trying to load one on a steel decked trailer usually ends with you repairing broken parts. 

I have always had a hankering to drill something with a tank, I LIKE recoil related loud noises. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

We were provably really lucky we did not throw track. We killed a tank in basic doing something similar. big hill with a very large, almost a pond, mud puddle at the bottom. Full speed down, into the water. Front slope pushed the water up in a giant wave up over the turret and down on the back deck, into the air filters. Needless to say turbines do not like trying to run full of water. I got wet in the gunners seat for an idea of how much water.

When i was in Iraq we got left behind by the front lines, to fix our track ironically. We charged full speed ahead to catch up. Our support guys got some great pictures of us as we were getting air coming off of sand dunes. 

For reference the Abrams is governed to 45mph but it was nothing to get one up to 50 or 55. Not fast in a car but riding in 65 tons of steel and it is quite the ride. 

[Frosty]

That was probably a trainer tank and almost every crew submarines it in that or a similar pond. It probably had quick change turbines. In my surfer days we called that "Perling the board," getting too much weight on the nose or a bad angle of attack that pushes the nose under water. Glub glub.

There are videos online of Abrams going FAST, catching air and some crashing. When they were first certified for use there were impressive films on TV. 

So, how long did it take to remove or bypass the governor when you got it? I know a couple tankers, one fought in the Korean war. They both have bent rule stories.

Frosty The Lucky.

[M.J.Lampert]

thats crazy at first i saw 45 and 50 thought thats not fast then looked again remembered your yankee doodle and thats mph

what is the range on them when your going 50mph

wikipedia says 265 mi for a 1992 production M1A2 but also says top speed  is 41.5 mph (66.8 km/h)

 

[George N. M.]

For those not aware of it, the published speeds of tanks and other military vehicles is the "official" number and is controlled by a governor on the engine.  Speeds are kept below actual mechanical capability to minimize wear and for safety reasons.  However the governors are often by passed by the troops.

I was told a story from a friend who was passed in his jeep on the autobaun in Germany by a column of M60s doing better than 100 kph (61mph).  He said at that speed the tracks were floating above the return rollers under the top of the tracks.  That would have been impressive and scary at the same time.

Billy's story about water coming in the hatches and sir intakes reminds me of back when I was a 1st Lieutenant and running an artillery OP at the Idaho Army National Guard training area south of Boise out on the Snake River Lava Plain.  From our OP we could watch tanks return down a trail from their firing positions.  As they would approach one low spot you would see the crew drop into the hull and turret and close the hatches.  The dust was so deep in that area that it would flow up over the tank like the water Billy described and flow off as the tank came through the area.  Not far from there I saw a jeep get stuck in deep dust.  I'm glad it wasn't me.  That would not have been a fun extraction.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

[Frosty]

Ran into a dust pit like that out dirt biking in the desert once. Being the over cautious type I am, I wasn't much fun to ride with but I was the only one who stopped for the dust to clear and didn't get eaten by knee deep dust. It moved like water, made waves and settled out smooth. A number of us started waving other riders off and used the surveyor's tape we carried to red flag that part of the trail. There were a couple guys on the far side waving people off too, no help from our side. 

Dust traps can be nasty obstacles. Not so bad to watch though. 

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

Frosty, yes they were trainers. We were the only tank that got stuck that day though. The Abrams all have quick change turbines. Drop the saddle bolts, 6 on each side, disconnect the 8 (if memory serves correct) electrical connectors, 1 great big hose clamp, and out she comes. The turbine is engine tranny and all in one big pack. 

George, never stuck in dust but we did destroy another engine in Iraq by intaking to much sand into the turbine. 

MJ, the range of the tank is about 250 miles on the main fuel tank. We had 2 reserve tanks that would get us an extra 150 or so. On all fuel tanks we could get about 400 miles. Still though fuel consumption was gallons to the mile rather than miles to the gallon. ~50 mph was our top speed when we were maneuvering in formation we moved at 10Km an hour. Weird i know but in the US sometimes we are strange at when we use metric, i think becuase our maps were laid out in Km.