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  • Question about Tanks

    Originally posted by 3ACR_Scout View Post
    One neat fact about the M1 is that it has two gears in reverse - it's strange at first to be backing up and feel it shift gears. Not many vehicles have that feature (I'd be interested to know if other tanks do). This allows us to back up and displace from one position to another very quickly.

    Dave
    I figure that would be a feature more suited for French tanks.
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

  • #2
    This does sound like a case of the gun recoil being designed to "Return to Battery" which is the Navy term used for its guns to align themselves to the reloading angle. On Battleships, I think it was 2 or 3 degrees above the level plane of the turret foundation.

    Older tanks (like the Walkers and Pattons I'm familiar with) did not lose or gain any elevation while firing. At least not automatically. If the tube had to be depressed to provide the loader with a better (and safer) loading angle, the gunner or TC would have to lower it for him.

    On the M-41 Walkers, the recoil length was only 12-inches. But the firing also pushed the entire tank back a few inches if the brakes were not locked. I saw this happen once up at Hunter Ligget where a Walker rolled off the firing road toward a stack of live ammo right behind it. I was taking 8 mm movies of the firing but when I saw 25 tons of steel rolling toward a couple dozen or so of 76 mm rounds I dove for cover. Did get a shot of the tank moving back up the hill afterwards.

    The PX probably had some guys buying new underwear that day also.
    Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.

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    • #3
      the only modern tanks i know with the auto-loading system are the Russian T-90, T-80, T-72, T-62 and the French Leclerc.

      Leo-2 and the Abrams dont have that limitation. fire rate really depends on how fast the gun loader can move
      Can you please pass da pork and flate?

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      • #4
        Originally posted by 3ACR_Scout View Post
        The Abrams does not elevate as you describe after firing - the gun tube stays on target during reloading until it receives the next input from the gunner.

        I'm not familiar with how other (non-U.S.) tanks cycle after firing, but I assume that's an automatic part of the cycle that elevates the gun tube slightly to position it to help load the next round. I'm guessing it's designed to place the breach at the optimum angle to reload.

        I doubt crews would consider this a limitation, and some would probably say it helps with reloading. I personally feel very comfortable with the idea that my Abrams is keeping the gun laid on target and not moving around at all while reloading / tracking the next target. Our loaders don't have any issues with reloading in that position.



        Most M1s will do 40-45 mph on level ground, but you do see some variation from one tank to the next. You'll always hear guys make claims about going 60 mph (or more) in a tank, but it's equipped with a governor to keep it from going too fast. It's capable of going faster, but for the safety of both the tank and crew, it's limited to the 40-45 mph range.

        One neat fact about the M1 is that it has two gears in reverse - it's strange at first to be backing up and feel it shift gears. Not many vehicles have that feature (I'd be interested to know if other tanks do). This allows us to back up and displace from one position to another very quickly.

        Dave
        you are correct with the auto-loading system, the tank gun needs to be at a certain angle to align the gun to auto-feeding system, the gun sight sight (scope) will be temporarily disconnected and will be free for the gunner and commander to aim while the gun is being reloaded


        -sorry about double post something went wrong so i had to fix it
        Can you please pass da pork and flate?

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        • #5
          Originally posted by 3ACR_Scout View Post
          I'm not familiar with how other (non-U.S.) tanks cycle after firing, but I assume that's an automatic part of the cycle that elevates the gun tube slightly to position it to help load the next round. I'm guessing it's designed to place the breach at the optimum angle to reload.
          Correct. On the Leopard 2, it's pretty much identical to what bigross86 described for the Merkava 4 above, with slight differences.

          The gun is disconnected from the stabilizer (and the gunner's control) after firing automatically, and assumes a preset elevation for loading - in the Leopard 2 the loader can actually set this elevation to his personal preference (or vary it depending on situation, e.g. accounting for loading while on a upward/downward slope). The gunner can use his sight to obtain a new target in the meantime.
          Once the loader is done (loading gun, selecting ammo type in computer, pressing fire safety button), the gun is slewed into the automatic stabilization again and automatically assumes the position currently in the gunners sight. This feature is intended to improve both safety and in particular speed of loading.
          Last edited by kato; 01 Dec 10,, 03:40.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by gunnut View Post
            I figure that would be a feature more suited for French tanks.
            Anecdotically, for the opposite : The only French APC chassis used by Germany post-WW2 (Hotchkiss TT6) had a slight problem there: It could be overtaken on foot when in reverse. 4 mph max. Forward wasn't a problem. ;)

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            • #7
              what really worries most of the time is that the auto-loader can jam sometimes, which can be fatal if at combat
              Can you please pass da pork and flate?

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              • #8
                CR 2 also has 2 reverse gears.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Kernow View Post
                  CR 2 also has 2 reverse gears.
                  Yes I was always surprised when we did not close those sales contracts with France and Italy Kernow........... really surprised me
                  sigpicFEAR NAUGHT

                  Should raw analytical data ever be passed to policy makers?

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