nzt1939@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil (William M. Aldo) (09/27/90)
From: nzt1939@dsacg3.dsac.dla.mil (William M. Aldo) |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! | | Main gun: | Can fire depleted uranium or HEAT rounds. These surely are NOT the only types that can be utilized; what about HEP, AP, APFSDS, or any of the other good stuff? [mod.note: APFSDS-DU (depleted uranium) is the M1's kinetic penetrator. I don't know if HE is carried; perhaps HEP is used for this role ? I suspect that cannister (Beehive) is also carried. Anyone ? - Bill ] | Stabilized in both elevation and transit. ^^^^^^^ Should this be deflection? I really don't mean to nit-pick and no flames are intended! | Secondary armament: | One 7.62 mm machine gun mounted coaxially to the right | of the main gun The M60-series tank has the 'coax' mounted on the left-side of the main gun --- I would suspect the same applies to the M1/M1A1 since the loader position is on the left-side. [mod.note: Definitely on the right for the Abrams. - Bill ] | 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 I believe the Chieftain has it also. [mod.note: (this is getting to be a habit 8-) Chobham was, as I recall, introduced on the Chieftain "Shir Iran" for export during the Shah's reign. Most (all ?) of these are now in British service, but I don't know if any more Chobham Chieftains were produced. - Bill ] | Weapons systems: [some stuff deleted] | ............................................., and the computer | calculates the amount of sighting offset that must be applied | to the main gun in order to achieve a direct hit. This implies that the gunner needs to make the adjustment to the 'lay' of the main gun....in reality, the computer automatically does it for you. The M60-series had/has a computer also (though, not digital or solid-state). Once the gunner indexed the type of main gun ammo into it, and the tank commander (TC) had 'ranged' the target, the main gun was automatically adjusted for elevation to 'hit' the gunner's *line-of-sight* target. Obviously, there is going to be slightly more elevation for use of HEP (High-Explosive Plastic) at a specific range than for APDS (Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot) at that same range. **Note: I used these types as an example, because they were, respec- tively, the slowest and fastest in velocity of our main gun ammo on the M60-series that was part of our 'basic load' (Germany, Feb '72 thru Aug '74). Most likely the same for the M1; however, the M1A1 with its 120-mm smoothbore is probably a little different --- especial- ly with the 'fin-stabilized' stuff. [remainder deleted] -- Mark Aldo UUCP: (osu-cis)!dsacg1!waldo INTERNET: waldo@dsac.dla.mil Defense Logistics Agency Systems Automation Center | 614-238-8111 DSAC-ZTB, P.O.Box 1605, Columbus, Ohio (USA) 43216 | AV 850-8111 I'm not authorized to have an opinion....;-)
ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Allan Bourdius) (09/29/90)
From: Allan Bourdius <ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu> The "depleted uranium" round for the M1A1 is an APFSDS. The actual projectile is made from depleted uranium and tungsten. The only rounds made for the 120mm gun are the HEAT and the APFSDS, pretty much making the M1A1 a sole anti-armor weapon. This is causing a heated debate in the USMC because the tank's role in the Marines is to act in direct support of the grunt, therefore it would be nice to have HESH, HEP, and Beehive rounds like the 105mm. The Chieftan tank is a 1960's design and I don't believe that Chobham Armor was introduced until the late '70's-early '80's so I doubt they're fitted with it. --Allan ----------------------------------------------------------------- MIDN 3/C (PLCJR) Allan Bourdius Carnegie Mellon University NROTC "Retreat hell! We just got here!" ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu Box 4719 5125 Margaret Morrison St. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (412) 268-4632 The opinons expressed in this letter/posting do not, nor are in any way intended to, represent the official policies and positions of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, the United States Marine Corps or the United States Navy; so there!