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FUN with tanks


Utah Bob #35998

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The last video of the stuck in the bog makes me think the driver wasn’t real experienced? I’ve watched guys with tracked vehicles like bulldozers work the tracks independently to get unstuck. Although they weren’t trying navigate through water over the tracks. 


Any tankers out there with some insight?

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20 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

The last video of the stuck in the bog makes me think the driver wasn’t real experienced? I’ve watched guys with tracked vehicles like bulldozers work the tracks independently to get unstuck. Although they weren’t trying navigate through water over the tracks. 


Any tankers out there with some insight?

Vodka.

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55 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

The last video of the stuck in the bog makes me think the driver wasn’t real experienced? I’ve watched guys with tracked vehicles like bulldozers work the tracks independently to get unstuck. Although they weren’t trying navigate through water over the tracks. 


Any tankers out there with some insight?

 

After his 3rd try I wondered why he didn't go back on one, forward on the other to pivot and go parallel to the ditch to get to ground that was less soupy.

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Never seen anybody roll a tank. Now that was something.

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1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

After his 3rd try I wondered why he didn't go back on one, forward on the other to pivot and go parallel to the ditch to get to ground that was less soupy.

 

Got to be real careful you don't throw a track doing this.

The only thing worse that getting bogged is throwing a track in the bog.

 

The Russian tanks have less gun elevation than ours so I was waiting to see how long before he dug down far enough that the barrel was going to start taking earth core samples:blush:

 

2 hours ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

The last video of the stuck in the bog makes me think the driver wasn’t real experienced? I’ve watched guys with tracked vehicles like bulldozers work the tracks independently to get unstuck. Although they weren’t trying navigate through water over the tracks. 


Any tankers out there with some insight?

 Yes walking the tank out is a technique but again you risk enough dirt getting in under the track and lifting it off the guides or rear sprocket, not fun dragging 40 tonnes of dead weight out of a bog (our Leopards were pretty light compared to your Abrams) and then having to put it all together again.

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8 hours ago, Major Crimes said:

Got to be real careful you don't throw a track doing this.

The only thing worse that getting bogged is throwing a track in the bog.

 

It almost seems as if military tracked vehicles are more prone to that than are bulldozers and other tracked construction equipment.  

My dad had a story of having to help dig a tracked vehicle out of a bog on Guam.  Seems that after the shooting had (mostly) stopped some grand high mucky-muck was visiting and some not so high and not so grand mucky-muck wanted to impress him ... and got some of his tracked vehicles stuck.  

 

8 hours ago, Major Crimes said:

The Russian tanks have less gun elevation than ours so I was waiting to see how long before he dug down far enough that the barrel was going to start taking earth core samples

 

I was expecting the same.  
Well, they got experience in how to rig for towing and how to be towed. 

I'm sure their CO did not pass up the wonderful chance to turn it into a Learning Experience.

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Tanks fer dat, Boyo!

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About thirty years ago I worked with a couple of former tankers.  

 

The most interesting - and a genuine "nice guy" - I'll call Fred.  Actually, we all called him Fred, mostly because most people could not properly pronounce his actual name.

 

Fred was Egyptian.  Well, half Egyptian (dad) and half English (mom).  Educated in England, Fred was a teacher (professor?) at Cairo University in the early 70's.

 

And then, with war with Israel imminent, Fred was drafted.  Intelligent, educated, and capable, he was exactly what the Egyptian military needed.

 

But there was a problem.  Fred was a Christian.  Except for that fact he would have been ideal officer material.  But that could not be; they could not have a Christian officer in a Muslim army.  However, he was too valuable an asset to waste, so they trained Fred and made him a tank commander, just in time for the 1973 war.

 

He came out of that war almost deaf, but he did come out of it alive.  Told some interesting stories, like having had two tanks hit. The first, he said, there was a very loud *bang* and his driver screamed; a solid sabot round had penetrated the armor and pooped out;  the HOT piece of metal hand plopped in between his drivers feet and was rolling about.  Sometime later, not sure if it was the same tank or a replacement, he and his crew were out of the machine having a meal break when an Israeli fighter plane blew it up with a rocket.  Good timing for lunch!

 

Sometime later with another tank said that it was amazing how the Israeli pilots could differentiate between the Egyptian tanks and their own.  So, he said, he came upon a shot up Israeli tank and stopped to study it - and realized that it had one or more wide, adhesive bands wrapped around the gun barrel.  He had his crew peel 'em off and stick 'em on his gun and never had another attack from above.

 

At one point he submitted a request for discharge.  Was called in for a hearing; he presented his case:  he was a practicing Christian, and was therefor not legally qualified for military service.  He was told that he could get out if he wanted, but the only way was to stand in front of a wall with a firing squad.  His choice.

 

He finally contacted his wife.  She retrieved his British passport, some cash, and bought him an airline ticket and off they went to England.  After a period of time, emigrated to the U. S. 

 

Still AWOL from the Egyptian army.  

 

I'm pleased to have had the opportunity to know the man.

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One difference between Tanks and construction equipment like bulldozers are the composition of the tracks.

 

The tracks on most construction equipment are by default designed for use off road. If used on a road, they either damage it or if it is hard enough they have little to no traction.  

 

Tanks on the other hand have tracks that are a compromise between use on roads and use off road.

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29 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Tanks on the other hand have tracks that are a compromise between use on roads and use off road.

 

And so the suspension and idlers will be different.   AND military tracked vehicles have to be built for speeds that would be insane for construction equipment. 

 

Thanks,  you got me thinking something besides "isn't a tracked vehicles a tracked vehicle?"

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1 hour ago, Sedalia Dave said:

One difference between Tanks and construction equipment like bulldozers are the composition of the tracks.

 

The tracks on most construction are by default designed for use off road. If used on a road, they either damage it or if it is hard enough they have little to no traction.  

 

Tanks on the other hand have tracks that are a compromise between use on roads and use off road.

 

1 hour ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

And so the suspension and idlers will be different.   AND military tracked vehicles have to be built for speeds that would be insane for construction equipment. 

 

Thanks,  you got me thinking something besides "isn't a tracked vehicles a tracked vehicle?"

 

There is a theory that all tank design is a three cornered compromise. The three corners are Mobility, Protection and Firepower.

 

The more Protection you have (Armour, Active Defence devices, etc) the heavier you are and so the less Mobile. The more Firepower (a big gun and fire control systems) the more area you have to Protect which means more armour and therefore less Mobility. The more Mobile then the less Protection or Firepower you can have, and so on. Its about trade offs and priorities.

 

Its real interesting to look at the tanks post WW2 and see where different countries put their priorities. Compare the Leopard1 with a Chieftain and you can clearly see that the Germans favoured Mobility over Firepower and Protection where as the Chief was a barely mobile pill box with Protection and Firepower.

 

These days the technological solutions available (Chobham armour, miniaturisation of fire control systems, more powerful yet smaller engines, etc) mean you can have your cake and eat it too to a far greater extent than in the past.

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In the future, they will just fly over the mushy areas. :D

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1 hour ago, Finagler 6853 Life said:

I'm always amazed at the Russians and Ukrainians on how proud they are of all the stupid things they can do with a tank.  Videos of them everywhere.

They are passionate and animated folks.

Especially when under the influence. ;)

 

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Aside from the Abrams, we have a very effective "tank".  It has a 30mm Gatling gun up front, is quite fast and very mobile.  It even flies!  You can roll it over without any problems.  It has a crew of one.  It's called the A-10!

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