M1 Abrams main battle tank
Model info:
4606 polygons.
1 512x512 texture
1 128x128 texture
Date of creation: 2003
General info:
| Designer: | General motors, USA. |
| Introduction date: | 1982 |
| proliferation: | USA |
|
SPECIFICATIONS:
DESCRIPTION:
the M1 abrams was a milestone when it first entered service,
having a unique armour package, and a brand new way of protecting
crewmembers from the dreaded ammunition fires which had killed so many tankers in the past.
it also had an easy to use fire control system,
which allowed the tank to engage moving targets while on the move.
it was the second tank in the world to utilize thermal sights (after the M60A3)
sceptiscism was high when it first entered service though.
it is an extremely thirsty vehicle, requiring huge logistical
trails with fuel, which had a hard time keeping up with this offroad racecar of a tank.
sceptics also complained it was too heavy,
even though it was only 2700kg heavier than the older M60A3.
this early design had a very limited stowage layout for the crew.
it lacked the bustle rack on the rear turret, and the stowage boxes on the side
were much smaller than on later designs.
also, it didn't have extra boxes for smoke grenades.
BRIEF HISTORY:
after the failed joint venture between germany and USA,
resulting in the bloated and overengineered MBT-70
the countries parted, and designed their own tanks
based on their separate requirements.
after separate contracting by chrysler and general motors,
the result of the US' development was the M1 abrams.
DESIGN:
| weight | 54.450kg combat |
| weapons: | 105mm M68A1 rifled gun, 12.7mm M2HB, 2X 7.62mm M240C |
| engine: | Textron Lycoming AGT 1500 gas turbine engine coupled to a 4fwd 2reverse transmission |
|
| top speed fwd/reverse: | 72kph/36kph |
| ammunition load: (ready/stored) | 36/19 main gun rounds, 11.400 coax-rounds, 100/900 12.7mm rounds |
not as well known as its desert storm little brother, the M1A1(HA)
the M1 is more modestly armoured.
its a speedy tank too, with a power to weight ratio of 27.8hp/ton.
the smaller gun gives the main armament a larger elevation range of around +27 to -12 degrees. (not certain)
the armour is a composite sandwich, of ceramics arranged in a honeycomb fashion,
with some other materials thrown in for good measure, and was one of the first tanks in the world,
to use a turret made almost completely out of welded slabs of composite sandwiches.
the crew is protected from ammunition fires with a secure ammunition bunker
in the rear of the turret.
the ammunition is accesed with 2 sliding doors, one which is powered, the ready-rack,
and the other which is moved by hand, the semi-ready rack.
each of these racks is located underneath 3 "blowoff-panels" on the roof,
which is designed to fly off, if the ammunition is hit.
if the ammunition is hit, huge jet-like flames will spray from the turret hatches for around
half a minute, before settling down.
in such a case, the crew must traverse the turret to either 9 or 3 o clock, and drive to a safe
location, to either put out the flames when the fire is calming down, or abandon the tank.
in true american army fashion, the interior is littered with "danger and "warning" labels everywhere.
Crew positions:
TC:
the TC sits behind the gunner, and is capable of taking control of the turret by pressing the palm switch on his stick.
in front of him, there's an optical elbow, that allows him to look into the main sight of the gun.
he also has a cupola above him, with 8 periscopes which gives 360 degrees of vision when buttoned up, and a 3x sight for the 50cal.
there's also a power-traversed, hand-crank elevated 12.7mm M2HB (50cal) machine gun mounted on it.
the TC's hatch has 2 hinges, which allows him to look out of the hatch, and maintain overhead protection from artillery or snipers,
and in front of him, theres a glass panel that allows front vision when semi-buttoned like this.
under the 50cal, there's 2 ironsights,
if you ever manage to get inside an abrams, and absolutely have to press all the switches, do NOT turn off the main power, without
turning off the engine first. doing this, will result in the turbine engine RPM increasing until it explodes.
GUNNER:
the gunner sits in front of the TC,at a slight angle, and his main duties is to scan for targets, fire the gun and coax,
bitch and complain when the driver mess up, and charge the coax whenever there is a stoppage.
his main sight is the monocular GDLS GPS, with a 3X/12X selectable magnification daysight and 3X/10X magnification thermal sight and a 1x unity sight.
the sight mirror assembly is stabilized, and with the fully stabilized turret, allows the abrams to fire while on the move, against moving
targets.
it has a class IIIb(causes blindness, and burns skin) laser range finder that can swap between first or last echo.
the beam is 1.06 microns wide, which is about a tank sized target at 3500m.
the sight has 3 modes of fire, standard, emergency and manual.
standard mode is used when nothing is wrong. emergency is for when the stabilization is broken,
and manual mode is for when the hydraulic pressure is gone.
in additon, the gunner has an 8x telescope directly linked to the gun with stadiametric lines for both heat, and sabot trajectories.
the usage of this telescope is like a WW2 tank. the gunner measures the target with some reference lines,
then elevates the gun appropriately.
because of the telescopes low position, it is used to tell if the gun is clear of a crest when in a battle position, before firing.
after firing around 6-8 rounds, the hot barrel will start to deform, and cause the rounds to hit lower than they should.
this is traditionally countered by aiming higher after those first rounds, but in the M1, you simply flip a switch,
line up a crosshair with the muzzle reference sensor, and the ballistic computer will take into consideration the new settings.
LOADER:
the loader is the lowest ranking membmer of the crew
and his duties consists of loading the gun, operating the radio, and firing the 7.62mm M240 machine gun on the roof. he's got a lousy
little periscope in his hatch, which rotates.
the M240 doesn't have any sights, so instead,
its loaded with tracers, and the fire is adjusted towards the target.
he also helps with maintenance, and many US tankers view him as invaluable when assisting with maintenance,
and listening post / observation post and radio watch duties.
from what i've read, the loader is usually, the dirtiest, grumpiest, most tired of the crewmembers. and he makes
coffee.
DRIVER:
the drivers got the most comfortable position in the whole tank. he sits in a semi-reclined position, which
is easy to fall asleep in.
the M1 is an easy driven tank, and the ride gets smoother, the faster it goes.
the gearshift is automatic, and its steered with a bike-like T-bar.
since the M1 is always winded up at full torque, its quick off the mark, but its top speed is similar
to a diesel.