M1 Abrams

M1 Abrams
M1A1 Abrams of the 1st Armored Division during Exercise Ready Crucible, Germany
Specifications
Type	Main Battle Tank
Origin	United States
Entered production	1979
Length	9.76 m (32.02 ft)
Width	3.66 m (12 ft)
Height	2.44 m (8.0 ft)
Weight	61.4 tonnes
Crew	4
Armor	Chobham modular ceramic matrix, RHA, Depleted Uranium plating, Kevlar anti-spall liner.
Primary amament	120mm/44 M256 smoothbore gun,
Secondary armament	1 x .50 in (12.7mm) M2HB machine gun 2 x M240 7.62mm machine guns
Suspension	Torsion bar
Max. road speed	72km/h (45mph)
Max. offroad speed	48km/h (30mph)
Operational range	465.29 km/289 miles
Engine	Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine
Power output	1500 hp/1119 kW
Power/weight	24.5 hp/tonne
Transmission	Allison X-1100-3B Hydro-Kinetic Automatic; four forward/2 reverse gears

The M1 Abrams is the Main Battle Tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps. In the 1970s, Chrysler Defense Inc. developed this front-line battle tank to fight against Warsaw Pact mechanized divisions, despite being outnumbered. Because of the added cost of building ships and aircraft to transport American tanks to Europe, those costs must be factored into the single unit cost, making American tanks exponentially higher than tanks manufactured in continental Europe by Germany and Russia in particular. This has been true of all American wars in Europe.

During the Waco massacre, the Clinton administration deployed the M1 Abrams against 85 children who were killed in the massacre.^[1]

At least 20 M1 Abrams have been damaged or destroyed in the Yemen war.

Development[edit]

In 1982, Chrysler Defense was sold to General Dynamics, which still manufactures the tanks to the present day, some speculate until the year 2040. Significant variants give the tank new life and new models numbers; M1, M1A1, M1A1D, M1A2, M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Package) . The current modification is M1A1 SA, incorporating second-generation forward-looking infrared thermal sight, a driver's vision-enhancer thermal viewer and Tank Urban Survivability Kit (TUSK) improvements, providing better crew shielding, improved situational awareness and a Remote Weapons Station for the .50" HMG which can be operated from under armour. The aim of the upgrade is to make the tank more effective in urban warfare environments. Modifications will take place at General Dynamics plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Florida and completed in 2011.^[2]

On February 28, 1980, the first M1 tank rolled out of the government-owned Lima Tank Plant in Lima, Ohio. It was designated the M1 Abrams, in honor of General Creighton Abrams, a commander in Vietnam.^[3] Over 9,000 Abrams tanks have been manufactured.

Over 10,000 have been built for use by the U.S. military or for sale abroad.

Turbine engine[edit]

Incorporating a modular designed Honeywell 1,500 HP smokeless gas turbine engine that eruns on jet fuel, easily removed once towed to a repair site, serviced and upgraded. The Abrams tank has a governed top speed of 45 mph, with a range of 265 miles on one tank of gas. Speeds of up to 60 mph have been reached with the governor removed, but this results in damage to the transmission and generally makes the tank unservicable quite quickly.

Following a series of critical reports beginning in 1990 and gaining urgency after the 2003 Iraq campaign, the US Army are considering a number of options for replacing the gas turbine with a conventional diesel engine. The main problem is the very high fuel consumption (twice that of an equivalent 1,500 hp tank diesel) which both reduces the tank's range and increases the logistics burden.

The high-temperature jet exhaust is also an issue, as it both creates a large thermal target and is dangerous to infantry working close to the tank, which is a serious issue in urban operations. The turbine engine also sucks in dirt, sand and debris.

Fire control system[edit]

The fire control system allows the gunner to fire accurately while moving against either stationary or moving targets. The commander's station of the Abrams M1A1 is equipped with six periscopes, providing a 360° view.^[4] The tank weighs nearly 70 Tons making it one of the heaviest in the world, adding to the cost of transporting it accross oceans. The US Army is currently trying to develop a lightened 60 ton variant providing the same level of protection by using advanced materials such as Dorchester armour. The original M1 was armed with a Royal Ordnance Factories 105mm L7 rifled gun built under licence as the M68, but in the M1A1 and later this was replaced with a Rheinmetall L44 120mm smoothbore gun licence-built as the M256. All original L7-armed M1s have now been upgraded to at least M1A1 standard or have been retired.

Depleted uranium shells and armour[edit]

The Abrams Tank System Program has been using depleted uranium shells and armor since the 1980s. The depleted uranium is made of a particular hardened "man-made" element, harder than lead, steel, or iron. So-called "amour piercing shells" of depleted uranium can slice through or melt lead, steel, or iron, while artillery shells made of those metals cannot penetrate the armour. Use of depleted uranium shells causes longterm environmental damage, and the lasting danger to humans of exposure to cancer causing radiation.

Combat experience[edit]

These tanks gained some combat experience in the first Gulf War as well as the 2003-2011 Iraq deployment. Here they have shown to be a true force to be reckoned with and have one of the best combat records of any modern tank against older T-64s.

During the war the US army rolled over older Iraqi T-72Ms (An export model of the T-72 which at the time lacked many features such as composite and reactive armor, adequate penetrator's and no modern optical range finders as opposed to their main line Soviet counterparts) with huge success. The Abrams has never faced the main battle Tank of the Russian Armed Forces.

Their success against Iraqi armor in the first gulf war caused many nations to reconsider their armored forces, realizing that their force of Soviet era vehicles was inferior. However, post-war analysis determined that the Iraqi armored forces were using less capable penetrator rounds, insufficient propellant for tank rounds, inferior armor materials, a lack of modern optical and range finding equipment, and utilizing hold-over tactics from their eight-year war with Iran that were woefully inappropriate for maneuver warfare.

References[edit]

1. ↑ David Kopel. Can Soldiers Be Peace Officers? The Waco Disaster and The Militarization of American Law Enforcement.
2. ↑ General Dynamics Wins $198 Million Iraqi Tank Contract, Fox Business, January 04, 2010
3. ↑ Lima Army Tank Plant (LATP), GlobalSecurity.org
4. ↑ M1A1 / M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, USA, Army-technology.com

External links[edit]

• M1 Abrams Tanks for Iraq
• Army.mil Abrams Tank Fact File for the United States Army