[C19fan]

The aluminum armor was a sieve and the 152-millimeter gun/missile system was never fired in anger.

[TADSLOS]

Target marker on tracks.

[x1stcav]

Didn’t they use beehives in the Nam? Or is my memory failing me, again.

[17th Miss Regt]

...and could even be dropped by parachute.

Only if you did not want to use it afterwards.

[colorado tanker]

As a shavetail at Fort Knox, I knew I never wanted to be in one of those things in combat.

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

That gun was so big and the tank so light it would sometimes jump off the ground when fired. The guy in the turret hatch would get banged up pretty good.

[blueunicorn6]

They’re looking at the wrong issue.

The real issue is whether we need an Airborne Division.

[BlueLancer]

From the article: "The M1 Abrams tank is just as fast the Sheridan, vastly better armed and armored, and can even be carried by C-5 cargo planes—but its bridge-collapsing seventy-ton weight still severely limits where and how quickly it can be deployed, and imposes a formidable logistical burden in terms of fuel and maintenance. And you certainly can’t toss one out of a plane."

With respect to the last sentence, you most certainly could toss one out of a plane ...

... but I don't think it would be much use after it hit the ground.

[pfflier]

I saw an M-113 hit by an RPG. Nothing left but an engine block, road wheels and tracks surrounded by a puddle of aluminum.

Someone told me that aluminum powders in an explosion and contributed to the conflagration.

Moral of the story: Always ride on top of the hull.

[dangerdoc]

bump for later

[FreedomPoster]

Growing up, a close friend’s father was an armor officer, West Point grad, MS Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech. Was involved in tank procurement later in his career.

His opinion of the air-droppability of the M551: You can air drop it - once.

Also, assuming the missile worked, there was a fuzzy potential gap at the max range of the HESH round, and the min range of the missile. This fell right in the 500m engagement range of Soviet tank doctrine.

[FreedomPoster]

Treadhead ping.