Posted on 06/13/2006 9:31:58 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4
Thousands of pounds of armor added to military Humvees in Iraq have made the vehicles more likely to roll over and kill or injure soldiers, a newspaper reported.
"I believe the up-armoring has caused more deaths than it has saved," Scott Badenoch, a former Delphi Corp. vehicle dynamics expert, told the Dayton Daily News for its Sunday editions.
An analysis of the Army's ground-accident database, which includes records from March 2003 through November 2005, found that 60 of the 85 soldiers who died in Humvee accidents in Iraq -- or about 70 percent -- were killed when the vehicle rolled, the newspaper said. Of the 337 injuries, 149 occurred in rollovers.
There are more than 25,300 armored Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said.
When Humvees roll, the most vulnerable passenger is the gunner, the soldier who operates the weapon mounted atop the vehicle.
Gunners were killed in at least 27 of the 93 fatal Humvee accidents since 2001, according to the newspaper's analysis.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
What is needed is a half-track for the 21st century....
They served admirably in the mixed urban/open terrain of WWII. Although they sacrifice a little speed to a purely wheeled vehicle, I don't think you'd see these rolling that easily, even with substantial up armoring.
I agree. The data is lacking any detail, not done by DOD, not specific as to which vehicles rolled, not backed up by decent sources. I am suspicious....
Does UAH have air bags in it?
KEWL! ! !
A GM motor home modified for Miami traffic.
No
That Jerry can (if filled with gasoline) doesn't seem too optimally located to protect a driver from an ied.
Indeed some desing updates would be warranted...
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