30 Tanks Wiped Out in Lebanon

(IsraelNN.com) IDF officials admit that the biggest surprise of the ongoing war against Hizbullah is the ease by which terrorists have destroyed IDF tanks.

At least 30 tanks have been totally destroyed or seriously damaged in bomb and anti-tank rocket attacks involving state-of-the-art Russian anti-tank rockets.

About one-half of the military personnel killed in southern Lebanon were inside tanks.

A lot of good information on the Israeli's armor here.

Every FReeper should be well versed in contemporary armor!

Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

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I don't think it is based on the M-60. Note that the drive sprocket and the final drives are at the FRONT and not the rear of the vehicle. In the M60 the power train is a complete package at the rear of the vehicle. A driveshaft from the rear to the front would raise the profile ala the Sherman. Also the Merekva has a troop carrying compartment at the rear of the vehicle, which rules out a powertrain there. I think the Merkeva was a ground up engineered Israeli invention, as a result of their having to rely on US replacement for tank losses during the Yom Kippur war amid strong Congressional opposition. The Israeli's did up engineer a number of M60's untill they acquired sufficient Merkevas.

I was a tank commander in the Vietnam war, and I worked on many M60's (we used M48A3's in Nam) in the States and in Europe.

Yes, I totally disagree with you. I am very aware of the relationship between the Soviets and Assad. However, Katyushas are very low tech, and both Syria and Iran make their own. The Israelis have reported the the Katyusha are Syrian, and the longer range are Iranian Fahr. Simply because Russia first created the Katyushas in WWII in no way translates to the Russia supplying them to the Syrians.

If someones shooting at you, you want to be in a Challenger!

Boys, in 2006, if someone is shooting modern stuff at you, or has his finger on the remote detonator of an anti-tank mine, the last place you want to be is inside a targeted tank. No matter who makes it.

It's WWI all overagain ... square 1 ... Tanks must be supported by very effective infantry and other coordinated arms, capable of finding and taking out enemy anti-tank squads. Armor cannot operate alone on today's battlefields. Today's sophisticated anti-tank weapons, fired from above or behind tanks, have left them very vulnerable. E.G., Two-stage warheads can even defeat reactive armor. At the very least, cheap roadside IEDs can disable a tank, at the very worst, take out everyone inside it.

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