Posted on 11/20/2002 2:57:01 PM PST by yonif
The tank was rolled out in all it's glory at the Maintenance and Restoration Center (MRC 7100) at the Tel-Hashomer military base. The location was selected because it was where the tank had been changed from a collection of drafts and sketches into a steel "baby". It was the place where it had been molded from the thousands of steel plates into an impressive metal tank.
The following is an excerpt from an article written by Guy Zakhaim, published in the Technological and Logisitical Directorates' Magazine (2nd edition) on October 2002.
Commander of the MRC 7100 Colonel Shahar Kadashi said in his speech: "The people at MRC have been involved in the development of the tank for a very long time. They have invested in it not only their hope, but phenomenal effort as well". He added, "We definitely feel that there is an element of a birth process here."
Blue and White at Half Price
The price of the Mark 4 Merkava tank is 30%-50% cheaper than any other tank worldwide.
"The father of the Merkava tank, Major General (ret.) Yisrael Tal, was keen that the tank be manufactured by the IDF's Military Industrial corps so as not to be bogged down by unnecessary red tape", said Brigadier David Engel, head of the Merkava tank program. "Most of the parts belonging to the Merkava 3 were made in Israel as part of Israel's "Tank-Building ideology". The Brigadier added, "a large number of the workmen actually molded the cast for the tank's metal sheets with their bare hands". As a result of the fact that an "Israeli made" Merkava is cheaper, the IDF has stopped importing tanks from abroad, thereby making the IDF more independent of foreign aid.
"It is a great source of pride, national pride even. Lots of foreign representatives come to visit and are genuinely impressed by the plant. The MRC has almost become a sort of pilgrimage site and representatives from foreign armies visit us as much as twice a week."
As strong as a 'Tank'
The biggest difference between the Merkava 4 and the previous versions of the tank is that it has increased protection. Because it has increased protection, there are fewer types of ammunition that can damage it, including the newer types of weapons that have been developed over recent years.
Part of this "invincibility" is due to the fact that, like in the previous models, the tank's various systems double as defensive systems while absorbing damage that might otherwise prove fatal to the crew. The crew fights in a closed compartment that shields them from unnecessary dangers.
According to the Merkava tank program's managers, the creation of the Merkava 4 tank was the fastest ever creation/manufacture of a tank. "Generally it takes close to a decade for a tank to go from being a design on a blueprint to being on the production lines," said one of the managers. The Merkava 4 tank took only 3 years to produce, except for the engine whose production began a short time earlier.
"Telescopic Production"
The Merkava tank program managers attribute the quick development of the tank to a revolutionary new development method called "Telescopic Production". According to this new method, testing of the tank is concurrent with the production of the tank. This way, due to the changes happening all the way through the production, the first tank off the production lines will be different than the 20th tank off the production line.
BTW, what is your opinion of the new Merkava's turred geometry and "shell trap gap?"
Hey Travis...watch this:
[For my next act, I'm a-gonna set myself on fire....]
-archy-/-
Sounds a lot like the IFVL, a much-modified M113 Command & Reconnaisance versions of the M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier [Known as *Zelda* in Israeli service] of which there's also a very interesting stretched version, AKA the *M113A3+*. The Germans even came up with one mounting a modified M101A1 105mm howitzer....
The sloped rear armor of the M113 C&R seemed to offer at least some improvement over the M113's *shoebox* ballistic profile [an AK47 round would penetrate an M113's aluminum *armor*; I once knocked a hole through the side of an M577 *Highboy* S2 command track with an axe while cutting close-in trees for camoflauge....
The Italians, among others, used the M113 C&RV, and the Canadians, [*Lynx M113 C&R*] Dutch and Australians played with them a bit and used them in specialist [recon and combat engineer vehicle] applications. And the US M113A3 *Gavin* *Block II* APC isn't too distant a cousin- there was even a much-modified M113 variant mounting a Sheridan turret. The Australians used the turret of the Saladin armoured car, mounting a 76mm gun, said by the Diggers to be quite effective with canister ammo against troops in the open.
The M113 CRV was sort of a hotrodded bash-together, but was at least an improvement over the M114A1, notorious for throwing its one-piece *rubberband* tracks, a variant of which are now fielded for the M113 family, hopefully with more success. And the worst fault of the Sheridan was really that it was neither recon vehicle nor tank [funny the Marines never took advantage of its amphibious capabilities- or maybe they knew more about that subject than I do....] though the Sheridan was maybe a better substitute tank for the Airborne units than nothing at all. But they could be heard coming from about 3 miles away; as a recon vehicle there are a LOT better choices....
I haven't hurt myself at it yet!
[Translation: this is the first time I've tried this....]
*Hey Rocky: Wamnna see me pull something out of my hat*?
>>GAO Testimony Before the Select Committee on >>Intelligence United States >>Senate
>>For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:30 a.m., EST >>Wednesday, February 28, 1996
In particular:
>>* Several citizens of Country A were caught in the >>United States stealing sensitive technology used in >>manufacturing artillery gun tubes.
Country A has been identified as Israel.
I knew I remembered something about it.
"The Merkavot of the Celestials number 20,000, and the Lord [YHWH] is in one of them." it says in the Bible.
As we were saying also, "Ma'aseh Merkava" means either "the mechanical workings of the vehicle, ie what makes it go..."-- or "anything awesomely complex and incomprehensible."
Either way, congrats to Israel and the IDF. May the Tank be a comfort to many persecuted Jews and Christians everywhere, and a terror to Islam.
On first glance, I don't like it. But the Israelis are experienced and make great weapons systems, so again, I'm prepared to give them the benefit-of-the-doubt. I just can't imagine them building a sub-standard tank.
Maybe they're also producing an add-on armor package that hangs over the gap? Without more information, and being unable to see the interior construction of the turret ring area, it's unfair to make a judgement.
I agree with much of what you said about other countries. I was only trying to establish a factual point about the gun tube technology
The other interesting thing I read about was that Pollard may not have been an Israeli operation, but a Soviet one set up by KGB mole(s) in the Israeli govt.
The French are far worse: I can't help but notice that Airbus is suddenly doing much better after Boeing made the mistake of buying a software engineering system from Dassault. We should note that Newport News shipbuilding has done the same thing.
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