The M1 is the official battle tank of the U.S. Army and Marines. There are three versions of the tank, the M1, M1A1 and the M1A2. The M1 went into duty around 1980, and the M1A2 is the latest version. The M1A2 has heavier armor and more advanced electronics than the older versions. Armor, firepower, electronics and horsepower are the main ingredients of any modern battle tank, and the M1s got plenty of all four.
Thanks to its depleted uranium (DU) armor at the front of the turret and the front of the hull, the M1 can withstand some spectacular blows and stay in one piece. The rest of the tank is protected by a composite armor made of multiple layers of steel and ceramics. The fuel and ammo are shielded in even more armor to prevent either from igniting if the tank takes a major hit.
The firepower the M1 carries is just as impressive as its armor. Early M1's main guns are M68A1 105mm units that can fire a variety of different projectiles, including anti-personnel flak. Later M1's sport a more advanced M256 smoothbore gun. The M256 can fire 120mm rounds and carries 1,150 10mm tungsten projectiles-which spread out in a shotgun-like pattern to do the most damage to enemy personnel.
Additionally, the M1 has assorted secondary weapons, including a 0.50 caliber machinegun up front, a 0.30 caliber machine gun on the hatch, and another 0.30 caliber gun controlled by a computer. Fancy stuff indeed. But equally impressive is the powerplant.
The M1 is powered by a 1500hp AGT1500 gas turbine engine and has a 6-speed automatic transmission with 4 forward and 2 reverse gears. All that power equates to a top speed of 45mph on a paved road. Just starting the turbine consumes 40 liters of jet fuel, so you know this beast sports one mean engine.
The main gun has a range of 4000 meters, which is 2000 meters farther than the range of the typical soviet-era tanks like the ones used by the Iraqi army. All this makes one mean battle tank that is virtually untouchable.
M1 Abrams General Specs:
Type: Main battle tank
Place of origin: United States
Weight: 61.3 tonnes (67.6 short tons)
Length: 9.77 m (32.04 ft)
Width: 3.66 m (12 ft)
Height: 2.44 m (8 ft)
Crew: 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Amour: Chobham, RHA
Primary Armament: 120 mm M256 Smoothbore Tank Gun, 40 rounds
Secondary armament: 1? .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 BMG machine gun, 2? M240 7.62 mm machine guns (1 pintle, 1 coaxial)
Engine: AGT-1500 turbine engine, Honeywell LV100-5 turbine engine, Allison DDA X-1100 3B transmission, 1500 hp (1119 kW)
Power/weight: 24.5 hp/tonne
Suspension: torsion bar
Operational range: 465 km (288 mi)
Speed on road: 67 km/h (41.5 mph)
Speed off-road: 48 km/h (30 mph)
Unless you've been living inside a spider hole for the last 25 years, you've probably heard of a little thing called a "Humvee" before.
Long before rappers, sports stars and wannabe ballers at large adopted the civilian version of the Hummer for their daily commutes; our armed forces were using the real, beefy military version of the all-wheel-drive rigs to drive our enemies into submission. From the plains of Somalia to the deserts of Iraq, Humvees have played a major role in keeping our country free.
Manufactured by AM General in Indiana, the High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle HMMWV, or Humvee, has been used by the armed forces since the mid-1980s. With over 140,000 in service in all military branches, the Hummer is the ubiquitous worker bee of our military.
The HMMWV was designed primarily to move troops and light cargo around behind the front lines; meaning it wasn't designed to provide any protection against small-arms fire, land mines or rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Since the HMMWV sees extensive front-line duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, our clever troops have started beefing up their rides just like we do at home. But the body kits they're bolting on to their rides have a different purpose than ours here at home-keeping them alive.
American soldiers and Marines have taken the situation into their own hands and begun installing "hillbilly armor" on their Hummers to help protect them from RPGs, land mines and small arms fire. There are a few production armor kits available for the HMMWV, but very few of the hummers in Iraq are so equipped. So, as you can see, body kits really can serve a functional purpose. Let's just hope we can get some armor on ALL those personal transports that see front-line duty.
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle General Specs:
Type: Infantry fighting vehicle
Place of origin: United States
Weight: 30.4 tonnes
Length: 6.55 m
Width: 3.6 m
Height: 2.98 m
Crew: 3 + 6
Armour: Aluminium / Steel
Primary armament: 25 mm M242 Chain Gun 900 rounds?TOW Anti-Tank Missile?7 TOW Missiles
Secondary Armament: 7.62 mm M240C machine gun 2,200 rounds
Engine: Diesel 600 hp (447 kW)
Power/weight: 19.74 hp/tonne
Suspension: Torsion bar
Operational range: 483 km or 300 m
Speed: 66 km/h or 41mph
The Desert Patrol Vehicle (DPV) is made to do just that-patrol the desert. We've been to the desert a few times, and we can tell you, there's no better ride to have out there than a dune buggy. But these military rides are much more than your average sand rail. Firstly, they are equipped with a 0.50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun, two 7.2mm M60 machine guns and two anti-armor rockets. And if that's not enough, they can also sport a 40mm MK 19 grenade launcher. In addition to all that firepower, there's even more that separates this rail from a civilian one. The DPV is powered by a 200hp Volkswagen engine and can accelerate from 0-30mph in around 4 seconds. Not too shabby. The standard fuel tank carries enough gas to travel about 210 miles, and with the addition of an external tank, it can travel up to 1000 miles on a single tank of fuel. Try that with your desert toys. We wish we could give you a little more info, but as Tony Snow says, "It's classified."