Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Tons.

This is coolbert:

A constant source of amazement those Russian tanks found on the roadside; images from the Ukraine Conflict an entire turret blown off the hull and thrown a distance.

Those turrets weighing about 12 tons [American short] = 11,000 Kg. of cast steel as you can well imagine quite robust.

From an acknowledged weapons expert this comment:

"It is easy to blow the turret off any Soviet era tank. Because they have automatic loading systems for the main gun, the rounds are in a carousel lining the inside of the turret walls. The turret normally does not extend beyond the turret ring--everything is within that ring including ammo. NATO tanks have a hand loader who takes the appropriate rounds from the storage area hanging out behind the main turret ring, called either the bustle or mantle. When an enemy round pierces a Russian turret, it is nearly guaranteed to start secondary, sympathetic explosions around the inside of that circular turret--no separation from any of the rest of the turret-- generating enough energy to blow the turret off."
 
"NATO tanks, with their rounds stored in the overhanging portion of the turret, have sectioned off the rounds and have 'blow out' lids on top of the turret were the rounds are stored. When they blow, they blow up, not all round inside of the turret. There are also flaps of material, metal or kevlar, between the turret crew and the ammo area that provide some protection from anything blowing the ammo up."

See this You Tube short as applicable:


Even American tanks of the Second World War had incorporated protections against a catastrophic detonation of stored ammunition.

The Russian tanks with that autoloader very susceptible to ruinous and fatal damage.

I can well imagine that policing human remains from a tank in the aftermath of such a detonation, a turret flung far and wide strictly a voluntary duty!

coolbert.










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