Doughty M5 Stuart Light Tank versus crappo key by way of Whitecastle

[stlaser]

https://youtu.be/vvkLaa9bogU

[cudakidd53]

Tanks.....tanks a lot!  :)

[Flyin6]

That 37mm is about as powerful as a single round fired from a GAU-8 cannon of an A-10

His next vid was of a Hellcat with the 76mm anti tank gun. That gun was the big dog for US forces during WW2 but compared to todays main guns doesn't even register.

[stlaser]

Years ago I watched a documentary on the M18, part of the story was they were restoring one. Then at the end they brought in a WW2 vet who manned one & let him run it around. Main thing I recall is him talking about how cold it was in Europe that they would sleep in the open top turret rather than on the ground.

[Flyin6]

Years ago I watched a documentary on the M18, part of the story was they were restoring one. Then at the end they brought in a WW2 vet who manned one & let him run it around. Main thing I recall is him talking about how cold it was in Europe that they would sleep in the open top turret rather than on the ground.

Tanks/cold
Two things:
1. The heater only works while in garrison
2. That big ole motor heats up the steel on the back deck, and if you like a warm bed, that's where you sleep. If raining, then under the tarp, on the deck

[Nate]

and armored vehicles never get shut off while in the field........!!!!  that is a HUGE NO NO!  the other big NO NO was/is armored vehicles DO NOT I say again DO NOT get started on Fridays unless its an emergency.

[Flyin6]

And sometimes, they don't get shut off in the field. I remember once starting my M60A1 in early October, then shut it off sometime in November. We just let them idle or run...Never had to worry about a starter not working!

[KensAuto]

and armored vehicles never get shut off while in the field........!!!!  that is a HUGE NO NO!  the other big NO NO was/is armored vehicles DO NOT I say again DO NOT get started on Fridays unless its an emergency.

Why is that Nate? If you can answer that...

[Atkinsmatt]

Lack of dry sweep and time.

[Nate]

why do armored vehicles not get shut off in the field?

1. armored crew members are superstitious

2. you cant just start armored vehicles and slam them in gear and take off like you can a car, they take time (Abrams tanks have a jet engine)

3. metal/armor plating gets cold really quick, a running engine keeps it warm

4. hydraulic fluids work better/quicker when warm and not cold

5. the demand of the electronics

6. you must be able to react in a split sec

7. etc

8. armored crew members are superstitious



why do armored vehicles NOT get started on Fridays?

1. armored crew members are superstitious

2. murphy is a nasty asshole with a sick sense of humor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3. there is a lot of hydraulic fluid and fuel in an armored vehicle that can cover a very LARGE area VERY QUICKLY, and there is normally not enough dry sweet left over from the week to properly do the motorpool shuffle

4. if it breaks, you don't get to go home until its fixed (regardless of rank, time, location, temperature, weather conditions, etc)

5. its the end of the week, you are tired, want to go home and have coke and spend time with your family

6. murphy is a nasty f*&^%$g asshole with a sick sense of humor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. armored crew members are superstitious

[KensAuto]

That was my guess, but I thought you were going to give me some fancy Army book words to explain it! haha

[Nate]

lol

[stlaser]

That's a lot of superstitious.....

[Flyin6]

I almost forgot that one

A starter or a generator will always fail if used on Fridays, or the day before you WERE going out on leave. If you are away from maintenance, then the failure is assured. If you have something else going on, like say you threw a track last night...to the inside...and the mud you were in is now hard ice. Well that is the time when the heater would have already failed, and the generator or starter or both would be toast, probably the radio as well. Your 5 gal cans of water are blocks of ice and you're down to a single MRE.
Times like that, I have just hiked it out to a nearby gausthause and taken a room, a shower, and a meal. Screw it. Gonna get court martialed anyway because according to the Battalion maintenance sergeant all of that is somehow my fault, so prior to getting locked up, might as well throw a liter down to while I'm at it!

Oh and those guys leaving hatches open??? Perfect target for an ornery scout pilot to drop a red or green smoke grenade into. Yup, it will definitely dye all those dudes asleep inside that exact color! I've heard about that from someone, somewhere...