Maybe he saw a picture of it made with a 35mm Canon!
I’m not ExTank, but I am an M1A1 Tanker. I served on Active Duty from 23 April 1996 to 23 October 2000. I served in 2/63 Armor, Vilseck Germany (a.k.a. Rose Barracks). National Guard, also as a tanker, from Novemberr 2000-current.
As another poster pointed out, a tank can be moving in under a minute. The M1 family is slower to start than piston-engine tanks. Like he said, if something goes wrong, the tank doesn’t fall out of the sky. I think the 5-minute thing was hype to lend credibility to the magician.
I might believe an ungoverned speed in the mid-to-high 50s range. Once in Hohenfels, Germany ( a training center) I had my tank up to 70KPH. The steering gets a little “twitchy” at that speed. It felt uncomfortable and the only reason we did it is because there were no other tanks around. The speed limit for tracked vehicles is 40KPH. I don’t buy 100mph for a minute. In addition to tearing up roads, the tracks just can’t take that kind of punishment.
FWIW:
The M1A1 has a speedometer in both KPH and MPH. KPH is more prominent. The incident I mentioned above is the only time I ever knew exactly how fast I was going. The “driver’s hole” is a pretty dark place. While the driver’s eyes are adjusted to the light of the view outside, it is just about impossible to read the dimly lit speedo
The M1A1 does not use a key. It has a push button for a starter. (It would really suck to lose your keys in combat, eh?)
Good one!
Well beefyman, I don’t really know if I started the sidetrack or not. My post regarding service dates for the M60 was not meant to be picayune pickin’, rather a minor factual correction. That happens around here.
Cracked me up.
Amazing what you can learn at this place. Who knew so many current, and ex, tank drivers visit this place (Remind me never to piss any of you off).
The consensus seems to be-
A. Some tanks do take up to five minutes to start, but it’s not the norm, or even typical. For the most part you can fire one up and be on your way to blowing shit up in seconds. Cool.
B. Tanks, particularly the M1, probably top out at about 50 or 60 miles per hour, give or take a smidge.
And finally, C, (My favorite) the poster known as beefyman has been so thoroughly discredited that he hasn’t been back since. It’s always nice to see the truth win out.
Thanks!
Glad to add my small part, and happy to be of service, CnoteChris. And especially pleased that I could contribute something of value, though I hadn’t a friggin clue of an answer to your OP.
The war on ignorance is the only one worth being a soldier in the army of, against.
[Hijack]
Wow, if I could parse that sentence better, I’d have a pretty decent signature to use. There MUST be a way to improve it, but it has a certain ironic charm as it stands. I believe I’m going to make it my official signature. [/Hijack]
Glad to add my small part, and happy to be of service, CnoteChris. And especially pleased that I could contribute something of value, though I hadn’t a friggin clue of an answer to your OP. Though with the tank-trained folks contributions, I suppose us amateur-types weren’t strictly necessary to debunking bogus claims. But I feel somewhat accomplished for having thrown in against claimed personal experience. It’s good to check out the old bullshit detector on a frequent basis, though it’s rather sad that it’s necessary to do so.
The war on ignorance is the only one worth being a soldier in the army of, against.
[Hijack]
Wow, if I could parse that sentence better, I’d have a pretty decent signature to use. There MUST be a way to improve it, but it has a certain ironic charm as it stands. I believe I’m going to make it my official signature. [/Hijack]
:smack:
Wow, a double post with an addendum in the second! Don’t remember hitting the post button the first time.
Oh well, I’m heading up to the thousand post mark, so I suppose I’m due a few cheapies.
yojimboguy, to steal from another one, there is language up with which I will not put!