# Tank warfare questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684 "2005-01-08T02:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/1 "2005-01-08T02:23:37Z")
I’ve been browsing [Globalsecurity](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/index.html) researching possible tanks I’d like to build in 1/72 scale, and I find myself mystified by the idea of searchlights in battle. Granted, a tank would be more maneuverable than a battleship (which, if memory serves, also used searchlights to find one another during night battles). But why use a searchlight to find targets when that would just as well pinpoint your position? Does that just make it a matter of finding and shooting your enemy before he gets you? And how would an infrared searchlight work? Do they operate on a similar principle to what happens when you put a white shirt under a UV lamp? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/2 "2005-01-08T02:36:20Z")
I have never heard of using searchlights in battle outside of anti-aircraft fire. Battleships were probably never close enough for one to be useful. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/3 "2005-01-08T02:38:14Z")
Why use a light when radar is available? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/4 "2005-01-08T02:42:32Z")
Where’s **ExTank** when you need him? Modern tanks _do_ have radar, and are designed to minimize their radar profile. Searchlights would be handy if you’re trying to manover in less than optimum conditions. After all, no one wants to drive into their buddy’s tank, or drive their tank off a cliff. IR searchlights are handy for seeing through fog and smoke (common on battlefields), and you need IR goggles to see anything illuminated with IR lights. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/5 "2005-01-08T03:24:32Z")
Modern main battle tanks have night vision gear built into the tank. I seriously doubt they’d use a search light in a battle (better to point you cannon at the bad guy than your light). That said there might be all sorts of reasons to have a light on board outside of a battle (illuminate the area while refueling as an example). > [@](#): > > The M1 series tank is equipped with … > > …day/night fire on the move capability which is provided by a laser range finder, thermal imaging night sight, optical day sight… > > SOURCE: [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m1.htm](http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/6 "2005-01-08T03:26:56Z")
Not to mention when you’re driving around in a “friendly” area (like the base), after dark, the lights make it handy for folks to see you! Keeps the pedestrians from walking into the tank. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/7 "2005-01-08T03:29:36Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Why use a light when radar is available? I do not think regular tanks have radar on board. Armored vehicles used as AA vehicles sure but not your “basic” tank. The M1A1 at least does not have one (or my link above makes no mention of it). ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/8 "2005-01-08T03:58:29Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Battleships were probably never close enough for one to be useful. Not true; although they could shoot upwards of 15 miles, a whole lot of WWII battleship fights in the Pacific were point-blank slugfests under 5 miles. They had _really_ powerful searchlights. Searchlights made a life-or-death difference [at Guadalcanal](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/23065_wash15.shtml), where _South Dakota_ sailed between Japanese battleships. _Kirishima_, one of the Japanese ships, used its searchlights to get a better aim at _South Dakota_, and was promptly hammered by _Washington_, who couldn’t tell the two apart on radar, but [used the searchlights as an aiming point](http://www.usswashington.com/1stbatt.htm). Also, there were quite a few night battles in WWI (pre-radar) where they probably used searchlights, although aiming at the muzzle flashes was more common. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/9 "2005-01-08T04:25:36Z")
In the movie _Courage Under Fire_ , Denzel Washington used the lights on the tanks under his command to save the day. After a friendly-fire incident, he ordered all his tanks to turn on their lights. They then proceeded to blast all the Iraqi tanks who had their lights off. One wonders why the Iraqis didn’t similarly turn their lights on once they realized what was happening. I’m not claiming that this movie is a great reflection of real life army techniques. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/10 "2005-01-08T04:35:09Z")
Tanks are not merely anti-tank weapons; they are also anti-personnel and anti-fortification weapons. If facing an enemy that did not have anti-tank weaponry at night, a searchlight would be invaluable for illuminating targets. Even in a tank-to-tank encounter, while a searchlight viewed from the side makes a good target, a searchlight viewed head on makes shooting _extremely_ difficult (one has a target, but _no_ idea of range). (Searchlights are not necessary for maneuvering around friendly areas at night: tanks have standard headlights for that sort of movement.) ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/11 "2005-01-08T04:50:34Z")
Not to mention they are not very quiet. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/12 "2005-01-08T06:05:52Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > I’ve been browsing [Globalsecurity](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/index.html) researching possible tanks I’d like to build in 1/72 scale, and I find myself mystified by the idea of searchlights in battle. Granted, a tank would be more maneuverable than a battleship (which, if memory serves, also used searchlights to find one another during night battles). But why use a searchlight to find targets when that would just as well pinpoint your position? Does that just make it a matter of finding and shooting your enemy before he gets you? > > And how would an infrared searchlight work? Do they operate on a similar principle to what happens when you put a white shirt under a UV lamp? I think the last american tank that operated a search light , was the M-60 MBT , it was mounted on the main gun. Mainly I think it was a hold over from days when battles were strictly day affairs and night battles were accidental. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_from\_Texas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Lee\_from\_Texas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lee_from_Texas)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/13 "2005-01-08T20:16:41Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > I’ve been browsing [Globalsecurity](http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/index.html) researching possible tanks I’d like to build in 1/72 scale, and I find myself mystified by the idea of searchlights in battle. Granted, a tank would be more maneuverable than a battleship (which, if memory serves, also used searchlights to find one another during night battles). But why use a searchlight to find targets when that would just as well pinpoint your position? Does that just make it a matter of finding and shooting your enemy before he gets you? > > And how would an infrared searchlight work? Do they operate on a similar principle to what happens when you put a white shirt under a UV lamp? Modern tanks, in “first world” countries, do not have searchlights. The searchlight, when used operationally, had an IR filter over it, so that the beam was invisible to the naked eye. The gunner in the searchlight-equipped tank looked through a night-vision sight, allowing him to see what was illuminated. This was a stopgap measure that relied upon a less-sophisticated enemy not having night vision. If they had been eqipped with Night Vision Goggles/weapons sights, the searchlight would indeed stand out like a sore thumb. I have been a crewmember on an M1A1 Abrams for 9 years. As far as I’m aware, no tank has radar. Modern tanks no longer use searchlights. They use thermal sights. We “see” in heat. This is a MUCH better battlefield sight. It doesn’t give away the shooting tank’s position. It also allows for easier identification of vehicles. (gunner must know the position of “hot” components on friendly and enemy vehicles). That scene in Courage Under Fire was pure Hollywood Baloney. In combat, tanks would have IR filters in place over their headlight. This would prevent a driver from accidentally turning on the headlights and giving away the tank’s position in VISIBLE LIGHT. Not really related; the tanks in that movie are really some smaller tracked vehicle with phony tank body and turret added on. ---
**Author:** ![johncole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f9b8f/32.png) [@johncole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johncole)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tank-warfare-questions/283684/14 "2005-01-08T20:29:22Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > I have never heard of using searchlights in battle outside of anti-aircraft fire. > > Battleships were probably never close enough for one to be useful. > [@Reeder](#): > > Why use a light when radar is available? Further to what **gunslinger** said, from [this description](http://www.spruso.com/1matap.htm) of the Battle of Matapan in WWII: > [@](#): > > At 22.10 the radar on HMS VALIANT detected the three cruisers at a range of only six miles. Illuminated by searchlights, the ships were pounded by 15" salvos from HMS WARSPITE and VALIANT at point blank range. The Italians lost the three cruisers and the destroyers, ALFIERI and CARDUCCI plus 2400 men.