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M1A1 on a live fire exercise in Iraq, 2003
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Main Battle Tank
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yes
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Gulf War , Iraq War
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Chrysler Defense
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1979–
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M1A1, M1A2
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614 Tonne s (677 Short Ton s)
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976 M (3202 ft) (gun forward)<!-- from Army fact file http://wwwarmymil/factfiles/equipment/tracked/abramshtml -->
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366 m (12 ft) <!-- from Army fact file -->
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244 m (80 ft) <!-- from Army fact file -->
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4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
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Chobham ,<br> RHA
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120 mm M256 Smoothbore Tank Gun , <br/> 40 rounds
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1× 50 in (127 mm) M2 BMG Machine Gun ,<br> 2× M240 762 mm machine guns (1 pintle, 1 coaxial)
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AGT-1500 multi-fuel turbine engine, Honeywell LV100-5 turbine engine
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1500 hp (1119 kW)
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Allison DDA X-1100 3B transmission
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245 hp/tonne
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Torsion Bar
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46529 km (289 mi) <br/> With NBC system: 44919 km (279 mi)
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Road: 6772 km/h (42 mph) <br/> Off-road: 483 km/h (30 mph)
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The
Creighton Abrams , former Army
Chief Of Staff and commander of the Army's
37th Armored Regiment .
The M1 Abrams replaced the
M60 Patton in U.S. service, as well as the
M48A5 . It did, however, serve alongside the M60A3, which had entered service just two years before the M1 (in 1978), for over a decade. The Abrams is also the main battle tank of other nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The first attempt to replace the aging
M60 series of tanks was the abortive
MBT-70 , developed with Germany. The M60 Patton was itself a gradual evolution of a design starting with the
World War II Era M26 Pershing , with a very tall profile, and fairly average armor and weapon compared to the contemporary Soviet designs. The
MBT-70 was very ambitious, like many American weapons programs of the 1960s. It had a gun launched missile system, kneeling suspension, a driver housed in the turret, and various other ideas that ultimately proved unsuccessful. Cancellation of this project paved the way for the much more successful M1 Abrams tank, which did not incorporate most of the troublesome innovations tried by the MBT-70.
series, during a demonstration on the test range in 1979.]]
The Abrams was designed by Chrysler Defense (in 1979, General Dynamics Land Systems Division purchased Chrysler Defense Division) and is currently produced by
General Dynamics Corporation in
Lima, Ohio , and first entered US Army service in 1980. An improved version of the M1, the '''M1A1''', was introduced in 1985. The M1A1 has the
M256 120 mm
Smoothbore Cannon developed by
Rheinmetall AG of
Germany for the
Leopard 2 , improved armor, and a
CBRN protection system. The '''M1A2''' is a further improvement of the M1A1 with a commander's independent thermal viewer and weapon station, position navigation equipment, digital data bus and a radio interface unit.
Further upgrades include
Depleted Uranium Armor for all variants, a system overhaul that returns all A1s to like-new condition (M1A1 AIM), a digital enhancement package for the A1 (M1A1D), a commonality program to standardize parts between the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps (M1A1HC) and an electronic upgrade for the A2 (M1A2 SEP).
During Operations
Desert Shield and
Desert Storm and for
Bosnia , some M1A1s were modified with armor upgrades. The M1 can be equipped with
Mine Plow and mine roller attachments if needed. The M1 chassis also serves as a basis for the
Grizzly Combat Engineering Vehicle and the
M104 Wolverine heavy assault bridge.
Over 8,800 M1 and M1A1 tanks have been produced at a cost of $2,350,000–$4,300,000 per unit, depending on the variant.
drive an M1 Abrams tank through the
Taunus Mountains north of
Frankfurt during Exercise Ready Crucible on
February 14 ,
2005 .]]
The Abrams is protected by
Chobham Armor , a type of
Composite Armor formed by multiple layers of
Steel and
Ceramic s. It may also be fitted with
Reactive Armor if needed (as in the Urban Survival Kit). Fuel and ammunition are in armored compartments with blowout panels to protect the crew from the risk of the tank's own ammunition
Cooking Off if the tank is damaged. Protection against
Spall ing is provided by a
Kevlar liner. Beginning in 1988, M1A1 tanks received improved armor packages that incorporated
Depleted Uranium (DU) mesh in their armor at the front of the turret and the front of the hull. Armor reinforced in this manner offers significantly increased resistance towards all types of anti-tank weaponry, but at the expense of adding considerable weight to the tank.
The first M1A1 tanks to receive this upgrade were tanks stationed in Germany, since they were the first line of defense against the Soviet Union. US tankers participating in Operation Desert Storm received an emergency program to upgrade their tanks with depleted uranium armor immediately before the onset of the campaign. M1A2 tanks uniformly incorporate depleted uranium armor, and all M1A1 tanks in active service have been upgraded to this standard as well, the armor thickness believed to be equivalent to 24 inches (610 mm) of
RHA . The strength of the armor is estimated to be about the same as similar western, contemporary main battle tanks such as the
Leopard 2 . The M1A1/M1A2 can survive multiple hits from the most powerful tank munitions (including 120 mm depleted uranium APFSDS) and anti-tank missiles. In the
Persian Gulf War , Abrams tanks survived multiple hits at relatively close ranges from
Iraqi T-72 s and
ATGM s.
M829A1 "Silver Bullet"
APFSDS rounds from other M1A1 Abrams were unable to penetrate the front and side armor (even at close ranges) in friendly fire incidents as well as an incident in which another Abrams tried to destroy an Abrams that got stuck in mud and had to be abandoned.
In addition to the Abrams' advanced armor, some Abrams, most notably M1A1s of the US Marine Corps, are equipped with a
Missile Countermeasure Device that can detect and jam the guidance systems of laser-guided anti-tank guided missiles (
ATGM )
{Link without Title} . This device is mounted on the turret roof in front of the Loader's hatch, and can lead some people to mistake Abrams fitted with these devices for the M1A2 version, since the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer on the latter is mounted in the same place, though the MCD is box-shaped and fixed in place as opposed to cylindrical and rotating like the CITV.
Nevertheless the Army says 80 Abrams have been damaged so badly they had to be shipped back to the United States and at least 5 soldiers have been killed inside the tanks when they hit roadside bombs. One such incident including a IED of 500kg of explosives (including 155mm artillery rounds) triggered by an anti-tank mine. Additionally at least 10 more have died while riding partially exposed from open hatches, according to figures from the Army's Armor Center at Fort Knox, KY.
M1A1 firing in
Najaf Province ,
Iraq during a training exercise.]]
;M68A1 rifled gun
The main armament of the original model M1 was the M68A1 105 mm
Rifled Tank Gun firing a variety of
HEAT ,
High Explosive ,
White Phosphorus (smoke), and a highly efficient and lethal
Anti-personnel (multiple
Flechette ) round. This gun is a license-built version of the British
Royal Ordnance L7 gun. While being a reliable weapon, the 105 mm was becoming obsolete in the face of advances in armor technology, which meant that a better tank gun was needed for the M1.
;M256 smoothbore gun
Soldier from 1st Battalion,
81st Armor Brigade , 85th Armor Division, sets the sights on the main gun of an M1A1 Abrams in
Mosul, Iraq on
January 8 ,
2005 .]]
The main armament of the M1A1 and M1A2 is the M256 120 mm
Smoothbore gun, designed by
Rheinmetall AG of
Germany . The M256 is a variant of the
Rheinmetall 120 Mm L/44 Gun manufactured under license in the United States by General Dynamics Land Systems Division in their plant in
Lima ,
Ohio . It is the same armament carried by the German
Leopard 2 tank up to the version A5 until replaced by the longer L/55 gun in version A6.
Rounds like the
M829A2 were developed specifically to address the threats posed by a
T-90 or
T-80 U tank, given their high level of protection provided the tanks by
Kontakt-5 Explosive Reactive Armor, and high explosive anti-tank (
HEAT )
Shaped Charge rounds such as the
M830 , the latest version of which (
M830A1 ) incorporates a sophisticated multi-mode electronic sensing
Fuse and more fragmentation which allows it to be used effectively against both armored vehicles and personnel and low-flying aircraft. Unlike the Soviet-built tanks it was designed to go up against, the Abrams uses a manual loader rather than an automatic device, due to the belief that having a person reload the gun is faster and more reliable. This decision was proven out as the Soviet-era automatic loading system proved troublesome and even dangerous to the tank crew in some cases.
The new M1028 120 mm anti-personnel
Canister cartridge was brought into service early for use in the
Aftermath Of The 2003 Invasion Of Iraq . It contains 1,150 ten-millimeter
Tungsten shot projectiles which spread from the muzzle to produce a
Shotgun effect lethal out to 500 m. The tungsten balls can be used to clear enemy dismounts, break up hasty ambush sites in urban areas, clear defiles, stop infantry attacks and counter-attacks and support friendly infantry assaults by providing cover-by-fire.
In addition to this, the new
MRM-KE (Mid-Range-Munition Kinetic Energy) is also in development. Essentially a cannon-fired guided round, it has a range of roughly 12 km and uses a KE warhead which is rocket assisted in its final phase of flight. This is intended to be the best penetrator yet, an improvement over the US 3rd generation DU penetrator (estimated penetration 790 mm).
, Iraq, on
February 3 ,
2005 . Note the
TAGS Shield installed on the loader's M240 machine gun.]]
The Abrams tank has three
Machine Gun s:
# A .50
Cal. (
12.7 Mm )
M2 machine gun in front of the commander's hatch. On the M1, M1IP and M1A1, this gun is on a powered mount and can be fired using a 3× magnification sight, known as the Commander's Weapon Station (CWS for short), while the vehicle is buttoned up. On the M1A2 & M1A2SEP, this gun is on a flex mount (seen at right), the Commander having to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. With the forthcoming TUSK addon kit, an M2 or an
Mk 19 Grenade Launcher can be mounted on the
CROWS remote weapons platform (similar to the
Protector M151 remote weapon station used on the Stryker family of vehicles).
# A
7.62 Mm M240 Machine Gun in front of the loader's hatch on a
Skate Mount .
# A 7.62 mm M240 machine gun in a
Coaxial mount. The coaxial MG is aimed and fired with the computer fire control system used for the main gun.
The turret is fitted with two six-barreled
Smoke Grenade launchers (USMC Abrams use an eight-barreled version). These can create a thick smoke that blocks both vision and
Thermal Imaging , and can also be armed with
Chaff . The engine is also equipped with a smoke generator that is triggered by the driver. The Abrams also has provisions for storing an
M16 Rifle or
M4 Carbine inside the turret in case the crew is required to leave the tank under potentially hostile conditions; while the crewmen are supplied with the
M9 Beretta pistol as a personal sidearm.
The Abrams is equipped with a ballistic
Fire-control Computer that uses data from a variety of sources, including the thermal or daylight Gunner's Primary Sight (GPS), a
Laser Rangefinder , a crosswind sensor, a
Pendulum Static Cant sensor, data on the ammunition type, ammunition temperature, and a muzzle reference sensor (MRS) that determines barrel drop due to gravity and temperature. The fire-control system uses this data to compute a
Firing Solution for the gunner. The ballistic solution generated ensures a hit percentage greater than 95 percent at nominal ranges. Either the commander or gunner can fire the main gun. Additionally, the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) on the M1A2 can be used to locate targets and pass them on for the gunner to engage while the commander scans for new targets. In the event of a malfunction or damage to the primary sight system, the main and coaxial weapons can be manually aimed using a telescopic scope
Boresight ed to the main gun known as the Gunner's Auxiliary Sight (GAS). The GAS has two interchangeable
Reticles ; one for HEAT and one for APFSDS ammunition. The commander's M2 .50 caliber machine gun on the M1 and M1A1 is aimed by a 3x magnification sight incorporated into the Commander's Weapon Station (CWS), while the M1A2 uses either the machine gun's own
Iron Sight s, or a remote aiming system such as the CROWS system when used as part of the TUSK kit. The loader's M240 machine gun is aimed either with the built-in iron sights or with a thermal scope mounted on the machine gun.
, after being offloaded at
Balad Air Base , Iraq, during
Operation Iraqi Freedom .]]
The M1 Abrams is powered by a 1500 hp (1119 kW)
Honeywell AGT1500 (originally made by
Lycoming )
Gas Turbine , and a six speed (four forward, two reverse) Allison X-1100-3B Hydro-Kinetic Automatic
Transmission , giving it a governed top speed of 45
Mph (72
Km/h ) on paved roads, and 30 mph (48 km/h) cross-country. With the engine governor removed, speeds of around 60 mph (100 km/h) are possible on an improved surface; however, damage to the drive train (especially to the tracks) and an increased risk of injuries to the crew can occur at speeds above 45 mph. The tank can be fueled with
Diesel fuel,
Kerosene , any grade of
MOGAS (motor
Gasoline ), or
JP-4 or
JP-8 jet fuel; the U.S. Army uses JP-8 jet fuel in order to simplify
Logistics .
The gas turbine propulsion system has proven quite reliable in practice and combat, but its high fuel consumption is a serious logistic issue (starting up the turbine alone consumes 40 liters of fuel). The high speed, high temperature
Jet Blast emitted from the rear of M1 Abrams tanks makes it difficult for the
Infantry to proceed shadowing the tank in
Urban Combat . The turbine is noisy, comparable to a
Helicopter engine, although the noise character (pitch) is significantly different from a contemporary diesel tank engine, reducing the audible distance of the sound, thus the nickname, "whispering death". Future US tanks may return to reciprocating engines for propulsion, as 4-stroke
Diesel Engine s have proven quite successful in other modern heavy tanks, e.g. the
Leopard 2 ,
Challenger 2 and
Merkava . The small size, simplicity, power-to-weight ratio, and easy removal/replacement of the turbine powerpack does, however, present significant advantages over any proposed reciprocating replacement.
The Abrams can be carried by the
C-5 Galaxy and
C-17 Globemaster III . The limited capacity (one combat-ready tank or two transport-ready tanks in a C-5, one combat-ready tank in a C-17) caused serious logistical problems when deploying the tanks for the
First Gulf War , though there was enough time for 1,848 tanks to be transported by ship. Tanks shipped in the transport-ready configuration require
Depot-level maintenance to install a number of sections of armor, and need to be fueled and loaded with ammunition. Tanks shipped in the combat-ready configuration can enter combat immediately.
In
World War II , it took a
Sherman Tank an average of 17 rounds to destroy an enemy tank 700 meters away. The Abrams, by contrast, can destroy certain enemy tanks by firing, on the move, a single round from 2,000 meters away.Rick Atkinson, ''Crusade'' p. 251, 1993. As the Abrams entered service in the 1980s, they would operate alongside
M60A3 within the United States military, and with other NATO tanks in numerous Cold War exercises. These exercises usually took place in Western Europe, especially West Germany, but also in some other countries like South Korea. During such training, Abrams crews honed their skills for use against the men and equipment of the Soviet Union. However, by 1991 the USSR had collapsed and the Abrams would have its trial by fire in the Middle East.
move out on a mission during
Operation Desert Storm . A
Bradley IFV and
Logistics convoy can be seen in the background.]]
The Abrams remained untested in combat until the
Gulf War in 1991. A total of 1,848 M1A1s were deployed to
Saudi Arabia . The M1A1 was superior to
Iraq 's
Soviet -era
T-55 and
T-62 tanks, as well as Iraqi assembled Russian
T-72 s, and locally-produced copies (
Asad Babil Tank ). The T-72s like most Soviet export designs lacked
Night Vision System s and then-modern
Range Finder s, though they did have some night fighting tanks with older active infrared systems or floodlights — just not the latest starlight scopes and passive infrared scopes as on the Abrams. Only 23 M1A1s were taken out of service in the Gulf"According to the Army’s Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, 23 Abrams tanks were destroyed or damaged in the Persian Gulf area. Of the nine Abrams destroyed, seven were due to friendly fire, and two were intentionally destroyed to prevent capture after they became disabled. Other Abrams tanks were damaged by enemy fire, land mines, on-board fires, or to prevent capture after they became disabled." From ''Early performance assessment of Bradleys and Abrams'', p. 24. and none of these losses resulted in crew deaths from Iraqi fire. Some others took minor combat damage, with little effect on their operational readiness. There were only 3 tank crew members wounded beyond doubt by enemy action.
The M1A1 was capable of making kills at ranges in excess of 2500
M . This range was crucial in combat against tanks of Soviet design in Desert Storm, as the effective range of the main gun in the Soviet/Iraqi tanks was less than 2000 meters (Iraqi tanks could not fire Anti-Tank missiles like their Russian counterparts). This meant Abrams tanks could hit Iraqi tanks before the enemy got in range - a decisive advantage in this kind of combat. In
Friendly Fire incidents the front armor and fore side
Turret armor survived direct
APFSDS hits from other M1A1s at the front and side armor. This was not the case for the side armor of the hull and the rear armor of the turret, as both areas were penetrated at least in two occasions by friendly
DU ammunition during the
Battle Of Norfolk .;
Sketch depicting the path of a DU 120 mm round through the hull of Abrams C-12 , OSD.
Nearly all sources claim that no Abrams tank has ever been destroyed as a result of fire from an enemy tank, but some have certainly taken some damage which required extensive repair. There is at least one account, reported in the following Gulf War's , of an Abrams being damaged by three
Kinetic Energy Piercing Rounds . The
DoD report indicates that witnesses in the field claimed it was hit by a T-72 ''Asad Babil''. The KE rounds were unable to fully penetrate and stuck in the armor, but because of the external damage it was sent to a maintenance depot. This is the only verified case of an M1A1 put out of action by an Iraqi MBT.
Presumably the impacts set the storage boxes on fire. The tests at the impact point indicate the
Sabot shells were conventional, since no radiological trace was found there.
Other six M1As were allegedly hit by 125 mm tank fire in the Gulf war official report, but the impacts were largely ineffectual.Zaloga, page 38.
in 1991.]]
On the night of , besides the alleged Hellfire strike (see
Iraqi T-72 Article ).
Tanks D-24 and C-66 took some casualties as wellTwo official damage assessments acknowledge casualties: [http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassimages/army/19980729/980715_sep96_sagwi1_0092.html D-24], [http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/declassimages/army/19980729/980715_sep96_sagwi1_0085.html C-66]. Only B-23 became a permanent loss. The DoD's damage assessments state that B-23 was the only M1 with signs of a Hellfire missile found nearby.. Note that the M1 was hit in the rear hull, not in the turret.
Also during
Operation Desert Storm , three Abrams of the
24 ID were left behind the enemy lines after a swift attack on
Talil airfield, south of
Nasiriyah , on
February 27 . One of them was hit by enemy fire, the two other embedded in mud. The tanks were destroyed by US forces in order to prevent any trophy-claim by the Iraqi Army."One of the M1s is hit and disabled. The crew is extracted safely and the tank left behind, not before it is destroyed by the task force commander who fires two rounds into it. The first bounces off, the second penetrates and set it on fire
{Link without Title} The terrain is still causing problems. On the attack several vehicles get embedded in mud and can't be extracted. The problem is complicated by enemy missile and machine gun fire. Two tanks and two armored personnel carriers are destroyed and discarded." - Halberstadt, Hans: ''Desert Storm: Ground War''. Motorbooks International, 1991. p. 111.
, pose for a photo under the "Hands of Victory" in Ceremony Square,
Baghdad, Iraq .]]
Further combat was seen during 2003 when US forces
Invaded Iraq and deposed the Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein . The campaign saw very similar performance from the tank with no Abrams crew member being lost to hostile fire during the battle in Iraq, mainly due to unopposed air-support. However, several tanks were destroyed due to secondary effects attributed to Iraqi 25mm
AP-DU and anti-armor
RPG fire - on no occasion were
Anti-tank Guided Weapons or
Anti-tank Mine s encountered.
{Link without Title}
The most lopsided achievement of the M1A2s was the destruction of seven T-72 ''Lion of Babylon'' tanks in a point-blank skirmish (less than 50 yards) near Mahmoudiyah, about 18 miles south of Baghdad, with no losses for the American side (not surprisingly as a T-72 is unable to penetrate Abrams front and side).Conroy, Jason & Martz, Ron: ''Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle To Baghdad''. Potomac Books, 2005, p. 158. However, on
October 29 ,
2003 , two soldiers were killed and a third wounded when their tank was disabled by an anti-tank
Mine , which was combined with other explosives (500kg, including several 155mm rounds) to increase its effect. The massive explosion beneath the tank knocked off the turret. This marked the first time deaths resulted from a hostile-fire assault on the M1 tank from enemy forces. Following lessons learned in Desert Storm, the Abrams and many other US combat vehicles used in the conflict were fitted with
Combat Identification Panel s to reduce friendly fire incidents. These were fitted on the sides and rear of the turret, with flat panels equipped with a four-cornered 'box' image on either side of the turret front (the latter of which can be seen in the above image, similar flat panels also being employed on British
Challenger 2 Tank s serving in the conflict). In addition to the Abrams' already-formidable armament, some crews were also issued
M136 AT4 shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets under the assumption that they might have to engage heavy armor in tight urban areas where the main gun couldn't be brought to bear. Some Abrams were also fitted with a secondary storage bin on the back of the existing
Bustle Rack on the rear of the turret referred to as a bustle rack extension to enable the crew to carry more supplies and personal belongings.
During the major combat operations in Iraq, Abrams crew members were lost when one tank of the US Army's
3rd Infantry Division , and
US Marine Corps troops, drove onto a bridge. The bridge failed, dropping the tank into the
Euphrates River , where four Marines drowned.
M1A1 Abrams rests in front of a
Fedayeen camp just outside of Jaman Al Juburi, Iraq on
April 6 ,
2003 .]]
During an early attack on Baghdad, one M1A1 was disabled by a
Recoilless Rifle round that had penetrated the rear engine housing, and punctured a hole in the right rear fuel cell, causing fuel to leak onto the hot turbine engine. After repeated attempts to extinguish the fire, the decision was made to destroy or remove any sensitive equipment. Oil and .50 caliber rounds were scattered in the interior, the ammunition doors were opened and several
Thermite grenades ignited inside. Another M1 then fired a HEAT round in order to ensure the destruction of the disabled tank. The tank was completely disabled but still intact. Later, an
AGM-65 Maverick and two
AGM-114 Hellfire missiles were fired into the tank to finish its destruction. Remarkably, the tank still appeared to be intact from the exterior.Zucchino, David: ''Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad''. Grove Press, 2004, pp. 20-30, 73.
On
November 27 ,
2004 an Abrams tank was badly damaged from the detonation of an extremely powerful
Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The IED consisted of three M109A6 155 mm shells, with a total explosive weight of 34.5 kg, that detonated next to the tank. The tank's driver received lethal injuries from
Shrapnel . The other three crew members were able to escape.
On
December 25 ,
2005 another M1A2 was disabled by an
Explosively Formed Penetrator IED . The IED penetrated through a road wheel, and hit the fuel tank, which left the tank burning near central Baghdad. One crew member, Spc. Sergio Gudino, died in the attack.
On
June 4 ,
2006 two out of four soldiers died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an IED detonated near their M1A2.
Some were disabled by Iraqi infantrymen in
Ambush es employing short-range antitank rockets, such as the Russian
RPG-7 , during the 2003 invasion. Although the RPG-7 is unable to penetrate the front and sides, the rear and top are vulnerable to this weapon. Frequently the rockets were fired at the tank tracks. Another was put out of action in an incident when fuel stowed in an external rack was struck by heavy machine gun rounds. This started a fire that spread to the engine.
[http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/US-Field-Manuals/abrams-oif.pdf#prof .
There have also been a number of Abrams crewmen killed by sniper fire during times when they were exposed through the turret hatches of their tanks. Some of these attacks were filmed by insurgents for propaganda purposes and spread via the Internet. One of these videos shows a large IED detonating beneath an Abrams and nearly flipping the vehicle, though the tank landed back on its treads and appeared to have suffered no serious damage as it was still mobile and traversing the turret following the attack, a testament to the Abrams' survivability.
,
1st Marine Division , breaches the obstacle belt with a
Mine Plow during an amphibious assault in 1997.]]
- XM1 Experimental model. Nine test-beds were produced in 1978.
- M1 First production variant. Production began in 1979 and continued to 1985 (3,273 build for US).
- --- M1IP (Improvement Production). Produced briefly in 1984 before the M1A1, contained upgrades and reconfigurations.
- M1A1 Production started in 1986 and continued to 1992 (4,976 build for US, 221 for USMC, 555 for Egypt, 59 used US Abrams sold to Australia).
- --- M1A1HC (Heavy Common) added new depleted uranium armor mesh, pressurized NBC system, rear Bustle Rack for improved stowage of supplies and crew belongings, and M256 120 mm smoothbore cannon.
- --- M1A1-D (Digital) A digital upgrade for the M1A1HC, to keep up with M1A2 SEP.
- --- M1A1-AIM (Abrams Integrated Management) A program whereby older units are reconditioned to zero hour conditions. {Link without Title}
- --- M1A1 KVT (Krasnovian Variant Tank) M1A1's that have been Visually Modified to resemble Soviet-made tanks for use at the National Training Center , fitted with MILES gear and a Hoffman Device .
- M1A2 (Baseline) Production began in 1992 (77 build for US and more then 600 M1s upgraded to M1A2, 315 for Saudi Arabia, 218 for Kuwait).
- M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Package) Also with upgraded 3rd generation depleted uranium encased armor with graphite coding (240 new build, 300 M1A2s upgraded to M1A2SEP).
- M1 Grizzly Engineer Vehicle {Link without Title}
- M1 Panther II Remote Controlled Mine Clearing Vehicle {Link without Title}
- M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge {Link without Title}
- M1 Panther II Mine Clearing Blade/Roller System.
- M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle.
- M1 Armored Recovery Vehicle. Only a prototype produced.
Note: All of the above produce a horsepower of 1500HP (1119kW).
The , or TUSK, is a series of improvements to the M1 Abrams intended to improve fighting ability in urban environments. Historically, urban and other close battlefields have been the worst place for tanks to fight—a tank's front armor is much stronger than that on the sides, top, or rear, and in an urban environment, attacks can come from any direction, and attackers can get close enough to reliably hit weak points in the tank's armor, or get sufficient elevation to hit the top armor square on.
Armor upgrades include
Reactive Armor on the sides of the tank and
Slat Armor (similar to that on the
Stryker ) on the rear to protect against
Rocket-propelled Grenade s and other
Shaped Charge Warheads .
A
Gun Shield and a thermal sight system are added to the loader's top-mounted M240B 7.62 mm machine gun, and a
Kongsberg Gruppen Remote Weapon Turret carrying a .50 caliber machine gun (again similar to that used on the Stryker) is in place of the tank commander's original .50 caliber machine gun mount, wherein the commander had to expose himself to fire the weapon manually. An exterior
Telephone allows supporting infantry to communicate with the tank commander.
The TUSK system is a field-installable kit that allows tanks to be upgraded without needing to be recalled to a maintenance depot.
While the reactive armor may not be needed in most situations in
Maneuver Warfare , items like the rear slat armor, loader's gun shield, infantry phone (which has already seen use on Marine Corps M1A1s as early as 2003), and Kongsberg Remote Weapons Station for the .50 caliber machine gun will be added to the entire M1A2 fleet over time.
In addition to this, a
Transparent Armor Gun Shield may also be implemented as part of this kit, as it is already seeing use on some Abrams serving in Iraq.
Like all modern US combat vehicles (with the exception of the combat vehicles consisting of brown and black on a green background. Replacement parts (roadwheels, armor skirt panels, drive sprockets, etc.) are painted overall green, which can sometimes lead to vehicles with a patchwork of green and desert tan parts. Prototype and early production M1s had the overall olive drab paint scheme of older US military vehicles from World War II through
Vietnam .
- - 58 M1A1 http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/m1_abrams.php
- - 755 M1A1 http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/m1_abrams.php
- - 218 M1A2 http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/m1_abrams.php
- - 200 M1A2 http://www.militarium.net/wojska_ladowe/m1_abrams.php
- - 7842 M1A1/M1A2 (was 7900 but 58 tanks were sold to Australia)
- --- 1578 M1A2 (Army)
- --- At least 4737 M1A1 (Army)
- --- 403 M1A1 (USMC)
- --- Remaining number of M1 (Army) (M1 in service according to the US Army Factfile but probably only used by National Guard).
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Wikipedia:Citing sources
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citation needed
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noprint Template-Fact
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This claim needs references to reliable sources
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}
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