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| Iraq |
| Mystery M1A1 Tank Killer |
| 2003-11-04 |
| Tip of the hat to Mr. Drudge... EFL & FU Shortly before dawn on Aug. 28, an M1A1 Abrams tank on routine patrol in Baghdad âwas hit by somethingâ that crippled the 69-ton behemoth. Army officials still are puzzling over what that âsomethingâ was. According to an unclassified Army report, the mystery projectile punched through the vehicleâs skirt and drilled a pencil-sized hole through the hull. The hole was so small that âmy little finger will not go into it,â the reportâs author noted. The âsomethingâ continued into the crew compartment, where it passed through the gunnerâs seatback, grazed the kidney area of the gunnerâs flak jacket and finally came to rest after boring a hole 1Âœ to 2 inches deep in the hull on the far side of the tank. As it passed through the interior, it hit enough critical components to knock the tank out of action. That made the tank one of only two Abrams disabled by enemy fire during the Iraq war and one of only a handful of âmobility killsâ since they first rumbled onto the scene 20 years ago. The other Abrams knocked out this year in Iraq was hit by an RPG-7, a rocket-propelled grenade. Experts believe whatever it is that knocked out the tank in August was not an RPG-7 but most likely something new â and that worries tank drivers. In the sort of excited language seldom included in official Army documents, he said, âThe unit is very anxious to have this âSOMETHINGâ identified. It seems clear that a penetrator of a yellow molten metal is what caused the damage, but what weapon fires such a round and precisely what sort of round is it? The bad guys are using something unknown and the guys facing it want very much to know what it is and how they can defend themselves.â Whatever penetrated the tank created enough heat inside the hull to activate the vehicleâs Halon firefighting gear, which probably prevented more serious injuries to the crew. âItâs a real strange impact,â said a source who has worked both as a tank designer and as an anti-tank weapons engineer. âThis is a new one. ⊠It almost definitely is a hollow-charge warhead of some sort, but probably not an RPG-7â anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade. One armor expert at Fort Knox, Ky., suggested the tank may have been hit by an updated RPG. About 15 years ago, Russian scientists created tandem-warhead anti-tank-grenades designed to defeat reactive armor. The new round, a PG-7VR, can be fired from an RPG-7V launcher and might have left the unusual signature on the tank. In addition, the Russians have developed an improved weapon, the RPG-22. These and perhaps even newer variants have been used against American forces in Afghanistan. It is believed U.S. troops seized some that have been returned to the United States for testing, but scant details about their effects and âfingerprintsâ are available. Still another possibility is a retrofitted warhead for the RPG system being developed by a Swiss manufacturer. At this time, it appears most likely that an RPG-22 or some other improved variant of the Russian-designed weapon damaged the M1 tank, sources concluded. The damage certainly was caused by some sort of shaped-charge or hollow-charge warhead, and the cohesive nature of the destructive jet suggests a more effective weapon than a fragmented-jet RPG-7. A spokesman for General Dynamics Land Systems, which manufactures the Abrams, said company engineers agree some type of RPG probably caused the damage. After checking with them, the spokesman delivered the manufacturerâs verdict: The tank was hit by âa âgoldenâ RPGâ â an extremely lucky shot. In the end, a civilian weapons expert said, âI hope it was a lucky shot and we are not part of someoneâs test program. Being a live target is no fun.â |
| Posted by:---------<<<<-- |
| #5 I think a dark skinned man shook hands with the tail pipe. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-11-4 9:08:15 PM |
| #4 Yes, lets tell everybody that we're in a panic about a mysterious weapon that knocked out a M1A1 tank. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-11-4 4:17:55 PM |
| #3 Hyper: If you thought the yodeling about contamination by depleted uranium was bad... |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-11-4 3:29:08 PM |
| #2 Pictures here, if interested: http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=missile_mystery.htm |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-11-4 12:35:45 PM |
| #1 I'd pay to see (the real) Mike Moore, Babs, and the rest of the Hollywood screech monkeys strapped to the outside of the M1A1. You never know, these new munitions may not penetrate assholium. |
| Posted by: Hyper 2003-11-4 11:16:04 AM |