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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| TUSK for M-1 Tanks | |
| 2005-05-25 | |
| May 25, 2005: The U.S. Army is equipping its M1 tanks with new features to make them more effective when fighting in urban areas. The upgrade, called TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit), is being implemented gradually, with new features added as quickly as items can be purchased. For example, 130 armored shields, for the 7.62mm machine-gun on the top of the turret, have been shipped to Iraq so far. This machine-gun is normally operated by the 120mm gun loader. The tank commander operates the other gun up top, a .50 caliber machine-gun. The gun shield is transparent ballistic glass, so the loader doesn't have his vision blocked. This is important for street fighting. The loaders machine-gun is also equipped with a thermal sight, making it more deadly at night. The commanders .50 caliber machine-gun is also being equipped with CROWS, a system that allows the gun to be operated remotely, while the tank commander is inside the turret. This is particularly useful if the tank is taking a lot of small arms fire. Other components of TUSK are reactive armor panels for the side and rear of the tank, to provide added protection from RPGs. There will also be a telephone added to the side of the tank, so that infantry can more easily communicate with the crew when the crew are all inside the tank.
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| Posted by:Steve |
| #19 The phone on a tank idea was present in the old M-60A1E2 tank. This phone was encased, if I recall correctly, the same material as helmet liners of the day. On the M-60s it was on the left rear. |
| Posted by: badanov 2005-05-25 23:20 |
| #18 A friend/correspondent of mine who's in the Army once wrote a paper on modifications to the M-1 for (among other things) Urban Warfare that included the phone and a diesel engine. I need to see if the paper's available online. |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-05-25 22:40 |
| #17 Eric L., did you go to B.E.S, and grunt radio at MCRD in San Diego? I was there from Nov.'64 to Aug.'65 for grunt radio tech schoo-MOS 2841. |
| Posted by: Bill 2005-05-25 20:56 |
| #16 Lol, Matt! *applause* |
| Posted by: .com 2005-05-25 17:50 |
| #15 The AN/VIC-2 tank intercom system (used on vehicles such as the M-60A1/A3, M1/M1A1, AAVP7 and others) has a connection for a "grunt box". As far as I recall (being an old USMC radio tech) the M1A1's engine heat prevented the instalation of a grunt box on the rear. The grunt box was pretty cool, as it allowed for grunts to talk directly to the vehicle crewmembers (via intercom), or over their radio (over a preset frequency). |
| Posted by: Eric L. 2005-05-25 14:51 |
| #14 Whining from the MSM that Rumsfeld didn't plan for this in 5...4...3... I've tried to reconstruct Rummy's daily schedule from MSM reports, and as far as I can tell all he does is order fiendish tortures for innocent young Islamists who have been picked up by US forces for no reason whatsoever. Occasionally he takes a moment out to desecrate a Koran or two. |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-05-25 14:33 |
| #13 Naw. The Shermans had a party line. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2005-05-25 13:53 |
| #12 The Shermans was rotary. |
| Posted by: 29A 2005-05-25 13:19 |
| #11 The M-4 sherman also had a 'phone. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2005-05-25 12:21 |
| #10 Whining from the MSM that Rumsfeld didn't plan for this in 5...4...3... |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-05-25 11:29 |
| #9 ed -- Cool--Thanks for the link! |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-05-25 11:11 |
| #8 Dar, The phone is in the rear right. They wouldn't put it on the side. It would get shot off or torn off. They also put slat armor over the exhaust, though I can't see any reactive armor in the rear (not that if I were an infantryman, I want to be any near it, cool phone or not). http://3ad.com/history/cold.war/article.pages/scans/m1a2.update.2.jpg |
| Posted by: ed 2005-05-25 10:29 |
| #7 I hate it when I've just gotten into the shower and the tank starts ringing... |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-05-25 10:06 |
| #6 Oops--thanks, Steve--missed that line. I guess it's better than nothing, but putting one on the side means either the tank has to expose its flank or the grunt has to expose himself to fire to use it. And the phone itself would seem to be exposed to fire/collision/elements on the side unless well-shielded. Anyone got a link to a picture of this implementation? |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-05-25 10:00 |
| #5 I thought the loader's MG was the least-used. The gunner has his coaxial gun, and the TC has his .50 which he can fire from inside. |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-05-25 09:54 |
| #4 Yeah, that's where the turbine exhaust is. Sez in the story the new phone is on the side of the tank. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-05-25 09:49 |
| #3 I thought I'd read somewhere that the M-1 vents an incredible amount of heat to the immediate rear, making a telephone back there unusable. |
| Posted by: Dar 2005-05-25 09:41 |
| #2 So did the Sheridan. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-05-25 09:40 |
| #1 You are right. The old timers bitched about the lack of communication since there were a lot of times they worked under radio silence. The old tankers also hated the fact the M-1 didn't have a door under the tank. The M-60 had an access hatch underneith that allowed them to escape, take supplies and relieve themselves without exposing themselves to small arms fire. It did make the crew a little more exposed to anti-tank mines, but they figured it was worth the trade off. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-05-25 09:33 |