Mike E Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 For those who haven't followed our little community, forum member Xlucine (Xlu) did some measurements with an ultrasonic probe on an early chieftain at Bovington tank museum. Chieftain MBT has a reputation for extremely good armor protection based on armor thickness figures that have been repeated for years... and are completely wrong. Chieftain was in fact only a bit better armored from the front than M60A1. And holy shit, I hadn't seen all of those pictures before, Life. That does look thin. Did the IDF ever claim that the engine and transmission improve crew protection? I've come to interpret that line as outside interpolation. It doesn't really make sense; the engine provides no frontal protection to the driver whatsoever because it's to the side of the driver. Poking around a bit, I think Merk IV's hull protection is substantially based on what's underneath the hull armor. The fuel tanks add extra protection vs. HEAT (and who knows, maybe they're the really fancy fuel tank designs that work well against KE too), and there are supposed to be some sort of bulkheads down there too. The thickness between the driver and threats across the LFP looks OK, and is probably filled with fuel tanks and magical composites. It's the glacis itself that's not so hot. Not entirely unlike an abrams, although the abrams has a slopier and smaller glacis. Chieftain has always been overrated in regards to armor, and IMO same goes for the Challenger series. Sure does look thin...and the modular turret (as in, the one hiding under the add on armor) does too. It has been an outside claim for years at this point. "Merkava putting the engine at the hull front protects the crew further" almost sounds like a consensus at this point, even if it isn't really true. I agree; "if anything it is just 'well-armored' but with good methods of containing a penetration" Fuel tanks really would not do much outside of HEAT, and if the Abrams' is using JP...a DU penetration wouldn't be nice. Abram's glacis is just plain steel, albeit angled more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted July 18, 2015 Report Share Posted July 18, 2015 Somewhere I found a diagram of the Mk1 turret which purported to show the spaced armor layout. A lot of the front of the turret, according to this diagram, consisted of hollow boxes. Haven't found the Mk1 diagram just yet, but here's the Mk IV: They're not add-on armor so much as they are armor modules. They can be replaced when damaged or when they need to be upgraded. It's the next logical step from the abrams' armor. You can upgrade it, but now without having to get a cutting torch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 How Israelis keep doing that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tied Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 oy vey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xlucine Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Front mounted engine weight distribution at work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter_Sobchak Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Collimatrix and LoooSeR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 I posted in in T110 thread years ago. Some photos from tank.net. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted August 2, 2015 Report Share Posted August 2, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Merkava 2, i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 I hadn't noticed before that Merkava IV's bottom hull is slightly V-shaped, like a challenger II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 I hadn't noticed before that Merkava IV's bottom hull is slightly V-shaped, like a challenger II. There is a special protection plate for Merks against IEDs, it have even more noticeable V-shape IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 IDF.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Your new wallpaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 "Fuck your roads too" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Another wallpaper-worth Merk photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Trololo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collimatrix Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 Is this the standard way to reload? I thought that the ammo could be loaded onto racks, and then the racks loaded into the merkava so resupply could occur faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoooSeR Posted August 22, 2015 Report Share Posted August 22, 2015 AFAIK yes, it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.