Quote:
El_Phil said:
The Abrams has a short(ish) range and eats fuel (so does evey other tank but that ain't the point  ). Also a stereotypical US designed engine will have a fuel efficiency measured in gallons per mile (that would be hundreds of litres per kilometre for European types)
So assume that as the US built the engine it would be like the cars. Not a good joke and doesn't improve with explanation. Hey ho.
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When it comes to gas turbines, the US sets the standard. Gas turbines are more durable and reliable than diesel internal combustion engines, and have a much longer service life between overhauls. The US uses them in everything; many of our war ships use geared gas turbines as do many aircraft, landing craft, etc. Generators using turbines fueled by natural gas provide 40% (IIRC) of the tipping power to the US electric grid. Also, when the M1 was in development, a diesel prototype was tested, it had a huge caterpillar diesel engine and was found to be underpowered and with only marginally better fuel economy. The engine was so large that it limited the amount of space that could be used for fuel. The only prototype that met the spec for speed was the Chrysler turbine. Cooling is another factor to be considered, the M1 does not have a liquid cooling system, which is a problem area for every other tank in the world.
Comparing a mil spec engine to something that Detroit puts into mass produced cars is silly. AFAIK, the only US combat vehicle in wide deployment to use a civil production engine is the HMMWV. Of note is the fact that during GW1, the US Army was able to keep its tanks fuel in what was the largest, farthest reaching armored maneuver since WWII. Sure, they had complete freedom of manuvor because of total air superiority, but it would be assumed that in any large armored battle the same would exist. Every time US designed aircraft have gone up against their Soviet contemporaries since the end of the war in SEA, the Soviet aircraft have been swept from the sky. As to providing fuel to the tanks in Germany, there is a propositioned infrastructure that includes hardened storage as well as a system of distribution points. An M1 can be refueled as fast as it can be rearmed. Finally, the war for which the tank was built would have been a delaying action probably in the Fulda Gap. Range would not have been a big issue as the initial battle would have been a delaying action to buy time for American air power to come to bare. By plan, it would have been a shoot and scoot action, designed only to slow the Soviet advance. There was never any confidence that a counter offensive would have been successful. It would have come down to negotiations and the threat of nuclear escalation. Another problem was not knowing what the French would have done. They were/are luke warm as to their NATO responsibilities, and there was some concern that they would close their airspace and sit WW3 out.