- 5 days ago
The Tank War Fares:--
Armoured warfare, mechanized warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in the warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war.
坦克大戦:--
装甲战, 机械化战或坦克战是在战争中使用装甲战车, 它是现代战争方法的主要组成部分.
Armoured warfare, mechanized warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in the warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war.
坦克大戦:--
装甲战, 机械化战或坦克战是在战争中使用装甲战车, 它是现代战争方法的主要组成部分.
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TVTranscript
00:00Two, one!
00:07Hoorah! Semper Fi! Do or die!
00:09Hold them high at 8th and I.
00:11Cattery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey here.
00:13Listen up!
00:17Ever wonder how warriors went from hurling stones on the battlefield to this?
00:23Well, hold on to your hat.
00:27In this episode, I'm taking a ride in the beast of the battlefield.
00:34From Shermans to Abrams, I am rolling thunder with the tanks.
00:47Yeah, baby!
00:49So, armor up, ladies! It's time to lock and load!
01:07I'm at the Marine Corps of Base, 29, Palms, California.
01:11Home of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
01:14And we're inside of an Abrams tank and we're getting ready to lock and load and do some damage, some
01:20serious damage.
01:28Oh, right! That's what I like to hear.
01:31The Abrams is one of the most effective war machines on the planet.
01:35It's armor plating is a high-tech sandwich of steel, ceramic plates and air pockets.
01:42And it can fire up to 8 rounds per minute hitting targets 2.4 miles away.
01:48But like anything good, it didn't just get here overnight.
01:53The first tank design came along in the 1400s.
01:59And the genius behind it was none other than Mr. Mona Lisa himself, Leonardo da Vinci.
02:06His tank had a wooden shell and four huge wooden wheels.
02:10It looked darn cute, but so far as we know, he never did build a doggone thing.
02:17Fast forward to 1916 and da Vinci's idea comes to life.
02:24All along the Western Front, British and French troops were engaged in trench warfare against the Germans.
02:31Now, thanks to the arrival of the machine gun, both sides were bogged down and they were looking for a
02:37way out.
02:38Enter the tank, designed to end the standoff.
02:42The tank was meant to get to the other guy's trench and take out his position.
02:48Britain, France and Germany all built their own version.
02:51But the first tanks were slow, heavy and clanky.
02:55And inside, crews were passing out from engine fumes and heat.
02:59Now, about the only thing they did get right were the steel tracks that got them across the tough terrain.
03:06Then toward the end of the war, along came a tank that made the world sit up and take notice.
03:12It was an engineering breakthrough, and it set the standard for tank design up to this day.
03:211917.
03:23FT-17 Renault.
03:27Weight, 7.4 ton.
03:30Speed, 4.78 miles per hour.
03:35Main gun, 37 millimeter.
03:41This little crawler came from French car maker, Louis Renault.
03:47You may have seen some of his other work at your local mechanics.
03:52Getting fixed.
03:53His tank went against the Germans for the first time on May 31st, 1918, at the Retts Forest in France.
04:02Nothing like the FT-17 had ever been seen on the battlefield before.
04:07And when the German soldiers saw this contraption coming, they went running for their lives.
04:13It scared the schnitzel out of them.
04:18You know, not too many World War I tanks survived today.
04:22If they haven't rusted away or been turned into scrap, then you just might find one sitting idle in some
04:29war museum somewhere.
04:31With snot-nosed school kids climbing all over them.
04:35But my buddy Hayes here, they brought one back to life.
04:39And boy, she is a beauty, Hayes. How you been?
04:44Real good, Gunny. Thanks for the good compliment about the old tank.
04:47Tell me a little something about this tank.
04:49This tank was built in 1918, so this tank is 91 years old.
04:57Until now, tanks had multiple guns sticking out each side.
05:01But the old Renault put an end to all that.
05:05It had the very first rotating turret.
05:08So one gun can fire in any direction.
05:12And Monsieur Renault put the loud, smelly engine out back.
05:16And the crew of gunner and driver up front.
05:20The concept on the tank, with a driver to the front, an engine to the rear, and a fully traversable
05:25turret.
05:25And that's a concept that's still with us, Gunny on all tanks.
05:28Every tank is still built the same way, basically.
05:32When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, we were a little short in the tank department.
05:39A little short? Yeah, right. We didn't have any damn tanks.
05:44France was kind to lend us their design.
05:47And before long, we were making our own versions.
05:52Not everyone bought it at first.
05:54One guy said the light tank is a new invention, and it may not work.
06:00His name was George S. Patton.
06:03He commanded our first tank corps back in 1918.
06:08And went on to be America's greatest tank commander.
06:12You know what I'd like?
06:13How about giving me a driving lesson?
06:15Oh, I'd love to give you a driver's lesson.
06:18Well, let's rock and roll, baby.
06:20Okay.
06:21Let me just get on in here.
06:23Now, I'm not bragging, but I'm six foot tall.
06:26And these tanks were designed for little guys.
06:30It's a tight fit.
06:31Kind of hard to believe two guys can actually fit in here.
06:37Okay, Hayes, instruct me here.
06:40Now, I think this is probably the brake on the right, the clutch on the left, and in the middle
06:47here in the center is the accelerator.
06:48That's correct.
06:49And this locks the right track so that you can turn right.
06:53Right.
06:53And this locks the left track.
06:55That's correct.
06:55If you can want to rotate to the left.
06:57Okay.
06:57And if you want to stop the tank, you can pull them both.
07:00Both of them stops the tank.
07:01Stop the tank.
07:02Wind me up.
07:03Okay.
07:04You got to crank this little 39 horsepower baby old school.
07:09Time to put this little Renault through its paces.
07:14Yeah, baby.
07:16Hey, stand back.
07:18I'm going to floor this baby.
07:21He's going.
07:24Now, the first thing you learn is the FT-17 isn't going to break any land speed records.
07:31Back then, tanks didn't move much faster than a walking pace.
07:36Hayes, I got the pedal to the metal, and you're still out running me.
07:42Our speed here is a tortoise-like four miles an hour.
07:47I'm sure you're wondering just how effective this slowpoke could have been.
07:52Well, Lounge Lizard, speed isn't everything.
07:55It's what it can do when it gets to the target that makes the FT-17 Renault a hit.
08:05When it was equipped with a 37-millimeter gun like this one is, it was mainly used to take out
08:12fixed enemy positions, machine gun nests, pill boxes, and bunkers.
08:19Now, if you have a feeling that some bunker busting is coming up, you may be right.
08:27Let's shoot something.
08:28What do you think?
08:29Let's go for it.
08:30All right.
08:34Okay, it's 1918, and this here pillbox is raining hell on our boys.
08:40They can't even stick their heads out of the trenches.
08:44Until help arrives.
08:48Now, an experienced tanker can shoot and destroy this target from 1,200 yards away.
08:54But I am not an experienced tanker.
08:58I want to get up real close and personal.
09:01Okay, Hayes, gear up, buddy.
09:03Those World War I type helmets may look a little goofy, but they're actually designed to protect your coconut from
09:10bumping it inside the tank.
09:13Eye protection on.
09:15This 37-millimeter round only weighs about one pound.
09:19Nice.
09:22Brand new round.
09:24But just you wait and see what it can do.
09:27Okay, we're in.
09:31Already on the firing line.
09:33We are locked and loaded.
09:35Three, two, one.
09:43It smashes through at 1,200 feet per second.
09:53Ha-ha!
09:55Direct hit, Hayes.
09:57We got him.
10:05As George Patton discovered, the Renault does more than just pulverized pillboxes.
10:11Put enough of them together, and you can attack the enemy cavalry style.
10:17The first ever U.S. tank attack was launched against the Germans outside the French village of Johnville,
10:24on the western front not far from the German Luxembourg border.
10:29Patton and the new tank corps knocked out the Germans in a decisive rout.
10:36Well, look at that.
10:39That's destruction at its finest.
10:41That would have killed everybody inside the bunker, no question about it.
10:44It came right on through.
10:45Sure tore the wool out of the bunker.
10:51So you can see how the FT-17 gave the allies the edge in World War I.
10:56But it started a global arms race, as military engineers on all sides geared up for a new type of
11:04warfare.
11:05Build a better tank became the order of the day.
11:08The Stewart's speed allowed it to get behind the enemy before they could realize that it was creeping up on
11:15them.
11:16That's called outflanking them.
11:20There's the target.
11:21Pull it in, pull it in.
11:23Dead ahead of us is a truck convoy full of fuel.
11:27Okay, we got it.
11:29Hold on driver, hold.
11:31Well, now it's up to me, isn't it?
11:34You're gunnery sergeant.
11:35Load and fire as fast as you can.
11:38Okay, hand me ammo.
11:40There's a round.
11:41Load.
11:45Three, two, one.
11:54This 37mm gun made in 1935.
11:59So let's just see exactly how good it is up against a chunk of one inch steel plate.
12:05All right.
12:07I hear you.
12:08You're saying, Gunny, that's not a tank.
12:11Well, score one for the Sherlock on the sofa.
12:14I said it was representational of a tank.
12:18Now, shut your cake hole, cause I need to focus.
12:22I'm itching to pull the trigger on this ba-
12:29The first truly successful modern tank was this French-designed little Renault, even though it was barely fast enough to
12:38outrun a foot soldier.
12:41But tanks soon evolved, as battle commanders felt the need for speed.
12:46I'm in one of the tanks that came to symbolize American industrial power during World War II.
12:54The Sherman.
12:561942.
12:57The M4A1 Sherman.
13:01Weight, 33.4 tons.
13:05Speed, 24 miles per hour.
13:08Main gun was a 75mm.
13:17The American Sherman tank was an evolution of the technology that started with the French Renault, but it has quite
13:25a few added refinements.
13:26This icon of the battlefield would motor along at 24 miles per hour, five times the speed of the little
13:34French snail.
13:35The Renault's armor was just a half-inch thick, compared to the Sherman's two inches of cold, hard steel.
13:47As it turned out, that just wasn't enough.
13:51Because the Germans developed their own monster, the Tiger.
13:56It was just as fast as the Sherman, but the Tiger had armor twice a stick, and a bigger main
14:03gun.
14:04One-on-one, it could take out the Sherman with ease.
14:08But lucky for us, we had a lot more tanks.
14:11The U.S. made almost 50,000 Shermans, compared to less than 2,000 German Tigers.
14:17That's about 25 to 1.
14:20I like those odds.
14:22Now it became pretty obvious, pretty doggone fast, that World War II was gonna be a tank war.
14:28And generals like Pat and Rommel gained immortal fame as masters of tank warfare.
14:36But in the story of tank evolution, bigger wasn't always better.
14:41There's also a need for a tank designed to outrun any armored vehicle on the battlefield, and carry its own
14:50brand of destruction.
14:521942.
14:55M5A1 Stewart.
14:57Weight, 16.2 tons.
15:01Speed, 36 miles per hour.
15:05Main gun was a big old 37 millimeter.
15:13Now just 25 years after the French Renault came onto the battlefield, the Stewart made a huge leap forward in
15:20tank technology.
15:22It kept the 37 millimeter cannon.
15:25Its armor, twice a stick.
15:27And at 36 miles per hour, it's almost eight times faster.
15:32Hell, compared to the Renault, it's almost a sports car.
15:37The Stewart was built for speed, to race around the battlefield like a cavalryman on wheels.
15:45It quickly became the ideal scouting vehicle.
15:49This is my lucky day.
15:51I get to play with one of the coolest tanks that have ever graced our arsenal.
15:57It's called the Stewart.
15:58I've driven it, I've fired it.
16:01It's a beautiful piece of machinery.
16:03The Brits gave it a nickname.
16:05They called it the Honey.
16:06With V8 Cadillac engines pumping out 220 horsepower, this was one smooth running machine.
16:14Smooth as honey, in fact.
16:17And this little honey belongs to a tank collector, Russ Morgan.
16:22Tell me about your tank.
16:23Its main job was reconnaissance so that it could go in because of its speed.
16:27It would look around and immediately try to get out.
16:30Its job wasn't really to shoot it out with other tanks or other heavy guns.
16:35Get back and called in heavier tanks.
16:37Even though it's a battlefield lightweight, the Stewart still packs a pretty good punch.
16:44So Russ, there are four guns on this tank. Explain them to me.
16:48We've got a 37mm high velocity anti-tank gun.
16:52We have three .30 caliber machine guns.
16:54This bow gun is run by the bow gunner.
16:58.30 cal co-axial machine gun hooked in with this for control by the gunner on the turret.
17:03And we also have our anti-aircraft gun mounted on the top for the tank commander.
17:08Man, this is a hot little tank, isn't it?
17:10It was a good tank.
17:11Wow. A lot of firepower involved here.
17:14Operating that firepower takes a four-man crew.
17:18Driver and bow gunner in the front, and commander and main gunner in the turret.
17:23One thing I have to say about tanks, none of them were ever built for comfort.
17:29You don't have the luxury of leg room, because inside of here, the engines kept it nice and snug.
17:36Anyway, let's see if I can squeeze down in here.
17:40Oh!
17:41Put a little more butter on my right hip, will you?
17:44There you go.
17:47Alright.
17:48Ay-yi-yi.
17:51The steward's speed allowed it to get behind the enemy before they could realize that it was creeping up on
17:57them.
17:58That's called outflanking them.
18:01Now just pretend that chunk of steel is the side of a troop carrier.
18:06A real sweet target.
18:09We got the turret, and the gun lined up exactly where we want it.
18:14It's dead on target right now.
18:16Handing you a round.
18:19Okay.
18:2137 millimeter.
18:22Solid steel shot.
18:23Pretty, isn't it?
18:26Go get them, big boy.
18:28Remember, the steward wasn't built for tank-on-tank shootouts.
18:32It's a light tank that can take out smaller targets before anyone knows what hit them.
18:38And today, our target is this steel gun.
18:42Oh, ready to fire!
18:44Three, two, one!
18:49Ha-ha-ha-ha!
18:51What happened to your target, guys?
18:53Oh, my goodness, we knocked the target completely down.
18:59If this was an enemy vehicle, it would be a dead duck.
19:04And, of course, the steward would be long gone by now.
19:07Ha-ha!
19:08Die!
19:09Victory!
19:14Boom!
19:17Well, we killed it.
19:19It's laying down.
19:20Wow, look at that.
19:22You know, it would have certainly put a hurt on anything that it hit.
19:26That's for sure.
19:30On the battlefields of World War II, the steward provided vital reconnaissance.
19:36But it could raise a little hell if it needed to.
19:43Here's how the job got done.
19:47Moving good, driver.
19:49Bring us around.
19:50That's right.
19:51The commander doesn't drive.
19:53He's concentrating on given orders.
19:56Take commander to driver.
19:58Pull it in straight.
19:59The driver works those levers just like a caterpillar tractor.
20:10Turn the target.
20:12Pull it in. Pull it in.
20:14Dead ahead of us is a truck convoy full of fuel.
20:18Okay, we got it.
20:20Hold on, driver. Hold.
20:22Well, now it's up to me, isn't it?
20:24You're gunnery, Sergeant.
20:26Load and fire as fast as you can.
20:28Okay, hand me ammo.
20:31There's a round.
20:32Load.
20:36Three, two, one.
20:43Oh, but of course.
20:47I don't know what it was in there, what you had in those barrels, but whatever it is, it explodes.
20:56You can see just how useful a lightweight tank might be.
21:12Well, there it is.
21:14Utter, total devastation.
21:17Right here's where we went in.
21:19Right dead center.
21:21We blew it away.
21:22Now, myself, I kind of like to take pictures of destruction.
21:28Doesn't everybody?
21:30Where the hell is my camera?
21:33Oh.
21:35Oh.
21:37That camera had sentimental value.
21:40Oh, well.
21:42What do we care, right?
21:44We got the shot.
21:46By now, it's gotta be dawning on even the slowest of you out there that during World War II, the
21:52tank was becoming a mission-critical weapon.
21:58In no time at all, folks were trying to figure out how to stop them.
22:04This 37-millimeter gun made in 1935.
22:08So let's just see exactly how good it is up against a chunk of one-inch steel plate.
22:16All right.
22:17I hear you.
22:18You're saying, Gunny, that's not a tank.
22:21Well, score one for the Sherlock on the sofa.
22:25I said it was representational of a tank.
22:28Now, shut your cake hole, because I...
22:31...60 was built as a direct response to the new generation of Russian tanks that appeared in the 50s.
22:38How much of a barrier?
22:40Well, there's only one way to find that out now, isn't there?
22:44It's time to give you a personal demonstration of the M60's all-terrain capabilities.
22:50I'm letting it loose in the urban environment it's designed for.
22:54Come on, let's go drive over that big Cadillac.
22:57Come on, let's go. Rock and roll.
22:59All right. Let's go get it.
23:01Run over this car.
23:04Yee-haw!
23:07Yeah!
23:08Up and over, run, crash!
23:13Oh!
23:22Now, that's what I'm talking about.
23:25That is some cool stuff.
23:37Tank design has come a long way since the little Renault killed its first pillbox.
23:48As World War II heated up, enemy tanks with thicker metal skins started to take center stage.
23:58With both sides trying to get the upper hand on the battlefield, World War II tank design was advancing at
24:06breakneck speed.
24:08Tanks were getting faster, tougher, and harder to take out.
24:14As tank technology improved, there was a need for a new type of weapon.
24:19A weapon with a specific type of mission.
24:23To kill tanks.
24:24But it wasn't gonna be easy.
24:27Now, when the U.S. first entered World War II, it didn't take long to figure out that our anti
24:34-tank guns lacked the power we needed to pierce thick armor.
24:37This 37mm gun made in 1935.
24:43And I'm hooking up with big gun guru Rod Shaver to check this 37mm gun out.
24:49How many rounds could they get off in a minute?
24:52If we were with a good gun crew, they could actually get off 20 rounds a minute.
24:56That's pretty serious stuff there.
24:59Remember, it's the same size gun used by the old Renault, which was really only effective against concrete pillboxes.
25:06So let's just see exactly how good it is up against a chunk of one-inch steel plate.
25:13All right. I hear you. You're saying, Gunny, that's not a tank.
25:19Well, score one for the Sherlock on the sofa.
25:22I said it was representational of a tank.
25:25Now, shut your cake hole, because I need to focus.
25:30So I see one, two, three penetrations.
25:34But the rounds that penetrate don't hit the steel plate square on.
25:39The one round that does bounces off.
25:41Remember, the German armor is a lot thicker than this.
25:47Bang!
25:48Went in just like that.
25:51Yep. And then bounced out. That's pretty cool, huh?
25:54Mushroomed it a little bit, but it didn't penetrate.
25:57You see, this gun is old technology, designed to take out small fries like the Renault,
26:04which has armor like aluminum foil by comparison.
26:08This gun just couldn't keep pace with the arms race.
26:13Hell, all they'd do is give the tankers inside a bad headache and a bad attitude.
26:18It was kind of like trying to kill a bear with a BB gun.
26:21We needed something bigger.
26:241942.
26:27M1 57mm anti-tank gun.
26:32Caliber, 57mm.
26:35Range, 5,000 yards.
26:44With a longer barrel, bigger bore, and a heavier shell, the 57mm has a lot more punching power than the
26:53little 37mm gun.
26:55This one here is owned by Dan Dolan.
26:58His hobby just happens to be tank busting.
27:01Now, look at the shells on this gun.
27:04We're talking this little guy was the 37.
27:06We said we needed something a little bigger to get these tanks out of commission.
27:13So, well, we went to this guy right here, right?
27:17Now, who said size doesn't matter, huh?
27:20Well, the bullet weighs three times as much.
27:23It has three times as much muzzle energy as the 37mm gun.
27:26I bet we could probably blow that car off the face of the earth.
27:30What do you think?
27:31Well, we'll try and bust the back door off.
27:33I think we ought to pull the trigger.
27:35I'm ready.
27:36Let's go.
27:43I'm ready.
27:46Take that sucker off safe.
27:48Three, two, one.
28:00Whoa!
28:01Dan the man!
28:02I think we hit it!
28:05Let's shoot it one more time.
28:07You guys having as much fun as I am?
28:09Come on!
28:10Come on, Dan the man!
28:12Let's put some lead down range.
28:16One, two, three!
28:25Oh, we did some serious damage to it, no question about it.
28:29Look at the way it peeled the metal back on the one-inch plate.
28:32Isn't that neat?
28:33That's something, isn't it?
28:34Man.
28:34It tore the door off.
28:35The 57mm pack's quite a punch.
28:39But it lacked mobility and speed.
28:42What we needed on the battlefield was something that could run down a panzer and kill it.
28:48Bring it to its knees.
28:49What we needed, basically, was hell on wheels.
28:52Or in this case, tracks.
29:01Now that's what I call an entrance.
29:04Ladies and gentlemen, the M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer.
29:09When it absolutely has to be destroyed overnight, that's the bad boy you call.
29:151944.
29:18M18 GMC Tank Destroyer.
29:23Weight, 20 tons.
29:26Speed, 60 miles an hour.
29:30Main gun, 76mm.
29:40The hellcat came on the scene in December of 1944 during the Battle of the Bulls.
29:46And this little cat gave the German panzers plenty of hell.
29:51Now, some of you might be thinking, Gunny, this just looks like a tank.
29:56Well, let me enlighten you.
29:58Army doctrine states, a tank is designed to advance and attack in support of infantry.
30:06The M18 Hellcat was designed with a different mission in mind.
30:11To kill tanks.
30:13You got that?
30:15What they would do is they'd move really rapidly, faster than the Germans could track the tank destroyers with their
30:23turrets.
30:23Because all the German tanks and tank destroyers had manually cranked turret drives.
30:29They may look like kittens alongside a tiger.
30:32But the Hellcats could outrun the enemy any day of the week in World War II.
30:38They became masters at stalking the lumbering tigers, speeding up behind them, and getting shots into the tigers' weakest armor.
30:48Right up the old patootie.
30:50The Hellcat was only lightly armored, with one-inch thick plating at the front.
30:56But the plating was angled at 45 degrees, which helped deflect the impact of enemy rounds and increase its effectiveness.
31:05Let's check out the gun, buddy.
31:07The steel plating on that car is just like the armor on the rear of a tiger.
31:12We're aiming at the enemy's most vulnerable point.
31:16Okay.
31:18All right, boys.
31:19I've had just about enough of that car.
31:22Walk and load!
31:28Fire!
31:30Four!
31:30Fire!
31:33Son of a bitch!
31:44You can see how this 76mm gun helped our boys push the Germans back across the Rhine, where they belong.
31:53Ah, yes.
31:55Ah-ha!
31:57Did we learn our lesson?
31:59You stupid car!
32:02Yeah, finally dead, aren't we?
32:05Oh-ho-ho!
32:06Dan, old buddy!
32:08I think we are victorious.
32:09Look what you did to this car.
32:11It's dead.
32:12The whole right side of the engine is gone.
32:15Oh, my goodness.
32:19Now, who would have thought in just nine short years our military went from the 37mm to the badass 57mm
32:30to the high-speed death machine that is the 76mm Hellcat?
32:40Absolutely total destruction.
32:42That's why America won the war, Dan.
32:46That's it. Bigger and better guns.
32:48Named after George Patton, the M60 was built as a direct response to the new generation of Russian tanks that
32:55appeared in the 50s.
32:58How much of a barrier?
33:00Well, there's only one way to find that out now, isn't there?
33:04It's time to give you a personal demonstration of the M60's all-terrain capabilities.
33:09I'm letting it loose in the urban environment it's designed for.
33:14Come on, let's go drive over that big Cadillac.
33:17Come on, let's go. Rock and roll.
33:18All right, let's go get it.
33:21Run over this car.
33:24Yee-haw!
33:26Yeah! Up and over, run, crash!
33:42Now, that's what I'm talking about. That is some cool stuff.
33:49Finally, the biggest, meanest steel monster ever. Designed to give the USA supreme power on any battlefield.
33:58It's the backbone of the US military's armored forces. The world's ultimate chariot of war.
34:06Previously, shooting on the move was a hit-and-miss affair. One bump can put your aim off target.
34:12But the Abrams introduced a gyro-stabilized barrel and turret.
34:19Easy.
34:22It has improved range and accuracy and even factors in the heat of the barrel.
34:31And thermal imaging means it can shoot anytime, even in a dust storm.
34:58The shell leaves the barrel at close to two-and-a-half thousand miles per hour.
35:04The shell leaves the barrel at close to two-and-a-half thousand miles per hour.
35:19In World War I, the first tanks appeared on the battlefield.
35:24The gun's hot!
35:28By World War II, bruisers like the Sherman and the German Tiger were going head to head.
35:34But just as valuable were light tanks like the Stewart with its speed and agility.
35:43After the Second World War, tanks cemented their place in every battle plan.
35:49And engineers got to thinking about the next generation.
36:19Owners like the
36:22direct response to the new generation of russian tanks that appeared in the 50s
36:29faster bigger gun and with the thickest armor of any u.s tank to date the m60 eventually became
36:36our first space age tank and dan little here knows what makes the m60 tick what sets this
36:46tank aside from the other ones up to this date so the main thing that set this one apart was
36:51they added a ruby laser rangefinder a ballistics computer which would go in and compensate for
36:57wind humidity temperature changes before when you're shooting at a target the commander would
37:02have to kind of guess how to lob the shell out to hit the target at a different range based
37:06on their
37:06experiences and stuff this here would tell the computer hey this is where it's at here's where
37:10to point the barrel to hit it and it would shoot and nail it before the late 70s a tank's
37:15targeting
37:15system was only as good as the gunner's skill range was an educated guess in 1978 the third
37:24generation m60 a3 featured a groundbreaking thermal sight with a laser rangefinder from this a computer
37:33calculated the target's exact range and position it also calculated the precise trajectory or ballistic
37:41arc needed to land around on its nose a screen showed the gunner where to aim and bingo he just
37:49hits
37:49the trigger now i'm sure that the geeks among you out there will be very pleased about this computational
37:58hoo-ha but there are other features that make the m61 heck of an off-road vehicle
38:05in world war ii the sherman tank had trouble overcoming obstacles especially nazi tank traps
38:13which would stop them dead in their tracks post-war producing a tank that could drive over just
38:20about anything became a top priority and the m60 had the horsepower and track width to do just that
38:29the m60 was designed to overcome all kinds of obstacles especially fighting in an urban setting
38:37how much of a barrier well there's only one way to find that out now isn't there it's time to
38:44give
38:44you a personal demonstration of the m60's all-terrain capabilities i'm letting it loose in the urban
38:50environment it's designed for come on let's go drive over that big cadillac come on let's go rock and roll
38:57all right let's go get it run over this car
39:05yeah
39:21now that's what i'm talking about that is some cool stuff 60 tons that's what this baby weighs and
39:29we just went right over top of that cadillac and you can bet they got to do a little crushing
39:35over
39:35there too all right let's rock
39:40it's time for me to finish the job here
40:02now that is a thing of beauty flatter than a pancake all right then the man there's what i'm talking
40:10about look at this now that's damage isn't it that is some severe damage gunny now can you imagine
40:16if you're on the battlefields in a pill box or something and you see this baby coming up after
40:22you i wouldn't want to be the guy on the other end of that thing no i would have had
40:25to leave you know
40:27and i think most of them did too i would think so i'd hope so but that is some severe
40:32damage there
40:35the m60 was the top u.s tank for 20 years but modern warfare called for something even more brutal
40:43and
40:43more sophisticated
40:48tanks were king of the battlefield for almost half century
41:01a heavy-duty fighting machine it was an all-rounder equally at home in the desert and the tropics
41:09the m60 served us well for many years but with the explosion of technology that came during the cold war
41:16our peacetime military had plenty of time for r d to get the next generation tank just right
41:251985 abrams m1 a1 weight 67.7 tons speed 41.5 miles per hour main gun 120 millimeter yeah
41:47finally the biggest meanest steel monster ever designed to give the usa supreme power on any
41:55battlefield it's the backbone of the u.s military's armored forces the world's ultimate chariot of war
42:03now we're talking the latest in high-tech armor advanced anti-ballistic technology three high-powered
42:11machine guns and the icing on the cake is a hair-raising earth-shaking 120 millimeter main gun
42:19that'll blast the bad guys back into next week would you believe no abrams tank has ever been destroyed by
42:27enemy fire and that's because it's protected by something the brits invented cobham armor now this is
42:35top secret stuff but i can tell you it combines metal ceramics and air pockets when an incoming round
42:43hits the ceramic deforms the round preventing any further penetration the air pockets prevent the shock
42:51of impact traveling through to the cabin yep a tank that can't be killed it just keeps going after the
43:00bad
43:00guys sergeant jacobson here says that the abrams has a whole bag of tricks that give the usa the edge
43:08in
43:08battle okay jake let's see how much i know to accelerate you pull back now what happens when i want
43:17to turn
43:18is that turns it left that's it and that takes it right just like a bike that's it
43:25no quick movement where's the on off switch the on off switch is right here that's the ignition switch
43:31basically okay the green light probably indicates on it's on see how sharp i am that's it i'm not as
43:39dumb as i look am i i'm ready to go i'm ready to drive well let's go yeah let's rock
43:45the abrams tips
43:47the scales at darn near 68 tons now it's not only rugged like the sherman but at more than 40
43:55miles per
43:55hour it's even faster than the little steward and it can lob even more metal further downrange than his
44:03predecessor the good old m60 nothing says superiority on the battlefield louder than this beautiful 120
44:11millimeter cannon now let's put some steel downrange
44:23all right sergeant jackson let's go find something to kill previously shooting on the move was a hit
44:31and miss affair one bump can put your aim off target but the abram introduced a gyro stabilized barrel and
44:40turret electric motors hold the gun steady no matter what the rest of the tank's doing
44:46this stabilized gun control means that the abrams can hold a steady shot while on the move no shot is
44:54wasted
44:58the fire control computer is a major upgrade from the m60
45:06it has improved range and accuracy and even factors in the heat of the barrel
45:15and thermal imaging means it can shoot any time even in a dust storm
45:24well thanks sergeant jakes so we lock and load so we get ready to fire this monster
45:28get ready to fire this thing got it two three two one
45:38all right that's what i like to hear the shell leaves the barrel at close to two and a half
45:46thousand
45:47miles per hour
45:59in two gulf wars u.s tanks reign supreme the russian built opposition with inferior firepower and armor
46:07is almost useless in sandstorms and darkness the abrams thermal imaging and supreme accuracy makes it deadly
46:16effective effective in all conditions
46:24okay to go to safe inside the abrams there's 90 years of invention
46:31590 if we count da vinci's designs it's just the perfect combination of every tank innovation since
46:39louis renault invented the rotating turret it's agile like the steward has more killing power than ever
46:49and gets its aim right with computer control trying to beat that
46:56well there you have it devil dogs we have come a long way from the slow and steady tanks of
47:02world war one
47:03to the mean and mighty machines of today this is gunnery sergeant r lee ermey keep your powder dry and
47:11your eyes on the target
47:12carry on
47:13and
47:15and
47:15and
47:17and
47:19and
47:20and
47:21and
47:21and
47:22and
47:23and
47:28and
47:30and
47:34and
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