[Homer]

I’d second that. An M1 idling in an assembly area or moving in a straight line on a road or smooth ground is pretty hard to pick out, especially if there’s wind or other ambient noise. The turbine is pretty quiet once it’s running smooth. But, they make a very distinctive whine when spooling up, and there’s still track and suspension noise (what you really hear) when they’re going cross country, maneuvering, or have loose or old track. One nice thing compared to the M60s and some other diesels is they don’t kick out a puff of smoke when they gear up or down (like climbing up out of turret defilade). That’s a nice cue to know about where to look.

Diesels are louder than turbines, but most western stuff is generally quieter than Soviet/Warpac kit of the same type. The first time I heard a BMP I was sound asleep- the layed out on top of the HMMWV, done with my turn pulling security, actually got hot chow, wrapped in my woobie on day 9 of NTC sleep- awakening to what sounded like a couple of skidder engines being run full blast along with an out of balance washer, then realizing it was an OPFOR BMP (real one) moving past our position. No hiding that one, the whole platoon was woken up. On another occasion we got to hear a real BTR. Louder than any 18 wheeler.