Tank Hatches

[bobcat]

interesting fact. tank hatches are very heavy. some TC's might forget to lock them in place when moveing. this gets interesting when the tank suddenly stops.

[dragoon500ly]

Good point, and while this may be valid on World War II designs, modern AFVs have an automatic lock that secures the hatch when fully open. The Israelis developed the first three position hatch (the orden hatch) that allowed the TC to partially open his hatch (and have better protection from fragmentation and small arms). The orden was slightly modified for use on the M-48A5 and was further refined for use on the M-1 series.

A lot of people complain about the three position hatches, some of the comments mention about how slow it is close, since the auto lock will catch on the partial position. In my own experience, this was never a problem, provided the TC held the lock in the disengaged position throughout as well as the grab bar and dropped, rapidly!

The most dangerous item on the M-1 TCs coupla is the breech of the Ma Deuce...especially if the driver dimes his brakes and the TC isn't holding own!

[bobcat]

Originally Posted by dragoon500ly

Good point, and while this may be valid on World War II designs, modern AFVs have an automatic lock that secures the hatch when fully open. The Israelis developed the first three position hatch (the orden hatch) that allowed the TC to partially open his hatch (and have better protection from fragmentation and small arms). The orden was slightly modified for use on the M-48A5 and was further refined for use on the M-1 series.

A lot of people complain about the three position hatches, some of the comments mention about how slow it is close, since the auto lock will catch on the partial position. In my own experience, this was never a problem, provided the TC held the lock in the disengaged position throughout as well as the grab bar and dropped, rapidly!

The most dangerous item on the M-1 TCs coupla is the breech of the Ma Deuce...especially if the driver dimes his brakes and the TC isn't holding own!

im just going of the latest issue of PS. seems the've been having problems with that of late.

[dragoon500ly]

The brakes or the TC's slamming their faces into the machine gun?

If its the brakes, they first noticed issues back in Desert Storm, a lot of the problem was simple dust contamination, there was a replacement seal that fixed the problem...haven't seen a copy of PS recently...

As for the TCs getting slammed...you rapidly learned to always brace yourself in the hatch and to ride with one arm resting on your forward vision block, holding your map, but ready to grab onto something. You also took the time to train your driver.

The brakes were also touchy on the M-1, but really was getting used to just how little foot power was needed to stop the tank. When the M-1 first came out, you were coming from M-60A1/A3s...and on those beasts you had to slam the brake just as hard as possible in order to get them to stop.