Re: [FYI] World's Longest page on tracks vs wheels

John Atkinson wrote:

 >> There's just one small problem with this approach: A Bradley is much
too
 >> big and heavy to carry in a C-130 (another ten tons or so compared
to the
 >> LAV family vehicles), so the resulting vehicle family wouldn't be of
any
 >> use for the US's "rapid-deployment" medium b rigades since they're 
supposed
 >>to be C-130-deployable :-/
 >
 >Excuse?

Gladly :-)

 >If you rip off the freakin' turret, how much does it weigh?

Let's see:

Combat weight for the M2A3 is 36,886 kg.

The M4 C2V, which is built on a stripped-down Bradley hull (no turret,
no 
sideskirts protecting the tracks, armour protects only against small
arms 
and shell splinters), is listed as having a combat weight of in the
25-29 
(metric) ton range. Not sure how much stuff they've put into it though -

the heaviest (29 ton) version sprouted a 10m tall telescoping sensor
mast, 
for example. However, I don't think that you can't get much lower than
25 
tons if you still want room for an infantry squad and protection against

small-arms fire.

An MRLS chassis is essentially an extended M2 chassis without the armour

and superstructure (the crew's cabin is armoured against small arms and 
shell splinters, but it is rather smaller than the crew compartment of
an 
M2 or M4); it weighs just over 18 tons (not counting the rocket
containers!).

Maximum payload for the C-130J (currently the largest and most capable
C-130
version) is 18,955 kg.

So, well... if you strip both turret, armour, and most of the 
superstructure off the Bradley, turning it into an open truck on tracks,
it 
is *just* light enough to be carried in a C-130. If you put an armoured 
superstructure back on the chassis, eg. to use it as an APC, it becomes
too 
heavy for the Herkybird.

 >I bet it fits into a C-130 a lot better, too.

How much money did you say you bet? :-)

The main problem with carrying Bradleys in Herks isn't their *height* -
it 
is the *width*. The main cargo door of a C-130 is 312cm wide. A Bradley 
hull is 328 cm wide... and removing the Bradley's turret won't make it
any 
narrower <g>

By removing all the side armour you can shave the Bradley down to 297 cm

(the MRLS and M4 are both this wide), which would fit - but again 
comparison with the M4 suggests that the stripped-down Bradley is still 
much too heavy for a C-130J.

Later,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
-Hen3ry