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Re: [ds] Modern Tanks.

From: "John M. Atkinson" <john.m.atkinson@e...>
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 18:58:40 -0800
Subject: Re: [ds] Modern Tanks.

Kenneth Winland wrote:

>	  The information was drawn from official US Army documents,
> members of the VII Corp, General Dynamics, Aberdeen Proving Ground,
etc.
> Official US sources indicate that there were 18 cases of combat damage
to
> M1A1s.  Nine were classed as permanent losses, all due to fratricide.
> Nine other were damaged by RPGs, mines, etc. and were 'considered'
> repairable.

Ah, bingo!  "Permenant Losses".  That's an interesting term.  I tend to
think of kills (and so does the source I was reading) as no longer
capable of fighting without serious maintinence.  Yeah, you can take a
tank which has a 125mm round into the ammo bays, replace the
electronics, clean it out, replace the ammo bays, repaint it, and call
it "repairable", but if the tank can't fight any more, then it's a kill
to me (and to whoever is shooting at it).  This was common practice in
WWII--Shermans would get knocked out, brew up, burn, be recovered,
cleaned out, repaired, and sent back into the line.  But they still
count as being "killed".

Like I said, either misinformed or using a really screwy definition of
killed.  If you define "killed" as "incapable of moving or fighting"
then you have the majority of "killed" vehicles being repairable in the
long term.  But you gotta win in the short term to worry about the long
term.

>	  What source are you taking your data from?  Clancy?

Already posted.  

John M. Atkinson


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