John Kettler Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 For comparison, here is what's supposed to be a T-64BV firing. The site is full of lose your mind grade goodies, but you could be there a bit, since it's now north of 3600 pages! Image Credit: bmashina.tumblr.com Page 23 Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 That image looks to be slightly later in the flash sequence.....It shows the secondary flash, with (comparatively) low pressure spent propellant exiting the muzzle some time after the round has departed, in the original Abrams photo you are seeing the primary/intermediate flash, the round is very possibly still in shot and the gasses are still at a much higher pressure (the Wiki article I linked to earlier explains the sequence quite well). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Back in the day, when I was a very newly minted gunner, the battery conducted a fire mission at night. I was very excited by this - it was the first one I'd witness, and I had visions of being about to see something like the opening barrage for the attack at El Alamein You can perhaps imagine my disappointment when it instead looked like this Initially I was confused, and thought I had somehow missed it by blinking or something. But, no. It turns out that modern weapon designers know how long the barrel of their weapon is! And they also know how fast propellant burns! And they can calculate how long it takes the projectile to move down that barrel! Who knew!? They also know that bright flashes tend to attract attention, which is a good way to end up dead. And so they carefully calibrate the amount of propellant so that it burns completely in the barrel before the projectile exits the muzzle. I went to bed that night wiser but sadder. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) That genuinely does surprise me.....I wonder what someone further from the battery might have seen? Found an interesting paper from 1985 discussing the subject: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a164593.pdf It's a translation of a German document from 1945 and it does show that attempts to control flash were already underway seventy plus years ago. They clearly don't seem to have mastered the process for tank cannon as the various images of ignited gas clearly show.....This is most perplexing. Edited June 6, 2017 by Sgt.Squarehead 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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