gashford Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Can you help me understand something, I spent a few years in infantry roles, never killed a tank, didn't have much to do with them and don't know a lot about them. I am positive this is a quick question to answer so please be gentle. When a tank throws a track why can't it move anymore. Having seen some tanks I am pretty sure that the wheels would still touch the ground if the track wasn't there. I imagine that losing a track in soft terrain (grass, mud etc) would mean the thing would just bog down, but if a tank loses its tracks in metalled roads would it still be able to move, if only very slowly and haphazardly? Be gentle =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankDawg Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Hi Gashford, Your question has a fair amount of "It depends." In theory, the road wheels could support movement of the tank for a brief period. However, to do so, the track would first have to be untangled and cleared from the wheels. It is this that stops a tank from moving when the track breaks. Very crude example, but think of the chain coming off your bike and how hard it is to put it back or just take it off. If the track did come cleanly off, the tank could still move around a little - with a very skilled driver. Unless it was a dire combat situation, you would cause so much more damage to the tank, that you would not want to risk it. If I had a bunch of T-80s staring me down in my M1A1 and I had thrown a track, I think we would try to move out anyway possible (and pop smoke, call artillery and air support). Short of that, we would stop where we were, bust out the gear (with my crew) and start fixing it. Hope this helps. Jeff TankDawg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Heinz 25th PzReg Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Hi Gashford I will try to go easy on you, hehe. As a former Leopard tanker, let me try to explain. When a tank get bogged or imobilized in CM, that can mean many things. Its not very likely that the tracks actually get thrown off the tank. I have rarely experienced that myself, but I have experienced many other things. If stones, gravel or other objects get trapped between the wheels and the track, the track might get out of position. That means that the tank cannot drive at all in most cases. When the track get out of position, its best to stop before it gets even further out of position. If the entire track should fall off, it can be very hard work to get it back on again. Especially if the tank is in anything but flat terrain. As for moving the tank without the tracks, thas is possible. But only on roads and you will not be able to turn. So a tank hardly ever loose its track entirely. And if it does, it can take a long time to get it back on again. Regards, Heinz ------------------ "To subdue your enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War Visit my AAR site: home.online.no/~andhess/cm/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The DesertFox Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Well, It´s pretty easy. If a tank throws one track it still can move, BUT VERY BIG BUT...<G> it only can drive in a circle, because only the one track which is left drives the mass of the tank forward and the other side [without track] is only roling on the roadwheels which have no connection to the drivesprocket [the connection is the track]. I hope my english is good enough to make the principle clear Helge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IntelWeenie Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Just to confuse matters (hee, hee), let's not forget the Christie tank suspension that ALLOWED the track to be removed, leaving the tank to run on (paved) roads using only the wheels. So if you ever see a picture of a tank doing this, it's a Christie-based tank. CM2 reference: Didn't the BT-5 still have this capability (not that it was ever used)? ------------------ "Belly to belly and everything's better" - Russian proverb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dar Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 I'm confused by the answers here. I thought on most tanks only the drive sprocket was powered by the engine, and the road wheels were free to turn... Am I way off here? Are there several axles on modern main battle tanks that are actually powered? Dar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavScout Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dar: I'm confused by the answers here. I thought on most tanks only the drive sprocket was powered by the engine, and the road wheels were free to turn... Am I way off here? Are there several axles on modern main battle tanks that are actually powered? Dar<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> You thinking is correct. The sprocket is what is driven by the engine. If the track is completely thrown then the sprocket spins free and you would lose drive power to that track side. [This message has been edited by CavScout (edited 08-23-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USTanker Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 Dar & CavScout are correct. On most tanks the drive sprocket is what moves the tracks that in turn move the tank. The roadwheels move only through their contact with the track as it is driven by the drive sprocket. They mainly exist to support the track. Most are suspended in some way to provide some shock absorption as well. With no track, the roadwheels won't move by themselves. The tank can continue to move for a short distance in a general circle, but this ends up damaging a lot on the side that has thrown track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vimes Posted August 23, 2000 Share Posted August 23, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>CM2 reference: Didn't the BT-5 still have this capability (not that it was ever used)?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Duno about the BT-5, but the but the BT-7 had the option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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