Okay... Here she is, in all her glory. Now, complete with Fluff!
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BattleTech Vehicle Technical Readout
Type/Model: Abrams MBT M1A3
Tech: Inner Sphere / 2012
Config: Tracked Vehicle
Rules: Level 3, Standard design
Mass: 69.5 tons
Power Plant: 280 Honeywell AGT1500C I.C.E.
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor Type: Chobham Mk I.B Standard
Armament:
1 Rhinemetall-DeTec AG L/55 (M256) 120mm Cannon*
2 Browning M240 Light MG 7.62mms*
2 M6 Intellitec Multisalvo S/G Launcher Smoke Grenades*
1 Browning M2 Heavy MG .50*
Manufacturer: A.M. General
Location: Lima, Ohio, North America, Terra
Communications System: Bose / Cobam A/N PRC 17
Targeting & Tracking System: General Dynamics Enhanced C4I w/Full Network and CITV
[b]
Overview:[/b]
The M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced in the United States. The M1 is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. It is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for modern armored ground warfare. Notable features of the M1 Abrams include the use of a powerful gas turbine engine, the adoption of sophisticated composite armor, and separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment for crew safety. It is one of the heaviest tanks in service, weighing in at close to 70 tons.
The M1 Abrams entered U.S. service in 1980, replacing the 105 mm gun, full tracked M60 combat tank. It did, however, serve for over a decade alongside the improved M60A3, which had entered service in 1978. Four main versions of the M1 Abrams have been deployed, the M1, M1A1, M1A2, and M1A3, incorporating improved armament, protection and electronics. These improvements, as well as periodic upgrades to older tanks have allowed this long-serving vehicle to remain in front-line service. It is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and Marine Corps, and the armies of Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and as of 2007, Australia.
Capabilities:
The Abrams is protected by British designed Chobham armor, a further development of the British "Burlington" armor. Chobham is a composite armor formed by spacing multiple layers of various alloys of steel, ceramics, plastic composites, and kevlar, giving an estimated maximum (frontal turret) 1320-1620 millimeters of RHAe versus HEAT (and other chemical energy rounds) and 940–960 mm versus kinetic energy penetrators. It may also be fitted with reactive armor over the track skirts if needed (as in the Urban Survival Kit) and Slat armor over the rear of the tank and rear fuel cells to protect against ATGMs. Fuel and ammunition are in armored compartments with blowout panels to protect the crew from the risk of the tank's own ammunition cooking off if the tank is damaged. Protection against spalling is provided by a kevlar liner. Beginning in 1987, M1A1 tanks received improved armor packages that incorporated depleted uranium (DU) mesh in their armor at the front of the turret and the front of the hull. Armor reinforced in this manner offers significantly increased resistance towards all types of anti-tank weaponry, but at the expense of adding considerable weight to the tank, as depleted uranium is 1.7 times heavier than lead.
The main armament of the M1A1 and M1A2 is the M256A1 120 mm smoothbore gun, designed by Rheinmetall AG of Germany, manufactured under license in the United States by Watervliet Arsenal, New York. The M256A1 is a variant of the Rheinmetall 120 mm L/44 gun carried on the German Leopard 2 on all variants up to the Leopard 2A5. Leopard 2A6 replaced the L/44 barrel with a longer L/55.
The M256A1 fires a variety of rounds. The M829A2 was developed specifically to address the threats posed by a Soviet T-90 or T-80U tank equipped with kontakt-5 Explosive Reactive Armor. It also fires HEAT shaped charge rounds such as the M830, the latest version of which (M830A1) incorporates a sophisticated multi-mode electronic sensing fuse and more fragmentation which allows it to be used effectively against armored vehicles, personnel, and low-flying aircraft. The Abrams uses a manual loader, due to the belief that having a crewman reload the gun is faster and more reliable. Also important in the decision to use a crewman instead of an automatic loader during the XM-1 development was the fact that autoloaders do not allow for separate ammunition storage in the turret.
The new M1028 120 mm anti-personnel canister cartridge was brought into service early for use in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It contains 1,098 3/8 inch tungsten balls which spread from the muzzle to produce a shotgun effect lethal out to 600 m. The tungsten balls can be used to clear enemy dismounts, break up hasty ambush sites in urban areas, clear defiles, stop infantry attacks and counter-attacks and support friendly infantry assaults by providing covering fire. The canister round is also a highly effective breaching round and can level cinder block walls and knock man-sized holes in reinforced concrete walls for infantry raids at distances up to 75 meters.
In addition to this, the new XM1111 (Mid-Range-Munition Kinetic Energy) is also in development. Essentially a cannon-fired guided round, it has a range of roughly 12 km and uses a KE warhead which is rocket assisted in its final phase of flight. This is intended to be the best penetrator yet, an improvement over the US 3rd generation DU penetrator (estimated penetration 790 mm).
The Abrams is equipped with a ballistic fire-control computer that uses data from a variety of sources, including the thermal or daylight Gunner's Primary Sight (GPS), all computing and displaying one of three components of the ballistic solution - lead angle, ammunition type, and range to the target. These three components are determined using a laser rangefinder, crosswind sensor, a pendulum static cant sensor, data on the ammunition type, tank-specific boresight alignment data, ammunition temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, a muzzle reference sensor (MRS) that determines and compensates for barrel droop at the muzzle due to gravitational pull and barrel heating due to firing or sunlight, and target speed determined by tracking rate tachometers in the Gunner's or Commander's Controls Handles allowing for target speed input into the ballistic solution.
The fire-control system uses these data to compute a firing solution for the gunner. The ballistic solution generated ensures a hit percentage greater than 95 percent at nominal ranges. Either the commander or gunner can fire the main gun. Additionally, the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) on the M1A2 can be used to locate targets and pass them on for the gunner to engage while the commander scans for new targets. In the event of a malfunction or damage to the primary sight system, the main and coaxial weapons can be manually aimed using a telescopic scope boresighted to the main gun known as the Gunner's Auxiliary Sight (GAS). The GAS has two interchangeable reticles; one for HEAT and MPAT (MultiPurpose AntiTank) rounds and one for APFSDS and STAFF (Smart Target-Activated Fire and Forget) ammunition. Turret traverse and main gun elevation can be accomplished with manual handles and cranks in the event of a Fire Control System or Hydraulic System failure. The commander's M2 .50 caliber machine gun on the M1 and M1A1 is aimed by a 3x magnification sight incorporated into the Commander's Weapon Station (CWS), while the M1A2 uses either the machine gun's own iron sights, or a remote aiming system such as the CROWS system when used as part of the TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit). The loader's M240 machine gun is aimed either with the built-in iron sights or with a thermal scope mounted on the machine gun.
The Abrams can be carried by a C-5 Galaxy or a C-17 Globemaster III. The limited capacity (two combat-ready in a C-5, one combat-ready tank in a C-17) caused serious logistical problems when deploying the tanks for the First Gulf War, though there was enough time for 1,848 tanks to be transported by ship.
[b]Variants:[/b]
* XM1 Experimental model. Nine test-beds were produced in 1978.
* M1 First production variant. Production began in 1979 and continued to 1985 (3,273 built for US).
o M1IP (Improvement Production). Produced briefly in 1984 before the M1A1, contained upgrades and reconfigurations.
* M1A1 Production started in 1986 and continued to 1992 (4,976 built for US, 221 for USMC, 755 for Egypt, 59 M1A1 AIM SA sold to Australia).
o M1A1HC (Heavy Common) added new depleted uranium armor mesh, pressurized NBC system, rear bustle rack for improved stowage of supplies and crew belongings, and M256 120 mm smoothbore cannon.
o M1A1-D (Digital) A digital upgrade for the M1A1HC, to keep up with M1A2 SEP.
+ M1A1-AIM (Abrams Integrated Management) A program whereby older units are reconditioned to zero hour conditions; and the tank is improved by adding Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) and Far Target Locate sensors, a tank-infantry phone, communications gear, including FBCB2 and Blue Force Tracking, to aid in crew situational awareness, and a thermal sight for the .50 caliber machine gun. General Dynamics has been awarded contracts by the US Army to supply this variant. Additionally, 59 M1A1 AIM SA have been sold to Australia.
o M1A1 KVT (Krasnovian Variant Tank) M1A1's that have been visually modified to resemble Soviet-made tanks for use at the National Training Center, fitted with MILES gear and a Hoffman device.
o M1A1M A variant ordered by the Iraqi Army.
* M1A2 (Baseline) Production began in 1992 (77 built for US and more than 600 M1s upgraded to M1A2, 315 for Saudi Arabia, 218 for Kuwait). The M1A2 offers the tank commander an independent thermal sight and ability to, in rapid sequence, shoot at two targets without the need to acquire each one sequentially.
* M1A2 SEP (System Enhancement Package) Also with upgraded 3rd generation depleted uranium encased armor with graphite coating (240 new built, 300 M1A2s upgraded to M1A2SEP for the USA, 250 for Egypt in 2 Egyptian co-production batches of 125 each).
* M1 Grizzly Engineer Vehicle
* M1 Panther II Remote Controlled Mine Clearing Vehicle
* M104 Wolverine Heavy Assault Bridge
* M1 Panther II Mine Clearing Blade/Roller System.
* M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle.
* M1 Armored Recovery Vehicle. Only a prototype produced.
[b]Deployment:[/b]
The new M1A3 is being deployed to forces on active duty in the Middle East. Currently, on the 2nd and 3rd Airmobile Cavalry Regiments, 7th Cavalry Regiment (1st Cavalry Division), and 2nd Armored Division field the A3.
Type/Model: Abrams MBT M1A3
Mass: 69.5 tons
Const. Options: Fractional Accounting
Equipment: Items Mass
Internal Structure: 35 pts Standard 0 6.95
Engine: 280 I.C.E. 0 32.00
Cruise MP: 4
Flank MP: 6
Heat Sinks: 0 0 .00
Cockpit & Controls: 0 3.48
Crew: 4 Members 0 .00
Turret Equipment: 0 .49
Armor Factor: 187 pts 0 11.69
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front: 7 57
L/R Sides: 7 37/37
Rear: 7 25
Turret: 7 31
Weapons & Equipment: Loc Heat Ammo Items Mass
1 120mm Cannon* Turret 0 60 2 8.50
1 Light MG 7.62mm* Front 0 300 2 .70
1 Light MG 7.62mm* Turret 0 1,200 1 2.20
2 Smoke Grenades* Turret 0 2 .20
1 Heavy MG .50* Front 0 500 2 1.25
1 Targeting Computer 0 1 2.00
Items & Tons Left: 8 .04
Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 3,877,623 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,094
Cost per BV: 3,544.45
Weapon Value: 811 / 811 (Ratio = .74 / .74)
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 16; MRDmg = 12; LRDmg = 12
BattleForce2: MP: 4T, Armor/Structure: 0 / 7
Damage PB/M/L: 1/1/1, Overheat: 0
Class: GH, Point Value: 11
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As such, I've done up some old standards of the U.S. Military on HMV. This is the first. Hope you like, and feel free to offer up pointers!
