Tank Armour
Kozzy Mozzy
Active member
Chobham is probably and basically just ceramic and steel sandwiched together in blocks. The ceramics and steel provide excellent protection against HEAT type weapons and good protection against KE type weapons. The ceramics chemical "loose" chemical structure makes HEAT jets flow around it, stopping them more efficiently then steel. It was developed by the British and is on their Challenger tanks, it was given to the Americans and is on the Abrams tanks. The Leopard and Leclerc use their own versions of it.
Explosive Reactive Armor is plastic explosives surrounded by two metal plates. When a HEAT type weapon penetrates this, the explosive detonates and the plate disrupts the HEAt jet. Kontakt-5 is also effective against KE rounds by having a heavier plate. The Israelis developed it with their Blazer armor (placed on old M60 upgrades, NOT on the Merkava). The Russians really got into it with them trying to put it on all their tanks. Kontakt-5 ERA gives about 200mm of KE and 600mm of CE protection per plate, so it's a really effective supplemental armor, not a good protection to be depended on by itself.
Explosive Reactive Armor is plastic explosives surrounded by two metal plates. When a HEAT type weapon penetrates this, the explosive detonates and the plate disrupts the HEAt jet. Kontakt-5 is also effective against KE rounds by having a heavier plate. The Israelis developed it with their Blazer armor (placed on old M60 upgrades, NOT on the Merkava). The Russians really got into it with them trying to put it on all their tanks. Kontakt-5 ERA gives about 200mm of KE and 600mm of CE protection per plate, so it's a really effective supplemental armor, not a good protection to be depended on by itself.
Kozzy Mozzy
Active member
AlexKall said:Leopard armor as I understand it is Steel, Titanium and cheramics layered in several sections. As of what I've heared. Just speculation as all armour types are top secret
I don't see why they'd put titanium in. There are much better armor materials for not much more weight.
Shadowalker
Active member
titaniums got the same strength as steel but is 45% lighter! Its also has a high tensile strength, is light weight, very corrosion resistant, and has an ability to withstand extreme temperatures! thats probably why they use titanium!
Whispering Death
Active member
Dingo said:
Not if you want your crew to survive.
Some projectiles use depleted uranium, though.
Kozzy Mozzy
Active member
Yes, the armor on the M1A1HA and M1A2 has a 2-4 inch layer of depleted Uranium oxide across it's front. It's high density makes it a great armor against KE penetrators.
It's not anymore radioactive then anything either. It's also contained within steel, so there really isn't a threat of radiation.
It's not anymore radioactive then anything either. It's also contained within steel, so there really isn't a threat of radiation.
Knightraptor
Active member
If the tank is punctured and the UO2 is released into the air, it is quite lethal if inhaled.
Kozzy Mozzy
Active member
Knightraptor said:
Quite lethal if you mean increasing the possibility of getting by 1% in the next decade. UO2 doesn't vaporize in the event of penetration, not to mention it's encased in steel and a spall liner, so inhaling it is hard.
Whispering Death
Active member
Knightraptor said:
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a myth about uranium in the chogum armor.
What they didn't tell us until like 2 years ago was that the Depleted uranium warheads tanks use don't work because they're so hard. The reason you see turrets of T-72s blown hundreds of feet beyond the chassis is because the depleted uranium is actually a bit unstable. When it contacts another hard target at such high speeds the uranium breaks down causing a massive energy release. This release also is radioactive.
So using it as an armor is a bad bad idea unless you want your tank crews to turn into the incredible hulk.
Side Note: Some tank crews would exit the vehicle in inspect their kills after using DU rounds since they didn't even tell the tank crews that how the DU rounds actually worked. So they think a good portion of 'Gulf War Syndrum' is from radiation exposure. When a DU rounds is used in battle now it requires a special cleanup operation once the area is secure.
Knightraptor
Active member
DU armor was at the very least used in M1A1 models.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1a1.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1a1.htm
Whispering Death
Active member
Oh well, I'm wrong on this one then. Just seems damned dangerous to me.
Knightraptor
Active member
Kozzy Mozzy said:
Yeah i agree it would be rare. But even if a tiny amount of the UO2 got into your lungs via small particles or whatnot, it would do serious damage.
FO Seaman
Active member
Whispering Death said:Knightraptor said:
Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a myth about uranium in the chogum armor.
What they didn't tell us until like 2 years ago was that the Depleted uranium warheads tanks use don't work because they're so hard. The reason you see turrets of T-72s blown hundreds of feet beyond the chassis is because the depleted uranium is actually a bit unstable. When it contacts another hard target at such high speeds the uranium breaks down causing a massive energy release. This release also is radioactive.
So using it as an armor is a bad bad idea unless you want your tank crews to turn into the incredible hulk.
Side Note: Some tank crews would exit the vehicle in inspect their kills after using DU rounds since they didn't even tell the tank crews that how the DU rounds actually worked. So they think a good portion of 'Gulf War Syndrum' is from radiation exposure. When a DU rounds is used in battle now it requires a special cleanup operation once the area is secure.
That is not true DU plates are welded to the front of the Chobam to defeat KE penetrators and it is stronger than regular steel, and the reason you see the T-72's turret blow off is because the ammo cooks off, same problem with the M4 Sherman models with no wet storage. Also the crap about the DU causing radiation poisioning is a lie, Natick and Aberdeen Test facilities tested it and found that the doses of radiation emission don't execede that of peace time regulations.
If radiation emission exceded 10% I wouldn't climb on any of the tanks here at Knox.
FO Seaman
Active member
AlexKall said:
This is also not true, two feet of concrete wil stop Gamma, Alpha can be stopped by paper and Beta can be stopped by wood, ( I love this liitle pic)
What is Radiation?
Radiation is in every part of our lives. It occurs naturally in the earth and can reach us through cosmic rays from outer space. Radiation may also occur naturally in the water we drink or the soils in our backyard. It even exists in food, building materials, and in our own human bodies.
Radiation is used for scientific purposes, medical reasons, and to power some submarines. We can also come into contact with radiation through sources such as X-rays, nuclear power plants, and smoke detectors.
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/students/what.html
More infomation my be obtained at http://www.epa.gov/radiation/students/types.html