M1A1 Abrams



 M1A1 Abrams



Overview
The M1 Abrams was developed to replace the M60 series Patton tanks that had been fielded by US Armored Divisions throughout the bulk of the Cold War and were rapidly reaching the end of their development cycle in the early 1970s. Initial trials for a next generation Main Battle Tank began in 1973 when the US Army awarded the Chrysler Coporation (which was then taken over by General Dynamics) and General Motors contracts to develop competing prototypes as part of its MBT-70 program. The Chrysler designed XM1 prototype was selected for development and General Dynamics' Land Systems Division began developing the first generation M1 Abrams tanks, which were first delivered to the Army in 1978.

Field testing continued in the Army until 1980 on both the M1 and the Improved M1 (IPM1), a variant of the original M1 that had stronger armor protection. By 1985 the Army had finished analyzing the results of field tests and General Dynamics shifted production to the M1A1 model of Abrams to meet the requests of the Army.

The M1A1 incorporated much-needed improvments to the Abrams design. Argueably the most important change to the Abrams involved its main weapon. The M1 and IPM1 model Abrams were both armed with the 105-mm M68A1 rifled gun; the same gun used on the M60 Patton. The M1A1 model (and all subsequent models) upgraded to the German-manufactured Rheinmetall M256 120-mm smoothbore. The M1A1 upgrade package also included NBC warfare protection to the tank's crew via an overpressure ventalation system and electronic sensors, as well as futher improvements in armor, including steel-incased depleted uranium (DU). Further improvements to the M1A1 model led to the M1A1D (M1A1 Digitized) which installed a new digital command and control interface in the M1A1 models to make them Force XXI compliant.

The late model M1 tank is the M1A2. The M1A2 model tanks have numerous improvements over earlier models, including improved gun sights, and the bulk of M1A2 tanks in service are actually upgraded M1 tanks remodeled to fit A2 specifications. General Dynamics has also made improvement to the M1A2 model tanks via the SEP (System Enhancement Package). The SEP package upgrades the software of the M1A2 tanks and improves the sensors on the M1A2 tanks, including new Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) optics systems and improved thermal sights.

Dimensions
Length: 32 feet 3 inches (9.83 meters) Width: 12 feet (3.66 meters) Height: 9 feet 6 inches (2.89 meters)

Powerplant
Lycoming Textron AGT-1500 gas turbine engine producting 1500 horsepower (1119 kW).

Weight
138,968 lbs. (63036 kg)

Range and Performance
Maximum Range: 265 miles (426 km) Maximum Speed (road): 42 mph (68 km/h) Maximum Speed (cross-country): 30 mph (48 km/h)

Armament
Main: Rheinmetall M256 120-mm Smoothbore gun Coaxial: M240 7.62-mm Machine Gun Commander: M2 0.50 cal (12.7-mm) Machine Gun Loader: M240 7.62-mm Machine Gun