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Anybody ever drive a tank?

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KillerCharlie said:
Hah, that place used to be in my home town in middle-of-nowhere southern MN. Now it's an hour west where it's slightly less middle-of-nowhere.
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Hah, for $3,500 you get to crush a car too...now I know what I'm doing if I ever have an insane amount of spare cash to burn 😀

Edit: Ooh dang, the 3-star tank lets you crush a car for $649!
 
Not really a tank but once drove a M113 armored personnel carrier for a few feet to humor the host nation folks. Wasn't a fun experience.
 
I think Schwarzenegger actually lets people ride in his tank, for a fee. Worth checking into, no idea how much he actually charges.

Kim Jun Ung has a tank too and will let you ride but you have to put up with some really terrible music.
 
Kaido said:
Reminds me of the Killdozer guy:


$7 million in damage. Only casualty was himself (by himself).
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Oh wow that's a classic one, I remember seeing that on TV as a kid. The backstory to that is kinda interesting, almost have to feel bad for the guy, the city basically kept screwing him and his business over and he just got fed up.
 
I love to play World of Tanks and other shooter video games. I play paintball and will occasionally chase my kids around with airsoft guns. I also enjoy hunting and shooting guns at the range.

Wanting to do the real thing and kill people for shits and giggles is nuts, unless you are part of the military and fighting a legit war under the legal rules of engagement. I bet it's not nearly as fun when they are shooting back.
 
Used to rock M113A2 & M113A3 all the time. The A2 used sticks and was slow. The A3 used a yoke and was quite a bit peppier.

Had a lot of fun with HMMV's and M113's on tank trails.
 
Kaido said:
Wait what?
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Not uncommon, the military doesn't want situations where someone gets killed 'cuz they can't find the keys. A lot of military hardware is assumed to be secured by perimeter/personnel, so someone hopping in a blackhawk and flying off with it isn't a situation they care to plan for.

As far as I remember, if it isn't likely to be parked in a Walmart parking lot (anything above a HMMV or equivalent), it probably has a button or common key type to fire up.
 
Not me, but I had a very close lifelong friend who did while in the Army, right after high school. The way he tells it, he almost immediately drove it into a ravine where it got badly stuck. They made him run until he puked up his legs. Yes, his legs.
 
NuclearNed said:
Not me, but I had a very close lifelong friend who did while in the Army, right after high school. The way he tells it, he almost immediately drove it into a ravine where it got badly stuck. They made him run until he puked up his legs. Yes, his legs.
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See, this is why I like the services that have enlisted operators. With officers if you screw up you end your career and become a useless lump. With enlisted, they beat you until you Do Right(tm). Much more useful!
 
Why rent ... Here’s How You Can Buy a Russian Tank - $50K tank + $20K shipping and handling to the USA.
😉

42-71085728.jpg


Russia’s classic supercar has a catch—it only comes used. Well-used.

A million bucks when new, $50,000 buys you, a civilian, a T-72. It ain’t Grandpappy’s antique war wagon. The T-72 is Russia’s main battle tank, the heavyweight, 45 tons of bad news with a five-inch gun.

“Is” as in current, front-line equipment. “Is” as in 5,000 serving Russia right now. “Is” as in NATO and company train crews how to scrap with and blow T-72s up, as they’re the favored ride of the baddie country with money enough for the good stuff.

The Czech, Slovakian, Hungarian, and Polish militaries, left awash in surplus Red Star machinery after the Iron Curtain was torn down, are clearing out their stocks of Soviet-era tanks to make way for NATO replacements. If you’ve got the cash, and another $20k or so to ship it to the US, you qualify to buy.[/quote}
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No tank, but I have driven a nuclear submarine. I have also shot a ballistic missile or two...

Who needs a tank.
 
I've driven a Bradley a couple times and fired one once along with a lot of non-firing time in the turret. The ergonomics are awful, but mostly understandable given the dimensional constraints. For example, in the turret your legs are bent at a 90° angle and there is no room to move your feet forward at all. The driver's seat is more comfortable, but the angle of the accelerator is bad and there is a strange fore/aft displacement between the accelerator and brake from what I can remember. Firing is obviously quite fun, and really just like a video game. The worst thing is opening the hatches when the torsion springs are screwed up, which is most of the time. They're so damned heavy.
 
SaltyNuts said:
I would LOVE to drive a tank. A fully modern one would rock, but I'd even be happy driving one from WWII or Korea or Vietnam or whatever. Anyone ever drive one? Is it something else given the huge size/weight of what your are driving?

Are there any places that let you drive one for a few minutes for some $$$? Will any of them let you fire the gun? This sounds unlikely, but does anyone actually let you fire the gun at some live target? Like, let's say the U.S. is supporting the Kurds. The Kurds are attacking ISIS, and shelling a town or position with tank main-gun fire. I'd pay money if I could actually dive the tank up to the firing position, get in the gunner seat, and fire off some rounds at a village or enemy position or what not.

Thanks!
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I was in the army and then the National Guard..

I was a Loader, Driver, Gunner in a M1/M1A1..

Driver can sit up with the hatch open or lay on your back with a periscope..
Very soft ride for the driver.. Much rougher ride for everyone else, because they sit higher..

When I was in National Guard.. We used to have family picnics, where we give family members rides..
 
Speaking of the M1... I didn't notice until someone pointed it out recently that they use case-less ammo. Completely missed that even though I've seen videos of actual loaders inside M1 tanks loading one round after the other and not pulling out a giant empty shell to chuck out. And there's a giant vacuum on the barrel to clean the case-less crud out.
 
Imp said:
Speaking of the M1... I didn't notice until someone pointed it out recently that they use case-less ammo. Completely missed that even though I've seen videos of actual loaders inside M1 tanks loading one round after the other and not pulling out a giant empty shell to chuck out. And there's a giant vacuum on the barrel to clean the case-less crud out.
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That it true.. The case is made of cardboard composite.. It will burnoff, just leaving the afcap (spelling?).. HEAT round has a long rod in the middle that is attached to the afcap.
The rounds do not leave any cruds in the tube..


No Vacuum in the Tank.. There is Bore evacuator (little bump on the guntube) that will suck out the smoke after it fires..
 
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