Quote:
Originally Posted by Renegade334
It usually is, since that's where the tank commander is seated. One of the main concerns for MBT crewmen is the targeting/comm equipment getting disconnected by the sheer concussion of a direct hit (no hull breach, no spalling, just a massive jolt caused by the hit) and suddenly being blind/deaf and mute on the battlefield.
Nothing much, actually - the tank's interior is heavily armored and I've heard several people calling the driver's box of a M1A2 Abrams a "steel coffin" because of the extensive shielding and the fact that there's not much room to move around. Also, as I said, the big problem would be the boiling incendiary fluid seeping through the exhaust vents/air intakes behind and around the turret (I think the Abrams has one on the left side, half-hidden by its massive turret) and causing the Diesel engine/gas turbine to catch fire. In which case, due to increased risks of explosion, the crew needs to bail out ASAP.
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Being a Ex-tanker myself before i opted for a different calling in my life. I can tell you that it takes a very heavy "jolt" to do any real internal damage to the tank. The crew might be shaken or even injured but the tank will be more or less fine. We had vehicles that got hit by IEDs and RPGs and the internal systems were more or less fine.The radios(every MBT i ve known carried more than one radio) and sights for the gunner and commander are build pretty tough. The only way i can see the tank being deafened and blinded would be for both the radio antennas getting destroyed "completely" (you can have a half of one antenna and you still would have comms on one radio but shorter range of course.) and the commander's hunter killer sight(generally a protruding dome on top of the tank) getting crushed/damaged by a falling rock, the gunner's own sights generally sits low and is more armored and less delicate than the commander's sight.
and as to the engine on a tank getting caught on fire. well the M1 abrams are gas turbines powered so they are far more likely to catch fire from the simplest things, But just about every other modern MBT in the world is diesel powered and diesel doesn't nearly catches on fire as easily or as catastrophically as gas do. even if the tank engine or even the inside of the crew compartment do catch on fire the fire itself would be extinguished in less than a second if the vehicle have a working AFES (Automatic Fire extinguishing system) installed. We have made some pretty neat advances and improvement to old fire fighting gear installed in vehicles in the last decade and modern AFES system kills the fire in your fighting vehicle before the crew even knows there is a fire most of the time. though you will known it soon though because how most AFES system works is by taking away the oxygen in the immediate areas inside the tank and around it and thus no fire could sustain or start cause there is no air to burn. Though the crew would not be able to breath for a few seconds and your engine will not start because there is no oxygen to breath and burn but its better than being flash burned alive trapped in the vehicle. I know it works as advertised because i was in a tank when we caught fire in the engine during an attack and it most likely saved my life.