[Renegade334]

Originally Posted by ZeKeR

I believe that somewhere in the engine compartment there's a sensor that detects fire and instantly applies the extinguisher. unless the crew mechanic can simply fix the engine (I think the engine that just underwent baptism of fire CAN'T start and may require that it dragged to base or put in a new engine) and douse the external fires, then there. also, the commander's hatch with the viewports is that... err... thin for a siege engine rock projectile to destroy it?

The AFES angrypokstick mentioned does save lives, but there were still some instances of M1 Abrams getting disabled in Iraq because of the aforementioned burning jerrycans on the turret's bustle racks, releasing their contents on top of the engine cover. There were even cases (you can even see a picture of a quite well-known example on the Wikipedia page for the M1 Abrams) where the damage was so extensive the crew had no choice but to bug out and scuttle the tanks by calling in friendly fire (a Maverick and a 120mm sabot - and even after such abuse, the tank was still relatively intact). Even if the AFES does snuff out the fire by eliminating the surrounding oxygen, if the dripping oil is hot enough it can still cause damage to the wiring around the gas turbine (note: the said wiring is supposed to be waterproof as the said engine compartment can be flooded when the Abrams is wading through water). It'll be much harder with a Diesel engine (the JSDF uses Diesel-powered MBTs, IIRC), though.

I will lulz so hard if ever the autoloader got shook up during a rock's hit at an MBT.

Abrams do not have autoloaders - the designers ruled this out because they were worried about things breaking down in the middle of battle and adding too many complicated systems inside an already high-tech machine. Furthermore, the loader (the crewmember, I mean) can load the Rheinmetall canon as fast as an autoloader, so the guys at Chrysler (the people who originally designed the M1) decided it was not worth cramming an additional piece of machinery inside the turret. Abrams do have autostabilizers and auto-targeting, though. On the other hand, the T80 (and the T72, too, IIRC) does have autoloading.

The Japanese Type 74 (shown in ch.15) prototype did have an autoloader, but it proved to be too complicated and pricey and was eventually removed from the mass production version. The later Type 90 and Type 10, OTOH, are equipped with autoloaders.

you can probably troll the FLIR with setting fires, but this will warrant as scorched earth.

The Empire knows nothing about FLIR, so they have no reason to light fires, unless they're trying to force the invading troops into retreating by setting the ground in front of them on fire...and they inadvertently cause the thermal sights to become useless. But then again, I don't think scorched earth tactics have a role in a direct confrontation. This is a denial tactic for retreating troops, not advancing ones.