| Wolfhag | 18 May 2015 9:31 a.m. PST |
Ever wonder how maneuverable an M-60 tank would be on the streets of a major city and how it would "navigate" obstacles. Well wonder no more: link Wolfhag |
| Charlie 12 | 18 May 2015 9:57 a.m. PST |
Oh Lord… Tank Boy! That was my old NG uint…. |
 Saber6   | 18 May 2015 10:48 a.m. PST |
IIRC the SDPD called the Marines to see if they could get some anti-tank weapons. if it hab not got hung up on the median barrier he might have made it to Mexico (or wherever he was headed) |
| Wolfhag | 18 May 2015 11:00 a.m. PST |
Pendleton is about an hour away by vehicle. They would have needed Cobras with TOW missiles to stop him or wait for him to run out of gas. He did a great job of merging into traffic on the Interstate though. If he had hit that obstacle head on he may have gotten over it. Wolfhag |
| Charlie 12 | 18 May 2015 1:13 p.m. PST |
Yeah, the driver decided to jump the J barrier on the freeway and threw a track. And if he had hit the barrier straight on, he'd probably still gotten hung up. A buddy of mine was with the SDPD at the time and they were at a loss as to how to stop him (stopping a 57 ton tank is not in the usual PD playbook). Given the tank had a low load of fuel, he would run out of gas soon enough. |
| Ambush Alley Games | 18 May 2015 2:16 p.m. PST |
I was an AF cop at the Air Force Academy in '87 when a couple of guys stole a self-propelled gun from Ft. Carson and headed for Denver in it. The Sheriff's Office called our desk and asked if we had any AT weapons because the Army was reluctant to blow up their own "tank." We told them we were the Air Force Academy – we didn't keep a lot of AT launchers around for Cadets to get up to no good with. Then they asked us if we'd block off the highway with a couple of our fire engines. Heh. I remember standing at the North Gate and watching the thing go by with what God knows how many police cars in front of it and that many more trailing along behind. If I recall correctly, it ran out of gas and the guys aboard were taken into custody without anyone getting hurt. Fun times. ;) Shawn |
| Charlie 12 | 18 May 2015 2:28 p.m. PST |
The fallout from the tank joyride was fierce. My old NG caught all kinds of flak. Luckily, I was out of the unit then, but it wasn't fun. |
| Major Mike | 18 May 2015 8:04 p.m. PST |
Soldier from the 8th ID stole tank and went on a rumble thru downtown Mannheim. After sideswiping street cars and parked cars he ended up out on the bridge with both ends blocked by the German police. The story is that the police were under orders to not let the tank off the bridge and to use what ever means necessary to insure that. The soldier spun the turret around, pointing the barrel at the police cars. Finally the soldier got back into the drivers compartment and tried to turn the tank around and proceeded to back the tank off the side of the bridge and into the Rhine River. They had to get a 100 ton floating crane to recover the tank and the soldiers body. link |
 Legion 4  | 19 May 2015 7:34 a.m. PST |
Many of us who have been around AFVs of all types, know that let there be no doubt. Those Iron Monsters do a lot of damage without firing a shot. Saw a light truck, basically a Dodge Pick-up the Army paint Camo and mounted a radio on the dash, called a CUCV. That M60 MBT ran over the front missing the driver legs by a 12-18 inches. Running over the engine compartment. Which after it was done, what used to be the engine, hood, fenders, etc. was about 18 inches high … |
| LORDGHEE | 19 May 2015 2:10 p.m. PST |
Back in the 80's The road leading out of Fort Bliss to the ranges crossed a major street. The 3rd Cav armor was moving out fast. MP had of course stopped traffic. I was on one side and as the M-60 passed I could see the driver across the intersection in a VW bug look at the tanks the MPs and I said no he is going to try to bolt across between the tanks. Yep the M-60 ran over the tail end of the bug smushed it flat, rear seat engine. The look on the driver face was awesome. Huge white eyes fear, then I am not dead. The tank did not notice a bit. The MP on my side walked over saw that the driver was untouched, stopped and pulled out his ticket book and started writing tickets. LOL |
| Tgunner | 20 May 2015 5:05 p.m. PST |
Yeah, no doubt. Any sort of serious AFV is a nightmare in the regular world. Even an out-dated dino tank like the M60. It's a good thing that it's SOP that the "pigs" are stored with out munitions and mgs. This guy could have really done some damage if he had some main gun ammo. Even training bullets! It would have been a bitch for him to load and gun then drive though. Two guys can run the thing, but you need three to fight it. |
