TANK ENGINES THAT DON'T BURN UP FUEL AND FRIENDLY TROOPS
Carlton Meyer
FUEL EFFICIENT TANK ENGINE, ANYONE?
The one and only goal of tank engine development has always been "more power". The M1A1/2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) was designed to go "head-on" with massed Soviet armor in a rapid, bloody confrontation. Fuel economy was not important since tanks were based less than 100 miles from the enemy. The M1A1/2 tanks are a great asset, but our military needs to modify them for Air-contingency, expeditionary and urban operations by replacing the gas turbine engine with a fuel-efficient diesel engine.
The gas turbine engine provides impressive speed, but consumes a lot a fuel. An engine with twice the fuel efficiency could double the range of M1A1/2s and cut fuel requirements for a tank battalion in half. A smaller engine would cut its top speed from 40 miles an hour to around 20 miles an hour, but tanks are rarely employed at high speeds. Charging across the desert at NTC or a CAX looks great, but this is impractical on most of the earth's surface. Wise tankers generally advance at a steady 10 miles an hour using overwatch bounding techniques, lest they get ambushed.
The U.S. Army did a couple of high speed assaults in Iraq, but the outcomes of these rare confrontations would have been the same if the M1A1 tanks had moved slower. A slower overall tactical speed would have been compensated by a better operational speed---if tanks didn't need to halt and wait for refueling. The U.S. Army VII Corps under General Franks in Desert Storm had to stop and wait for refuelling trucks for his thirsty Abrams tanks, and much of the Iraqi Republican Guard was able to escape. Ideally, more reliable fuel-efficient diesel engines will eliminate the need for tractor-trailers to transport tanks in-theater, like was done in Saudi Arabia.
Another advantage is that a diesel engine produces far less heat, so tanks would be less vulnerable to new infra-red mortar rounds and heat-seeking top-attack ATGMs like Javelin. More importantly, the current gas turbine engine produces so much heat that infantrymen cannot follow behind for protection. Tanks are a key weapon in urban warfare in their traditional role as a "moving pillbox" crawling down streets and blasting away. Paratroopers/Grunts need to be able to follow directly behind tanks in urban operations.
The Army has already tested a German-made diesel engine in the M1A1, although this engine may be too large. The Army should fund research into tank diesel engines with the objective of fuel efficiency. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps cannot fund the replacement of all tank engines, however, they could gradually replace gas turbine engines as they wear out. This would eventually save billions of dollars in operations and maintenance costs since a smaller diesel engine would cost half of much to purchase, operate, and maintain.
FEEDBACK!!
"Carlton,
I like your web page. The M1 definitely needs and engine that consumes less than 5 gallons per mile. Follow this link and you will see that the Merk3 uses a 1200 hp diesel engine, and burns a little more than one gallon per mile. I believe that the M1A2 weighs just as much as the Merk3. That engine is made in Michigan."
Army Technology Merkava I, II, III - Main Battle Tanks
Jeff Schram
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E-mail May 1998