In the Army Now - The joy of the Armed ForcesI've never been a soldier. I was an air cadet once, but that mostly involved sitting in a mouldy hut learning about aeroplane engines with the hint that one day we might go flying.
Yet, anyone who has spent time defending their nation, or at least drinking bromide-laced-tea for their nation, must have stories to tell. Tell them now.
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chthonic, Thu 23 Mar 2006, 18:26)
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older cousin in the armystationed in germany, is driving down the autobahn in some tank or other, possibly a predator.
anyway, without any army knowledge myself, apparently the slightly-above-40 miles per hour it was doing was considered rather nippy for a tank, and if you're driving this fast moving mass of heavy metal, your braking distance is increased somewhat.
at which point some person decides to pull in front of him in a highly reckless way, forcing him to slam on the brakes. now apparently, on a tank, theres a bit in the front axle with a round hole in, so as you slam down on the brakes, a rod enters the hole and holds the axle still. jerky and abrupt, but nonetheless a good braking method.
unfortunately, this works best at slow tank speeds, such as 5-10 miles per hour, as when you try to brake at top speed, the rod tends to get sheared off, and you are left going at top speed.
somehow, he managed to hit the brakes at such a perfect moment that the rod slid in perfectly, and stopped the tank so hard that the back end flipped up to match the sudden jerk action at the front.
this resulted in the tank flipping forwards and bending the barrel, then falling backwards, only to pause with the rear end of the tank facing upwards at about 2 o'clock.
In nought but shock and amusement, cuz then proceeds to climb out of the hatch on top to discover a vw beetle underneath his tank, with a very scared woman sitting between two huge tank treads. apparently it was a good laugh, go figure..
(, Sat 25 Mar 2006, 23:48, Reply)
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