OT - Guy throws a grenade down the barrel of a tank

[Gunnulf]

Its a T72. They have an autoloader which would almost certainly have a HEAT round loaded (not much call for APFSDS in that conflict..). My read (albeit as an infantryman with some Arm Inf experience) that the sequence of events is the guy puts a grenade down the spout but its relatively contained the first time, perhaps some structural damage. You then hear the crew capping off with their co-ax MG at the unseen threat. Once they stop the little David has another go. Either this time the breach is weakened, or I suspect more likely the crew are going though stoppage drills trying to work out whats wrong. Either way the explosion obviously sets off a secondary internal explosion turning into into a roman candle. Fatally bad drills on the part of the tank crew operating without infantry support & buttoned up with limited vision no doubt due to sniper threat.

[Sardaukar]

The amount of "Allahu Akhbar" on that vid is impressive. [:D]

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Sardaukar

The amount of "Allahu Akhbar" on that vid is impressive. [:D]

Lots of "candybar" warnings on these sorts of vids. [;)]

[Bearcat2]

ORIGINAL: castor troy

ORIGINAL: Blackhorse


2. Depending on doctrine, tanks have been known to travel with a round in the tube. On exercises in West Germany in the mid-80s, practicing against a Warsaw Pact invasion of the Fulda Gap, US tanks might 'battle carry' sabot. The theory was, enemy tanks (or helicopters) were the main threat, and a round in the tube might enable you to engage first. If a lesser threat appeared first, we could fire off the sabot anyway, then load the most appropriate ammunition.

tanks would engage helicopters with their main gun? [&:]

The last station in our tank qualification runs was a shot at a "helicopter" [actually a piece of wood that looked like a basketball backboard on a pole that was raised]
The preferred rd was a HEAT rd at that time. I was able to put a hole in it at about 2,000 meters while the tank was moving.

[btbw]

Video is fake. Tank crew dont move anything outside tank. Dont move turret, dont move barrel, dont use AA MG. During work of autoloader barrel must move to certain angle, after that BC give inclination on computed angle. Ammo in T72 dont detonate in that matters like on video if source is outsided of tank.
My opinion - old or disabled tank was charged with HE inside and detonate it remotely.
Here real video of implosion T72 from real hit. All parts of tank moved with explosive stress, alot of smoke and cyclic detonations of different ammo parts.
http://youtu.be/x2TLS1sqMl8

[witpqs]

Big difference!

Although I must admit I kind of like the way they are training their people in the faked up video - to go stand in front of the tank!

[Chickenboy]

Not so. I've seen video of a dozen or more T-72s going 'roman candle' from a penetrating round into the turret. Some of them blow the turret completely, but an enflagration like that seen in the video is more common. The lack of response from the crew could be due to their incapacitation. The difference in flame volume could be due to a difference in ammunition stored in the turret between the two example tanks.

I doubt very much the video is fake.

[Symon]

It will sound sort of odd, but artillery propellant is slow-burning, a deflagration model. Pressure in the tube follows the square law of time-distance-expansion.

Grenades, and C4, and mines, and arty bursting charges, use prompt propellants, a detonation model. Local pressure is prompt and does not depend on time. A lot of bad things will indeed fracture a gun tube. If the charge is big enough it will burst the tube confinement. Smaller charges can maybe introduce kinks. Yeah, just try shooting a round out of a kinked tube.

Just a bit of reality for the discussion. Been there, done that, professionally.

Ciao. JWE

[Bearcat2]

On another site, a Syrian who also knows English, translated what they were saying on the video:
•Starting from 0:05 a man behind says "do it" then the man throws the grenade and we hear 2 other men behind saying "No" followed by "it fell outside" but another man says "it's in it"
•Then after the tank fired/grenade exploded (i don't really know) ,a man behind says "Shoot the rocket,shoot the RPG" , another man behind says again "it fell outside"
•The man who threw the grenade comes near and a man says "take it,wait remove it,remove the black thing and throw it away."
•After the tank was destroyed they are just shouting "allahu akbar" with one behind saying " they've been burnt"
•Then a man close out the video "Hamza the lion of god division and the division of the martyr Abdullah Bakar,destroying the tank -72- (i think he means the T-72) to support the Hyena division".


Here is a another video where the rebels drop a nade down the hatch, it starts with 2 fighters on the tank, one drops a nade down the hatch, 2 crewmen come out of the tank, a muffled explosion[hard to hear]
and then there is a little smoke that comes out of the hatch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJs2Fhb6 ... u.be&t=45s

[Chickenboy]

Here's one of a pair of T-72s working an urban area. About 7 minutes in, the lead suffers a catastrophic hit, blowing the turret off of the vehicle:

http://www.military.com/video/operation ... 200979001/

I assume that the RPG / ATG used in this case incited detonation of stored ammunition in the turret.