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The M1 Abrams (/ ˈ eɪ b r ə m z /) [10] is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heaviest tanks in service at nearly 73.6 short tons (66.8 metric tons).
It is the main powerplant of the M1 Abrams series of tanks. The engine was originally designed and produced by the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division in the Stratford Army Engine Plant. In 1995, production was moved to the Anniston Army Depot in Anniston, Alabama, after the Stratford Army Engine Plant was shut down. [1]
The early production versions of the M1 Abrams (M1 & IPM1) were armed with the M68A1 [45] for two reasons. First was due to the large number of M60 tanks with the M68E1 gun still in widespread US service in the 1980s and a large on-hand stockpile of 105 mm munitions.
In February 1980, the first M1 Abrams rolled out of LATP. After a contract the plant began producing the Abrams at a rate of 30 a month. Chrysler subsequently sold the Defense subsidiary to General Dynamics in 1982. [3] In January 1985, the last M1 rolled off the assembly line, and in October, production began on the improved M1 (IPM1).
General Dynamics produced the M1 Abrams tank at the facility (and at another plant in Lima, Ohio) until 1996, when the plant was closed and tank assembly and maintenance operations were consolidated [6] at the Lima plant. [7] The plant and some of the adjoining property were transferred to the City of Warren [8] in 2001. The site of the ...
The 72-ton, 40-foot-long (12 m) vehicles are based on the M1 Abrams with a 1,500 horsepower engine, but fitted with only a .50 cal machine gun and a front-mounted 15-foot-wide (4.6 m) plow, supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt and armed with nearly 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg) of explosives.
During the Gulf War, the U.S. Army recognized the M88A1's insufficient power, weight, mobility, and hoist-winch capabilities, making it unable to effectively recover M1 Abrams. The M88A1's speed, when towing an Abrams, could not exceed 5 miles per hour. Even at this speed, M88A1s often suffered from engine or transmission problems.
In fiscal year 1990, the Army began work on the in-house phase when it began to develop a "test bed", a modified M1 Abrams chassis that was used to test components for the common heavy chassis, such as the engine, transmission, and suspension, and for the Block III tank's weapon system, including the fire control, new 140 mm gun, [16] and ...