FWTV: 29 Palms Video 2
Season: 1
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MotorTranscript
00:00 4-Wheeler Trivia
00:04 Thanks to an incredible intake and exhaust system snorkel, the military-issued Humvee
00:09 can forge up to its windshield in water, or about 60 inches with its deep forging kit
00:13 installed.
00:14 However incredible, Humvees are not designed to float.
00:20 For armored units, the Abrams is the crown jewel of the military.
00:23 While it's seen various generations employ it since it was introduced decades ago, the
00:28 Abrams continues to rattle those that go up against her.
00:32 And for the men who have made the grade to tank corps, the Abrams is the last word in
00:36 ground combat.
00:38 The M1A1 and newer M1A2 are the namesake of the late General Creighton W. Abrams, former
00:44 Army Chief of Staff Commander of the 37th Armored Battalion.
00:48 It is the backbone of the armed forces of the United States military and continues to
00:52 serve our troops today in the Middle East.
00:55 The M1A1 measures 32.25 feet in length and is 12 feet wide and 8 feet tall, and has a
01:02 top speed of 41.5 miles per hour with a tactical range of 275 miles.
01:08 The M1A1 tips the scales at a mere 67.6 tons and carries a 120-millimeter smoothbore cannon
01:16 on its turret, a .50 caliber Browning M2 machine gun at the commander's station, and a crew
01:22 of four, the gunner, driver, commander, and navigator.
01:26 It is capable of engaging the enemy in any weather, day or night, on a multidimensional,
01:30 nonlinear battlefield, using its firepower, maneuverability, and shock effect.
01:36 While Marine officers serve as mentors in the field, it is the enlisted men who sleep,
01:40 breathe, and eat tanks.
01:43 Seldom strained very far away from the Abrams, a home away from home for those who serve
01:47 in Bravo Company.
01:49 One of the Marines spoke to us on camera.
01:50 You guys, this is your home?
01:52 Yes, it is.
01:53 So you guys sleep on top of this?
01:54 We sleep on it.
01:55 We do everything, chow, water, clothes, sleep, we do everything on this tank.
02:01 Oh, and this is hot.
02:02 You were saying that when it's cold out, you sleep on the back?
02:04 We traverse it around the side, lay it on the back deck, and got to heat it, bed all
02:08 night.
02:09 That's excellent.
02:10 Gunnery Sergeant Allen, where are we right now?
02:17 Right now, we're at our ammo supply point.
02:19 This is basically an area we designate a way for base camp where we can store all of our
02:23 ammunition that the tanks are going to upload and use for our training.
02:28 We basically have several different types of rounds that I'm going to go over with you
02:30 that we use not only in training, but in combat load that we would take.
02:34 First of which is a standard 7.62 round.
02:37 Like you talked about before, the machine guns that the tanks carry, the two smaller
02:42 machine guns, that's with the A-fire.
02:43 Once we get past the standard 7.62, we have the 50 cal round.
02:47 It's a regular 50 caliber.
02:50 It's the same one that the Barrett model that you've seen on TV shows, things of that nature.
02:55 The tank will carry about 1,500 of these.
02:58 This can be used for anti-personnel.
03:00 It's typically used for hardened bunkers or even trucks and things of that nature, anti-personnel
03:06 carrier weaponry.
03:09 These are the tank main gun rounds that we fire.
03:11 These ones are the training rounds.
03:12 Obviously, we're in a training base, so we're not going to have service ammunition, which
03:17 packs a little bit more punch.
03:19 This one right here is a SABO round, a training SABO round.
03:23 Now, SABO is the main armor defeating round that the tank uses.
03:27 To give you an idea, you can kind of feel the weight.
03:32 Training one's about 45 to 50 pounds.
03:35 Basically, what you're looking at on the end is the projectile, the SABO projectile.
03:40 Typically it's like a giant dart.
03:41 It uses kinetic energy to penetrate the target.
03:45 The blue portion of this is actually used to help the round travel down the gun tube.
03:50 Once it leaves the gun tube, these blue pedals, as we call them, will fall off.
03:54 Everything below that is combustible.
03:56 It burns up when we shoot.
03:58 The only thing that comes out is the metal portion, the abcab at the bottom.
04:02 You haven't had any accidents inside?
04:03 I haven't had any ammunition fires.
04:05 I haven't lost any Marines to that.
04:07 It is a serious, serious situation when there's a fire in there.
04:10 Like I said, there's no such thing as a minor fire inside a tank.
04:14 Of course, I've had crewman loose fingers.
04:17 Unfortunately, the ammunition door, there's warning signs on it and everything.
04:21 I didn't even see them.
04:22 I didn't even see them.
04:23 You were just saying that closes with 700.
04:25 750 psi per square inch is what the door seals with.
04:29 I just think your fingers are not against it.
04:31 Exactly.
04:32 It's not going to stop.
04:33 There's a stop switch.
04:34 As the door comes closed, if something in there hits, it will stop up to the last three
04:37 inches.
04:38 Once it catches the last three inches, that's when the seal is grabbed hold and pulling
04:41 it through.
04:42 If the Marines are in there, they're staying in there, unfortunately.
04:45 The Marines of Bravo Company can spend weeks to months inside its armored shell, constantly
04:50 moving in search of the enemy.
04:52 Many have already served multiple tours of duty in Iraq.
04:55 I've been to Iraq for the initial war.
04:57 I got back, got to play again three months later, got back three weeks later, got to
05:02 play again, got back again in September.
05:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:09 (bells chiming)