From further up in the thread, because I’ve spent the last 90 comments of time reading about the T-80…

re: #85 Testy Toad T

It’s just mind-bending how much information we have on legacy Soviet equipment compared to the stuff I was poring over as a curious kid. I never imagined having so much detail on the nitty-gritty that I was actually sighing and punching pgdn past ten thousand pixels of discussion of rangefinders and optics, but here we are.

I know, right?? There weren’t any real surprises - The Russians built stuff that was less refined and more purpose-built, with less sophisticated electronics. OK fine. But it was interesting to read that the autoloader did NOT eat people’s arms… On the other hand, simple things like having the upper turret gun mounted in a way the commander could use while staying protected, well that was skipped in favor of a three-point pedestal system. Or the odd little touches like a vibration-hammer turbine cleaner system that works at engine startup. Or how lethal their ammo was.

My impression, though was “Tanks: Not Even Once.” Are they cool to read about? Yes. Would I want to be locked in a cramped steel coffin surrounded by high explosives and dangerous chemicals, extremely vulnerable to anybody with an aircraft or a standoff weapon, which could spray me with molten shrapnel and/or cause the whole thing to “brew up”? No thank you.

I cringe every time I see a video from Syria where some dickhead screams “Allahu Akhbar!” when they hit a tank and jets of flame shoot 50 feet in the air. Tank business is just plain ugly. I’d rather take my chances with bullets.