Breaking track

27th Oct 2018, 1:58 PM

Breaking track
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>author

BUMBLEBEE on 27th Oct 2018, 1:58 PM

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Of course Basher would know all this, but its a transition...

Most tank maintenance is bust ass work, but breaking track is about the most bust ass thing you do on a regular basis. At least they're in the motor pool, not trying to fix their track in some icy mud pit...



>user comments

Chippewa Ghost on 27th Oct 2018, 4:04 PM

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Random question: are tankers trained to use their main armament on low-flying antitank helos?

BUMBLEBEE on 27th Oct 2018, 4:36 PM

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Right when I got out they were starting to introduce the MPAT round and told us to shoot it at helicopters. I never saw a real one, but I fired a bunch in the simulator. I couldn't hit those things for shit, so they didn't fill me with confidence.

You could shoot anything at a helicopter and knock the hell out of it, if you can hit it. But attack helicopters like to chill at two or three klicks, which is a loooong shot to hit something that's not bobbing and weaving and popping up and down.

Better to have a crunchy handy with his shoulder fired missile (I think they call them MANPADS now, or something like that) and save that ammo rack space for HE and AP. You run out fast enough as it is...

StLOrca on 27th Oct 2018, 4:56 PM

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I was a skinny little bastard, so I used to get stuck doing jet engine thermocouple calibration. I still get the sweats thinking about shimmying my way up a F-15’s tailpipe...

BUMBLEBEE on 27th Oct 2018, 5:22 PM

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Was that a real thing, or were they just messing with you - like sending you off for a can of squelch? One time someone told me to get a hammer and look for "soft spots" in the armor...

StLOrca on 27th Oct 2018, 8:57 PM

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Oh, it was def. the real thing—I had to drag a thermocouple test rig over to the jet, crawl up the tailpipe dragging heavy cables behind me and fit each adapter over a thermocouple. F-4s had 12 per engine; F-16s and F-15s have (IIRC) 16 per engine. Then I slithered back out ass-first to run the test rig. Then elbow-walk back into the tailpipe to disconnect everything. Did I mention this was usually a couple hours after recovery so it was still about 125 degrees in there?

BUMBLEBEE on 28th Oct 2018, 5:35 AM

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They dont show that on the commercials!

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