The M1 Abrams is the main battle tank of the US army, it is produce in the US and it has become the main battle tank of several other armies worldwide while being considered one of the best tanks ever produced. It has been designed to be employed in any combat zone, in order to be capable of attacking almost independently from the external conditions.
The high technology employed in its devices confers it some features which render it unique in its species. These tanks are equipped by a particularly efficient fire control system(designed to direct the trajectory of a bullet) to be particularly precise in hitting the target.
The M1 Abrams have an overwhelmingly powerful gas engine which produces 1500 hp. On the other hand they are heavily armed. They have installed a 105mm tank gun capable of firing among others antitank missiles, to destroy enemy tanks, and white phosphorous to hide movement from the enemy.
Additionally, the M1 Abrams has three machine guns. Of these one lies in a mount above the commander station, the second gun is fired by the loader if necessary(at the left of the torret) while the third one is positioned co axially with the main gun.
Six periscopes provide the commander, located at the right side of the turret, with a 360 degree view, while accessory kits make night view possible and facilitate communication between the commander and the gunner so that no verbal communication is needed. Moreover the commander can fire the 105 mm main gun independently from the gunner.
The crew of an M1 Abrams consists of 4 units, a commander, a loader, a gunner and a driver. As in other tanks, in M1 Abrams a turret is present and the different crew members are positioned as follows with respect to it: the driver station is at the front center of the tank chassis, the commander and the gunner are seated on the right side of the turret and the loader on the left side.
When the tank is operative, the driver lies in an inclined plane, three periscopes provide him with a 120 degrees view angle while accessory kits make night vision possible. Moreover, in the driver`s station, several indicators of the vehicle`s fluid levels as well as engine temperature can be detected.
As for the armor, it consists of several layers of steel, ceramics, plastic composites and Kevlar (a strong synthetic fiber). Uranium plates can be added to the original armor considerably increasing the resistance to anti-tank missiles, still this is often inconvenient because of the high specific weight of Uranium.
M1 Abrams weigh about 60 tons, are 2,44m high and 3,66m wide. The maximum speed they can reach is in average about 70 km/h in road and 48.3km/h off-road. Their high weight makes these vehicles difficult to transport, which is regarded as one of their main disadvantages.
M1 Abrams have been employed in the Gulf War were they proved to be deadly to the enemy tanks.