M1 / M1A1
M1 Abrams
Zero Abrams lost to enemy tank fire in Desert Storm.
Specifications
- Crew
- 4
- Combat weight
- 57 t
- Engine
- 1500 hp
- hp / tonne
- 26.3
- Road speed
- 72 km/h
- Range
- 440 km
- Main gun
- 105 mm M68A1 (M1); 120 mm M256 (M1A1)
- In service
- 1980–present
Honeywell AGT1500 gas turbine, 1,500 hp
Armor: Burlington/Chobham special armor; later DU mesh in the turret face
Secondary: .50 cal commander, 7.62 mm coaxial + loader
Briefing scores
Relative 1–10 for teaching, not a wargame rating.
- Firepower
- 9/10
- Protection
- 9/10
- Mobility
- 8/10
- Awareness
- 9/10
- Logistics
- 5/10
Ammunition natures
History
Won the XM1 contest against GM in 1976. First units in 1981 still had the 105 mm; the M1A1 120 mm and depleted-uranium armor arrived before Desert Storm, where Abrams crews destroyed Iraqi T-72s at ranges the Iraqis could not match.
Doctrine
AirLand Battle in steel: sprint, shoot first with a thermal sight, and survive the return shot. The turbine gives instant power. Four-man crew keeps a human loader — U.S. designers refused the autoloader ammunition carousel that sits under Soviet turrets.
Strengths
- Turbine acceleration
- Crew survivability (ammo in blow-off bustle)
- First-shot night kills
Limits
- Fuel thirst
- Turbine inlet in dusty climates
- Weight on bridges
Related hulls
7 of 25 in the atlas