- Member since
April 2004
- From: The cornfields of Ohio
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Posted by crockett
on Thursday, April 22, 2004 11:40 PM
Mine Plows have never been installed at the factories, (Lima/Detroit Tank Plant). These are kits themselves and are installed at depot level in the field. I participated in several applications of these plows on Egyptian M60A3's in 1984. (Another story). All attachment details are welded (front slope, glacis plate). The entire assembly is pinned and can be detachted. Abrams applications are tricky when accurately depicting the "sit" of the vehicle. By this, I mean, #'s 1 and 2 roadarms are rotary shocks (as well as #7). These are liquid filled, and when the Mine Plow is attached, the entire front of the vehicle sits lower, rear end conversly higher, as the plow assy is quite heavy and (cumbersome). There was some talk of actually changing the torsion bars or re-indexing the shocks to accomodate the weight back in the 80's. From Desert Storm video that I have seen, I don't think this was done. I would estimate that the front glacis would drop at least 8 to 10 inches (this was the case on the M60 A3). Unfortunately, I don't have details on the power take off connections and mods. Let me see if my old buddies at General Dynamics can help me with drawings, etc. I know the system looks similiar to the M60 application, but I'm not sure. I will publish this info if I can get my hands on it. (Security First!)
Good Luck,
Steve
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