M1 Tank Ground Pressure

[dart4forte]

This is not a political so let’s keep it that way. Listening to all the hype of tank in DC for the July 4 th celebration. Listening to all the so called experts talking about damage to the roads. Well it’s all bunk. Here’s a scale showing the ground pressure of various vehicles.

All examples are approximate, and will vary based on conditions

Object Ground pressure (kPa) (psi)
Hovercraft 0.7 0.1
Human on Snowshoes 3.5 0.5
Rubber-tracked ATV 5.165 0.75
Wheeled ATV 13.8 2
Diedrich D-50 – T2 Drilling rig 26.2 3.8
Human male 55 8
M1 Abrams tank 103 15
1993 Toyota 4Runner / Hilux Surf 170 25
Adult horse (550 kg, 1250 lb) 170 25
Bagger 288 Excavation machine 170 25
Passenger car 205 30
Adult elephant 240 35
Mountain bicycle 245 40
Road racing bicycle 620 90
Stiletto heel 3,250 471

Note: The pressures for adult human male and horse are for standing still position. A walking human will exert more than double his standing pressure. A galloping horse will exert up to 3.5 MPa (500 psi). The ground pressure for a pneumatic tire is roughly equal to its inflation pressure.

Back in the day we ran tanks all over Germany. Very little damage to the actual asphalt and little to no damage to concrete. Now, if the driver gets a little close to curbs the end connectors on the end of the tracks will take them out

Also, I noticed they had those soldiers placing plywood along the travel of the track. Simple solution was to brink in a fire truck and hose down the asphalt. The track, having rubber pads would simply slide over the wet asphalt.

Sorry I couldn’t get the columns on the scale to line up.


Just something I found interesting.

 

[Richard Cranium]

That's heavy.

 

[dart4forte]

That's heavy.

View attachment 794159

Yep, just shy 70 tons, over 70 tons combat loaded

 

[beanhead]

Must be because the weight is distributed over a larger area of the road surface..good buddy was a tanker during first gulf war. He's told some crazy stories about what those beasts were able to do even in deep sand. Incredible machines...

 

[aldal]

Turning to sharp is where a guy can get into trouble and tear things up.

 

[mopar 3 B]

Just imagine the damage done by the vagina squad. There must be creators in the road by now.

 

[moparedtn]

Tanks in a parade in DC, you say?
Sure:

Inaugural parade for Eisenhower, 1953.

 

[Ironbuilt]

The tracks are padded with rubber for asphalt use. With the wide footprint, a track wearing vehicle causes very little damage to the ground. To can practically run over your foot with a wide track dozer and walk away, provided it's not under the final drive gear.