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APPENDIX B

TANK HAZARDS

Both light and mechanized infantry lack a base knowledge about main gun hazards. All infantry need to be aware of the following considerations:

Firing of sabot rounds creates a down-range hazard in the discarding of the stabilizing petals. The aluminum petals are discarded in an area 70 meters left or right of the gun-target line, extending from the muzzle a range of one kilometer. Infantrymen should not be near or under the direct line of fire unless they are under considerable cover.

The M1A1 main gun creates noise in excess of 140 decibels that, through repeated exposure, will deafen soldiers. This noise extends up to 635 meters. Single-layer hearing protection, such as ear plugs or muffs, will allow infantry to work within 25 meters of the side or rear of the tank without significant hazard. There is, however, no data on blast overpressure forward of the gun tube.

M1s have an extremely hot exhaust plume that exits from the rear of the tank and angles downward. Personnel cannot stand in this exhaust; it can burn cloth and skin. To follow closely behind an M1, infantrymen must stay directly behind the tracks. The noise of the M1 tanks and M2 Bradley is deceiving. You can hear them better as they move away from you; you cannot hear them well as they approach directly toward you.

Appendix A: Infantry Riding on M1 Tanks - Extract

Appendix C: Ground-to-Tank Communications