that's where the humor is located to me. I've seen guys handle tank and artillery shells, shit is heavy as fuck, solid metal and HE. ain't none of it buoyant lol
Use gasoline instead of water. Then you can eliminate the fuel tank. Side bonus would be protection from microbes for the crew. The government should also expect a reduction in pension and social security costs.
Yeah, I would rather not ask either.
Don't ask what all that weight does to the running surfaces either. Some things it's better to just not know.
There (shouldn't) be any blast from the gun firing released inside the tank itself. So, you've got vibration that'll pass through the water. It might increase that, but that's not direct exposure to the blast.
There's still air around the muzzle. Maybe water makes up some of the distance, but there is still a buffer of compressable air in there.
I'm not sure that it wouldn't cause problems, but I'm not sure that it wouldn't, either. I don't think that it'd just be the "depth charge near people in the water" issue.
EDIT: Though some artillery has that recoil-compensating mechanism where the breach moves back when the gun fires. I dunno whether that's true of the main gun on an MBT, but if so, that might cause issues.
googles
Yeah, here's an Abrams doing it. That might suck.
Water transmits shockwaves to meat bags far more efficiently than air. Everyone’s lungs will be shredded if the tank is hit by an RPG.
I know this is non credible defense, but I would absolutely LOVE a breakdown of all the ways this is a terrible idea
It might unironically be a good idea except for the increased weight. Also shockwaves from impacts.
Yeh the shockwaves would just transition perfectly into the crews bodies and turn them into paste.
Yeah I thought so too. Besides that, Oxygen running out would be a problem, and perhaps reliability of diving equipment.
And every operator would need a full one diving suit too, increasing production and maintenance cost.
Perhaps the tank would rust?
More fuel needed.
Electronics would need to be waterproof, otherwise they short circuit, breaking and perhaps harmin the crew.
I mean the first issue seems easy to solve just put a tube to the outside for all crewmembers and you never run out of oxygen
The first issue that comes to mind is the noncompressible nature of water. If you've ever played in a pool and marveled at how clearly you can hear a digital watch beep all the way from the other end, you can scale this up for any pressure wave. With very unpleasant results.
Oooh, I see what you're saying! Yeah, that makes total sense.
... But couldn't they just adjust the volume of the heavy metal music all tanks are required to play be the Geneva convention so that full blast isn't loud enough to cause hearing damage?
IDK, does the Geneva convention cover the adjustment to pitch so the heavy metal can be faithful to the original while distorted? Source: Harry Potter and that Goblet of Fire.
I don't think they accounted for any of the consequences of filling a tank with water. It's a really outdated set of rules. Like it doesn't even have special allowances for civilian casualties when Hamas is suspected of hiding in their clothing, which is clearly anti-Semitic. It doesn't even say it's ok to kill some civilians if their side embarrassed you by sinking your flagship when they have no navy.
An essential piece of kit. "We were surprised to find a kettle inside the tank to brew tea"
Any shockwave from firing a shell/active armor/taking a hit would reverberate through the cabin and crush the occupants, not dissimilar to what a grenade does to anyone nearby in a body of water
Yeah, I remember when Myth Busters tested "shooting fish in a barrel" they found that even if your bullet doesn't hit a fish that the shockwave will kill them all lol.
Let me introduce you to Mr Newton. Specifically:
F = m*a
To accelerate on a flat terrain (nevermind a slope) you need to apply tractive force proportional to your mass. Water does add a lot of mass.
Explosions will fuck you up harder underwater though won't they? Or is that when the explosion happens underwater? I feel like there was a MythBusters episode on this
I bet it's because there would be a lot of heat, especially when the tank's engines need to be more powerful to move all of the added weight.
1m³ of water is 1 metric ton, a normal tank would fit 3m³ to 5m³ given the fact that a normal modern tank is about 70 metric tons by itself i doubt it would greatly effect the engine. And water can be cooled as well.
I think you're discounting the heat already being generated even without the water. Water is a good conductor of heat, so if there are any hotspots the crew normally just stays away from, that would spread everywhere, including to the crew. The heat would also accumulate since the rest of the tank would be acting as an insulator except on the outside surfaces.
Wich is why the motor wastes a lot of energy on cooling itself... Why do you think there is water cooling for electronic?
Air bein a isolator is a bad thing.
Typically when you hit things with shells, Even if the they don't explode, the kinetic energy would transfer into the hull, then the water. Now imagine getting fired on 4 or 5 times, or by a bunch of small arms fire, or a land mine, all in the baking desert sun. That would be a soup pot
Idk enough about physics to argue in good faith but I feel like that's not right...
I thought it was because water was good at cooling because it dissipates the excess energy ridiculously quickly.
Maybe that's the same thing idk I just fuckin woke up 🤷♂️
Heat sink heats the water which then moves to the fans
The cool water takes it’s place to absorb more heat
In air cooling you’re hoping for passing air to cool off the heatsink
cookoffs are quite a good one, but i'm trying to figure out how the armor is supposed to cookoff.
Unless it's ERA or something? In which case, that wouldn't be changed with the water being inside of the tank now.
shits heavy as fuck, water would be nasty as fuck, and none of the electronics inside would work for shit.
Plus also it would get uncomfortable for long operating hours.
the wet tank is an inverse submarine though. In this case it's more akin with a wet sub, though those are also submersed in water, not just surrounded by it, or filled with it.
Any explosion even NEAR that thing would kill the entire crew...
Edit: pressure waves in water. Its why depth charges sink submarines if they get anywhere close.