2014/01/19

Assorted enjoyable hardware stuff

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The lack of the fore wheel's spin alone certainly influences the driving characteristics a lot - even without taking the entirely different aft into account.

A cheaper historical approach; I cannot tell how successful it was.

(Low mean maximum ground pressure doesn't help you much on very soft 'soil' if it (and displacement) only keeps you from sinking deep enough to get grip on some hard surface beneath.)

Bundeswehr cutlery. Too heavy, but otherwise a stroke of genius. Its can opener is brute, though.
The Bundeswehr field dishes follow the principle of Matrjoshkas.

Another Bundeswehr classic: The Esbit stove. The Esbit (invented 1936) piece is enough for boiling some water or making a meal, but the stove also works fine with a tea light for keeping beverages warm. Six Esbit pieces can be stored inside the folded stove. Great for camping.

Another stroke of genius: The incredibly versatile triangle Zeltbahn
There's a website dedicated to show how versatile and useful this simple piece of kit was (and it was sophisticated in its treatment and printing).
The Bundeswehr used a primitive, not nearly as versatile and monochrome rectangular piece for decades instead.


Are you interested in tanks and in the genesis of the famous "Chobham armour"? Well, here's a great historical document about its early shape, the "Burlington armour".
 

Tire balls not only address the problem of punctures, but apparently also allow for somewhat less air pressure in the tire and thus a lower ground pressure for more grip off-road. Motorcycles have long passed their zenith in Western forces, and didn't even make a real comeback when Afghans were demonstrating their benefits to us. Instead, Western forces bean to pay attention to quads/ATVs which don't require much extra driving training and can employ other approaches against the puncturing issue (related).

Revealed in November; the BMPT concept now as a retrofit turret without the irritating hull-mounted automatic grenade launchers. I get the appeal of a rapid fire gun / missile armed vehicle at MBT protection levels, but I don't don't understand why they chose this specific combination of weapons, even without the AGLs.


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