M1 Abrams: Rumsfeld's Turbine Mandate, 73 Easting and the Marines' Exit

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

The M1 Abrams grew out of the failure of the MBT-70, a U.S. and West German project launched in 1963 with an autoloader, a driver seated in the turret, adjustable hydropneumatic suspension and a gun that fired guided missiles. By 1969 its estimated unit price had reached $1 million, and Congress canceled it. The 1972 XM1 program capped the cost at $507,790 per tank and required competing contractor prototypes. At Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1976, General Motors' variable compression diesel design beat Chrysler's gas turbine on armor, fire control and cost, but in July 1976 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld delayed the award and made a turbine mandatory, and Chrysler won the contract.

The production tank used British-designed Chobham composite armor, moved from a 105mm rifled gun to a 120mm smoothbore firing depleted uranium darts on the M1A1, and ran on the AGT-1500 turbine, reaching 45 mph while burning 1.5 to 3 gallons per mile. In Desert Storm in 1991, nearly 2,000 Abrams deployed and none was destroyed by enemy tank fire: of nine lost, seven were friendly fire and two were destroyed by U.S. forces after getting stuck. Later came the Tank Urban Survival Kit for Iraq, Ukrainian crews welding cages over turrets against drones, and the Marine Corps giving up all its tanks in 2020 under Force Design 2030.

• Testers at Fort Bliss threw tracks with the "bow tie," slamming into reverse at speed, so Chrysler added a device to block it.
• Chrysler earned about 5 percent of its income from military sales, while GM earned about 1 percent and bid only after a Pentagon plea.
• At 73 Easting, Captain H.R. McMaster's 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment used thermal sights to fight through a sandstorm.
• The Abrams could kill tanks at 2,500 meters, while Iraqi tanks could not answer until within 2,000 meters.
• In 1993 the FBI borrowed two Abrams tanks during the Waco siege to breach the compound walls.