I’ve tried many times to suggest solutions to the problem of damaged tracks on armoured vehicles.
Today’s invention is another approach to this issue.
The tank consists of twin hulls supported on three tracks and joined by tunnels (top diagram). Each hull would have its own motor unit and some independent weapons.
In the event that the central track is destroyed, the vehicle can continue to progress, albeit with reduced manoeuvrability.
If one of the side tracks gets broken, the crew on that side escape through one of the tunnels into the other hull, seal the hatches and jettison the entire damaged hull half before driving on (bottom diagram).
With tunnels set in the front and rear (rather than top and bottom) multiple vehicles could be joined in other configurations, such as one resembling a brick wall when viewed from above.
This would allow an entire division to travel across country as a kind of armoured mat (with personnel and other resources able to move around inside whilst in transit).
interesting, some questions pop up..
– What would it need to connect two (traditional) tanks if one has a broken track?
– Change a sitting duck into operational duck.
– Two tanks could lift a broken one and bring it home 😉
– What would it need to connect two tanks with a sort of roof in between?
– provide shelter for people
– four tanks easier?
– The roof could also cover the troops while manoeuvring
– How could one tank provide a roof?
– like an extension tent of a caravan?
– How could a broken track be converted to two “tires” /smaller tracks?
– tank can drive to the repair team on its “spare tires”
Hi Rob,
It’s great when I get some homework questions 😉
– What would it need to connect two (traditional) tanks if one has a broken track?
– Change a sitting duck into operational duck.
– Two tanks could lift a broken one and bring it home 😉
The damage is usually extensive. I used to do some work for MoD and it’s terrifying what a mess can be made of even armoured vehicles when they drive over a mine. This would leave a lot of hard-to-predict debris and distortion that makes joining, post-explosion, complicated. One reason why I suggested this: http://iotd.patrickandrews.com/2009/11/08/1083-backup/ I guess it might be possible to have a couple of n shaped tunnels extend from the top of one hull to ports on another hull, hard-dock, jack-up and drive off when joined together. Just having a way to safely extract crew from a damaged vehicle via such tunnels would be useful. Being n shaped and rotating out over the side would allow any such tunnels to avoid the worst of the damage.
– What would it need to connect two tanks with a sort of roof in between?
– provide shelter for people
– four tanks easier?
– The roof could also cover the troops while manoeuvring
Here is something related http://iotd.patrickandrews.com/2012/12/14/2193-munitionmirror/ I think that infantry like to be able to present small targets and dig a hole if necessary. Getting them to walk beside a shell magnet, even if it had an armoured roof, might be difficult.
– How could one tank provide a roof?
– like an extension tent of a caravan?
http://iotd.patrickandrews.com/2012/09/24/2114-awningolf/ 😉
I think that tented rooves and skrim netting have been standard since before El Alamein. Having some kind of mobile, *armored* enclosure seems like good idea however. I’d like to see a tank which can quickly jack up its ground clearance and then ‘drop anchor’ using eg a large drill into the ground. It would then drive its tracks so as to rapidly scrape out two trenches into which soldiers could quickly take cover.
– How could a broken track be converted to two “tires” /smaller tracks?
– tank can drive to the repair team on its “spare tires”
I’ve been trying to think of a solution but it’s tough to see how fragmentary subsections of track could eg be rejoined to make tracklets. Here are 2 not very original suggestions in this area: http://iotd.patrickandrews.com/2010/06/05/1298-trackbackup/ and http://iotd.patrickandrews.com/2009/12/01/1109-fractrack/
Maybe all tanks could have a track ‘module’ on each side (tracks, wheels, drive units). If one track module were destroyed, it could be explosively jettisoned from inside. This would allow repair tanks, each with extra modules on each side, to drive alongside and donate a module in place of the wrecked one. I’m sure there are miltary engineers who would laugh and this and others who may already by working on such systems…probably in Russia!
Cheers Rob, thanks again,
p