HSTV-L, Stingray, M8 Buford and other cool light tanks

[ysi_maniac]

http://jedsite.info/tanks-hotel/hotel/hstvl_series/hstvl-series.html
https://www.google.es/search?q=hstv+l+tank&es_sm=95&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=INSdU7rWK6nM0AXRpIGYBw&ved=0CCoQsAQ&biw=1440&bih=908
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_light_tank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M8_Buford

[Old Wombat]

Found this in one of those links for something different;

Here: http://www.zona-militar.com/foros/threads/los-tanques-que-no-fueron.24765/page-3

I don't speak, read, write or understand, in any way or form, Spanish - so I have no idea what they're talking about.

[Rickshaw]

One of the two alternative designs produced for the German MBT 3 project.  Here is the other one:




This was an earlier development vehicle





Similar to the Swedish S Tank.  Initially tried with 105mm and then 120mm guns, and relied on turning the tank for aiming, although, unlike the S Tank, they were elevatable, independent from the tank chassis. 

[Volkodav]

Why two guns though?

I have seen those photos before but never understood the idea of two guns verses one larger calibre or perhaps a 120mm with an auto loader and a higher rate of fire.

[Rickshaw]

They had autoloaders.  As to why dual guns, doubles the rate of fire of course.

[Kerick]

Looks like someone took wargame miniatures up to full size!

[Volkodav]

Still looks like a poor trade off in terms of weight and complexity verses a single gun design.
The design just doesn't make sense and I am curious as to the thinking and requirements behind it.

[jcf]

Hull down and hiding to stop the invading Sov-Pac hordes. 

[Rickshaw]

Still looks like a poor trade off in terms of weight and complexity verses a single gun design.
The design just doesn't make sense and I am curious as to the thinking and requirements behind it.

It was a research project that went essentially no where.  Tactical thinking changed and what was to become MBT 3 (aka Leopard 3) was an improved Leopard 2 with a new, higher power, smaller engine (which allowed a shorter hull and increased armour) and a 140mm gun with autoloader but that is getting ahead of the story.  It wasn't built either, with the end of the Cold War.  These casemented tanks were, as JCF suggested, designed to stop the hordes of Warsaw Pact tanks on the North German Plain.  They were essentially the result of defensive thinking and of course, such thinking was tossed out the window when Leopard 2 came along and showed how useful a fully rotating turret was with full stabilisation.   These vehicles really aren't light tanks, either, they're MBTs.   The MBT 3 project was just one effort at follow on to Leopard 2 while Leopard 2 was being developed.   At the time, in the mid-late-70s there was considerable interest in the S Tank concept, with the British building the Contentious tech demonstrator on a Comet chassis and the Jagdchieftain vehicle.

Contentious


Jadgchieftain

[Jeffry Fontaine]

M10 Booker "Not A Tank" has been cancelled


Image source and link: Wikipedia > M10 Booker

[GTX_Admin]

So back to whiffing...

[Story]

So back to whiffing...

If the contractors were smart, they'd perfect the chassis/lower hull/running gear and then figure out what's really needed on top.

Meanwhile, pre-production art in the style of TW2000.

[Kerick]

Something like 80 vehicles have been built. Gigantic waste of money all around. Looks like I better get one of the model kits soon.

[apophenia]

Something like 80 vehicles have been built. Gigantic waste of money all around. Looks like I better get one of the model kits soon.

So, what would be the rough value of 80 x M10s (in Ukrainian rare earth equivalency)?   

[PFJN]

... Looks like I better get one of the model kits soon.

Me too :)

[GTX_Admin]

So, what would be the rough value of 80 x M10s (in Ukrainian rare earth equivalency)?   

 

[GTX_Admin]

The Army had planned to field 504 M10s, with 12 prototypes and 96 low-rate production vehicles already completed or in production. The second and third production batches were scheduled for delivery in FY2025. However, with the program’s cancellation, those vehicles now face an uncertain future—potentially being transferred to armored units, sold abroad, or placed in storage.