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Fieldcraft Stopping a Tank by yourself

Ok, how about one man stopping a tank that's M60 or newer but he has no C4, just a .50 BMG rifle and whatever else you could commonly find inside a 3 block radius of a large city (no military equipment).
 
Ok, how about one man stopping a tank that's M60 or newer but he has no C4, just a .50 BMG rifle and whatever else you could commonly find inside a 3 block radius of a large city (no military equipment).

Subtract the .50 cal rifle & then you have some interesting thinking to do.

A lot may depend on is this someone who really knows how to drive the tank well?
I'm assuming also most stolen tanks are probably not armed.
 
Ok, how about one man stopping a tank that's M60 or newer but he has no C4, just a .50 BMG rifle and whatever else you could commonly find inside a 3 block radius of a large city (no military equipment).

@buffalowinter had the answer.....you foul the tracks.

An immobile tank is a pill box and a different problem to overcome.

Suitable lengths of pipe and wire will do it.

It requires balls and an appropriate location to perform the trick.

Im assuming the track operates similar in ways to construction equipment. There is shit like track bolts, track adjusters and sprockets that are susceptible to damage.

Get an appropriate fulcrum and let the power of the tank break itself.

Easier said than done but it can be done. There is a reason Germans highly awarded their tank killing infantry with special badges.

I think our guy got Silver Stars for individually taking out a tank.
 
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The reason why I include the .50 is I don't think it's an effective weapon against any modern armored vehicle which was the original Genesis of this topic.

I think the answers to that question will illustrate that.
 
But they dont create their own oxygen.... they merely filter out the bad things.
That's right, Plus there is another soft spot to introduce chemicals, an that is the antenna ports. Albeit it's much smaller than the periscope openings it will work.
Ok, how about one man stopping a tank that's M60 or newer but he has no C4, just a .50 BMG rifle and whatever else you could commonly find inside a 3 block radius of a large city (no military equipment).
The same soft spot that chemicals can be introduced after shooting thru it, (with even a 5.56), is also an prime place to start a fire inside from outside, if the radios are installed an the coax is ran to the outboard como ports. This requires a power system, however today's jump boxes can be boosted, with caps (super caps are best for most things these days) to complete this task,...but again the radios have to be installed an hooked up to the antenna ports.
If someone has stolen a armored vehicle your not going to have all day to stop them, an no dozier can travel fast enough to catch one. Like the Ca. B/S if someone knows what they are doing you better be very, very quick on your feet, otherwise it could be over before most even know it. The best prevention is keeping things locked down and disabling them, in a very simple fashion, like blocking the electrical or fuel system.
 
The CA guy was a drunk mechanic. Any DAT worth his salt would have battle locked the hatches, and not tried to traverse the wall at such a shallow angle.

The .50 discussion started with the killdozer. With the right ammo and right shooter it wasn’t a difficult thing to stop.
 
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Hi,

Red rover, red rover; send Tanky right over...

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Sincerely,
Theis
 
The question is how would you stop a lone tank that had no infantry coverage? I will have to keep this to pre 1970 Nato & USSR gear has I have no experience with Tanks past those mfg dates.
First lets understand what the weak points are, on a tank is buttoned up? Anyone?
Patriots, by James Westley Rawles
Chapter 27, Page 324
 
anything is possible if your hell bent on trying it please video tape the event just in case it works lol that's going to have to be a live feed cause after it crushes you your not going to be able to upload the video of your crazy ( I mean brilliant )plan . you can do it (y)(y)(y)(y):poop:lol
 
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If I win will I receive the fuhrer’s award for single handed destruction of an enemy tank? 😂
 
If I win will I receive the fuhrer’s award for single handed destruction of an enemy tank? 😂
Absolutely,... many, many people do/did not know about the tank destruction badge. I worked with a guy whose dad had 3 of them, his story's made me angry about how he did it, yet like everyone else he fully believed what he was doing was the right thing to do at the time. He later found out about the camps an like many men of war despised those who had lied to him to get him to enter for country.
 
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Interesting topic. My Grandfather had this job in WWII. He said “they didn’t think about “special forces” stuff much, hell, everybody to special crazy stuff..., but he recons today that’s what his crew would have been. They had a small anti-tank gun 5 of them would set out with. The job was to get behind lines and take out tanks. The Ammo was so heavy though, that they could only carry a few rounds at a time... given the gun, personal gear, etc. So, once they had expended their tank rounds, they went improv... deep behind lines, tanks and armor would travel on pretty designated road routes. Nobody headed out across fields and hedges unless actively maneuvering for direct action. So they would dig spider holes in the roadways, and cover them with grass mats. One guy got in the hole with a Molotov cocktail and they rest pulled back to overwatch. Tanks would drive over the top of them....track on either side of course, they pop up behind them and bust the cocktail on the engine vents at the rear. Fuel/oil would run down into the engine areas, of fire and shortly disrupt the engine stopping the tank and also causing secondary fire. Crews eventually had to evacuate... and they would shoot them.

He never mentioned any tank killer badge.... but I ha the impression he and his 4 other men (he was a buck sgt) killed many.

As war goes, tactics evolve on both sides. SOP for tank travel became to travel in pairs and drive one offset... a track down the middle. He was in a spider hole and a tank came down the road offer.. ran over him. But being in the hole, track didn’t crush him directly, just collapsed the hole. Broke... I think he said, all the ribs on his left side and some right, along with others. Was one Purple Heart.. another they tossed a grenade out of a hatch... I remember as kids out with no shirts working the far he had about 40 little scars on his chest and abdomen... PH 2....

Anyway, those men had giant stones, did their jobs and were proud of it. Tanks with bare hands... sure.. piece of cake.

(best I recall this particular story...a little grace for details of kids memories where I might be wrong)

In memory- Charles Deaton... best pop ever!
 
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Tank Destruction Badge was German. If you killed 5 it came in a gold version. I think one guy had 26 but not certain.
Along with it was the Badge for Single Handed Destruction of Low Flying Aircraft with small arms fire. (no AA).
 
I watched a video of a Syrian run up and drop a grenade down the tube of a stationary tank. It stopped it and probably cooked those inside.
 
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Who would have thought this discussion would be as relevant on our soil as it is today.

Check out, this.. Imaging getting pepper sprayed, pepper balled, sims, rubber bullets, bean bagged or whatever because your standing in your doorway.

FYI this was early on, it just sat 6/3 because it was just uploaded:

 
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Who would have thought this discussion would be as relevant on our soil as it is today.

Check out, this.. Imaging getting pepper sprayed, pepper balled, sims, rubber bullets, bean bagged or whatever because your standing in your doorway.

FYI this was early on: https://vm.tiktok.com/Ef2qkt/

Interesting how those same folks shooting up folks in their doorway who are actually following the law are somehow afraid to go actually confront the mobs where the mobs are at.

Almost like it's a plan, leave the rioters alone and go put the boots to other citizens....
 
Who would have thought this discussion would be as relevant on our soil as it is today.

Check out, this.. Imaging getting pepper sprayed, pepper balled, sims, rubber bullets, bean bagged or whatever because your standing in your doorway.

FYI this was early on, it just sat 6/3 because it was just uploaded:


Makes them fell like real men,... easy to run numbers or intimidate sheep.
 
Interesting how those same folks shooting up folks in their doorway who are actually following the law are somehow afraid to go actually confront the mobs where the mobs are at.
This is the main reason some areas in this country are a no go zone to the local cops's, confronting the sheep, or a bedded down herd,...is much safer.
 
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Not saying that this works every time but still an interesting story highlighting the use of force-mutlipliers and special tactics.

"The three Soviet T-34 tanks edged forward slowly as the drivers scanned for the concealed Germans that lay ahead. The lead tank suddenly clanked to a stop and swung its long barrel around. The Wehrmacht troops were in a precarious situation. They lacked air support there as the Soviets mounted a heavy attack in mid-August 1943 along the length of the Donets Front in eastern Ukraine. All the German sniper had were his wits and his bolt-action Mauser rifle against the three steel titans that loomed in front of them with scores of Red Army soldiers trailing.

Suddenly, the lead tank’s hatch opened about 10 inches and a head appeared with binoculars to scan the scene. Sniper Josef “Sepp” Allerberger brought the Soviet tanker’s head into the center of his scope, and at some 500 feet he squeezed off a round. A splat of blood hit the hatch as the head sank into the bowels of the tank.

That single shot marked the beginning of yet another wild melee on the Eastern Front. The tanks lobbed a few shots toward the German positions, but after a few minutes they gunned their engines and left the field to the exposed and largely doomed Soviet riflemen who did not fare well against the well-entrenched Germans.

The battle might have gone the other way had it not been for the young 19-year-old Austrian sniper who singlehandedly changed the course of the engagement by likely taking out the commander of the three tanks. His timely, well-aimed bullet negated the Soviets’ heavy initial advantage in firepower and maneuverability."

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Full story here: https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2020/01/13/a-tale-of-two-german-snipers/
 
Word,... gasoline fumes in volume have been proven much better for stopping armor, than lighting same. Adding moth balls, or pure Naphthalene an allowing/making them.it melt prior to, kicks it like Nitro, to a point. Uncles teaching from long ago,...

The above info is for a export application only,...they say.
 
A 55 gallon drum of fuel with a charge underneath that hidden behind brush. It's called a "hedgehopper" and it'd be hell on a tank.

If you had the C4 to breach the periscope then you had the C4 and probably an empty coke bottle, some sticks and tape necessary to send an explosively formed projectile into the ammo storage.

Physically stopping a tank requires knowledge of the geometry and capabilities of the tank. Those tank traps, look like jacks? Yeah, they're specifically designed to work against one or a maybe a very narrow class of tanks. Too big and they move it out of the way. Too small and they go over it. Just right and it'll high center it exposing the belly.

Prepped tank traps, ideally deep and filled with water work wonders. It also preserves the tank for future use. Has to be planned in advance and only works once though. But hey, this was a lone tank right?

And since it's lone nobody is really gonna be able to do anything about a little thermite in the barrel and some on the track. Presto! You have an armored outhouse.
 
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Common Items in a Fab/welding/repair shops are your friends, once you think out of the box. Pre-prepped 30-55 gallon drums are very useful for many things,... again we are speaking of export only. Not to be used for other things in other places. Besides when you ETS they erase it all from your jump drive,..right???
 
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Yeah, that may be a 'decent vid', but they storyline details of what he was doing and why leave a lot to be desired. There were a LOT more details as to why that man did what he did, and given the facts,,, it makes one wonder moreso as to "who" truly was in the wrong?
 
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One quick little question.
This is a very interesting thread for practicing thinking outside the box.

However....

In a hypothetical dystopian science fiction future based on an alternate timeline, would not some plucky rebels be a lot more likely to encounter much more recent armored up, purpose built troop transport vehicles that perhaps were recently used in a desert war and then handed out like candy to some uniformed type for "domestic order"?
I heard 50s will go through them??
 
My Dad talked to guys in Korea who used to stop tanks with a gas can...get it up on top of the engine compartment and shoot holes in the gas can. Fuel runs into the compartment and if it doesn't ignite by itself it doesn't take much to set it off.

I guess it terrorized tank commanders as the tank turns into a mess in seconds. Tanks need infantry support to be effective. Not sure about modern tanks but there has to be some way for air to get in and if air can get it so can gas fumes.

VooDoo
 
Go ask Audie Murphy


Attached is the statement of 1LT Walter Weispfenning about the actions of Audie Murphy on that day of 26 JAN 1945.
 

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  • Audie Murphy Weispfennig Statement.pdf
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Yeah, that may be a 'decent vid', but they storyline details of what he was doing and why leave a lot to be desired. There were a LOT more details as to why that man did what he did, and given the facts,,, it makes one wonder moreso as to "who" truly was in the wrong?

Sean,
Please elaborate. All I know is that the guy was pissed off about a zoning decision to build a concrete plant next door. I was out there in May (Granby) and was going to tell my unwitting passenger to "Ask at City Hall where the Freedom Panzer exhibit was?"

So what was behind it all?
 
Sean,
Please elaborate. All I know is that the guy was pissed off about a zoning decision to build a concrete plant next door. I was out there in May (Granby) and was going to tell my unwitting passenger to "Ask at City Hall where the Freedom Panzer exhibit was?"

So what was behind it all?
As I understand it, (and bear with my memory), but there was a lot more to the 'zoning decision' that he was fighting against. IIRC, it seems that everything that he had done and built was Right and Just, whereas everything that "The Town" had done over such a long time was "Wrong" and "Unjust".

And, it seems to me, that every single venue that he used (proper procedure) to correct those wrongs was/were denied him, cost him, and penalized him. THAT is what drove him to this point.

Which brings us to "today" and where "we" are as a society. (Did I just say that out loud?)

I am not saying that what The Killdozer did was Right. At the same time though, from what I know (so far away, and so much later) I truly cannot say that he was 'wrong' at all.

re: Athens Tennessee.
 
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As Recondo Scouts (think Rat Patrol)in the 70s, IF I had no other options (couldn't let them pass) and HAD to engage with no heavy weapons...Go to the rear of the armored vehicle, as close as possible and pour the heaviest volume of fire possible into the engine compartment. IF a grenade or claymore is available use that. Once the engine is disabled you usually also got the batteries. Vehicle is dead, no turret travers, no radio nothing. Most vehicles are not geared for rear defense or limited defense. The crew is either buttoned up and trapped to go by suffocation, (think pour fuel/smoke into the intakes) and/or vision impairment with psy warfare. ALL armor crews fear death by fire so even if you start a fuel fire near the vision ports, they smell the fumes and see the fire, they will unass the vehicle to be dealt with GAME OVER...my .02
 
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Armor is weakest in the rear of the tanks in the years you mention.

Tom hanks prefers a 45