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How do you release the parking brake on an Abrams???

What happened to the fire extinguisher handle in the drivers cab - used to be right of the T-bone?

- JimWeb

How do you release the parking brake on an Abrams???

What happened to the fire extinguisher handle in the drivers cab - used to be right of the T-bone?

Parking Brake release is on the drivers right hand side (perhaps what you are referring to??). Just above the parking Brake pedal.

Don

No - how do you operate it? Any special sequence?

- JimWeb

No - how do you operate it? Any special sequence?

To release parking brake,....pull black handle on right side, beside the parking brake pedal.

'First Shot' manual handles (red handles on drivers left side) Just pull...

Nothing 'gee-whiz' about it.

Don

- Dontos

Nothing 'gee-whiz' about it.

Don

Probably not but experience dictates that when your writing a program script for an idiot presenter its best to explain everything in plain english with lots of 'do not do' in large red letters and underlined as well

- JimWeb

How do you release the parking brake on an Abrams???

Hmmm? Got one on a flatbed you need to get out of sight quickly ... ?

- Maple_Leaf_Eh

- JimWeb

How do you release the parking brake on an Abrams???

Hmmm? Got one on a flatbed you need to get out of sight quickly ... ?

If an Abrams Parking Brake is not engaged, and the flatbed crew doesn't cinch down the vehicle properly, you may get what is referred to as 'A Combat Drop'.

Truck goes in reverse quickly for a distance, slams on breaks, and the tank 'free-rolls' off the back of the flatbed. I did it once from the drivers compartment,.....

Quite an unforgetable experience. Better than an 'E' ticket ride at Disneyland!!!

Don

Hey Dontos,
Did it a lot (My Troops) at Knox when I worked "Rent a Tank" 1/16 CAV. You know, We issue, they play tanker, they loose equipment, they break tank, we get back, they try to get to clean, they find/pay for equipment, and then we fix everything they break. That's why we combat dropped a lot, sometime with the track rolled up and sitting on the back deck. Recepite for disaster, four 2nd LT's on a tank with an incompetant for an instructor.

One of my guys did sorta an accidental drop out at Five North. Was loading when the engine died . When that happens, you loose service brakes . No problem, use the parking brake , Uh-oh, Hydraulic pump from engine was removed and there's no residual pressure in the system . You now got Zero PSI . No problem, hit bilge pump, It is hydraulically operated and energizes the aux pump below the turret floor . This will build up pressure . Uh-oh, Aux pump on this tank has been inop for over a month , is not a deadline (SHOULD BE , argued about and lost ). Yell at driver while chasing tank rolling backwards "Button up!!!" Keep fingers crossed that it don't run over something or roll over in a ditch , sigh with great relief when tank stops in a shallow ravine and causes no damage to anything or anyone . Now you can laugh .


Joe D

Hi Folks!

Free rolling tanks reminded me of a hard charger I saw once at Hunter Liggett MR.

There was a line of M60A1s lineup along the east fence of the motor pool. During one cold morining engine warn up and after a few minutes of warming, one of them jumped into gear and started off across the motor pool. As it moved out the engine sounded like it was running wide open and you could hear it up shifting gears as it picked up speed. Took out a new pump house for the wash rack without a care. After that it headed for the end of a line of three M113A1s. Slammed into the side of the first one, pushed it sideways into the second one, pushed both of them sideways into the third one and then pushed all of them into a very large oak tree which put a stop to the unmanned M60A1 and it's ram page acrossed the motor pool. Luckly, no one was in it's way. The one funny thing about this was a mechanic came running out of the shop office and yelled at the hard charging tank, hey what the H..L do you think you are doing? He had no idea until after the tank was stopped that there was no driver in.

Talk about Shock and Aw! I was impressed!
Some of my old history!
Sgt, Scouts Out!