Nasty anti-tank weapon

[Torch]

Supposedly an Isreali rocket.

 

[evangilder]

Ker-friggin-boom!

 

[BombTaxi]

That would make your eyes water a bit...

 

[mikewint]

I would like to know more about the tank that was hit. those fires appear to be Class D metal fires which would lead me to believe that it was an aluminum armored tank. Al is a fairly reactive metal and can be made to ignite with sufficient heat.
used to see similar reactions with the m113 and 551 para tank, all of which are Al armoured as is our Bradley.
don't know any of your experiences but i've seen the inside of those aluminum tanks after being it with a rocket. not a good way to die

 

[Matt308]

Looks like the magazine cooked off.

 

[mikewint]

agreed, about the midde of the clip you can see interior explosions but all those sparks and the intense white ligt would indicate a metal fire, much as with thermite which was my first impression of that first hit

 

[Matt308]

I'm not sure what kind of tank that is (Centurion?), but I would think that simultaneous detonation of 50+ rnds of HEAT, APDS, smoke and illumination rounds would cause just about anything to catch on fire.

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

I believe the reason those aluminum tanks burn so well is because it has magnesium in the metal. Break out the wienies.

 

[Torch]

What you are about to watch is an actual event. Our forces filmed this in actual time. What you are about to see is a fully armored Syrian tank, a Russian made T33/34, with a crew of four being hit by an Israeli laser-guided, steel-penetrating, phosphorous-filled "hand held" rocket. The rocket is small, very portable and is a tightly controlled weapon, each one is accounted for when they are checked out and back in. There must be no fewer than 2 soldiers present to verify the use, one must be a senior officer with a minimum of 10 years military service. (Sorry, the name and program is kept secret.)

This tank was headed for one of Israel 's settlements, there were four more tanks one mile to the rear of this tank. (They obviously fled the area.)

You can hear the ammunition going off after the initial strike. No tank member survived this event. this event did not make the news, it is an everyday event for our forces and we do not "embed" news sources with our armed forces like the Americans do. This is for our survival, not for "news" entertainment

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

That tank must be an R/C tank, it looks very old having a squarish turret and high profile.

 

[mikewint]

iron/steel are fairly non-reactive in atmosphere (20% oxygen) so you may melt or soften it to the point of deformation or turn it into shrapnel but the metal itself does not ignite such as in magnesium where you get that same intense blue-white light
A russian PT76 hit by a TOW near Ben Het
A "burning" tank note color of flame

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Sorry, didn't know it was actual footage. It looked more like a training film.

 

[mikewint]

OK, torch, make more sense now, seen plenty of Willey Pete in action. used WP grenades but only thrown into tunnels. Nasty, nasty stuff. seen chunks embed into flesh, and then reignite when you try to remove and oxygen hit it

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

On second look at that film, that is not a T-33/34. The turret it way to wide and the under carriage doesn't match.

 

[Torch]

I'm wondering if it's a sales clip with a life size remotely controlled tank to demonstrate the affect of the rocket.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Holy crap!

 

[RabidAlien]

Yeah, WP'll pretty much set rocks on fire. Wouldn't want to be inside a small, confined, metal-enclosed space full of painted surfaces, wiring insulation, copper/aluminum electronics, fuel, oil, and explosives when a bunch of Willy Pete decided to punch its way through the hull and say hello. The only nice thing to say about something like that, is that it'd be a quick death for those inside.

 

[evangilder]

A quick death, sure, but certainly not pleasant. White phosphorus is nasty stuff, as Mike said. If you somehow managed to survive a willy pete hit, you would wish you were dead.

 

[mikewint]

and the white smoke, diphorous pentoxide is toxic to inhale. remember skyraiders droping wp. nasty, nasty stuff.
just as an aside, anyone know why strike anywhere matches were removed from common sale?

 

[tail end charlie]

and the white smoke, diphorous pentoxide is toxic to inhale. remember skyraiders droping wp. nasty, nasty stuff.
just as an aside, anyone know why strike anywhere matches were removed from common sale?

Mike, I had a discussion about this with a German guy and after reading about it the history of matches is completely different on the two sides of the Atlantic. Something to do with recognition of rights patents etc.
The inventor of the first match came from my home town (so they say his name was John Walker), the inventor of the safety match came from Sweden but the intrduction of safety matches into the USA and exactly what is a safety match is a complicated subject. The first matches were as dangerous as some military equipment, the person who lit fires in stately homes was the lowest of the low...no one wanted to do it, the fumes were literally killers.