How do US military tanks operate submerged?

Question

Some US tanks are able to operate when underwater to a depth of about 2 meters over the turret, I think, when equipped with a special snorkel device and perhaps a periscope. I saw a half-second video clip of a tank driving underwater once; all I recall is millions of bubbles. How, in fact, is this done? How do they empty the main gun of water when they come up on the opposite bank of the river and have to fire at the enemy?

The idea that the tank operates with water over the turret came from my reading a military specification for a (particular) tank, one that is now long obsolete. The half-second video clip looked like an Abrams, so I assumed that this idea was still being pursued.

I did not assume the tanks could float. (I'd known about the WW2 tanks with inflatable "bloomers", developed to allow LSTs to drop off tanks farther from shore, & the tanks would go like boats until they touched shore. The bloomers tended to burst in use.) I was asking about tanks traveling on the river bottom from riverbank to riverbank.

Answer 1

Let a tanker answer this one. No US tank has the ability to swim. Those bubbles you saw were probably coming from the driver cursing his TC. The Abrams tank can, in practice, ford about four to five feet of water. Before doing so, the gunner will have to max elevate the main gun to prevent water from entering the muzzle and flooding the turret, and the driver will have to engage and pump up the turret seal to prevent water from getting in at the space where the turret meets the hull. As a driver, I hate water. The water seals on the driver's hatch never work, so every time I drive through a large puddle or mud hole, I get soaked. We would rather just find a shallow point to ford, or go around all together.

Answer 2

Many modern tanks and armoured fighting vehicles have snorkel equipment for wading across rivers up to about five metres deep. Deep-wading operations are very dangerous, and not normally attempted unless there is no other alternative. If it becomes too dangerous the crew can escape through an escape hatch that is attached to the snorkel.

Some light tanks such as the PT-76 (Soviet owned) are amphibious, typically being propelled in the water by hydrojets or by their tracks.

Often a fold down trim vane is erected to stop water washing over the bow of the tank and thus reducing the risk of the vehicle being swamped via the driver's hatch.

In World War II the M4 Medium Tank "Sherman" was made amphibious with the addition of a rubberised canvas screen to provide additional buoyancy. It was propelled by propellers driven by the main engine. This was referred to as the Sherman DD (Duplex Drive) and was used on D-Day to provide close fire support on the beaches during the initial landings. The Sherman DD could not fire when afloat as the buoyancy screen was higher than the gun. A number of these DDs swamped and sank due to rough weather and due to some turning to converge on a specific point on the battlefield.

The tanks are capable of mounting the snorkels for the air intake and engine exhaust, to allow them to wade through relatively deep water. In the case of a Jeep, all of the engine openings and wiring are sealed, and the driver must first operate a damper that over-pressures the engine vacuum, to prevent water from entering. After fording, the vehicle's wheel bearings must be repacked by a mechanic.

Such snorkelling equipment is available as an aftermarket accessory for some four wheel drive vehicles. The snorkel is typically routed out through one of the front wings and up beside the "A" pillar to the level of the roofline where it is terminated with either a mushroom intake or a forward-facing intake.

Answer 3

uh, they don't. Some vehicles can operate in 2 meters of water, not 2 meters over the turret. Many other vehicles are amphibious and float, but US tanks do not. The snorkels prevent water from entering the intake or impeding the exhaust. So long as the engine can breathe and isn't flooded, the tank can move. But not through 4 meters of water.

Answer 4

amphibious tanks/armor have been part of warfare since the second world war.

some tanks actually floated!, they used a canvas skirt that was sealed to the hull, some did not make it they sank to the bottom. but in theory, it works and in careful practice and calm seas the theory works, but the snorkel feature is for river crossings and the tank stays on the bottom while submerged.
to empty the barrel is easy they point it down and drain the
wawa.
peace, smirk

Answer 5

US tanks do not operate underwater.

Older Soviet tanks had a totally useless capability to cross rivers by use of a snorkel.

This was one of those things that gets filed in the drawer labeled 'bad ideas.'

Answer 6

Real good and they have a cover that goes over the main gun
to keep the water out, but the best way to get the answer that you want go on Yahoo search and that'll be a better way to find out.

Answer 7

Snorkels.

Answer 8

Just a good hermetic structure would do the trick... Probably doesn't submerge to deep or it'd had pression issues.
And to empty the gun of water... maybe holes?

Answer 9

Magic.