For Juvat...

Wandei Temmuz 02, 2022

A group of destroyed Iraqi tanks, with the vehicles at the bottom of the photo and to the right showing the results of the jack-in-the-box effect. USMC Photo by MSGT Howard J. Farrell (Source)

Once upon a time, when I was but a callow youth, I gave thought to becoming a tanker in the Army of the United States. Somehow (after learning that with spectacles I could never be a fighter pilot) the idea of commanding 50 odd tons of steel packing a 105 mm gun (for the M60A1 was all the rage when I was nobbut a lad) seemed like just the thing for a frustrated jagdflieger wannabe.

M-60A3s participating in REFORGER near Giessen, Germany, 1985. (Source)

I mean, they're friggin' awesome lookin' ain't they?

But one thing led to another, the Army was insistent on making me a technician. I didn't want that, I wanted tanks. Damn it.

So what happened? I decided that if I was going to be a technician, it would be on aircraft. Fighter aircraft. Goodbye Army, hello Air Force.

Ah, what might have been.

Anyhoo...

Juvat likes tanks with their turrets all blowed off. So I figured I'd oblige him. I learned today that the whole turret coming off thing actually (according to the OAFSSRFTOTN) has a name! The Jack-in-the-box effect. No, really.

Ouch.

Here's two examples of why tanks and missiles don't play nicely together...