Was watching a show yesterday on tornados. The storm chasers head out in trucks to about maybe 1 mile out of the storm drop their load of instruments and then take off.



What if these guys had a decommissioned tank that they modify for reserach purposes and drive right into the storm. If the tan has all the weight behind it just like the military ones. Could tornado winds turn it over?

I'm going to say yes.  But I am just guessing.
Entire houses turn into nothing.  Yes I know a tank has all that weight concentrated into a smaller object. But still.

Tornadoes have tossed locomotives around like toys.  One of sufficient force would throw a tank around like a two-year old, too.

http://www.tornadoproject.com/fscale/fscale.htm

An F3 can knock a train over.  The scale goes up to F6.

Is it on a treadmill?

In 1989, 7 tornados devastated Ft. Hood, TX.  I was there and I still have pics somewhere.  Tanks were tossed around like matchbox cars.  Trains and rail cars at the rail head were strewn about.  Helicopters and other aircraft were ripped from their tie downs and sent flying across the base.

So, I would say yes, a tornado can indeed throw a tank around.

Very rarely.  Look at the TIV that the storm chasers were driving into tornadoes.  It was only a big pickup truck with some added protection and items to give it less wind resistance.  

Yes.

Lets say like a decommissioned Abrams. Weighing a tad over 60 tons or so......





The tanks has a wider wheel base than a train that is on rails and possibly weighs more. I'm not saying that it can't happen. I've just never heard of it happening before.

A large one?  Oh Lord yes.

Yes.

Look up a few posts.

 

Wow guess it can then. Pics of that would be interesting.

It would have to turn its turret to counter the rotation with the commanders going with the tornado rotation .




Seriously a F4 would most likley move it , a F5 would own it.

As a former operator on the M1 series I have to comment that although I have not seen it in person, and especially with the corroborating story above about Ft Hood, I believe that it is entirely possible for a tornado to wreak havoc on the 72 ton beast.

Would a tank with reactive armor fair better?

Yes.


Because it has happened.

Historical facts are facts.  

im going with it would not end well.

A Tornado would pretty much own anything in it's path.....................I have seen them demolish buildings, so a tank wouldnt be too difficult for it

They can rip asphalt pavement right up off the ground.

no

Heck yes.

Looks a little small but you never know.







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Damn, that's fugly.

No definitive answer, but some knowledgeable discussion on this very topic at tanknet:

http://208.84.116.223/forums/index.php?showtopic=20160&st=0

Ahhhhh, me thinks you have yet to learn the proper respect for the bitch that Mother Nature can be.

Do not tempt her.

I will have to dig through some boxes (I recently moved) to find my Army albums.  In the meantime, I am searching for any news stories detailing the event.  The stories I have found talk about the 200 helicopters that were damaged and destroyed by multiple tornados.  No pics yet.

Most of the time,  the tank would be just fine. A direct hit by a storm with some serious winds could flip it over.

If you ever do any training involving Tanks, Bradley's, or M88's during the safety briefing they will tell you that in the event of a tornado hop in the vehicle and button up, it's the safest option if you don't have a basement to get in.

To use a tank for a tornado intercept vehicle, you would need to install side and rear skirts that you can drop down and prevent air from getting underneath the vehicle.

The tornado or the tank?



 

Yes.





 

I'd love to see the pics.

Most of the pics I have are of the tornado and hail tearing through the area in front of my barracks.  The tornadoes hit the base at night.  I didn't get too many pics of the devastation as I was booked on a morning flight out of Austin for my brothers wedding.  I'll see what I can find.

Ok,
The question needed to be considered here is "surface area". I have seen many 18 wheelers turned on their side. In fact on the 10th of May in OK I came across a few near Brahman, OK
It is easy to see why these large vehicles with lots of "surface area" fall victim to high winds. Personally I have experienced 90 - 100 + mph winds that took out some semi's on I 70 just about 4 miles after the storm passed over me.
The occupants of my Xterra thought they were going to die and were scared out of their minds. Me, I was in disbelief  of what was happening and then turned my vehicle into the wind which was an RFD or rear flank downdraft. It uprooted trees and broke many in half right near my vehicle. The occupants on the receiving side of the vehicle said the windows and doors felt like they were bending inward and threw pillows and blankets over their heads.
Anyways all of that aside. Not to doubt DV8 as he was there and saw it. I find it hard to believe that something like an Abrahams tank would fall victim to a tornado. Reason being is it sits low to the ground is somewhat aerodynamic, weighs several tons, and the wheel or track base is very wide.
I would be interested to know if it rolled them or just moved them so slightly. Also any pictures you may have of this would be waaaayyyy awesome and would go really far in conversation in the "stormchaser" hangouts and chat rooms.
Back to surface area.  If you are in a tornado despite what the "experts" tell you dotn get out of yoru car and lay in a fucking ditch. Get out of its way! Drive and drive fast to get out of its path. Also I have been stuck in the mud and withstood high winds that had me afraid for my life. Truth be told though I was in a steel cage with some good protection. My other option was "nothing" protecting me. If there is NO other option and a direct hit is imminent and there is no avoiding it, then pick the ditch option, get lower than the ground around you, dont drown and keep your head covered and low so you are not injured by debris.
Surface area on Semi's, Trains, road signs etc is extreme. Your vehicle also can gain surface area with debris piling up on the side of it. This will increase your surface area and possibly start a roll of your vehicle which is what you dont want.
Remember to turn the vehicle into the wind if you are in a safe place out of the path of the tornado. This will cut down drastically on your surface area.
My 2c
 

The Dominator is a suburban with a light metal shell with about 3/8's inch of Rino Lining on the outside. I have inspected it rather thoroughly. The trick to it is that there is a rubber gasket around the outside lower bottom flange. The thinking here is to lower the vehicle through hydraulic shocks so that the wind wont get up under neath of it. When wind gets underneath your vehicle is when it becomes dangerous and can roll you. The Dominator weighs about 8k lbs.



The TIV on the other hand is much more heavier. It also has outriggers used to steady it in the event of a tornado interception. It does not have a gasket to keep wind from getting underneath it.



They are fun to watch in and around storms.



Recently they both did a Myth Busters show using a jets back wash (?) where the Dominator withstood a 245 mph wind I was told. I have not seen it. The TIV withstood a little less and it bent one of the outriggers.
 

The pics were all over the news and in the papers for a week or so after the tornado.  The tornadoes were F2's and F3's IIRC and hit Ft. Hood on May 13, 1989.  

Well I'm sure there are some chasers who have been in the biz longer than me that should remember this. On another note I just looked up the weight of an Abrahams tank and it is like 67 tons... lol



An F3 wind is like 150 - 200 mph.



Ill run a post over on the stormchaser BBS and see what if any more info I can get. Thanks DV8

 

LOL... TIV is a piece of shit, and has never encountered a powerful tornado. I think they try to stay away from anything over 140.

Look what a tornado did to Dorethy and Toto.


Go from there.

Here is a pic just for fun of a tornado I intercepted in late April of this year in the TX panhandle.



This will be one I will always remember, due to the storms speed - 20kt and its longevity, about 15 minutes or more.

Interesting.  When I was in Texas, I thought I wanted a storm shelter made up of something along the lines of an M113 anchored firmly to the ground, using the lifting points and some very thick cable buried deep underground. I figured it'd be cool to hop-in and watch the tornado through the viewing ports.

A single modern locomotive weighs 200 tons just by its self and I have seen pics of them not only blown over but blown clear of the tracks.

I have no doubt given the right circumstances a tank would be moved.

Nope, turntable.

Tornado on a treadmill?


The HORROR!!!!!

surface area



 

An F5 can have 300 MPH winds and move as slow as 10 mph.

It can rip the topsoil from the ground 18" deep.

A tank caught in one of those would be rolled into a 20ft ball of tank, dirt, fence and other debris.

So essentially its a question of tank vs. mother nature.



No contest.

Is this as bad as dividing by zero?

Was it early in the year 89?  I got there in october 89 and didn't see any of that

May 13, 1989 IIRC.