Respectful reply to tuckessee, from a former tanker:

"Anti-tank" rifles haven't really been any good against tanks since the end of World War I. They were used by Polish and Soviet infantry against German tanks in World War II largely because they didn't have any effective modern anti-tank weaponry. And the old Finnish anti-tank rifle featured in the earlier thread wouldn't even scratch the paint on our M1A1 or -A2 Abrams tanks.

Just because a weapon look heavy or has a large bore doesn't mean it is an effective weapon against its intended target. When I was in the Army, I can't count the number of recon scouts who crewed the TOW-missile-armed Bradley who boasted that their TOW could take out my Abrams. I had to give them a simple lesson in the differences between a wire-guided projectile, and a fire-and-forget armor piercing projectile like that fired by the Abrams. I told them: "In the time it takes for you to get off one shot and possibly miss (The TOW gunner must keep his eye trained on the target for the duration of the missile's flight), we could get off four shots and hit."

So the guy in the photo with his anti-tank rifle and his pickup trick may look tough to somebody in a soft-skinned vehicle. But he's just a nuisance to a tank crew buttoned up and ready for action.

Peace.

Aristus
19Kilo
D. Co. 1-69 Armored Reg.
3rd ID

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