Two Piece Or Not Two Piece,That Is The Question

 

 

Picture: L. (Phot.) Ben Corbett,Crown Copyright

 

Short Take Off and Vertical Landing naval aircraft have never generated higher sortie rates in combat than conventional aircraft,and logic suggests they never shall as they spend more time undergoing maintenance due to their complex vertical lift systems,but on some British websites it has become a matter of lore that they do,as has the idea that American Abrams Main Battle Tanks cost less than the United Kingdom's Challengers,that Black Hawk helicopters cost less than Wildcats,and that small calibre guns are better at engaging aircraft than large ones,some even think tank guns with single piece ammunition are better than those with two piece ammunition and that shall be the subject of our lesson for today.

 

 

Picture: aick

 

Longer kinetic energy projectiles are better at penetrating armour than short ones,but the charge and projectile of single piece cartridges are stored in series with each other and the Cartridge Over All Length is constrained by the length of the space in which it is stored which means that a longer projectile must intrude further in to the cartridge case and must be shorter than the overall length,and the longer it is the more chamber volume it consumes leaving less space for propellant and therefore reducing muzzle velocity,which is a significant disadvantage.

 

 

Picture: Gertrud Zach,United States' Army photograph

 

The length of two piece ammunition is also constrained by the available storage space,but as the charge and projectile are in series only when loaded in to the gun (at which point there is no restriction on over all length because the barrel has a hole at the other end),the projectile can occupy the entire length of the available storage space and therefore can be longer than the projectile of a single piece cartridge,without intruding in to the chamber,leaving more volume available for propellant and thereby increasing muzzle velocity,which is a significant advantage.

 

The Cost Of A General Dynamics Land Systems Abrams

 

 

Picture: Sergeant Calab Franklin,United States' Army photograph

 

The advent of military forums exposed the extent to which myths become received wisdom within the British Armed Forces,one of these myths is that,second hand,General Dynamics Land Systems Abrams Main Battle Tanks are a fraction of the cost of upgraded Challenger 2 tanks,herein we shall look at how much other countries pay for Abrams purchased via Foreign Military Sales (Assault Breacher Vehicles,Joint Assault Bridges and Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles are included in the figures).

 

 

Picture: Specialist Michael Baumberger,United States' Army photograph

 

The sale to Poland of two hundred and ninety-three Abrams Main Battle Tanks,Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles,Joint Assault Bridges and associated items for six thousand million United States' dollars was approved on the Seventeenth of February,Twenty Twenty-two.

 

 

Picture: Specialist Jordan Talbot,United States' Army photograph

 

The sale to Australia of one hundred and twenty-eight Abrams Main Battle Tanks,Assault Breacher Vehicles,Joint Assault Bridges,Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles and associated items for one thousand six hundred and eighty-five million United States' dollars was approved on the Twenty-ninth of April,Twenty Twenty-one.

 

 

Picture: Corporal Marco Mancha,United States' Marine Corps photograph

 

The sale to Taiwan of one hundred and twenty-two Abrams Main Battle Tanks,Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles and associated items for two thousand million United States' dollars was approved on the Eighth of July,Twenty Nineteen.

 

 

Picture: Corporal Jeff Drew,United States' Marine Corps photograph

 

These three recent Foreign Military Sales approvals total nine thousand six hundred and eighty-five million dollars for five hundred and forty-three Abrams Main Battle Tanks,Assault Breacher Vehicles,Joint Assault Bridges,Hercules Combat Recovery Vehicles and associated items,an average of just over seventeen million eight hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars per armoured vehicle,which at current exchange rates is just over thirteen million five hundred and twenty-two thousand pounds sterling each.

 

 

Picture: Marcus Jacobs,Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land

   

In contrast,the Challenger 3 upgrade is costing eight hundred million pounds sterling for one hundred and forty-eight vehicles or just over five million four hundred and five thousand pounds per unit,less than half the cost of a second hand Abrams (it would have cost even less without the obsolescent Rheinmetall Rh-120 L/55 120mm gun,yet another example of quantity being sacrificed in the pursuit of fashion).