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Just a random thought that entered my head while I was thinking about plastic army men. When you think of a tank, what comes to mind?

Definitely M1 Abrams. I don't know much about tanks, so the only ones I can picture off the top of my head are the M1 and the M4, and I always thought the M4 looked kind of silly. When I think "tank," I think "M1."

M1A1, T-90, and the whole range of British WW1 heavy tanks are the first to come to mind.

I just remembered that I had an M1A1 hotwheels toy when I was a kid. That's probably a big part of why I always envision that as the quintessential tank.

The Abrams has always been what I first think of when i think about tanks.

If there's even an apocalypse, WWIII, or political/economic colapse of the US, I want to steal a couple and start my own tank militia.

M1 Abrams.
Mostly because it's common.

The Abrams definately comes to mind.



How can this magnificent piece of machinery not leave an impression on the human psyche?

When I think of tank, usually the first that pops into mind is the M-1. I also, think about the M-60 because it was being phased out when I was an 8th grader. For some reason, I remember a lot from that year of my life.

When it comes to other countries the first tank that pops to my mind is the Merkava.

Sorry, it must be an old war movie thing, I think tank, I think Erwin Rommel!

For me, it's the Centurion. Reliable, continously upgraded over the first 30 years of its life and popular with its users, it was an international success. It's probably set to notch up 60 continous years as a front-line gun tank, and many more in the heavy APC role with the Israelis.
In appearance, it still looks modern today - probably because its boxy looks preceeded the 1970s trend of near vertical armour faces.
But the main reason it's my archetypal tank is that it was the first armoured vehicle I ever paid attention to. We had the old partwork War Machine when I was four, and the centerspread of one of the first issues was an four-view colour illustration of an upgraded Israeli Centurion. That's one of - if not actually my earliest memory.

M-1 series, German Leopard, and the British Challanger come to mind for me.

Good to see that there're other "Tiger"-lovers as well.

Oooops 500 post!!!

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger... Great rugged looking tank

Tiger and Pather stand out as "TANKS" as well to me, Though overall when I hear TANK, I think M-1

This:


Or this:

See HAB sig.

The M1A2 might be one of the best tanks out there, but when you talk to people that is not the tank design that comes to mind. Usually people think of the classic design of a somewhat blocky main body and a nice rounded turret. The T-72 and T-80 are more representative of this then the Abrams, Challenger, or Leo.

The T-34 comes to my mind, blame Combat Mission and Close Combat III for that...

The T-34. The most important tank ever made, and in huge numbers.

Tiger. Seen to many WW2 movies.

Captain Jack wrote:Tiger. Seen to many WW2 movies.

Then you probably saw M47 tanks acting as Panzers, not Tigers.

Ted wrote:

Captain Jack wrote:Tiger. Seen to many WW2 movies.

Then you probably saw M47 tanks acting as Panzers, not Tigers.

Don't get me started on that. Battle of the Bulge, anyone? That was one AWFUL film. Not only did they try and pass off Patton tanks as King Tigers, but the final armor battle took place in the DESERT! In the middle of fucking Europe (France/German border) in WINTER?!?!?!

They looked nothing like Panzers. The best Tiger I've seen in a film was in Saving Private Ryan. Even though the entire scene it was in was full of shit.

Vympel wrote:

Ted wrote:

Captain Jack wrote:Tiger. Seen to many WW2 movies.

Then you probably saw M47 tanks acting as Panzers, not Tigers.

Don't get me started on that. Battle of the Bulge, anyone? That was one AWFUL film. Not only did they try and pass off Patton tanks as King Tigers, but the final armor battle took place in the DESERT! In the middle of fucking Europe (France/German border) in WINTER?!?!?!

They looked nothing like Panzers. The best Tiger I've seen in a film was in Saving Private Ryan. Even though the entire scene it was in was full of shit.

I like the end of Battle of the Bulge, where a 55gal. drum of gasoline collides with a "King Tiger" and the tank explodes, instantaneously, Pinto-style.
You of course know the Tiger in Saving Private Ryan is a T-34 in wolf's clothing, I'm sure.

And it had the engine sounds of a Chieftain.
It's true, Spielberg didn't like the original engine note recorded on location, so he got a military museum in the States to record something meatier...

trying to remember that line from "The Wall" about "....When the Tigers broke free, and thats how those bastards in the high command took my daddy away from me."

Vympel wrote:They looked nothing like Panzers. The best Tiger I've seen in a film was in Saving Private Ryan. Even though the entire scene it was in was full of shit.

You can rationalize it by saying that the tank group came straight from the factory. That's why they had no coaxial or bow machineguns, and no bulletproof vision slits (in fact, no glass in the slits at all).

But it balances out!

The Rangers and Airborne just forgot that you actually could use a bazooka to blow Tigers and Panthers all to shit, if you fired on it from somewhere other than the front. They also forgot that you can kill tanks with Molotov cocktails from above.

So, both sides were fucked up. That makes it okay