History[]
The M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced by the United States. It is named after Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of U.S. military forces in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1972, the tank initially designed for modern tank on tank combat in Europe against the Soviet Union instead first saw action in the middle east in wars such as the Gulf war and the Iraqi war, the M1 is well armed and heavily armored. Notable features include the use of a powerful gas turbine engine with multi-fuel capability (usually fueled with JP8 jet fuel), the adoption of sophisticated composite armor, and separate ammunition storage in a blow-out compartment for crew safety. Weighing nearly 68 short tons (almost 62 metric tons), it is one of the heaviest main battle tanks in service. In the second half of the 1980s an initiative was sought to improve the effectiveness of the M1 which would become the M1A2 which included an upgraded fire control system and improved protection in part from second generation depleted uranium composite armor, information detailing it which the US military holds as a secret to this day. The M1A2 still sees service by the US, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. An M1A3 variant is expected in 2017 but as of now the M1A2 platform is still being utilized and upgraded into variants such as the TUSK.
In-game[]
The M1 Abrams is a very popular high to mid level tank, and is fairly cheap. It has some nice frontal armor and a high alpha damage gun. With this in mind, it suffers from low side armor. Mastering the Abrams' high maneuverability rate is pivotal in the successful use of this MBT. The Abrams makes a good front-line face hugging tank, using the high damage to your advantage against the enemy tanks. It can be easily destroyed if enemy tanks with high a rate of fire can get to its sides, so be careful. When used properly, this tank can be the tough machine to defeat on the battlefield.
Pros and Cons[]
Pros:[]
- Excellent frontal and rear armor
- Very strong protection of ammo rack and engine, tracks aren't easy to damage either
- Powerful gun, high alpha damage
- Fast turret rotation speed
Cons:[]
- Horrible side armor, has no spaced armor to protect it either
- Frontal turret armor is pre-angled, and gets penetrated easily if going around corners or flanking enemies
- Gun is pretty easy to break if shot at