[desertknight73]

Greetings to all,

I'm TankMan,

As the name suggests, I drive real tanks for a living!
Yes! These behemoths weigh approx 42 tons, are powered by 1000 BHP, V-12, Turbocharged, multi-fuel engine, and can achieve speeds of upto 60kmph off road and 50kmph on the tarmac (or what's left of it after the tanks pass).
P.S: Also fires missiles on targets as far as 5km away.
P.P.S: This is generic info available on the internet too, so I'm not breaching any confidentiality protocols.
P.P.P.S: Don't even ask 'kitna deti hai?' (what is the fuel economy?)

Image source: Google


Owing to the cyber security norms I cannot disclose my details entirely.

My one sided affair with Team-BHP began back in 2011 and finally my love was reciprocated 10 years later and I was approved to be included in the family of motorheads. My family still believes that I might be exchanged at the time of birth owing to the fact that I'm the only 'car-guy' in the entire cloud of a typically large Indian family including its extensions!

I have driven my Dad's Toyota Etios for 75% of its 1,75,000 kms life, despite that I hated the car to the core when he bought it back in 2011. (That was then when I came across Team BHP; as I was voraciously looking for new car reviews). Now I am being gifted a Endeavour Sport 2.0 (unlucky, 3.2 got discontinued, and we don't buy pre-worshiped vehicles in my family) as my first promotion gift from my Dad!

Looking forward to happily munch miles, keep posting on Team BHP and extend my help in any means possible. Thank you for reading so long, it is the exuberance of a 'newbie' who is jumping up and down in joys of being a part of TeamBHP! Happy driving to you.

Jai Hind!

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by desertknight73

Owing to the cyber security norms I cannot disclose my details entirely.

W.O.W.
A tankman!
Who, in their sane mind would let go of this opportunity?

Me me me me me.
Remember I got here first.
How do I contact you?

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Originally Posted by desertknight73

Greetings to all,

I'm TankMan,

Wow, welcome to the forum desertknight73. First of all a Salute to you Sir !

Just yesterday, I was watching a video on the Silver Strike Brigade - The 54 Armoured Regiment. Lot of questions crop up in my mind - why do Officers / Jawans working with Tanks have that black cloth tied on their head? What is it to sit inside the tank, is it hot, loud (while firing) etc.? What is a Tankmans biggest enemy / threat?

I understand you cannot disclose a lot of things, but would be great if you could write something on these machines sometime on the forum.

Jai Hind !

Spike

[desertknight73]

Loved the excitement!
The sheer presence of tanks has driven my career choices to where I am today.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

W.O.W.
A tankman!
Offering an opportunity to drive a tank! Who, in their sane mind would let go of this opportunity?

Me me me me me.
Remember I got here first.
How do I contact you?

(Meanwhile adds 'RedTerrano' to list of BHPians promised for tank ride.)
I'd be glad to host you, I don't know if I am having access to personal/direct messaging facility of TeamBHP (newbie alert!) but by the time this pandemic subsides I'll surely be able to earn that privilege and then we can get along!
See you in Jodhpur/Jaisalmer soon!

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

Wow, welcome to the forum desertknight73. First of all a Salute to you Sir !

Just yesterday, I was watching a video on the Silver Strike Brigade - The 54 Armoured Regiment. Lot of questions crop up in my mind - why do Officers / Jawans working with Tanks have that black cloth tied on their head? What is it to sit inside the tank, is it hot, loud (while firing) etc.? What is a Tankmans biggest enemy / threat?

I understand you cannot disclose a lot of things, but would be great if you could write something on these machines sometime on the forum.

Jai Hind !

Spike

Please don't 'Sir' me,

I'm glad to know fellow BHPians watch defence related content, if that interests you please check out Tank Biathlon videos, you'll be surprised to see tanks putting rally cars to shame.

I'll try to answer your doubts in layman terms,

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

why do Officers / Jawans working with Tanks have that black cloth tied on their head?

It is called a 'patka' and the reason to wear it is simply because you ought to wear a head-gear for communication, patka keeps the headgear protected from sweat and sand (radio head-gear, much like Air-Force pilots). also it reduces engine noise (no insulation in the engine bay, poor NVH and lots of road noise too), protects from pressure differences caused after firing and also looks cool!

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

What is it to sit inside the tank, is it hot, loud (while firing) etc.? What is a Tankmans biggest enemy / threat?

Yes, it gets hot, I've endeared (not boasting) temperatures more than 48 degree Celsius inside it! Some one complaining about absence of ACC systems in their cars makes me chuckle! Also during firing it does make some noise -literally- but not much is heard as you have to wear a head-gear inside to protect your ears.
Mind well, tanks are no cars and a person more oriented to ergonomics is going to have nightmares of the insides of this machine.

And, finally;
Hey, we are the Indian Army, we have no threats!

Regards,
Jai Hind!

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by desertknight73

(Meanwhile adds 'RedTerrano' to list of BHPians promised for tank ride.)
I'd be glad to host you, I don't know if I am having access to personal/direct messaging facility of TeamBHP (newbie alert!) but by the time this pandemic subsides I'll surely be able to earn that privilege and then we can get along!
See you in Jodhpur/Jaisalmer soon!

Fingers crossed. I hope things return back to normal before Diwali. Then I can brag to all my friends
Them: So what did you do this Diwali
Me: Oh nothing much. Just went to RJ to ride a tank.
(Hopefully I can also say I had a blast, but I suppose the Army doesn't let civilians anywhere near things which go boom.)

Originally Posted by desertknight73

Yes, it gets hot, I've endeared (not boasting) temperatures more than 48 degree Celsius inside it!

48+ !!!!!
Oh wow!
I think this could be solved using Einstein's refrigerator which has no moving parts, requires no power, but still is able to cool simply relying on the expansion of gases. But I suppose the Army has a different set of requirements and priority on comfort.
Else DRDO is being DRDO as usual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator

Originally Posted by desertknight73

Hey, we are the Indian Army, we have no threats!*

This.
This is what it's all about. Always has been.

*Deserves to be a bumper sticker on all tanks and other military combat vehicles.

[am1m]

Wow, what an intro!

Looking forward to several tank-related posts from you, will make for extremely interesting reading!

Had a question, I got the opportunity to get inside something that was certainly not a tank, but was similar. A 'mounted artillery gun' (I think that is what it was called). I didn't pay much attention to what it was called at the time, but since then I have been curious and couldn't find out online what that vehicle was. It had a main gun much like a tank, had some armour, though nowhere near as big or as much as a tank, ran on tracks. Any guesses? (I have pics, but even though it was more than 10 years ago, don't think it will be ok to post them on a public forum.) (I'm in no way connected to the army, this was just an extremely lucky chance encounter with a friendly person whom we met on the way while we were on a long bike journey in the extreme northern part of the country.)

[fordday]

A Tankman here !!
And also offering a ride on his tank!!

Seriously??? I had to pinch myself to make sure am not dreaming. :-)

Does the tank pilot (not sure if one is called so) have actual visibility to the road ahead? Or navigates through screens?
Is it a one man show inside? Drive, aim, shoot, reload and repeat.

In some tanks I see a soldier with his body half visible from waist up. Is he a sort of navigator or a gunner?

Wish I could accept your offer for a ride. I am in Bangalore.

[2000rpm]

Originally Posted by desertknight73

Greetings to all,

I'm TankMan,

Owing to the cyber security norms I cannot disclose my details entirely, however, anyone interested in trying hands on driving these mean machines can feel free to contact me.

Why can refuse this offer. I am in Mumbai, can come anywhere for this

[desertknight73]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Fingers crossed. I hope things return back to normal before Diwali. Then I can brag to all my friends
Them: So what did you do this Diwali
Me: Oh nothing much. Just went to RJ to ride a tank.
(Hopefully I can also say I had a blast, but I suppose the Army doesn't let civilians anywhere near things which go boom.)

Touchwood at that!
I’ll speak of myself as an individual, and not quoting the organisation anywhere.
Yes, we’ll never allow you to go anywhere close to anything that can go Boom! But hey, some courtesies are always offered ‘in controlled environments’

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

48+ !!!!!
Oh wow!
I think this could be solved using Einstein's refrigerator which has no moving parts, requires no power, but still is able to cool simply relying on the expansion of gases. But I suppose the Army has a different set of requirements and priority on comfort.
Else DRDO is being DRDO as usual.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_refrigerator

Honestly, I’m no expert or advisor to have a say at this, but if such thing exists it must have been already tried and to guess must have failed miserably! DRDOs and other defence labs are doing their best.
I’ll end this drifting here or else there might be folks in black suits knocking at our (your and mine) doors in no time!

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

This.
This is what it's all about. Always has been.

*Deserves to be a bumper sticker on all tanks and other military combat vehicles.

Isn’t the olive green paint a statement in itself?

Originally Posted by am1m

Wow, what an intro!

Looking forward to several tank-related posts from you, will make for extremely interesting reading!

Thank you so much!
I cannot speak much of tanks beyond what is already available on the internet. However I will try and keep things within the permissible brackets for our fraternity.

Originally Posted by am1m

Had a question, I got the opportunity to get inside something that was certainly not a tank, but was similar. A 'mounted artillery gun' (I think that is what it was called). I didn't pay much attention to what it was called at the time, but since then I have been curious and couldn't find out online what that vehicle was. It had a main gun much like a tank, had some armour, though nowhere near as big or as much as a tank, ran on tracks. Any guesses? (I have pics, but even though it was more than 10 years ago, don't think it will be ok to post them on a public forum.) (I'm in no way connected to the army, this was just an extremely lucky chance encounter with a friendly person whom we met on the way while we were on a long bike journey in the extreme northern part of the country.)

Please search K9 Vajra, that must be it from what I can make out of your description.

I’m glad you had photos but did not share, citizens today have become inconsiderate regarding the importance of maintaining confidentiality and secrecy of the army, people seem to record videos of movement of convoys which is not good. This is picked up by media and projected in a totally irrelevant manner.

Looking forward for great escapades with TeamBHP.

Regards,
Jai Hind!

[m8002?]

Hello Tankman,
Welcome to the forum.

My dad worked at the Ordinance factory in Avadi building the Vijayanta, and later the T-72 tanks. So grew up in that area used to the artillery tests causing vibrations in the window panes. I guess the Army uses the T-90 and Arjun tanks now.

I have also been in the inside of the tank, when we school children used to get a a small round in the tank every Independence and Republic days.

Welcome again and enjoy your time here.

Regards

[shancz]

Welcome aboard desertknight73.
What an intro

This is the second thread I am reading after more than a month away from TBHP and it quite literally knocked me back in the game

And count me in for the tank ride too if its feasible.
Looking forward to reading your threads.

[libranof1987]

Welcome to the forum, Sir. And wow, what an intro!

There are a few commissioned officers on the forum, hope you feel right at home. We look forward to your posts, as and how they are permitted to be public.

Thank you, for what you do for the nation.

[Rigid Rotor]

Tank Man!!!

Welcome to Team BHP and wishing you many, many happy kilometres of driving your Ford Endeavour and also of course the Metal Dragon!

I am always in awe of the Armoured Corps chaps, their traditions and ways. The roar of those 1000 SHP turbo diesels is only bested by that awesome power and sound of the main gun firing! I recall in one of those demos in "Armoured Nagar", when two tanks roared in and positioned at both sides of the audience's stand. In the next couple of seconds, they both fired their main guns in perfect unison - of course we were wearing ear protection despite that we could feel the awesome energy and even felt it on our chests!

The ride on a tank was exhilarating too - the snarl of that engine note when accelerating, the tight turns when manoeuvring and that casual dismissal of the rough terrain including a few hapless small bushes and trees!

Welcome again to Team BHP and thank you for your Service to the Nation in these challenging times!!

[Maverick_4662]

Welcome to the Forum! Being from a military family I have always gawked over the super swanky ceremonials and the beautiful officer's messes. Do post more ( whatever is allowed) on tanks over time.

Definitely yes to the Tank ride offer. Add me to the list!

Being a sailor, I have experienced over 50 degC over days and feel you there. But in the end it's the passion and mission focus which drive us through isn't it?

Looking forward to more interactions. Cheers.

Maverick.

[SS-Traveller]

Welcome on board Team-BHP.

Originally Posted by desertknight73

...1000 BHP, V-12, Turbocharged, multi-fuel engine..
...anyone interested in trying hands on driving these mean machines...

That is some serious locomotive power you folks control! Tank engines are about a quarter to half as powerful as railway diesel engines, but instead of chugging (or racing) along a pair of rails, your job entails you to go off-roading to places even the best of 4wd cars can only dream of going.

Regarding your offer about driving... I'd happily drive over to your location just to take a close look at the machinery inside the armour. Expect a PM in a few months!