I was interested to read a letter to the editor today from Major General Ian Gordon, Deputy Chief of Army, arguing that the Abrams M1A1 was the right choice of replacement tank for the army (the fact they're second hand, too heavy and too wide).
One of his arguments is that they can be transported by rail from Darwin to other parts of the country. But lets see what that means in Queensland:
Let's compare the two beasts:
| M1A1 | w3.64 m | l 7.92 m | h 2.43 m | 63.0 tonnes |
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| Leopard | w3.37 m | l 9.54 m | h 2.62 m | 42.5 tonnes |
|---|
The concern here is the additional width (nearly 30cm) and weight (nearly 20 tonnes). In Queensland, the Leopard tanks can be moved by rail around the country - seeing a stand of flatbeds outside of the area north of Rocky is not uncommon - but with an additional 30cm to cater for, I suspect this will be too big for our loading gauge.
Which means they'll need to be moved by road - which will mean significant inconvenience on our lovely narrow highways - let alone the damage caused by the additional 20 tonnes rolling overhead.
Good idea? Not in Queensland I suspect.
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