Quote Originally Posted by Compost View Post
The current gas turbine runs at a high temperature and generates a large volume of hot exhaust gas. The exhaust can be hazardous to accompanying dismounted infantry and even when diverted it serves as a beacon for heat sensors and heat seekers. Also the engine deck is officially assessed as too hot for riders. So one, the lesser volume of exhaust from a diesel engine will substantially reduce the hazard and beacon affects, and also the engine deck temperature. Relative to the gas turbine that diesel is likely to be heavier, require more power to start, vibrate more and have a deeper engine note but generate less high pitched noise.

The current APU with its fuel tank is installed in the Abrams turret basket. When that APU’s light armoured enclosure has in the past been defeated by small arms, heavier weapons or other cause the resultant leakage of fuel has often lead to a fire on the engine cover and subsequent damage to the gas turbine, and in the worst cases loss of the MBT itself. However two, the reduced volume of a diesel engine together with fuel tanks for greater range will still leave sufficient space for installation of an internal APU that has the same level of protection as the main diesel.
Sorry for the incredible necro-post, but I never saw this thread. There are a few inaccuracies in this post that need addressing.

First, as hot as the exhaust is, it really isn't THAT hot. I never saw a Goretex melted by infantry guys inches away, drying out gear. The idea that you can't work around it is just silly. However, the exhaust deflector, commonly constructed by the unit welder, alleviates almost all of this issue for working in/around tanks. Further, there is a deep-water fording kit (costs money and usually just USMC tanks) that also achieves this.

There are relatively few heat-seeking ATGW. Most are laser-guided or SACLOS systems. It does hinder hiding from aircraft and thermal viewers, but the quick-starting and accelleration were considered acceptable trade-offs back when the tech was new.

Finally, infantry don't ride on the back deck. They ride on the turret. I have slept on the back deck and it does get hot, but not so much that they couldn't do it. But the old FM 7-8 has them on top of the turret.

Now, Cavguy mentioned COIN and I'll just add, they are very useful in that environment. Precision long-range MG and main gun fires, available at the section level, with the ability to withstand lots of punishment. Can they be defeated? Sure, but they work better than most platforms. Are they expensive? Yup. But nothing (NOTHING) can give a warmer feeling to a grunt than realizing that he has 70 tons working for him.

Our biggest failing is not integrating tank battalions into the infantry divisions to at least conduct joint training and familiarization, like the WWII divisions. Most light guys really don't know what armor can do for them in a MOUT or urban COIN environment.

Tankersteve