Chrysler TV-8
| Chrysler TV-8 | |
|---|---|
| General properties | |
| crew | 4th |
| length | 8.9 m |
| width | 3.4 m |
| height | 2.9 m |
| Dimensions | 25 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Main armament | 90 mm smoothbore cannon T208 |
| agility | |
| drive | differently |
| Top speed | differently |
| Power / weight | differently |
The Chrysler TV-8 was an experimental American tank from the 1950s that never went into production.
Chrysler's designs envisaged several possible forms of propulsion for the main battle tank. These included a conventional Chrysler V8 engine, which was supposed to drive two electric motors on the chains via a connected generator, an integrated thermal power plant with hydrocarbon operation and ultimately a nuclear drive . The range of the tank would have been around 4000 miles (~ 6400 km) with nuclear power. Only a prototype with a conventional drive was built.
The Chrysler TV-8 had a teardrop-shaped tower that was supposed to house the entire fighting compartment and the engine or reactor. There was only room in the tub for the electric motors that drive the chains directly. Tower and hull should be separable for better transportability in aircraft. The displacement of the TV-8 would have allowed the tank to swim in water. The drive in the water was realized by water jet drives in the rear part of the tower.
The United States Army rejected the design in 1956.
Individual evidence
- ^ Richard Pearce Hunnicutt: Abrams A History of the American Main Battle Tank p. 36. Presidio Press, ISBN 978-0-89141-388-2
- ↑ The National Interest : How America Almost Built the Scariest of Weapons: A Nuclear-Powered Tank , accessed January 1, 2020