Visitors can now take a London tour in a bullet and bomb-proof TANK

[brooklynite]

Tourists can now go on the safest sightseeing trip in Britain - by riding around London in a tank.
For £1,500, two people will be able to take in the capital's world-famous sites without having to worry about anything at all, because they're riding in comfort inside a former British Army self-propelled gun.

The Abbot, a 17-tonne self-propelled gun, is now available for hire - driven by Tanks a Lot owner Nick Mead.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3310328/That-s-one-way-battle-congestion-Visitors-London-tour-bullet-bomb-proof-TANK-afford-1-500-ticket.html#ixzz3rJJQUxRa
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[hobbit709]

1. bomb proof? Not necessarily, depending on size and if it's a shaped charge.

[Aristus]

2. Ah, the things I would have given to be able to have three lovely ladies on board my tank.

Instead of the three hairy, ugly men I had to serve with...



This is me on the right - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |

[redwitch]

12. You are handsome!

[Aristus]

13. You wanna...

...go for a ride in my tank?...

[redwitch]

15. in London?

[Aristus]

16. Sure!

Why do anything halfway?...

[redwitch]

17. Indeed!

Truthfully the claustrophobia would get me. I don't know how anyone serves in a tank or a sub. Or a space capsule!

[Aristus]

18. I actually loved the closed-in space of the tank.

Not necessarily sharing it with a group of three squabbling guys, mind you. But I liked it. In the Gulf, we spent an entire training day buttoned up in the tank (all the hatches closed) to get used to the idea that we might have to stay like that for days in a combat situation. I did the whole day standing on my head; it was nothing.

When I was a little kid, and I got out of control, my mother used to lock me in their closet till I calmed down. My Dad kept his Army duffle bag in there, and there was a light coming in under the door, so I wasn't scared. I used to lie down on the duffle bag and go to sleep. Great upbringing for a tanker.

[redwitch]

19. Oh dear!

How hot does it get in a tank with all the hatches closed? I definitely couldn't make the cut. You guys are crazy!

[Aristus]

20. The tank had what is called an overpressure system.

In order to keep out contaminants in the event of a chemical or biological weapons attack, the system increased the air pressure inside the tank. The system came with little plastic vests for us to wear, and it would blow cool air on us. We could hook our gas masks up to the system, and it would blow cool air on our faces, too. So a hot day inside the tank was usually much better than a hot day outside the tank.

Although this may sound like an unnecessary luxury to the civilian, anything that reduced crew fatigue was an asset in combat situations.

But yes, tankers are crazy...

[redwitch]

21. An unnecessary luxury?

Not to this civilian! In fact, the gift boxes we were sending to the troops with little things like deodorant and soap made me angry. We can't afford basic grooming items with the size of our military budget? Grrr!

[Aristus]

22. It wasn't a matter of affording them.

It's just that there aren't any Target stores in the middle of the Arabian desert. At least, there weren't any when I was there. And the Army's logistics and supply units were more concerned with delivering ammo, fuel, food and water (and mail, by the way) than hygiene products.

[redwitch]

23. I get that it's a logistical nightmare.

Bad enough being in a desert war but a desert war with no deodorant has to be worse. Especially for 4 smelly guys in a tank with the windows closed! War is Hell.

[Aristus]

24. Eh. You can get used to anything.

We actually had showers at our base camp. Plywood, outdoor, pull-chain showers. So we could get clean every couple of days, if we wanted to. Here's the thing, though: it gets cold in the desert, especially at night. Not everybody knows that. So if you take a morning shower after a freezing-cold night, it can be very uncomfortable...

[redwitch]

25. Yeah I would have been a terrible soldier.

I don't suppose those pull chain showers had hot water. Solar powered maybe? A freezing cold shower in the desert during the day works though. If only you weren't busy warring and stuff.

[Aristus]

26. Nah. My unit never got into combat. The ground war was over so quickly.

I'm cool with that. My father saw combat in Vietnam, and he said it's nothing you ever want to see up close again.

My veteran status is solid, though. We took hostile fire. Our base was Scudded once. Missed us by a good quarter mile or so. But we had to spend the next hour or so in chemical protective gear in case there were chemical weapons on board the missile. There weren't...

[redwitch]

27. Fortunate for you and your unit.

War is something I never hope to experience.

[Aristus]

28. Me too...

[NV Whino]

3. And who's going to pay for all the asphalt those treads are going to chew up?

[uriel1972]

7. My first thought too nt

[BlueCollar]

9. looks like the treads are rubberised

I doubt it would be licensed otherwise.

[NV Whino]

11. I wondered about that, but couldn't tell for sure.

[jmowreader]

30. Tanks are less harmful to the ground than cars

A tracked vehicle weighs many tons, but the weight is spread out over the entire surface area of the tracks. This is called "ground pressure."

Here is a table of ground pressures for various vehicles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_pressure

As you will see, the ground pressure of an Abrams Tank (15psi) is lower than the ground pressure of a car (30 psi), a bicycle (40 psi) or Kim Kardashian in a pair of 1/4"-diameter stiletto heels (roughly 1100 psi).

Combat vehicles have rubber pads on the tracks, and they're inspected and changed frequently.

[NV Whino]

32. Thanks for the info

And please save me from Kim parading up my driveway on stilettos.

[jmowreader]

33. Or anywhere else, for that matter

[DFW]

4. You can also do it in a London Taxi for about a tenth the price

Just in case the tank is outside your budget.

Although if you intend to demolish any buildings in the course of your tour, you're pretty much stuck with the tank........

[trof]

5. Another Wretched Excess

[KamaAina]

6. Michael Dukakis is totally going to London!

[Tipperary]

8. Well, they certainly are not bullet-proof

sitting on the exterior I would imagine.

And anyway, why?

[petronius]

14. "Why?" was my immediate question as well - what's the connection or attraction

of a tank ride on a city street? For London, I could see big red bus, black cab, classic limo, carriage - but a tank?

It probably would be fun to ride in a tank in an off-road setting (or a demolition derby), however...

[jmowreader]

31. What's the connection of Branson, MO, to Duck Boats?

None, but that didn't stop someone from setting up a Duck Boat business there, and getting filthy rich on it in the process.

[T_i_B]

10. Go for a tour in an open topped double decker bus instead

You'll get a much better view.

[kairos12]

29. Probably gets better MPG than some of the yellow ribbon bedecked behemoths I see around.

[BlueCollar]

34. i am in red texas and i haven't

Seen a yellow ribbon around here in years