American Tanks Research Articles

George de Bothezat and his contribution into the world aviation and astronautics

The article dedicated the life and scientific way of George de Bothezat, the first Doctor of Sciences in the field of aviation. Together with Nikolay Zhukovsky, Igor Sikorsky, Stephen Timoshenko, Alexander Fan-der-Flit, and Alexey Lebedev, he was one of the organizers of the Air Fleet of the Russian Empire. He is the author of various inventions: gyroscopic sight and other types of aviation equipment. We analyze works by G. Bothezat on the impulse theory of propellers. In particular, the scientist derived formulas for ensuring the flight stability of airplanes and helicopters. He developed training ballistic tables, which allowed making corrections for the speed of the flight and the direction of the wind. We briefly describe a biography of G. Bothezat, focusing on the student period of his life in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and the reasons for G. Bothezat’s departure to the United States in 1918. It is stated that it was there that his talent as a designer and creator of helicopters of the original system was disclosed in the best way. In 1922, George Bothezat obtained the financial support of the American government to build a workable helicopter model without prototypes and experiments, only based on the results of calculations. The reasons why G.Bothezat did not manage to achieve the launch of the serial production of helicopters are analyzed. We also mention the activities of the company founded by G.Bothezat, which was engaged in the production of fans of a new type for the US Navy. The Bothezat system fans were installed at the Rockefeller Center in New York as well as in American tanks. It is emphasized that I. Sikorsky also used the works by G.Bothezat in his research. It is stated that the flight trajectory calculated by G.Bothezat in air and airless space was used in the development of the American program of a manned landing on the Moon using the “Apollo” system.

The Future Foretold: Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Congressional Support for Israel

ABSTRACTLyndon B. Johnson became a senator the year of Israel’s creation: 1948. Moral, political, and strategic considerations guided Johnson’s outspoken support for Israel from an early point in his political career. This analysis reveals that Johnson’s advocacy of Israel whilst a senator foreshadowed his policy as president of championing the Israeli-American military-strategic alliance. Beginning with his time in Congress, Johnson had many Jewish American friends supporting the establishment of a Jewish state and, due to the importance of Jewish-American backing of the Democratic Party, Johnson supported Israel for significant political reasons. From a moral and strategic perspective starting in the 1950s, Johnson believed that Israel served as a humanitarian refuge for Jews in the aftermath of the Holocaust and, as a liberal democracy, was well suited to oppose the expansion of Soviet influence and communism in the Cold War Middle East. For these reasons, Johnson supported the initiation of American aid to Israel in the early 1950s, which would presage decisions to arm Israel with the first American tanks and fighter jets as president. As a senator, Johnson staunchly opposed President Dwight Eisenhower’s threat to impose sanctions against Israel if it did not withdraw from Egyptian territories occupied in the 1956 Suez crisis. Johnson’s stance on Suez – that Israel deserved greater security guarantees prior to withdrawal – would starkly parallel his policy following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

United States Forces Korea's (USFK) Crisis Communication Strategies and Crisis Responses: The case of two Korean school girls' death

The study investigated USFK’s crisis communication responding to the case of two Koran girls’ death. The two girls were hit by an American tank accidently. The accident has resulted in anti-American demonstrations by a large number of South Korean. The current research attempted to see what problems USFK’s crisis communication with Korean publics. Through analyzing USFK news release in Korea and Army News (ARNEWS) in America regarding the case, the study answered what crisis communication strategies USFK used and How the USFK responded to the crisis. The results showed that USFK used full apology strategy and its crisis response was immediate, but prior reputation of USFK seemed making USFK’s effort fruitless.

Welf Bronger 02.07.1932 – 03.06.2012

Welf Bronger 02.07.1932 – 03.06.2012

Patriotism Without Bad Faith

2. It is the world leader in technology, producing ... airplanes and tanks, which, being the best in the world, are going to win the war. They are certainly better than anything the Germans or the Japs can make. (Only the brightest and boldest of the troops perceived that American tanks were seriously outgunned by the German ones). Among the troops only the finely tuned noted the superiority of the German machine guns. Discovery of any of these facts was demoralizing, and a problem confronting the brighter US infantryman was rationalizing away the sorry truths when among dumber people.

The History of Tank Development in the United States

<span>American Tank development was driven by changes in doctrine and tactics over time. When the United States entered World War One, the Army was quick to incorporate armor into its ranks. As American armor developed, it was hampered by narrow visions of the purpose of armor on the battlefield. Armor was thought to only be useful in close infantry support and pursuit missions. During the interwar years the focus of development was on light and maneuverable tanks. It was not until World War Two that tank tactics matured. The war proved that armor was an essential part of any modern military. Tank on tank tactics were refined. With this came the need to destroy enemy tanks with one accurate shot. This became the focus of tank development toward the end of World War Two and has prevailed to this day. The war also drove the shift from producing many specialized tanks to producing a single multipurpose tank. Tanks became heavier and more powerful in an effort to design an invincible tank that could dominate the battlefield. The main battle tanks of today are a testament to the changes that the United States military has gone through since World War One.</span>

Mathematical Lens: Ponte della Maddalena

Ron Lancaster, an editor of this column, walked across the spectacular asymmetric Ponte della Maddalena over the river Sergio near Borgo a Mozzano, Italy, in June 2006. Built in the eleventh century, it was the only bridge along this river that was not bombed by the Germans during World War II. They let it stand because they thought it was too narrow for American tanks to cross. The Germans, however, were mistaken: The bridge was wide enough for the tanks to cross, and many Italians were liberated as a result.

Application of Fuzzy Signal Detection Theory to the Discrimination of Morphed Tank Images

The effect of response set size on performance on a detection task was evaluated using both fuzzy and traditional signal detection theory. Fuzzy categories of stimuli were created using morphing software to blend profile images of American (M1A1) and Iraqi (T55) tanks to different degrees. These combinations were used to create static images varying from 100% T55 to 0% T55 (100% MIA1). Participants were asked to indicate the degree to which each image did not resemble an American tank. Consistent with previous research, results indicated that the FSDT model conforms to the normality assumption of traditional SDT. In addition, forcing observers to make binary decisions impaired performance relative to multi-category response sets in the FSDT analysis but not the traditional analysis. However, there were more model convergence failures in the FSDT analysis relative to the traditional analysis, mostly associated with conditions in which there were 100 response categories.

Tanks at Checkpoint Charlie: Lucius Clay and the Berlin Crisis, 1961–62

The stand-off of Soviet and American tanks in the heart of Berlin in October 1961 constituted the most dangerous moment of the Cold War in Europe. It has been attributed to unnecessarily confrontational policies of General Lucius D. Clay, who served as President Kennedy's Special Representative in Berlin. This article assesses how the crisis evolved from the Berlin Wall to the tank confrontation. It centres on the role of General Clay, his communication with Washington, and his activities in Berlin. This is a study of the process by which US government policy was translated into diplomatic and military action. The article concludes that the resulting combination of force and diplomacy is crucial to understanding the crisis management of John F. Kennedy.

Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Batallions in World War II (review)

Reviewed by: Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II Steven Zaloga Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II. By Christopher W. Wilbeck. Bedford, Pa.: Aberjona Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9717650-2-2. Tables. Maps. Illustrations. Index. Pp. viii, 264. $19.95. Although numbering only fourteen battalions in 1944, the Wehrmacht's Tiger tank units have received a disproportionate amount of coverage in popular histories of the war. The Tigers were the heaviest and most powerful tanks of the war, and have proven to be a subject of enduring fascination to military history buffs and hobbyists. At least twenty books on the Tiger tank [End Page 1283] have been published over the past two decades, divided into technical histories of the Tiger's design and accounts of the Tiger battalions in combat. Many of these books were based on extensive archival research, but given their intended audience, they are often detailed compilations woefully short of analysis. Major Christopher Wilbeck, a serving U.S. armor officer, has attempted to mine this mass of secondary sources to provide a new synthesis with a sharper focus on the actual combat effectiveness of the Tiger battalions through the prism of his professional background. After providing a primer on German armor doctrine and the role of heavy tanks in Wehrmacht tactics, Wilbeck offers a series of concise thumbnail accounts of Tiger battalions in combat from 1943 to 1945. He notes that the Tiger battalions were originally conceived to support offensive breakthrough operations, but that by the time they were deployed in 1943, the Wehrmacht was on the defensive. As a result, the battalions as often as not were used in a defensive antitank role instead of their intended mission, scoring a very high kill ratio against Allied tanks on both the Eastern and Western fronts. Where possible, he examines the intended mission of particular battalions in specific engagements, and assesses whether the battalion was effective in its mission. He concludes by questioning whether the deployment of such expensive and resource-intensive units was a prudent use of scarce resources in the final year of the war. The book's analyses are sometimes weakened by dependence on secondary sources. Since the author often lacks tangible evidence of the combat performance of the Tigers in roles other than tank-vs.-tank fighting, he relies on Tiger battalion kill claims against Allied tanks to assess their effectiveness. He accepts these at face value, stating that the evidence from British and U.S. sources backs the German claims and that Soviet unit histories lack tank loss data. The small number of instances where Tiger claims against British and American tank units can be verified does not warrant a blanket acceptance of such claims, especially given the widespread tendency of combat units to exaggerate aircraft and tank kills. The author seems unaware that the Wehrmacht's own intelligence service on the Eastern Front, Fremde Heere Ost, regularly discounted German army tank kill claims by thirty to fifty percent. The author's assertion about the lack of Soviet tank loss data is unfortunate as there is no evidence in the book that the author reads Russian, has read many of the Soviet tank unit histories, or has conducted any archival research on Russian issues. The appendix on Allied heavy tank doctrine is weak and unevenly researched. In spite of these problems, the book is well written, reasonably priced, and offers an insightful professional assessment for military historians unwilling to wade through the extensive but uneven buff literature on tank warfare. Steven Zaloga Abingdon, Maryland Copyright © 2004 Society for Military History

Factors influencing community structure in a South American tank bromeliad fauna

We examined factors influencing the structure of naturally replicated, taxonomically unrestricted communities inhabiting South American tank bromeliads. We measured aspects of plant physical structure and collected the entire macroscopic fauna of 209 bromeliads from the Yasuní Scientific Reserve in lowland eastern Ecuador. We collected a total of 11 219 individuals of 354 morphospecies. The morphospecies abundance distribution of our sample was approximated by a log‐series distribution dominated by rare morphospecies (57% of the morphospecies were represented by a single individual). Six methods for estimating the total number of bromeliad associated morphospecies in our study area gave results which varied by a factor of three, illustrating that caution should be exercised in interpreting the results of any single estimator. Variation in plant volume, number of leaves, detritus content, and water volume explained 62% of the variation in morphospecies richness among plants. Finally, there was a quadratic relationship between body mass and both individual abundance and morphospecies richness in our sample. These results illustrate an important role of both biotic and abiotic factors influencing the structure of taxonomically unrestricted, ecologically defined natural communities.

Effect of interconnecting area between the ends of a sliding bearing on film thickness

The effect of the area of interconnections between the ends of fast-acting bearings, such as those of concentric recoil mechanisms used with American tank guns, has been studied. It was found that the bearings do not ‘starve’ with a small interconnection area, but larger areas produced thicker fluid films. However, if the interconnection area was greater than 15–20 mm 2 with the system studied (5.08 cm diameter shaft), the resulting film-thickness decreased from the maximum. With this system, there was a definite minimum at 7.4 mm 2. There was also probably another at about 26 mm 2, but it was not so well-defined. In addition, the film-thickness usually continued to increase for a time even after the movement of the sliding shaft has stopped.

Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II.

Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II.

Charles M. Baily. &lt;italic&gt;Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II&lt;/italic&gt;. Hamden, Conn.: Archon. 1983. Pp. xii, 196. $24.00

Journal Article Charles M. Baily. Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II. Hamden, Conn.: Archon. 1983. Pp. xii, 196. $24.00 Get access Baily Charles M.. Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II. Hamden, Conn.: Archon. 1983. Pp. xii, 196. $24.00. Robert W. Coakley Robert W. Coakley Alexandria, Virginia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 89, Issue 3, June 1984, Pages 869–870, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/89.3.869 Published: 01 June 1984

Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II

Faint Praise: American Tanks and Tank Destroyers during World War II

British and American Tanks of World War II: The Complete Illustrated History of British, American and Commonwealth Tanks, Gun Motor Carriages and Special Purpose Vehicles, 1939-1945.

British and American Tanks of World War II: The Complete Illustrated History of British, American and Commonwealth Tanks, Gun Motor Carriages and Special Purpose Vehicles, 1939-1945.

The Pakistan-American Alliance: A Reevaluation of the Past Decade

Upon the termination of the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict, a distinguished Pakistani historian,' in a private discussion with me presented the following argument for the Indian-American-Pakistan tangle: The two countries of the Indo-Pak subcontinent, being the largest recipients of American assistance, are spending more than half their respective budgets for defense, out of which more than 50% in each case is earmarked for defense against the other. The historian went on to say that with no strings attached to the U.S. aid, the two countries might soon be facing each other across their Punjabi frontiers with American tanks and guns. As we all know, this prediction in fact materialized in September 1965, when the bulk of the heavy American equipment was destroyed by the respective heroic units of the two belligerent states. In his The United States and India and Pakistan, W. Norman Brown points out that in contrast to the fluctuations in Indian opinion:

The Mobilization Build-Up And After

THIS discussion of the mobilization buildup and its sequel will not consist of a series of precise predictions of the course of coming events. Scores of not improbable developments, turning out one way or another, could invalidate any exact predictions that could be made. These include settlement of the war in Korea; the outbreak of trouble in Iran, Iraq, or Germany; the rate at which American tanks, jets, and atoms develop relative to those of the Russians. Moreover, I recall the remark of a wise business leader, long the head of one of our leading life insurance companies: Beware of the man who predicts in detail. Instead, this will attempt something both less and more ambitious. It will be an attempt to provide everyone with the basis of making his own interpretation of current developments and calculation of future prospects. The rule in this country seems to be, Every man his own economist. This discussion ...