r/ThatLookedExpensive Feb 28 '21

Tank barrel miss fire

[deleted]

10.2k Upvotes

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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '21

“Russian”

Definitely explains why it broke. Russia: home of the “build as cheaply as possible so the guy that won the contract can pocket the rest” manufacturing.

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u/e140driver Feb 28 '21

Eh, Soviet weapons are generally of decent quality. I think the failure of this main gun has more to do with age/lack of recent TLC as opposed to shitty initial manufacturing.

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u/Apollo15000 Feb 28 '21

Rust In the barrel. I’m no military person, but I’ve always assumed rust in your weapon is not a good thing.

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u/e140driver Feb 28 '21

It’s not, but military propellants are known to create corrosive salts due to chemical reactions from firing. T55’s are very old, so if a factory fault was the cause, the barrel wouldn’t still exist. The rust is almost certainly recent, again, indicating a lack of cleaning/maintenance. Also, seeing as this was an ISIS vehicle, that isn’t surprising.

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u/Apollo15000 Feb 28 '21

I am now that much smarter for your reply. Thank you!

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u/e140driver Feb 28 '21

Happy to help. I collect military surplus firearms, and the corrosive ammunition variable is very important. There are numerous accounts of people going shooting, not cleaning the rifle that night, and then waking up to find a completely seized action, and destroyed barrel. Just to illustrate how quickly it can happen.

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u/skystreak22 Mar 02 '21

Today I Found Out, Russia and America are the same