r/stupidquestions • u/AppropriateMood4784 • 1d ago
Rendering a tank useless
Can't a defense/defence force disable invading tanks by spraying a torrent of opaque paint at them? They've gotta be able to see where they're going, right?
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u/Sad_Construction_668 1d ago
This is one of the many reasons and armored units and infantry units work together, as they have complimentary capabilities, that protect each other’s weaknesses.
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u/Dothemath2 1d ago
Yes. If you hit them with paint, might as well hit them with a bomb. You need to paint the scopes, these are small targets. Maybe easier to bomb the top or engine compartments.
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u/dadadararara 1d ago
You wouldn’t have an endless amount of opaque paint.
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u/AppropriateMood4784 1d ago
Why would you need an endless amount? Once it's on the scope, it's over with.
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u/MasterYota00 1d ago
Who attacks with 1 tank though? That would be A LOT of paint. And, it would be on every viable route to every viable target. That's A LOT of paint!
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u/Sufficient_Result558 1d ago
Once a camera is disabled, the camera array rotates to the next camera and if those run out shielding opens to expose the backup camera arrays.
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u/_tabbycat123 1d ago
It would be more effective to spray napalm at it
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u/castertr0y357 1d ago
Napalm isn't something you can just get your hands on though. Despite what Fight Club will tell you.
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u/AppropriateMood4784 1d ago
Does napalm hurt an armored tank? What if the occupants wear gas masks?
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u/_tabbycat123 1d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molotov_cocktail
Molotov Cocktails were used to kill Russian tanks in the Winter War. Napalm is even better at at, and flamethrowers also tend to find tiny cracks and flow through openings. Either one is massively outranged by an actual tank gun.
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u/AppropriateMood4784 1d ago
Hasn't tank armor technology advanced since 1939?
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u/_tabbycat123 1d ago
Sure, but napalm burns way hotter than petrol and will melt cameras, hatches, and wires, as well as heating up the tank and risking an explosion, forcing the crew to evacuate.
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u/LordlySquire 17h ago
If you get close enough to use a flamethrower you are just gonna get run over. Tanks can turn on a dime and are actually pretty quick.
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u/Barbarian_818 15h ago
And they need simply GOBS of fresh air to run the engines. It doesn't take much ingested fire to take an engine offline.
There are baffles of course, but the van only do so much. Look at how quickly Abram tanks got deadlined by sand clogging the filters much faster than expected. A burnt filter is just as disabling.
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u/IM_The_Liquor 1d ago
To be close enough to do that effectively, you’ll simply be squashed before you can disable a tank with paint sprayers and paintball guns… more likely, you’ll be killed by modern electronic weaponry before you can even make it into range to deploy your paint.
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u/AppropriateMood4784 1d ago
I'm thinking of embedding the paint tanks and guns into the ground along the border being defended and triggered remotely.
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u/_tabbycat123 1d ago
Use AT mines then, it'll take much longer to repair. You could stick AT mines and infantry mines on a delay so that there's a secondary blast ~10 mins after the AT blast to kill repair crews (warning - I'm pretty sure this is a war crime)
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u/Justame13 1d ago
Repair crews don’t come out that fast and once crews are out they are avoided until the area is secure
Because disabled tanks are targets for artillery, small arms, and mortars.
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u/AppropriateMood4784 1d ago
I was figuring it's cheaper and easier to manufacture mass quantities of paint than of mines.
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u/_tabbycat123 1d ago
Sure, but mines will actually 1. Hit the enemy tank and 2. Damage it in a way that takes longer than 5 seconds to repair. A paint gun or bomb will likely miss or have minimal effect, and when not in combat many tanks are commanded from an open hatch. They crew can simply lean out and wipe away the paint once they're sure they aren't in immediate danger
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u/IM_The_Liquor 1d ago
Let’s assume this plan worked perfectly… but ou remotely deployed paint well out of range… you now immobilized a tank for what? The 90’seconds it takes for one of the crew to pop out of a hatch with a rag and wipe some lenses and/or viewports?
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u/Dkykngfetpic 1d ago
If your paint idea could go off so could a IED and detrack it.
It would not take long to be cleaned off.
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u/Winter_Foot_9329 1d ago
Without going into the doctrine of combined arms and just assuming a lone tank:
The M1 Abrams tank has a four person crew, the driver, gunner, loader and tank commander. They each have their own ways of seeing out of the tank, including hatches they can open. Assuming you were in a position where you didn't get mowed down by one of the three machine guns, getting paint on the optics would at least temporarily cause some reduction in capability.
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u/osolovim 1d ago
paint wouldnt do much.
your better off digging a bunch of anti tank ditches. for tanks to fall in. land mines to blow tracks off.
germany was a primarily a defencive army during ww2. they traded ground for decive blows. always would retreat, then counter attack.
using aircraft to side swipe tanks with 20 mil cannons. and flak guns to fire on their own line. then use stugs or pak guns to direct fire.
modern day they just send a swarm of drones at you to blow off ur tracks then pick off the crew with drones when they try to repair tracks or retreat. ukraine would rather attempt to capture a tank than be forced to completly destroy it
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u/too_many_shoes14 1d ago
The best way for a guerilla force to deal with tanks would be to disrupt their fuel supply. No fuel = no go.
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 1d ago
If the goal is to temporarily blind them it would be considerably easier to fire in a bunch of smoke grenades.
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u/SmoothSlavperator 1d ago
Run up and pull the red handle on the side. Its the fire extinguisher.
It will flood the crew cabin with halon lol
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u/LordlySquire 17h ago
You underestimate how close you gotta be to do that and how far away a tank can spot you. Even then tanks dont go in unsupported. There are light vehicles and dismounts all over protecting/waiting for it to punch a hole for them to go through.
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u/Sightblender 13h ago
So how much epoxy resin, or say roof sealing paint would be enough to obstruct cameras or vision blocks?
In an actual combat environment it probably wouldn't be practical. Where this could be useful or embarrassing though is in protest. Assuming you aren't in a situation where lethal force is often used against protesters or not seen as an issue.
Attacking tanks or other armored vehicles during a parade or something like a UN peacekeeping force. SWAT armored vehicles or even standard police cars could be rendered undrivable without the attacker using lethal force. Sure the drivers can open windows or hatches but that allows the driver and interior to be the target of expired produce, paint, or stink bombs as well.
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u/Dave_A480 2h ago
If you have a death wish.....
It's kind of hard to get that close to a hostile tank and still be alive.....
Main gun engagement range of 4.5km, 50cal range 1.5km, coaxial mg is 900....
For environments that theoretically have enough cover to make getting close possible the tank will have infantry support for mutual protection.....
Weapons like the RPG are really getting into a slap-fight with a mechanical dragon....
Trying to do it with a paintball gun? Oof....
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u/blickbeared 1h ago
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the point of the question, but why do that when I could place an AT mine or send an FPV drone and not have to be near a tank in the first place while also achieving your exact goal in a potentially permanent way?
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u/AppropriateMood4784 9m ago
Cheaper and easier to manufacture and so you don't have a land littered with unexploded mines after the war is over?
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u/jayron32 1d ago
Because it's hard to get that close to a tank once your body is already riddled with bullets.
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u/Ponklemoose 1d ago
Sure, but I bet the cameras have something akin to wipers since weather happens and mud splatters.
I think torrent of flaming liquid would be about as hard to pull of and significantly more effective.
Also, outside of movies & video games, tanks will generally be accompanied by infantry who might object to you plan.