[SAMWolf]

The Merkava is the main battle tank in service with the Israeli armed forces. The first Merkava Mk 1 tanks were supplied to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in 1979. Production of the Mk 1 continued up to 1983, when the IDF began to receive the Merkava Mk 2. The Mk 2 featured improved mobility, fire control system and armour, as well as the inclusion of an internal 60mm mortar. Production of Mk 2 continued until 1990 when it was superseded by the Mk 3.



The Merkava Mk 3 Baz entered service with the IDF at the beginning of 1990. The main features of the Merkava Mk 3 are a new suspension system, a 1,200hp engine and new transmission, a higher power main gun, and particularly new armour protection. Ballistic protection is provided by special armour modules, which are attached to the tank by bolts. These are easily replaced whenever better ballistic technology is introduced. About 1,200 Merkava Mk 2 and Mk 3 tanks are in service with the IDF.

The Merkava Mk 4 entered full production in 2001 and will be in service with the Israel Defence Forces by 2004. Improvements include; new 120mm gun, new modular ballistic armour and new fire control system developed by El-Op.

ARMAMENT

The main gun is a 120mm smoothbore gun developed by Israeli Military Industries. The gun has a Vidco Industries thermal sleeve, which increases accuracy by preventing distortion through the effects of weather, heat and shock. The tank carries an ammunition store of 50 rounds of 120mm ammunition. The tank is also equipped with three 7.62mm machine guns, two roof mounted and one co-axial with the main gun. The tank carries a store of 10,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.



The 60mm mortar system, which is a large calibre gun with a low muzzle velocity, is capable of firing high explosive rounds and illumination bombs. The crew can load, aim and fire the mortar system from within the turret. The mortar system is developed by Soltam Limited of Haifa.

TURRET

Hydraulic systems can be susceptible to impact damage and cause a fire hazard so the electro-hydraulic turret control system installed on the Mk 1 and 2 has been replaced by a totally electrical and electronic system in the Merkava Mk 3 for increased survivability and safety. Either the gunner or the commander operates the turret control system.



The crew is protected against nuclear, chemical and biological warfare by a high positive pressure system with air conditioning and filtration.

PROTECTION

The tank's is fitted with the Amcoram LWS-2 laser warning system, with threat warning display installed at the commander's station.



The turret and the hull are fitted with a modular armour system which can be changed in the field. The forward section of the turret is fitted with additional blocks of armour which provide extra protection against the latest generation of top attack anti-tank missiles.

A skirt of chains with ball weights is installed on the lower half of the turret bustle. Incoming HEAT projectiles detonate on impact with the chains instead of penetrating the turret ring. Sprung armour side skirts protect the wheels and tracks.



The welding and machining technology for the large armour body sections of the Merkava was developed by the Israeli Army Tank Depot, and the casting of ballistic steel materials was developed by Urdan Industries Ltd at Natanya.

FIRE CONTROL AND OBSERVATION

The Knight Mk III advanced fire control system, from Electro Optics Industries (EL-OP) and Elbit Ltd, integrates with the turret control and gun control units and provides the tank with the ability to engage moving targets while on the move.



The gunner's station is equipped with a thermal sight and day television channel, which are stabilised in two axes. A laser rangefinder and target tracker are integrated into the gunner's sight. The Elbit automatic target tracker is able to automatically aim at the target using the image data presented on the day or night sights.

The commander's station is fitted with a sight which can be optically relayed to the gunner's sight. The Merkava 3 is being fitted with a new day/night stabilised panoramic sight, giving hunter/killer capacity.

PROPULSION



The Merkava Mk 3 is equipped with an AVDS-1790-9AR diesel supplied by Teledyne Continental Motors. The air-cooled diesel provides 1,200hp, compared to the 900hp engine installed in the Mk 1 and Mk 2. The tank's transmission system was developed by the Ashot Ashkelon Industries Limited subsidiary of Israel Military Industries. The Merkava Mark-3 carries 1,400 litres of fuel.

[SAMWolf]

The Israeli Ministry of Defence held the roll out ceremony of the new main battle tank Merkava, Merkava 4, on 24 June 2002. The 65t Merkava 4 main battle tank entered full production in 2001 and will be in service with the Israel Defence Forces by 2004. The Ministry of Defence will manufacture between 50 and 70 Merkava 4 tanks per year and initial estimates indicate that up to 400 tanks will be manufactured. The Merkava 4 has been extensively improved and features new armour protection and gun and electronics systems.



The Merkava 4 is slightly larger than the Merkava 3 Baz, which has been in service with the IDF since 1990. The Merkava 3 is offered for export by SIBAT based in Tel Aviv. The Merkava 4 is not offered for export but the systems and components are exported.

The tank is capable of carrying eight infantry soldiers, a Command Group or three litter patients (stretcher casualties) in addition to the tank crew of commander, loader, gunner and driver. The tank is capable of firing on the move at moving targets and has demonstrated high hit probability in firing against attack helicopters using conventional anti-tank munitions.



Major contractors include: the El Op Electro-Optic Industries subsidiary of Elbit Systems which is responsible for the fire control system; the Israel Defence Force which carries out main construction and system integration and testing; Israel Military Industries for the supply of the main gun, ballistic protection and munitions; Imco Industries for the electrical systems; Urdan Industries for the hull, main turret and castings; and IAI Ramta for protection components.



The main part of the tank production, the construction of the hull and integration of all the systems is carried out in the Israel Defence Force Workshop

Additional Sources:

www.army-technology.com
ams.astro.univie.ac.at
www.net4war.com
chrisevans3d.com
hot.ee/t109tank/pictures
www.reserve-info.de
www.army.lt
home.pages.at/f2kscans
www.jodyharmon.com
mil.qianlong.com
www.waronline.org

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, HMS Renown

Renown class battlecruiser
Displacement: 26,500 t.
Lenght: 750'
Beam: 90'
Draft: 25'8"
Speed: 31.5 k.
Complement: 967
Armament: 6 15"; 17 4"; 2 3"; 4 3 pdr

HMS Renown, lead ship of a class of two 26,500-ton battlecruisers, was built at Glasgow, Scotland. Completed in September 1916, she served with the Grand Fleet in the North Sea during the remaining two years of World War I. In 1920-21, following a refit, she carried the Prince of Wales on a voyage to Australia and America. During 1923-26, she was extensively refitted to increase her protection against gunfire and torpedoes. After a decade of further service, Renown was again reconstructed, greatly changing her appearance and giving her a modern anti-aircraft gun battery, much enhanced aircraft-handling facilities and up-to-date gunfire controls. This work was completed in September 1939, just after the outbreak of the Second World War.

Renown's high speed made her a valuable asset during World War II. In late 1939, she was sent to the South Atlantic to search for the German armored ship Admiral Graf Spee. She covered minelaying operations along the Norwegian coast in early April 1940 and, on the 9th of that month, engaged the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, damaging the latter. Later in 1940 and into 1941, she operated with Force "H", based at Gibraltar to provide strategic presence in both the Atlantic and Mediterranean. While with Force "H", she participated in a bombardment of Genoa, Italy, in February 1941. After Home Fleet service in 1942-43, Renown was sent to join the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. Operating from Ceylon in 1944-45, she helped contain the Japanese in the East Indies. HMS Renown had brief post-war service in British waters and was sold for scrapping in March 1948.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 23:
1699 John Bartram naturalist/explorer, father of American botany
1769 William Smith geologist (Strata Identified by Organized Fossils)
1818 Don Carlos Buell Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1898
1823 Schuyler Colfax (R) 17th Vice President (1869-73)
1825 Edward Lloyd Thomas Brigadier General (Confederate Army) died in 1898
1857 Fannie Farmer actress (namesake of a candy company)
1858 Ludwig Quidde German historian/politician (Nobel prize 1927)
1860 Horatio W Bottomley British journalist/swindler
1881 Hermann Staudinger Germany, chemist/plastics researcher (Nobel '53)
1883 Faisal I ibn Hussein ibn Ali 1st king of Iraq/Syria
1887 Felix Felixovitch Yussupov Russian prince/murderer of Rasputin
1900 Erich Fromm Frankfurt Germany, psychologist (Sane Society)
1902 Philip Ober Fort Payne AL, actor (General Stone-I Dream of Jeannie)
1908 Joan Crawford [Lucille Fay LeSueur] San Antonio TX, actress (Mildred Pierce, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?)
1910 Akira Kurosawa Tokyo Japan, director (7 Samurai, Living)
1912 Werner von Braun Wirsitz Germany, rocket expert
1917 Johnny Guarnieri New York NY, jazz pianist (Morey Amsterdam Show)
1920 James Brown Desdemona TX, actor (Lieutenant Rip Masters-Rin Tin Tin)
1921 Donald Malcome Campbell Surrey UK, boat racer (1955 speed records)
1922 Marty Allen Pittsburgh PA, comedian (Allen & Rossi), "Hello Dere"
1929 Albert H Crews astronaut
1929 Roger Bannister England, 1st to run a 4 minute mile (May 6, 1954)
1933 Monique van Vooren Belgium, actress (Andy Warhol's Frankenstein)
1937 Craig Breedlove Los Angeles CA, auto-racing champion (600 MPH-Spirit of America)
1948 Michael Gleeson otolaryngologist
1953 Chaka Khan [Yvette Marie Stevens] Great Lakes IL, rocker (Rufus-I'm Every Woman)
1953 Louie Anderson Minneapolis MN, comedian
1954 Moses Malone NBA all star center (Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia '76ers)
1956 Laura Thorne chef (named one of 10 best American chefs)
1971 Renette Cruz Miss Canada-Universe (1996)
1971 Yasmeen Ghauri Montréal Canada, model (Valentino Perfume)
1972 Jennifer K Chapman Miss Massachusetts-USA (1997)

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Deaths which occurred on March 23:
1169 Shirkuh Kurd General/vizier of Cairo/Saladin's uncle, dies
1237 Jan of Brienne King of Jerusalem/Emperor of Constantinople, dies
1369 Pedro the Cruel, King/tyrant of Castile & Leon, murdered
1555 Julius III [Giovanni M del Monte], Pope (1550-55), dies at 67
1801 Paul I tsar of Russia (1796-1801), strangled at 46
1944 O C Wingate British General-Major (Burma), dies in air crash
1958 Florian Znaniecki Polish/US sociologist/philosopher, dies at 76
1960 Franklin P Adams columnist (Information Please), dies at 78
1961 Valentin Vasilyevich Bondarenko cosmonaut, dies in accident at 24
1964 Peter Lorre actor (The Maltese Falcon), dies at 59
1973 Ken Maynard actor (Phantom Rancher, $50,000 Reward), dies at 77
1983 Dr Barney Clark 1st artificial heart recipient , dies after 112 days at 62
1985 Singing Nun [Janine Deckers] commits suicide in Belgium at 52
1994 Alvara del Portillo Spanish Opus Dei bishop, dies at 80

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1961 BAILEY LAWRENCE ROBERT---ALBUQUERQUE NM.
[08/15/62 RELEASED, ALIVE IN 98]
1961 BANKOWSKI ALFONS A.---STAMFORD CT.
[KIA RESULT OF SHOOTDOWN/CRASH]
1961 GARSIDE FREDERICK T.---PLYMOUTH MA.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 29 NOV 91]
1961 MAGEE RALPH WAYNE---PORT SULPHUR LA.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 29 NOV 91]
1961 MATTESON GLENN---DALLAS TX.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 29 NOV 91]
1961 SAMPSON LESLIE V.---RICHEY MT.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 29 NOV 91]
1961 WEITKAMP EDGAR WILKEN---YORK PA.
[KIA RESULT OF SHOOTDOWN/CRASH]
1961 WESTON OSCAR B. JR.---NORFOLK VA.
[KIA RESULT OF SHOOTDOWN/CRASH]
1966 CLARK DONALD E. JR.---LYNCHBURG VI.
[09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV]
1966 DAWSON CLYDE DUANE---FOND DU LAC WI.
[09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV]
1966 HEWITT SAMUEL EUGENE---WALKERTON IN.
1966 TAPP JOHN B.---HARRODSBURG KY.
1968 FRANKS IAN J.---NEW YORK NY.
1969 DAVIS ROBERT C.---BURLINGTON NJ.
[REMAINS RETURNED 95, IDENTIFIED 10/30/96]
1969 WIDDIS JAMES W.---NEWARK NJ.
[REMAINS RETURNED 95, IDENTIFIED 10/30/96]
1972 JACKSON JAMES T.---HIALEAH FL.
1972 PIKE DENNIS S.---BAGDAD AZ.
1972 WHITT JAMES E.---PENFIELD IL.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
1026 Koenraad II crowns himself king of Italy
1066 18th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1153 Treaty of Konstanz between Frederik I "Barbarossa" & Pope Eugene III
1490 1st dated edition of Maimonides "Mishna Torah" published
1568 Treaty of Longjumeau: French huguenots go on strike
1593 English Congressionalist Henry Barrow accused of slander
1657 France & England form alliance against Spain; England gets Dunkirk
1708 English pretender to the throne James III lands at Firth of Forth

1743 George Frideric Händel's oratorio "Messiah" premieres in London

1775 Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death"

1794 Josiah Pierson patents a "cold-header" (rivet) machine
1794 Lieutenant-General Tadeusz Kosciuszko returns to Poland
1801 Murder attempt on Czar Paul I
1806 Lewis & Clark reach Pacific coast
1808 Napoleon's brother Joseph takes the throne of Spain
1836 Coin Press invented by Franklin Beale
1839 1st recorded use of "OK" [oll korrect] (Boston's Morning Post)
1840 Draper takes 1st successful photo of the Moon (daguerrotype)
1857 Elisha Otis' 1st elevator installed (488 Broadway, NYC)
1858 Streetcar patented (Eleazer A Gardner of Philadelphia)
1862 Battle of Kernstown VA-Jackson begins his Valley Campaign
1865 General Sherman/Cox' troops reach Goldsboro NC
1867 Congress passes 2nd Reconstruction Act over President Johnson's veto
1868 University of California founded (Oakland CA)
1880 Flour rolling mill patented (John Stevens of Wisconsin)
1881 Boers & Britain sign peace accord; end 1st Boer war
1891 1st jazz concert was held at Carnegie Hall
1903 Wright brothers obtain airplane patent
1910 1st race at Los Angeles Motordrome (1st US auto speedway)
1912 Dixie Cup invented
1915 Zion Mule Corp forms
1917 4 day series of tornadoes kills 211 in Midwest US
1918 Lithuania proclaims independence
1918 Paris bombs "Thick Bertha's Dike" (nickname for the widow Krupp)
1919 Benito Mussolini forms Fascist movement in Milan Italy
1919 Moscow's Politburo/Central Committee forms
1922 1st airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington DC
1923 Frank Silver & Irving Conn release "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
1925 Tennessee becomes 1st state to outlaw teaching theory of evolution
1929 1st telephone installed in White House

1933 Enabling Act: German Reichstag grants Adolf Hitler dictatorial powers

1934 US Congress accepts Philippines independence in 1945
1940 1st radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS
1940 All-India-Muslim League calls for a Muslim homeland
1942 2,500 Jews of Lublin massacred or deported
1942 US move native-born of Japanese ancestry into detention centers
1943 German counter attack on US lines in Tunisia
1944 Nicholas Alkemade falls 5,500 meter without a parachute & lives
1945 Largest operation in Pacific war, 1,500 US Navy ships bomb Okinawa
1948 John Cunningham sets world altitude record (54,492' (18,133 meter))
1956 Pakistan proclaimed an Islamic republic in Commonwealth (National Day)
1956 Sudan becomes independent
1957 US army sells last homing pigeons
1965 Gemini 3 launched, 1st US 2-man space flight (Grissom & Young)
1965 Moroccan army shoots on demonstrators, about 100 killed
1966 1st official meeting after 400 years of Catholic & Anglican Church
1968 Reverend Walter Fauntroy, is 1st non-voting congressional delegate from Washington DC
1972 Evil Knievel breaks 93 bones after successfully clearing 35 cars
1972 New York Yankees agree to continue playing ball in the Bronx
1973 After a 5½ year run, soap "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" ends
1976 International Bill of Rights goes into effect (35 nations ratify)
1979 Larry Holmes TKOs Osvaldo Ocasio in 7 for heavyweight boxing title
1980 Shah of Iran arrives in Egypt
1981 Supreme Court rules states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teen-age girls sought abortions
1981 Supreme Court upholds law making statutory rape a crime only for men
1982 Guatemala military coup under General Rios Montt, President Romeo Lucas flees
1983 US President Ronald Reagan introduces "Star Wars"-plan (SDI)
1985 Billy Joel weds supermodel Christie Brinkley
1985 Discovery moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-D mission
1987 US offers military protection to Kuwaiti ships in the Persian Gulf
1989 2 Utah scientists claim they have produced fusion at room temperature
1989 Joel Steinberg sentenced to 25 years for killing his adopted daughter
1990 Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound & pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill
1992 Florida Marlins begin selling tickets
1994 Graeme Obree bicycles world record 10 km (11 :8)
1994 Howard Stern formally announces his Libertarian run for New York Governor
1997 Phil Mickelson wins Bay Hill Golf Invitiational
1997 Wrestlemania XIII in Chicago, Undertaker beats Psycho Sid for title
2000 Pope John Paul the Second paid his respects at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial.
2000 President Clinton visited the western Indian village of Nayla.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Bolivia : Memorial Day
Laos : Armed Forces Day
Lithuana : Independence Day (1918)
Pakistan : Republic Day (1956)
Sudan : Independence Day (1956)
UN : World Meteorological Day, a UN observance (1950)
World : World Meteorological Day
US : Chocolate Week (Day 3)
Rosacea Awareness Month

---

Religious Observances
Anglican : Gregory the Illuminator, bishop/missionary to Armenia
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Turibius of Mogrovejo, archbp of Lima (optional)

---

Religious History
1540 In a show of growing support for Henry VIII, Waltham Abbey in Essex became the last monastery in England to transfer its allegiance from the Catholic Church to the newly_established Church of England.
1744 In London, composer George Frederic Handel's famous oratorio "Messiah" was performed for the first time.
1877 Mormon fanatic John Doyle Lee was executed by a firing squad for masterminding the Mountain Meadows Massacre. In 1857, a wagon train of 127 Arkansas Methodist emigrants, bound for California, were killed by a party of Mormon settlers and Paiute Indians at Mountain Meadows (near Cedar ity), Utah.
1892 Birth of George Arthur Buttrick, English Presbyterian pastor and educator. A teacher at both Union Theological Seminary and Harvard University, Buttrick is best remembered as chief editor of "The Interpreter's Bible" (1952_57).
1966 Archbishop of Canterbury Arthur Michael Ramsey met and exchanged public greetings with Pope Paul VI in Rome. It was the first official meeting between heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in over 400 years.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Thought for the day :
"I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him."

---

Hallmark cards that never made it...
Looking back o'er the years
We've been together,
I can't help but wonder ...
(inside card)
What was I thinking?

---

New State Slogans...
New Mexico: Lizards Make Excellent Pets

---

Female Language Patterns...
"Go Ahead" (with raised eyebrows)
This is NOT permission; it's a dare! If you mistake it for permission, the result will be the woman will get upset over "Nothing" and you'll have a "five-minute" discussion that will end with the word "Fine."

---

Male Language Patterns...
"Honey, we don't need material things to prove our love," REALLY MEANS, "I forgot our anniversary again."

[archy]

Ping! This may be of interest to some of those on your Judaica/pro-Israel list.

[Johnny Gage]

Good morning everyone. I posted these links yesterday on a different thread, but thought that I'd post them here too since we're talking about Israel.

I've confirmed with freeper Yonif that these links are legit and the programs are still in service.

Click on the pics to be taken to the Websites:

Please support our Israeli Brothers/Sisters-in-Arms as well.

In these troubled times, people around the world are looking for tangible ways to share their feelings with our Israeli soldiers. Our site gives you the opportunity to send Pizza and Soda* to active duty soldiers who are fighting terror and protecting the Jewish people. This includes soldiers on regular military service as well as those who have left their families, homes and jobs to serve the Jewish people as Miluim (Reserve Duty) fighters.

____________________________________________________________

Delight our soldiers out in the field with a Hamburger & Cola and your good wishes!
Share your feelings with them at this difficult time in a very tangible way.

____________________________________________________________

Send IDF Personnel an Ice Cream treat too!

____________________________________________________________

At each site you can include, if you wish, your personal message of support and gratitude to our soldiers

When you do this you are also supporting Israeli Restaurants that have been hit by the tourist slump.

All our deliveries are coordinated with the security forces and thus pose no security risk.
Shalom!

[Professional Engineer]

Oh great! How am I gonna explain THIS to the general?

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for the thread on the Merkava. I've actually look at this a bit a few months back. I love Tuesdays at the Foxhole.

[Red6]

It's a good defensive tank if you're in a small country fighting third world/class enemies. So I guess for the IDF it's a good machine.

Red6