1980s Promotional Brochure for the M1 Abrams Tank

[Championhilz]

I went by my local used bookstore today, and in addition to a nice hardback edition of The Life of Johnny Reb, I picked up this brochure from the 1980s promoting the then new M1 Abrams tank:

 

[easterneagle87]

Cool item. When I was a cadet in the middle 80's I got to ride in the old M-60A3's. Then to see one of these bad boys up close was a treat! Hearing that high pitch turbine engine come up on you was a thrill.

[cllctrtom]

This brings back a lot of memories. When I joined in 1980 as an Armor crewman, I was at Knox taking basic and AIT and we were training on M60A1's. One day an instructor asked for 4 volunteers and since no one told me "never volunteer" I eagerly raised my hand! The 4 of us was trucked off to work with an experimental vehicle for a day to see how new recruits would react to a new piece of equipment. It was the XM1. It was the highlight of my 20 years! I still have the (draft) original manual.

[arclight]

I'm currently the driver of an M1A1-SA, and I find this brochure of yours to be fantastic! The last time we did maneuvers, we had finished up, and it was time to head back to the AA. The TC told me to get us there first. Well, I did! Full throttle, at 65 KPM, down a slope, we hit a small berm, and caught air. The TC and loader were sitting on the the hatch mounts topside, and literally flew out of thier holes, having to claw thier way back into the turret. It's an amazing machine to drive, and I've been fortunate to have the experience with some great pics and videos to prove it. My four year old daughter loves watching the videos, too, and I've taught he to yell "on the way" when the main gun booms.

Thanks for sharing this historic document!

G