I watched a tank burn in the desert along with a very expensive fuel truck. I was nearby in another tank waiting my turn to refuel. The driver was on top with a fire extinguisher, the fuel truck driver put the nozzle in the fuel tank and started pumping. There was a spark, fumes ignited, the tank driver dropped the fire extinguisher and ran. Funny as hell! But the flames went down into the fuel cell and that was that. They both burned for days, we used it as a reference point for navigating in the area. One does not call a fire truck in the middle of nowhere. A match(spark) and gasoline(diesel but it was really hot in the desert) was the problem here.
Dang! I've known for a long time that moving fuel creates a static charge but was only concerned with gasoline. I guess diesel would also ignite under the right conditions. At least no one was hurt.
The army was hurt, they had to pay for a civilian fuel truck and also lost a perfectly good tank. Oh wait, never mind, the taxpayers paid for it. It’s all good. Lol.
Edit to add: the tank was not a total loss, after the fire the hull was sent back to the factory and refurbished. Tanks are awesome and almost forever, however, the meat bags that operate them are fleeting.
That's interesting about the tank being refurbished. I have only a vague ides how modern tank hulls are made now but I assume it's layered in New alloys rather than old fashioned plate armor. There has to be other parts like the treads and other heavy steel parts that would be fine. The fuel truck on the other hand, even the chassis would be warped.
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