I have been talking to an ex Marine that still works on the base here in 29 Palms as a tank mechanic. I got excited thinking that I had found a local 2-cycle man, but he says that he has not worked on Detroits. He says the M1 Abrams has a turbine engine. So does anyone know which military vehicles use a Detroit 2-cycle?
Lin, I see the engines in Howitzers.tenders,troop carriers,recovery vehicles and things I have no idea what they are lol here on Ft Hood you have young people here a Ft Hood that work on those babies
I just saw a train load being shipped from Ft Hood to NATO the 8v92 DDEC V with military programing they are replacing all the old 8v71 I was told
This guy has no experience with 2-strokes and never worked on a Detroit. He did say that the vehicles used for tank recovery, which he did not work on, are 2-stroke but did not know if they were Detroit. I don't suppose there are any other. He said they had double turbos, and I think he mentioned that they were air cooled. Does that make sense?
Anyway, I asked him to check around there and see if any of the 2-stroke guys was interested in outside work if I should need it.
They do have some type German made piece of equipment here that has the V10 Deutz twin turbo engine air cooled and I found out buy asking the Sheridan and Walker had DD and some with Allison engines
6V-53 is used in a tracked troop carrier. 8V-92TA in various other equipment from 8x8 HMMT to troop carriers. 8V-71TA is also used still, not quite sure what equipment. Most military equipment is designed around the engine. It isn't possible to switch. But when they come out with a new model, it will have the most up to date engine.
Bradley tank still uses the Cummins VTA903 with air to air intercooling and electronic common rail fuel injection. They're getting about 700hp out of it, but only 1550lb/ft torque. The Bradley was designed around the Cummins VTA903. Good Luck, TomC
If it not possible to change power plants in Military equipment someone forgot to tell Stewart and Stevenson in Sealy Tx plus Tank Automotive in Warren MI and the Army I just read where there was 22 million dollars in contracts awarded between the 2 in the Ft Hood paper for that very purpose to update the engines but who knows
There are I would say 6 or 7 hundred Cat engines of different models in crates on the dock that were built in Sequin Tx at the Cat factory waiting to go somewhere you have any ideas what they are for TomC ?
I did read where the Abrams tanks using a 1500hp Turbine was going to be replaced by a V-12 MTU putting out 1450hp. The transmission they're going to use-a tank transmission based on the HT740 Allison-one tough transmission. Good Luck, TomC
The military still uses 2 stroke Detroits in a lot of equipment.
Most I have seen in the last 25 years are 8V92 twin turbos.
Unless the guy works at the rebuild (depot) level, he won't know anything about the engine.
What the military calls mechanics just remove the engine and transmission (powerpack) and install a new one. Takes a short time. They put the removed powerpack in the can the new engine came in and turn it in.
Clifford;
Fort Hood, the wife says when she was in the ARMY 25 years ago stationed there, ago they called it, "The Hellhole of America", & " The Armpit of the ARMY", LOL ;D
Dave5Cs
Sure is huge base Dave takes 1/2 day to drive across that sucker they do have a first class RV park here on the base for 10 bucks a night it looks like Phoenix with a convenience store every block It has changed over the years not a place I would won't to spend 25 years though
Clifford sorry she was there 25 years ago LOL for only 1 year and then off to Berlin.
Some spring times (forest fire season in NC), I work for the NC Forest Service. We have a couple of Vietnam-era Armored Personnel Carriers that have had the back end cut off and a big water tank put on for fighting fires (mostly "mopping up" actually). They call them "all-tracks". The work great. They have Detroit 2-strokes in them. Our mechanics *DO* service them, engines in and out, complete rebuilds etc. They absolutely hate them!
BH NC USA
I was watching the movie PT-109 a couple days ago. They showed the engine room of the PT-Boat. Believe they had twin 12v71 or something close to that.
Bill
Busless
But still at Kwajalein
I don't know what the movie boat used, but the original engines were V12 Packards.
Used three of them.
Bob
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On the movie PT109 they used a real PT boat. The V12 Packard engines do resemble the Detroit 12V-71's alot. The PT boats used three. I believe the outer engines were normally mounted with the center facing backwards through a V-drive. With 1500hp each, they drank alot of high octane av gas. If they had been Diesel, the fuel consumption would have been half. Good luck, TomC
There weren't any surviving 80' Elco PT boats suitable for the movie. They converted 82' USAF Crash Rescue boats which were similar. Also made by Elco, but they only had two V12 Packards instead of three. Which would explain why you only saw two in an engine-room shot.
Now I have to go back and watch the movie again. LOL
Bill
Still a bunch of those v12 supercharged Packards around you see them at car shows and air planes show I read a fuel chart on one in a plane and got sticker shock 160 gals per hr on the 1200 hp version 160x3=480 GPH wow at 3.50 a gal todays prices that would be a bundle the PT's would take a trailer load of gasoline for any running time you guys have any idea how big the tank was ?
Clifford,
I think I read somewhere that they carried 3000 gallons. That would sure put a dent in your wallet at fill up time.
Bob
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Fall River, Mass has a PTBoat in a Quonset hut, not allowed to get aboard, was there 1984 i think for that & the BB-59, Mass Battleship.
Agree on the two in the movie and three in the real ones.
Dave M
I did more reading on the PT boats. Most had the middle engine in line running the center prop and the left and right engine were mounted backwards running through a V-drive. Pretty forward thinking for the 40's. Good Luck, TomC
http://www.savetheptboatinc.com/index.htm (http://www.savetheptboatinc.com/index.htm) is about the historically accurate restoration and operation of PT658, run by veteran PT boaters and other volunteers. It's a Higgins boat rather than an Elco, but the drive trains are almost the same. Their photo collection includes some good engine and engine room shots.
Thank you Nusa for the PT link, being a WWII self appointed, jounior historian, I enjoyed snooping that link in depth.
Thanks
Dave M