Modern tank cannons - smooth vs rifled

[FrodeMk3]

I think it's obvious, the tank is not the asset at all, the crew is. You can build a new tank far faster than you can re-train a good crew. Pretty much all MBTs have the same basic features... Challenger, Leopard 2A6, M1A2, Merkava 4, T-90... long gun, heavy armor, high speed, good optics & sensors, good comms. Now except for the T-90, which I don't think has seen combat yet, does anybody know of a case of any of these tanks ever losing crew members? I know some M1s and Merkavas have been disabled, but I haven't read of any crew losses. I do remember one story of a M1 driver having his tank wrecked with a multiple 105mm shell IED, but they carved into the tank 6 hours later and the guy was still in his position without a scratch, just really bored.

(Quoted for truthfulness)

If you consider the way the Iraqi's employed their Tanks' in GW1 and II, you'll see that tactics, training, and intelligence have a lot to do with it too. You can't just drive out onto the modern battlefield in a tank, and expect to get within sight of the enemy and be invulnerable. Nobody's built an AFV yet that can do that.  The Iraqi's dug their tanks' in, but in bare open sand (at least, that's what a lot of GW I pics' show) and although the hulls' were protected, the turrets' were exposed, due to a lack of any other kind of cover. They just died in their revetments, for the most part sitting ducks.

[Elfie]

Another VERY important reason why modern MBTs don't use rifled barrels is that the preferred weapon to kill other tanks is what's called a "long-rod penetrator".

Also, you can't fire missiles from a rifled bore. Although I'm not sure if any tanks do this anymore. I know the M-60 could fire a missile down it's 105 tube, but I forget what it was called now.

[FrodeMk3]

Also, you can't fire missiles from a rifled bore. Although I'm not sure if any tanks do this anymore. I know the M-60 could fire a missile down it's 105 tube, but I forget what it was called now.

Most of the T-series' russian tanks armed with the 125mm can fire either the AT-8 or AT-11's.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT-11_Sniper

[Maverick]

Also, you can't fire missiles from a rifled bore. Although I'm not sure if any tanks do this anymore. I know the M-60 could fire a missile down it's 105 tube, but I forget what it was called now.

M60's didn't have a missile, you're thinking about the Sheridan Tank and the shillelagh (SP??) missile. The guidance computer for the missile didn't like the cannon. Firing a cannon round (155mm) would scramble the missile system.

[Elfie]

you're thinking about the Sheridan Tank and the shillelagh (SP??) missile.

Yeah thats it.

[FrodeMk3]

M60's didn't have a missile, you're thinking about the Sheridan Tank and the shillelagh (SP??) missile. The guidance computer for the missile didn't like the cannon. Firing a cannon round (155mm) would scramble the missile system.

Perhaps' the M-60A2?

M60A2 'Starship'
 
M60A2 tank is driven off LARC 60 amphibious landing craft during the Army exposition PROLOG '85.The M60A2, nicknamed the "Starship" due to its space-aged technology, featured an entirely new low-profile turret with a commander's machine-gun cupola on top, giving the commander a good view and field of fire while under armor but spoiling the low profile. It also featured a 152mm caliber main gun similar to that of the M551 Sheridan light tank, which fired regular rounds as well as the Shillelagh anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). The fitting of a CBSS (closed breech scavenger system) which used pressurized air used to clear the breech after each shot solved some problems such as unburnt propellant from the main gun rounds fouling the barrel and pre-detonating subsequent rounds. The M60A2 proved a disappointment, though technical advancements would pave the way for future tanks. The Shillelagh/M60A2 system was phased out from active units by 1981, and the turrets scrapped. Most of the M60A2 tanks were rebuilt as M60A3, or the hulls converted to armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) vehicles.[1]

[Cthulhu]

M60's didn't have a missile, you're thinking about the Sheridan Tank and the shillelagh (SP??) missile. The guidance computer for the missile didn't like the cannon. Firing a cannon round (155mm) would scramble the missile system.

Shillelagh was also intended for the old MBT-70. (still looks cool after all these years)
Included an autoloader and a remote-controlled 20mm for anti-aircraft use. Driver sat in the turret.