How many tanks are there in the army?

Answer 1

During the Vietnam War, the US Army/Marines had well over 12,000 tanks in their inventory. Mostly consisting of M103 Heavy Gun (120mm) Tanks; M41 Walker Bulldog Light (76mm) Gun Tanks; M48 Patton Medium (90mm) Gun Tanks; and the M60 Combat Tank 105mm Gun MBT-Main Battle Tank (which entered service in 1960). The M551 Sheridan Tank armed with a 152mm gun was actually designated the "Armored Airborne Reconniassance Assault Vehicle." AFTER the war, it "may" have been re-designated a "tank."

Approximately 200 Sheridans were destroyed during the Viet War, primarily due to it's inherit combination of using an aluminum hull and caseless 152mm high explosive main gun ammo. When hit by RPGs or land mines, those two elements conspired to create a burning and exploding tank. Consequently, no crewman ever bothered to attempt to put out a fire on a Sheridan, in Vietnam. When a Sheridan took a hit, men bailed out! And it was left to burn. Otherwise, it was an excellent tank. It could swim (the only tank in the US arsenal that could!), it was fast, it was harder to throw a track (double teeth/center guides), it was lighter (17 tons) and wouldn't sink as quickly as a Patton tank would (it seemingly got stuck less), and it was reliable under war conditions. It's 152mm was very good even when firing caseless ammo (completely caseless, not like today's partially caseless M1 Abrams 120mm ammo). The Sheridan flew in the air about a foot when firing, but that just meant you had to hold on. Firing on the move was frowned upon though, at least firing a broadside. Normal procedure was, stop and fire, then move out again. Patton's fired "Thunder Runs" as SOP (Standard Operating Procedures); a 90mm simply gave the Patton a gently rock while firing on the move.

Since the end of the Vietnam War and Cold War, even though nearly 10,000 M1 Abrams MBT's have been built, the US Army/Marine Corps has cut back on their armor battalions. Base's have been closing down since the late 1980's. Units have been deactivated (colors/flag retired). And most important of all, the face of warfare has changed. Instead of fighting some countries/nations ARMY, AIR FORCE, or NAVY, today's US Military is fighting terrorists which have NO Army, Air Force, or Navy! Consequently, the M1 Abrams doesn't have any tanks to fight! It's out of a job. So the new movement now, is reduce standard MBT's, and start gearing up for "the Global War on Terrorism" and build/field war machines that can deal with this type of conflict. An armored fighting vehicle that can deploy fighting personnel, firepower, and still retain mobility and armor protection for it's crewmen.