M1A1 Abrams Engine Compartment

Among the many Very Cool Things that Ed Kubiak, Don Van Duzen, and myself came across at Fort Knox back in July of 1999 was this M1A1(HA) Abrams (a later production version, with provision for the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer - CITV - on the turret roof) with its engine pulled. Like all good modelers, we could not resist the opportunity to get some pictures of things we just don't usually see. In the photo above, Don helps to hold open the engine bay doors, with their huge air outlet grilles. Notice that the towing pintle has been turned 90 degrees to allow the rear doors to open, and that this tank is fitted with the T156 rubber chevron tracks.

This is a shot right up the centre of the engine bay. The circular housing at the front is the air intake for the AVT-1500 gas turbine engine; the engine's low pressure compressor fits into this housing. Notice the relatively clean and uncluttered appearance of the compartment, which is a dirty white in colour.

This is the left side of the engine compartment. The final drive housing can be seen low and to the left, with the dark area in the centre being where the drive shaft from the transmission connects to the sprocket. Inside the large housing in the centre of the photo are the many air filters for the engine. The heavily discoloured area of the tank at the lower right is from the engine exhaust. The primary cooling fan and engine and transmission oil coolers would fill the space visible in this picture.

On the right side of the engine compartment can be seen examples of the weathering and heavy discolouration due to the heat generated by the M1A1's turbine engine. The auxiliary transmission oil cooler and auxiliary cooling fan would normally occupy this area. With a gas turbine engine, the cooling system is extremely important, and occupies a large part of the engine compartment.

In case you were wondering where the M1A1's engine was, we found it not too far away from the rest of the tank, slung from an M88A1's forward boom. The Abrams' famous (or infamous) AGT-1500 gas turbine, combined with the X-1100-3B transmission, weighs approximately 8500 pounds in total, an easy load for the M88A1's powerful main winch; an engine change on an M1 can be accomplished in about an hour. The air intake for the engine and the low pressure compressor fan are visible at the front, while the big cooling fans flank the rear of the assembly. The large metal fairing on the top of the unit is the engine exhaust. The hoist used to lift the engine out of the tank can also be seen here, and would be very simple to scratchbuild. This would be a great way for somebody to display the Kirin M1 engine and AFV Club M88A1. Please excuse yours truly blocking the view of the M88A1.