This isn’t so much a bad idea (I’ve seen much worse ideas… bought and paid for…) as it was a misguided idea.
The correct answer to poor recon and poor ammo is, of course, better recon and better ammo. And the concept of having a minimum viable recon platform also sharing 100% parts commonality–and target commonality–with your tank is great!
But at the end of the day, you’ve shipped out some 140,000 pounds of steel with 11 people, and you begin to ask yourself–wouldn’t it be better to just ship out 3 normal tanks and 12 people? Is the M47 really that bad off?
I think that more than anything kills the ‘chick and hen’ concept… but designing a tank to also be a suitable recon platform is actually worth considering.
the 50s and 60s were a magical time
This isn’t so much a bad idea (I’ve seen much worse ideas… bought and paid for…) as it was a misguided idea.
The correct answer to poor recon and poor ammo is, of course, better recon and better ammo. And the concept of having a minimum viable recon platform also sharing 100% parts commonality–and target commonality–with your tank is great!
But at the end of the day, you’ve shipped out some 140,000 pounds of steel with 11 people, and you begin to ask yourself–wouldn’t it be better to just ship out 3 normal tanks and 12 people? Is the M47 really that bad off?
I think that more than anything kills the ‘chick and hen’ concept… but designing a tank to also be a suitable recon platform is actually worth considering.