In article ,
"Paul J. Adam" writes:
In message , Peter Stickney
writes
Actually, John, you don't seem to have much of an understanding of how
tanks work, or what the typical engangement ranges are.
Five miles is right out.
The longest range kill achieved by a tank to date is a 3,000m (roughlt
1.5 Statute Mile shot by a British Challenger II vs. an Iraqi T72 in
the 1990-91 Gulf War.

5,150 metres by a Challenger 1. (Allegedly a first-shot hit)

Thanks, Paul & Andew - I knew it was an exceptional shot, but had the
details a bit mungled up. It doesn't change the point, though.

Even in open country like Iraq, the usual
longest range for a Main Gun shot on an opposing tank was 2000m. In a
European rural environment, the most likely engagement range would be
1000m. In more closed country, like, say, the Northeastern U.S., or
Maritime Canada, engagement ranges as close as 50-100m are not
unlikely.

Open-fire ranges tend to be considerably longer, 2-2.5 kilometres being
frequent when visibility permits: however, the enemy rarely agrees to
cooperatively sit at that range.

Sure. It only makes sense to shoot at the longest viable range.
Hand-to-Hand Combat is what you do when you're unarmed, naked, and one
foot is nailed to the floor, after all.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster