I seem to recall the tankers in Germany securing the barrel with chains when they were on railcars but maybe that was just a requirement for rail transport.

Paul

It has one but it is internal and consists of two parts that work together but are not connected. One is a gear stop that engages the turret gears and prevents it from rotating. The other locks the gun breach to the inside of the turret roof and keeps the gun from going up or down.
Below is a photo of the lock that prevenst the turret from rotating.

Below is a photo of the lock, on the right side of the photo. A white Y-shaped arm with a black locking pin (with the circular key ring on it connected to a small chain to keep it from getting lost).


Unlike a traditional travel lock that requires a crewman to get out and disconnect, the Abrams can be freed up with a swing of the lever and reaching over to pull the disconnect pin.

Question about these pictures in particular. Is that an active duty vehicle, or a museum piece? Curious about the rust stains and chipping paint. And what looks to be condensation in the photo.

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I seem to recall the tankers in Germany securing the barrel with chains when they were on railcars but maybe that was just a requirement for rail transport.

Paul

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That was a German rail transport requirement. We wrapped the tube with cardboard, often sliding an MRE box cover over the tube and used cables and U-bolts to secure it to the rear lifting hooks. They didn't like not being able to see the travel lock locked in place because you can't tell if it was locked or not.