Dumb question, are those fuel drums on the back end of the Challenger 2 just 45 gallon drums? or are they something different?
Curious
Joker

55 gallon for you yanks

And yes Peter as far as any of the pics I've seen they look like normal drums.

Image from TanXheaven

Jim

Thank you sir! Hey I tried a new technique for anti skid that heavy Arty passed out, using Rustoleum textured paint, works like a dream, subtle but would hold pastels or chalks well for a BATUS vehicle. Did you ever find those Leo wheels?
Cheers
Pete

Im somewhat curious though. Wouldnt that make it a very big weak point especially when the stray bullets penetrate it? Im sure the explosion would be large enough to damage the hull.

Not really. Unlike in Hollywood, JP-8 (Diesel, or British equivelant) does not burn well and does not explode easily. It is actually pretty stable. You can drop a match into a drum of diesel fuel and it will simply snuff out. There is less chance of a stray round puncturing them at the rear of the tank as well. Lastly, they are equipped with a quick release to drop them if needed. They are auxilliary tanks. The tank has its main fuel tanks within the hull as well.

I agree with Gino. I work around JP-8 (diesel) every day and i believe the Nato number is f-34, but i am not sure. It does not ignite very easily, the only danger would be if the tank was full of vapors. I have personally seen a cig. put out in a mason Jar of Jp-8, to show us how stable it was. However JP-8 is a mixture of diesel and Kerosene, so i am not sure what straight deisal would do, but i am still pretty confident Gino is correct.



Herky

Hi Guy
Sorry to jump into this discussion some explanation

Diesel is stable due to the fact that is vapor pressure is low maining that it is not really volatile solvent compare to normal benzine. That why Jazza thought about it ?

Refering to Jeremy, it is even more stabilize with Kerosene that have a boiling point of 150 degree.

An other ascpet to mention is the flash point of a solvent.
Here is the definition:
The flash point of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mix with air. At this temperature the vapor may cease to burn when the source of ignition is removed. A slightly higher temperature, the fire point, is defined at which the vapor continues to burn after being ignited. Neither of these parameters are related to the temperatures of the ignition source or of the burning fuel, which are much higher.

Here are the comparision for the differents type of gaz

Gasoline:
Flash point: < -45°C
Autoignition temperature: 246°C
Diesel:
Flash point: >62°C
Autoignition temperature: 210°C
Jet Fuel:
Flash Point: >50°C
Autoignition Temperature: 210°C


As you can see Gasoline has a very low flash point, so have a really tendency to burn rapidly with a spark or fire

I hope it is not too technical

seb

good explination seb, well put.




herky

Dear Jeremy
i'm not in a the military, this is more of my field.

Just burn my hand one month ago with low flash point solvents here at work. so i'm a now an expert in fire and explosion :-) :-) , unfortunalty for my boss .

Cheers
seb

A few years ago I went on a fire-fighting course, and we were shown a lighted match thrown into a tray of diesel. It went out, so pure diesel isn't very flammable either.