King Of The Killing Zone: The story of the M-1, America's super tank

by Orr Kelly

By examining the development of this tank the reader gains valuable insight into tanks, armored warfare, and military/procurement. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1989

Reviews

[Michael Fuller]

A particularly cognizant in-period over view of the procurement of the M1 Abrams MBT.

[Zare]

Very interesting book about the development process of very complex combat system. I find these stories very informative because they show how far ahead is R&D team thinking and planning to ensure viability of these systems in coming decades. Discussions on how armor, engine and main gun were selected are very informative - especially point how bigger caliber is not necessarily the best and that quantity of munitions (and quality, especially after Shillelagh missile proved to be a nightmare) also plays significant role.

In the standard US manner, warriors of the people etc, there is lots of how General ("The General") McGeneral talked with Supplier ("Old Reliable") Jonson and worked closely with Engineer ("Tweaker") O'Spanner etc. After a while adding nicknames and so on becomes funny, but OK I guess this is to show how they are all on nickname basis,they are all equal, true brotherhood. If these were front-line troops, living together in a trench for last seven months I would say OK, but these are 3 or 4 star generals, equal part politicians and soldiers ...... as I said weird.

Then there is lots of standard talk about superiority of US equipment, but again it is expected, these types of books are very rarely objective, especially at the time when the book was written (1989) actual combat engagement using premium armored vehicles of two blocks never took place.

I have to say I was not aware that Leopard 2 was an option for US Army, and I agree that US armored vehicle industry definitely needed product of their own, due to the very different requirements, and views of armored warfare. Book shows very tight relations between UK and US (especially when it comes to armor) and pretty much non-trust with rest of the allies (Germany). Germans were treated a bit too harsh if you ask me, because they asked for reciprocity when it comes to military industry, if they were buying US equipment they expected US to at least buy German equipment - if nothing then guns. Of course US was not happy with this, although at the end they did license the production of German smooth-bore (and then customized it heavily) for later versions of M1.

Unfortunately due to too many differences even adoption of new German heavy gun a standard, did not resolve issue of weapon system differences when it comes to maintenance and supplies of allied [NATO] contingents.

Finally, introduction of new generation of combat vehicles brought with itself changes in the way war is to be fought. After Vietnam, US started to prefer more aggressive ways of waging war, especially with development of technical means to support this approach (guided missiles, heavy armor, satellites and air force reconnaissance and strike complexes). Of course this did not sit well with NATO allies, hat saw themselves as strictly defensive organization (heh, these people would be surprised today) so aggressiveness of new US approach to war was seen as a little bit too much, so new instructions had to be dampened a bit for European theater.

Highly recommended to all aficionados of armored vehicles and armored warfare.

[Brian]

This book came out in 1989, so deployment of the M1 Abrams was still fairly early on, and the likely opponent was the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. With that said, it's an interesting look at the procurement process and decisions that went into the M1 - decisions on main weapon and the 120 mm v. 105 mm cannon; propulsion system (turbine v. diesel); use of Chobham armor. Kelly does a nice job telling this tale of design, competition and procurement process in an interesting, insightful way. It's interesting now with an additional 3 decades+ of perspective to look at how the M1 has mainly fought in wars in different locations and different intensities than initially imagined. I did not agree with all of Kelly's assessment of the historic role of armor in WW2, for example, but found this to provide an interesting insight into the design decisions on the M1 and the procurement process with its challenges.

[Kenneth Flusche]

Politics vs the Military

[Jim]

Excellent history of the M-1 tank development.

[JZ Temple]

A history of the M1 Tank. OK, not for everyone, but if you are interested in the subject, it's a very readable, enjoyable work.

[George]

If you have an interest in what it takes to produce a really effective armored vehicle read this one. It's an eye opener!

[Matt Caris]

Fantastic look at the acquisition system and the tortured development of what turned out to be a remarkable weapons system, Pierre Sprey aside.