A little OT, but speaking of Aberdeen Proving Grounds...when I was a lowly ROTC cadet in 1981, my unit went there on a "Field trip." The gear-head Ordnance guys showed us a classified video of a WWII Japanese 14" naval cannon, ground-mounted, being fired point-blank into the turret side of the then-new M-1 Abrams MBT. After the smoke cleared and the tank stopped rocking...no penetration. This definitely motivated me to go Armor. Went into M-60A3's first; didn't get my hands on an M-1 until 1988-1989, when the 194th Armor Brigade transitioned over to "slightly used" 11th ACR M-1's, and went to Korea.

Seen it. I was involved in Test and Evaluation on the M1A1. IIRC they set aside the first 3-5 tanks for "destructive testing." This included one that would be tested with chemical agents. I recommended they shoot the s*** out of the one they were going to contaminate, but the guy in charge seemed incensed that they might save the cost of a tank! You would have thought I had suggested he sacrifice his first born. I guess he figured he had the authority to destroy an extra tank, so he would. The problem with the contaminated tank was that it could never be put into the inventory for use, nor used in a museum or anything, since even though it was decontaminated, regulations prohibited putting it where troops or the public would have access. I am still convinced that the device is some kind of chronograph.

Actually it's called the " STUBBY ". It was designed to protect the tank from future dead beat dad lawsuits..

I think y'all are missing the obvious: a joke. Could it be a...what's the polite word...phallus?

The film you speak of is a prop and not real.

It is a "sound supressor" or silencer for arty training some place were they want to test fire it, but have local problems with noise. Those cans are shipping containers for helo engines and other parts that require inert gas to prevent long term storage problems. They have been welded together to reduce muzzle blast of the M-109 A6 in the picture. Which may or may not be a put up. I'll bet it gets a 30DBa reduction in sound pressure! Now what do I win?

the ferkin thing is a real price of kit for cryin out loud! It's used by the german army for veolocity and break tests. it also is designed to act as a suppressor. this thing first cropped up a year ago. there are numerous shots of it on some of the german armoured forums. (JED??). Mil Forums like The Basement have identified it in the past. it's not photoshopped. It's the real deal.

GF and Shooter are right. I just Googled it, and it is used by the Germans. It makes sense because they have to operate in civilian areas, or very near to them because of the population density. Everyone jumps to the conclusion that photos can be easily faked.. not true at all. In fact it's bloody difficult, I've been working as a pro with Photoshop for eight years, and I have yet to perfect the "doctored" photo.

For Petes sake ---- Would you please post the links? I have some folks I would like to show that this is real.