

Revamped Humvee Draws Military’s Eye - antr
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/business/humvee-with-chimney-for-safety-draws-militarys-interest.html

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sambeau
What a brilliant piece of non-obvious design. Who would have thought that
putting a huge hole through the middle of a vehicle would make it better at
withstanding a bomb blast?

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maeon3
So now we have to deal with maimed soldiers coming home instead of killed
ones? That's not the kind of kickass solution I expect from the most powerful
military on the planet on the subject of "light vehicles getting blowed up by
people putting bombs under the roads".

Require a senator to travel in one of those vehicles in the war zone and the
"Put a huge hole in the top" idea wouldn't go over so well. It would be
replaced by a pontificating senator analyzing why we are waging war like
retards.

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brianbreslin
well i think those soldiers would appreciate the opportunity to have a
slightly better chance of surviving, even if they end up injured. i'd rather
be hurt and living than dead.

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checker
I don't know if your statement applies to all soldiers universally. Or even to
all injuries. I think it depends on the person and what happened to them.

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zdw
If the blast is right under the vehicle, I can see how this could work... but
if it's on one of the corners, say the right front tire, wouldn't the entire
vehicle get flipped or thrown violently?

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rdl
That is what the v hull is for; it directs the blast outward. You would lose
the tire, wheel, and possibly axle, and could get a mobility kill on the
vehicle, but they train for that and go with multiple trucks (more if it is
more dangerous; there were places with a six truck night minimum, which was
scary for me in a single unarmored 1990s BMW sedan with a 9mm...). Other
vehicles radio in, cover the downed truck, may ram/push it out of the way, or
tow, or crossload. The big concerns are secondary ieds, triggered after the
response begins (so people out of the vehicles), or a ground assault
(uncommon, and rarely effective. One truck with a .50 up top can basically
hold its own.)

Traumatic Brain Injury, concussion, etc from overpressure or being thrown
around is possible, but everyone is wearing armor and helmets, and there is a
lot of mass in the vehicle, so if you can get rid of most of the energy of an
ied, and keep people from being pierced by anything, it is probably enough.
The big risk in ieds is massive bleeding; enough that military first aid
prioritizes bleeding control ("massive hemorrhage" in MARCH vs. ABC); usually
this is from a limb being blown off, since the torso is well armored).

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icegreentea
I wonder how this will affect maneuverability inside the vehicle. If
Generation Kill is accurate at all, it seems like they get kinda cramp
already.

But still, cool! Though I can't help but giggle at the device meant to drop
the gunner... seems like a mechanism that someone will use for pranking.

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mrj
Oh, they're pretty cramped. (As a Marine, I can tell you Generation Kill was
pretty good.)

Actually, I would be more concerned about a tendency to rollover just by
looking at it. When the armored ones first came out there were a bunch of
accidents because they were so much heavier at the top that they tended to
rollover more often.

We all had to take an off road class to drive them. :-)

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jessriedel
Do you mind elaborating? I've ridden in the civilian Hummer, and the
passengers in the back seat were so far apart they could barely touch each
other if they stuck out their arms. What makes it cramped? Equipment?

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mrj
Yeah, mostly stuff you wear. They're nice and comfy if you don't happen to be
wearing body armor, your weapon, a pack, food for a day, camelback, etc.

Every time a door opens you see Marines and all the gear that was stuffed in
there pour out. The hmmwv is spacious, but Marines typically wear at least
their body weight in gear. Nothing is ever really comfortable except lying on
your back or standing...

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rdl
There is also the guy standing in the middle of the 4 seats, plus all the ammo
boxes, brass, radios, blue force tracker (2 way gps; shows position of
friendly units on a map), etc. Rarely found on the civilian h1.

I did like how body armor and Kevlar made it easier to sleep on rough surfaces
(gravel, vehicles, benches, concrete walls, ...)

