The ground in SE Asia is too soft for MBT.
The roads are too narrow.
The jungle too dense.
Small tanks are are more easily concealed in the forest.
Speed is more important than armour.
The 75mm gun has new ammo.
We don't need tanks cos we have other weapons like_________(fill in
the blank)
The tank is an offensive weapon useless not defence
All over SE-Asia you'll find only light tanks.
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These are just some of the reasons Singaporeans usually give when
asked why we are so, so hopeless in the armour department. We
readily accept and repeat every weak little excuse we've heard and
we even invent some ourselves.
I applaud you guys for your loyalty to the country and faith in the
authorities and all that but it is time to open your eyes to the
truth.
Whatever the role of our light tanks in Singapore, the limitations
of terrain, the speed, concealability, powerful ammo etc...there
comes a time when this little tank has slow down or even stop to
fight. And this is the time it is exposed to every anti-tank weapon
imaginable. And if this tank is lightly armoured cos it's small, it
and its crew will be easily destroyed by the lightest of anti-tank
weapon.
The MBT is not big because it is good to be big. The MBT is big cos
it needs heavy armour for protection of crew.
The Israelis have fought countless wars, many of them inside the
cities of Lebanon and Palestine. Still, they saw no value in light
tanks of ANY kind, least of all the AMX-13 - which they gladly
disposed of. They used the Centurions, M113 and the
heavily-armoured Merkava MBT INSIDE THE CITIES. If you want
pictures I'll post them.
The Israeli are also expert at upgrading and improving equipment.
They almost never throw anything away as they are constantly facing
arms embargo. They were using the Shermans way into the 60s or
later cos its thick armour protection was still sound.
Yet, they got rid of the AMX-13. They did upgrade the gun to 90mm,
I think. Still the Israelis got rid of it.
