Expert: Peter Eriksson - 5/9/2009

Question
Dear Sir,
i would like to ask about the effect of sand on tank cannons. say a tank is operating in a very dry and sandy region, like Iraq. my question is: with all the sand, sandstorms and omnipresent dust, does it affect the barrel of the cannon in any way? what happens when sand grains get deep inside the barrel, and then the gun fires? do they melt? do they get between the projectile and the barrel causing 'scratches'? do they simply get pushed out the cannon by the pressure without causing any damage? does it look the same for smoothbore and rifled barrel? if such issues do exist, are they similar with m1a2 smoothbore as well as with UK's rifled Challenger 2 barrel?
Thank You very much in advance.
Yours sincerely
Mark

Answer
The crews are well aware of what is expected of them when it comes to a functional gun. If the weather or environment is such that there is a lot of dust they will try to protect the muzzle if the situation permits. If not, they will clean out the gun tube at the first possible time.

A little dust in the gun does not cause any trouble at all. At the most maybe a little bit more burnt residue left on the tube walls. The tubes are often lined with a very hard material so scratches are not common.

Without having full knowledge I would hazard that a rifled barrel can get worn faster in a dusty environment but at the same time the dust should have even less effect on a fired round.

Hope my answer helps