Technical point only: Squeaking doesn't mean poorly maintained tank tracks.

[Aristus]

Between the track blocks, the road wheels, the idler wheel, and the drive sprocket, you’re going to have a lot of creaking and squeaking.

No matter how new or well-maintained all the elements of the tank tracks. It’s just a fact of life for tankers.

That is all.

Still reveling in how pathetically under-attended Dump’s wanna-be dictator parade was.

[Ocelot II]

1. But what if your parade audience is so sparse and quiet you can hear the squeaking?

It was kind of sad. A few bored people watching a tank trundle by, squeaking and clanking into the void.

[Aristus]

5. Interesting thing about the Abrams-series M1 tank:

Its turbine engine is so quiet that when an Abrams is headed your way, the first thing you’re likely to hear is the squeaking of the tracks, and not the sound of the engine.

[efhmc]

2. Wondering what happens to those tanks when they cannot be used even for parades any more.

[Aristus]

3. Lawn ornaments.

I’ve visited a lot of Army posts in my time, both as an Army brat growing up, and then of course during my own time in service. Every post has to have at least one tank to show off as a park decoration or something. Even if there are no tank units assigned to the post.

We built about 50,000 Sherman tanks during World War II, and there are still a lot of them around, many surprisingly in running condition. The ones that aren’t get farmed out to posts that want some muscular monuments.

[efhmc]

8. Thanks for your reply. Would they be too dangerous to use as playscapes in parks?

Surely they would. There was always a fuss to get to the steering wheel at the old fire engine in Zilker Park in Austin. I hated having to referee these conflabs but if I didn't guess who would get into the driver's seat and would not move until and unless a mom came around to move them.

[Aristus]

9. Definitely.

The tanks that were accessible to kids were padlocked closed, and hung all over with Keep Off signs.

[efhmc]

12. So very much "not toys". Thank you for your answer.

[ProfessorGAC]

21. They Did That In Budapest

The push to get the Soviets out when the USSR collapsed meant they couldn't afford to take the tanks home.
They didn't want to leave them for the Hungarians so they filled them full of concrete. Now they're useless 100,000 pound doorsteps.
So, the park district of Budapest put down mats of foam with holes in it, put shredded tires all around them, and they became jungle gyms for the kids.
As I remember, there were at least 12 of them parked there. Far east part of the city.

[MiHale]

4. He's waited 8 years for this parade...

What a disappointment. He’s got to have a hollow feeling inside. 8 years of mentally building up a grand and glorious parade with teeming boisterous crowds screaming in adulation for the Dear Leader…and it all falls flat.

BIG DISAPPOINTMENT, Donnie…bet it’s not the first time he’s faced that.

[Aristus]

6. He's failed at everything in his life.

Except getting brainless, semi-evolved rubes to believe everything he says. And really, that’s a pretty low bar to clear.

[3catwoman3]

7. "He's got to have a hollow feeling inside."

Altho he would no doubt vehemently deny it, I suspect at least some part of TACO Donny, however miniscule, has a hollow feeling inside all the time. At some level, he must know that he is a fraud and a screw up in so many ways. He's a shitty husband, a shitty father, a shitty businessman, and certainly a shitty president.

He wouldn't be so perpetually petty and vengeful, so unable to let even the smallest slight go unaddressed, if he were really the confident and successful person he likes to portray himself to be. All that glitters is not gold.

[Danascot]

10. Ukraine proved that tanks are obsolete

the whole parade could have been destroyed with a few thousand $ of drones.

[Aristus]

11. I'm not sure I agree 100%.

People have been predicting the end of the tank era since they debuted in World War I. But every time they develop an effective anti-tank weapon, someone comes up with an effective counter to it.

We can’t expect Russia to do that, though. Innovation is not their strong suit.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

20. Russia may not be big in innovation, but ...

... they can buy up-to-date technology from China that was copied from the U.S.

[Norbert]

13. It's metal on metal

and impossible to keep every bit of those tracks lubricated. I would doubt they would even try.

[lame54]

14. Metaphor for crickets

[allegorical oracle]

15. Ah yes. The terrifying squeak of Panzer tanks in every WWII movie ever made.

[Aristus]

16. This was especially true of the Panzers for one specific reason: No petroleum lubricants.

Germany went into the war already behind the 8-ball for not having a plentiful, reliable source of petroleum for oil, gasoline, diesel, and lubricants. They saved their reserves by finding alternatives to the latter: ball bearings. So many of the element in the Wehrmacht that relied on lubricants, like tank turret cupolas, track return rollers, steering gear, etc, were fitted with ball bearing mounts instead. All those bearings made for very intimidating sounding weapons systems. The hellish groaning of the Tiger tanks in "Saving Private Ryan" are an excellent example.

[Arazi]

17. There was some speculation on Bluesky that the older tanks were from private collections

And most likely driven by civilian owners.

The Army’s trained tank crews wouldn’t have experience with the older tanks (and judging by the lackluster enthusiasm and uninspired marching, many speculated nobody spent any time training for this parade)

[Aristus]

18. Yeah, that was some really piss-poor marching.

Even my wife, who has no knowledge of the military whatsoever, thought so. I had to march in a number of parades when I was in, and we were drilled within an inch of our lives for weeks beforehand, in order to march with precision and a topnotch appearance.

[ShazzieB]

19. Oh, this is great to hear!

Still reveling in how pathetically under-attended Dump’s wanna-be dictator parade was.

That is WONDERFUL to hear!

I have literally not watched any news since I got home from protesting yesterday. (To be honest, I haven't even thought about his stupid parade until now. ) I am absolutely thrilled to hear it was "pathetically under-attended"! Woo hoo!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

22. This made me smile