It was… acceptable. It Did Not Suck. I had a beer beforehand, and was thus mellow, relaxed, and ready to NOT THINK AT ALL about the Thing With The Tank.
What? This Thing With The Tank:
On the other hand, Hannibal and the Thing With The Dogs in the beginning? Good way to establish the character.
Well, it’ll be good Mythbusters fodder, at least.
Thanks: I need some mindless entertainment, and is sounds like this qualifies.
I will point out that the M551 Sheridan was actually rated for low-velocity airdrop from a C-130 or a C-141, as well as a low-altitude parachute extraction, where they’d strap it to a pallet. It’s a little dubious to think of a Sheridan as a TANK, as it had aluminum armor, but it did have a 152 mm gun that could also fire anti-tank guided missiles.
The definitive line on the Sheridan was delivered by the commander of an Abrams in the first Gulf war. His M1 pulled up next to an M551. “This is your tank,” he announced. Then he pointed at the Sheridan. “This is your tank on drugs.”
Based on what I saw at the airborne museum in Fayetteville, you did not want to ride with the palletized cargo.
With repsect to the Sheridan: a little tank is better than no tank.*
*So I heard from my brother. But then, we had been drinking.