20 replies to this topic

[smiley119]

Is there any height restriction for being a tank driver in particular a Leopard 1A5(C2 MBT)? (I'm 170cm / 5'7") I'm making a back up plan for a job...

Sorry If this is in the wrong forum

Edited by smiley119, Nov 14 2012 - 19:54.

[_ErwinRommel__]

i dont think so but if your like8 foot then  i think so

[ysoignorant]

Errr. Leopard 1? I'm hoping you're talking about the C2. Any way, anything under 6' is fine I believe. Although, I do fit, but it's a squeeze (6'4).

Edited by ysoignorant, Nov 14 2012 - 20:31.

[fiddler54]

I think only the Russians had a height restriction under 5'7".

[smiley119]

ysoignorant, on Nov 14 2012 - 19:45, said:

Errr. Leopard 1? I'm hoping you're talking about the C2. Any way, anything under 6' if fine I believe.

Yeah the C2 but I was worried that people wouldn't know what it was so I refer'd to it as Leo 1... guys should have said 1A5

[Umka]

fiddler54, on Nov 14 2012 - 19:51, said:

I think only the Russians had a height restriction under 5'7".

my grandpa was slightly over 6' and he was driver in IS-3

[heloguy13907]

Well, I drove M1A1's for 3 years. I believe they are comparable in size to a Leo. And I'm 6'0" and fit just fine.

[kebab6597]

Having spent a longtime in The Household Cavalry where the minimium hieght to join was 5ft 9" we had several guys well over 6ft 6" one was 6ft 9" and they all fitted into both CVR(T) and Chieftains and then later Challenger so in the British army there isnt a restriction that i know of our crew seats are adjustable

Edited by kebab6597, Nov 14 2012 - 20:07.

[Jiggiwatt]

Getting onto a crew for a C2 isn't the easiest thing in the world, but good luck to you! I have a buddy who switched to armored recce as there were more slots to fill, but this was about 2 years ago.

[SpyGuy999]

No height restriction,  I believe the older C2s have now gone to the Impact Seating System (seat off the floor and attached to points in the upper hull) for blast protection purposes.

Only area I had problems fitting into on the Leo was the gunner's chair: tight fit but OK. I'm 5' 10".

[_ErwinRommel__]

well m1a1 is a monster its huge ut lepord is slightely smaller

[Tiger_23]

I have almost 190cm, so i cant be a tanker?? D:

[The_Chieftain]

Depends on how determined you are.

US Army height restriction for M1A1 is 6'1 or so. As you can imagine, I well exceed that. There are always ways around the system...

[Cosmeister]

I've been reading about this actually.  There is an ISO standard (don't remember the number at the moment) that deals with human measurements.  Most of the western tanks today try to fit people falling between the 5th and 95th percentile in height rank.  At the top end it is around 6ft, 6ft 1inch, something like that.  On the low end for men I think it was like 5ft 5 or so.  When women are included it drops to 5 foot.

[Bulldog02]

I am 5' 8" and I was quite comfortable in the drivers position when I drove, but did have to stand on the loader seat or a small box to see out of the loaders hatch when I loaded. A buddy of mine was 6' 0'' and he had a tighter fit in the drivers position, due to his legs being a tad long. Wish we had adjustable seats in our drivers positions.

Now, at 6' 0"" it's a tigher fit in the gunners seat, but at 5'8" 's, Gunners seat was very comfortable.

And yes Chieftain, I had a couple of really tall TC's I worked for..Used to laugh to myself watching them hunch over in the TC's seat buttoned up, as we couldn't lower his seat down far enough for him to sit up comfortably with his CVC on...Gunner complained (out of his presence) about his "bony Knees" in his back all the time...

[CaptBigMoney]

fiddler54, on Nov 14 2012 - 19:51, said:

I think only the Russians had a height restriction under 5'7".

I happened to meet a Russian tank platoon once, back in the 80's in East Berlin.  They were all about 5'0" to 5'6".  Except one poor guy who was probably a bit over 6'.  He must have had a growth spurt after he was conscripted, because his uniform pant legs and sleeves were about 3 or 4 inches too short.  They were also all of Asian descent, except their officer/commissar.  The Soviets used to send their Asian conscripts west, and European conscripts east, so they were less likely to sympathize with the locals in case of a rebellion.

[ScottD]

When I went in the US Army back in 1993, I found out I was 3/4 of an inch too tall to be a tanker. Max height is around 73 inches and I was 73 and 3/4s when I got processed through MEPS

[Robtheliberator]

fiddler54, on Nov 14 2012 - 19:51, said:

I think only the Russians had a height restriction under 5'7".

That was only on the small tanks (T-54, T-62, etc)

[zloykrolik]

ScottD, on Jan 26 2013 - 03:31, said:

When I went in the US Army back in 1993, I found out I was 3/4 of an inch too tall to be a tanker. Max height is around 73 inches and I was 73 and 3/4s when I got processed through MEPS

US Army must have put a height restriction sometime in the late 80's or so. I was a tanker in 1982 and later, and I'm 6'2", I was a TC on an M1A1 and didn't have a problem fitting in the tank. It was a tight fit in the gunner's seat for me though.

[Lunaris]

fiddler54, on Nov 14 2012 - 19:51, said:

I think only the Russians had a height restriction under 5'7".

Only loader have to be short. Just watch T-34 vs T-90 competition, and skip to 7 mnt for T-34 crew introduction, and guess who is the loader.