---
title: "What happens to an Abrams tank if hit by a battleship shell"
description: "Yeah, Russia is generating some hype for the Armata family of tanks, but the Abrams tank is combat-proven and very hard to kill."
date: "2021-12-04"
modified: "2023-02-09"
authors:
  - name: "Harold C. Hutchison"
    link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/haroldhutchison/"
url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/abrams-tank-hit/"
categories:
  - "Tactical"
  - "Vehicles"
---

# What happens to an Abrams tank if hit by a battleship shell

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17319975/origin.jpg>)

The M1A2 Abrams main battle tank is arguably the best in the world. Yeah, Russia is generating some hype for the Armata family of tanks, but the Abrams is combat-proven and very hard to kill.

How hard? Well, in his 1994 non-fiction book, *[Armored Cav](<https://tomclancy.com/product/armored-cav>)*, Tom Clancy recounted a tale of how an M1A1 Abrams got stuck in the mud during the ground war of Desert Storm. It was then set upon by three tanks, Iraqi T-72s specifically. A round fired from roughly a thousand yards away bounced off, and the Abrams responded by blowing the T-72 that fired it to bits. A second round fired from 700 yards, bounced off, and the offending T-72 was blasted. The third T-72, at a range of roughly 400 yards, fired a round, which left a groove in the armor of the Abrams. It, too, was destroyed by a shot fired *through* a sand berm. These were, supposedly, Russia's state-of-the-art tanks.

![abrams tanks cannon shell](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17319976/origin.jpg>)
*(Public domain photo)*

Then, when help arrived, and the tank couldn't be freed from the mud, a platoon of Abrams tanks tried to destroy it. After several rounds, they detonated the onboard ammo, but the blow-out panels functioned as designed. Then, when the tank was retrieved from the mud, they discovered that it was still functional. The only issue? A sight was out of alignment.

So, what would it take to reliably destroy an M1 Abrams? Well, [someone at quora.com](<https://www.quora.com/If-a-WWII-Battleship-were-to-lob-a-16-shell-onto-a-modern-M1-Abrams-tank-from-say-8-miles-range-would-the-tank-survive-how-would-the-crew-fare>) asked what would happen if an Abrams was hit by a round from a 16-inch gun on an American *Iowa*-class battleship.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17319977/origin.jpg>)
*(U.S. Navy photo)*

The 16-inch armor-piercing rounds fired from the battleship weigh in at 2,700 pounds. The 120mm rounds fired at that Abrams stuck in the mud? They're about 20 pounds. Do a quick bit of math and you'll see that the *Iowa*'s main gun round is 135 times as heavy as an Abrams' main gun round. The Abrams may be the world's toughest tank and can take a ton of abuse, but not *this* level of abuse.

![](<https://www.wearethemighty.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy/assets.rbl.ms/17319978/origin.jpg>)
*(DoD photo)*

To put it simply, a main gun round from the *Iowa*-class battleship will destroy the Abrams easily. In a way, this speaks well for the Abrams – one can't really imagine anything short of an *Iowa*'s main gun being able to destroy one.

## Author
WATM contributor Harold Hutchison was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national web sites.