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Computer games can give good approximations of modern combat and vehicle handling, such as EA Games Battlefield 2, detail game review and screen captures located on GameSpot.com website. Above, that me Uwe holding a M16 semi-auto rifle coupled to a M230 grenade launcher viewing M1 rolling through Battlemap Karkand : urban combat in a Middle Eastern city. A Brief History of the Grenade Launcher - grenadelauncher.com
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Rollover : Abrams driver-gunner view as it targets opponents. Within the game, M1s fires high-explosive (HE) warheads and not  armor-piercing ones. In the game, enemy tanks can be destroyed with 2 to 3 HE rounds, in real-life this will never happen since HE rounds cannot penetrate thick armor protection. Note Abrams in BF2 game has Hoffman Device on top of gun barrel used to electrically fired concussion rounds to simulate tank gunfire during training exercise, which would not found on frontline Abrams, guess EA Games BF2 creators made same mistake I did in assuming Hoffman Device was universally deployed :) Gamespot Battelfield2 Screen-Caps - www.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefield2/screenindex.html
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Another gaming story is that a friend of mine had a colleague who volunteered for US Army Intelligence service and assigned to the Green Zone in Baghdad-Iraq (located at the western bend of Tigris River). His friend brought along his gaming laptop and Battlefield2 game so he can played online in Iraq. We all chuckled since real combat is happen immediately outside the Green Zone, no need to play a game. But upon reflection, this is not a bad idea since in real life if one gets wounded, there is no such thing as a time-out for character respawn. Green Zone - www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/baghdad-green-zone.htm
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M1's armor piercing ammunition is the Depleted Uranium ( DU ) warhead. DU
controversy emerged after 1991 Gulf War. Some critics
stated that spent DU-rounds from planes and tanks littered
the battlefields of Kuwait, Iraq and Yugoslavia. These warheads produced radioactive Uranium dust which contaminated both
soldiers and civilians alike. Increases in lung and blood cancer
have been registered in those regions. However, no definitive proof exists between DU munitions and these illnesses. Current Issues on Depleted Uranium Weapons - www.antenna.nl/wise/uranium/diss.html
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DU opponents asserted that Gulf War Syndrome (illness inflicted
on American veterans  producing body weakness, muscle tissue deterioration,
bloody stools) is linked to radioactive poisoning. But others
countered that it could be from an Iraqi chemical attack (covered
up by the Pentagon), or US demolition team's accidental destruction
of Iraqi chemical agents in an open air pit, or adverse mixture
of anthrax vaccine with other medication. Gulf War Syndrome (PBS) - www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/syndrome/
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Depleted
Uranium warheads are produced from spent-fuel rods of nuclear power
plants. Uranium, being denser than regular steel armor, possesses greater kinetic
force or punching power upon impact. Since the Russians
also use DU munitions, US countered this threat by installing
DU-armor plates onto the Abrams, thereby negating the kinetic advantage. Depleted uranium - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depleted_uranium
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