After firing a round from the turet gun on an Abrams tank, what
happens to the empty shell casing?

Hello,

Here you go:

"
Loading shells into the tank's main gun is also a critical aspect of a
tank crew's teamwork. Spc. Chester Foster, of Macon, Ga., is one of
the fastest loaders in the Army, capable of pulling a 40-pound live
shell out of the tank's magazine, placing it into the breach, closing
the breach, removing the spent shell casing after firing, and placing
a new shell into the breach within 3 seconds.
"

The empty shell casings are pulled out and most probably thrown in a
pile while the main confrontation is taking place. Afterwards, the
casings are probably machined and reused.


Search Strategy:

abrams tank pound shell on google:
://www.google.com/search?q=abrams+tank+pound+shell


Additional Links:

America's Top Guns on Front Line Against Iraq:
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/03/04/intl/intl.1.html


It's actually quite a sight to see if you can watch a military
documentary on Discovery or something like that.

skermit-ga

I tried contacting many Army web site w/o success.  My 9yo grandson
had asked this question several months ago.  Thanks!!!

From what I've seen (just on the internet, I've never been in a real
tank), current U.S. 120mm tank shells have a 'combustible case' which
is consumed as the round is fired, so there isn't any case to deal
with.

Take a look at this:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/120.htm

However, shells do still have a metal base, which I think is left 
lying on the floor of the tank.  Those bases were implicated in a
recent
fatal accident:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/m865.htm