Question on the Hoffman device wiring- where did it go into the turret for power?
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Here’s the long version - The Hoffman cable was routed over to the loader’s side of the tank, and into the tank from behind the loader’s hatch through the periscope mount along with the cables for the MILES belts. Once inside the tank, the cables continued through the loader’s station where it plugged into a 24 volt outlet on the hull networks box - a big box of curcuit breakers under the loader’s seat. How neatly the cables were run depended completely on the crew, but most ran the cables pretty neatly. If it was done right, everything could be secured with the velcro strips on the MILES cables. If you left enough slack behind the hatch you could open and close the loader’s hatch easily. MILES cables were run similarly from outside to inside the tank but ran off two 6 Volt batteries in a battery box tucked away in a corner of the loader’s station.
Also check your reference for Hoffman location - 3-35 Armor mounted them in place of the smoke grenade launcher on the loader’s side of the tank.
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If the coax machine gun was not being used, the hoffman cable could be run through the coax opening.
Ken
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Never saw that done, I know unit MGs and posts like Fort Stewart had MILES contact teams who had specific SOP on how they wanted the systems mounted. I don’t recall going out to the field without the coax mounted, even if it was plugged or wrapped to keep it clean.
Where did you stow the excess cable? Coax box? Seems like it would be a pinch hazard running across (or under?) the gun, behind the radios and then to the HNB power outlet.
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The idea originated with the M60A1/3 tanks, and migrated to the M1, especially the early ones with the 105mm gun. The hoffman mounted on the gun tube, and the coax port was right there.
Now you could only do this if you were not firing the coax, which was often as you couldn’t fit the laser emitter to it.
Once inside the turret, the cable went by the coax, over the belt feed tray, behind the radios, and then connected up with the rest of the miles cables.
Ken
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Gotcha - on the M1s the laser transmitter went in the breech and the firing/trigger cable ran from the junction box up and over to the breech. AFAIK we never had a laser for the coax on the M1s. My first duty station, 3-35 Armor in Bamberg, had just drawn brand new M1A1 when I first arrived so I didn’t have any experience on the M60. Funny enough, my next duty station, 2-77 Armor at Fort Carson had a mix of M1 and M1IP and 10th Cav still had M60A3s when I PCS’ed in late 1991 after Desert Storm.
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This is going to sound bizzare but I just remembered - there was a MILES control box that mounted above the HNB - the Hoffman cable plugged into the MILES box, and the MILES plugged into the HNB power outlet. The two six volt batteries were to keep power to the system so you wouldn’t get a self kill when power was lost starting the tank. The MILES cables also plugged into J1 or J2 of the HNB to tie into the fire control to shoot the laser. When the trigger was pulled, a signal went through the fire control, to the MILES box and out through the Hoffman cable to fire the simulators. Way too much information but once I remembered I had to get it out of my head!
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