From back in my service time, everything was being switched to metric. I was wondering how metric in the military is it today. Do Humves have fuel gauges in liters? Are all the nuts and bolts on US equipment all metric? What kind of tools do mechanics in the military have?
Nope, all my fuelers deal in gallons, and pounds since the helicopters and other aircraft deal in weight. Most if not all of the vehicles in the motorpool use gallons and MPH as well.Originally Posted by GregLaROCHE
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We were getting metric add on tools in our tool sets when I got out of the Army in the mid 90’s.
All of the maps were in meters/km, odometers still read miles
Don’t know where they are at now.
Back in the 70s (when I was in Jr high) the country was pushing "we're going metric whole hog" we where taught the metric system proficiently. Then it sorta of died out as a mandate, and you have to have two sets of wrenches to work on anything not wholly made out side the USA. Fortunately I went into the medical field and am quite comfortable with the metric system of weights and measures. I've never understood why we didn't go through with the conversation years ago??
Though the weights and measures are still in imperial units (often with metric conversions) just due to the way industry has been going at least for ground vehicles the majority of the platforms are now metric. Tool kits sets and chests that were once SAE centric are being re-looked at and converted to more metric based. This now pretty much leaves the dwindling legacy system as the minority.
What made me think about this is all the military equipment being sent to Ukraine. What if they need a simple bolt to repair something. Is the equipment being sent metric friendly, or does everything come with spare nuts and bolts etc?
Them boy's look to be pretty bright ... If we send it ... I bet they can figure the wrench problem out easy .
Gary
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I'm sure there are going to be parts and mechanics to go with the equipment, after all US taxpayers are paying the bill.
I don't know about the machines. All the PX's and BX's we worked on were built with metric block and brick
It’s not the wrenches fitting, I was wondering about, but the different threads.
In the early 70's, I was in the Industrial Education program at Western Michigan University - Kalamazoo, MI and it was designated as a "metric education center". Sorry - I'm "old school" and it was a PIA. I won't name the professor who was supposedly spear heading the program (even though I'm sure he has passed by now) was a "self important" individual and the whole thing was so disorganized that it was like a dog chasing its tail.
When I went to work in a local industry in Kalamazoo after graduating while my wife was finishing her degrees,, I worked in an Engineering Department and the company held a license from a German company to manufacture a specific type of cable handling system for power and control cables on such things as gantry cranes. At that time, all of our drawings had to be "dual dimensioned",which was a farce as we did not utilize metric bolts, etc,.
We have a gal that is like a daughter to us that has worked at the Federal Center in Michigan for a long time. Part of her job is to try and "standardize" parts between the various branches of service. An example is the the Marine
Corps would/will have a part number for a 1/2 X 2" fine thread machine bolt, the Navy will have a different part # for the same item as will the Air Force, etc. Then add in a piece of equipment supplied under government contract who will refer to the same item by their own part #. You'd think that it would be common sense for all to get on the same page - but we're talking "government" here - so it is a constant and continuous issue providing man government jobs at taxpayer expense which could be eliminated if common sense was used. A number of years ago, she was on a team who went to Virginia where they basically tore down a new type of helicopter, part by part with the help of military mechanics, to catalog and assign part numbers to each part so that hopefully, im the end, if several of the branches of service used the same helicopter, the same part numbers would be used in order to be able to keep spare parts supplied if needed in a timely manner.
I can't answer your question . . but as stated above . . the Ukrainians aren't stupid and I'm sure that they are capable of jury-rigging if necessary . . . if not . . . then Im sure that they could probably buy all the spare parts they need from the Taliban . . . . after all, Biden and his crew left billions of dollars of equipment in
Afganastan when he pulled his big retreat.
Heard they gathered up all the standard adjustable wrenches and replaced them with metric versions, at a significant cost to taxpayers.
Non-CONUS Fed project construction was double dimensioned or wholy metric in design. Japan, Caribbean, Gitmo, Ascension Island, etc. NASA is big on metric, but occasionally short on conversion, garnering impact into terrain on Mars rather than the expected "soft landing".
If it was easy, anybody could do it.
If we haven't sent them a few rednecks to go along with the wrenches, it will probably never work.
Wayne
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
Ok here goes at 8 or 9 years old was asking why water boils at 212° and freeze at 32° why doesn't it boil at 100° and freeze at 0°. The metric system isn't that difficult everything is on 10. Generally I can convert mph to kph in my head same for pounds to kilos.
Last edited by DocSavage; 10-17-2022 at 07:07 AM.
I remember that nothing in the Air Wing was metric.
Tools, bolt threads, volumes, distances--- nothing.
One odd thing I noticed was we measured fuel loads in airplanes as pounds, not gallons.
It made it faster to calculate and stay at/under the max. take off weight in relation
to whatever else the plane was carrying where ever you were.
However; the Grunts were all into it for distances.
All their maps were in meters and 'clicks'. If you're calling in artillery for close support--- you better have it right.
In my early years, the rifle ranges we qualified on every year were already real old, and measured out in yards.
As the years went on--- they started calling the stages of fire as meters. 200 meters, 300, then 500 meters.
Meters are a little longer than yards--- but they never moved back the firing lines or target carriages to compensate.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
My Army time 77-91 all tools for tanks were stardard US sizing. With the fielding of the M1 tanks, tools began to incorporate metric sizing, some still standard. As far as maps, tactical field info for firing missions and such they were always metric.
Last edited by daengmei; 10-17-2022 at 12:48 PM.
Most of the tanks are gone and the windows don't rattle anymore. I won't be able to sleep now.
I can work in standard American or metric, but don’t give me a tape measure with both next to each other. I always forget which one to look at and it takes time to get my brain unconfused.
Please why should the USA adapt to the Beggers [ukraine] by adapting to metric. Let them figure it out.
Metric has failed in the USA get used to it.
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