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Old 01-26-2013, 11:07 PM   #1
Blood Legend
 
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Default Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

Do modern military vehicles contain user manuals?

I'm not sure what other pertinent questions to ask, I'm mostly just hoping someone with an inexplicably in-depth wealth of knowledge comes in and drops a data bomb on me.
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Old 01-26-2013, 11:13 PM   #2
Kalzazz
 
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

The manuals for them do exist, Im not sure whether they are in the vehicle or not though
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Old 01-26-2013, 11:59 PM   #3
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

There are certainly quite extensive manuals associated with them. I don't know if there's a 'user's manual' as such.
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Old 01-27-2013, 01:23 AM   #4
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

Depending on how modern you're thinking there they might even have relatively easy to understand manuals. The WWII Pantherfibel (Panther tank primer) is a case in point. Not sure whether you can actually figure out everything you need to know with this alone, but it seems to go quite a bit of the way (Link). I kind of doubt that procedures would allow such things to be kept in the vehicle nowadays, if they even exist. Maybe somebody who served in the forces can shed some more light on that.
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Old 01-27-2013, 01:29 AM   #5
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blind Mapmaker View Post
Maybe somebody who served in the forces can shed some more light on that.
That's kind of what I'm hoping for, I'm running in a post-apocalyptic game and we found a downed Stryker. I immediately went diving in looking for a manual of some kind because information is an overlooked commodity.
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Old 01-27-2013, 09:59 AM   #6
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

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Originally Posted by Blood Legend View Post
That's kind of what I'm hoping for, I'm running in a post-apocalyptic game and we found a downed Stryker. I immediately went diving in looking for a manual of some kind because information is an overlooked commodity.
From my experience, there is a chance that a manual or two (known more-commonly as "TO," and there will be more than one) may be in the vehicle, but it's not necessarily likely. Manuals are not stored in the vehicle, but they are sometimes brought along when needed, or even left behind there after use. The most likely TO to be found in the vehicle will be related to "preventative maintenance" (AKA "PMCS"). BTW, these can typically be found online, these days, if you need to see one.

This is based on 20+ years ago; things might have changed in that regard.

[Edit: TM, not TO—been a while :P ]

Last edited by Gigermann; 01-27-2013 at 12:56 PM.
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Old 01-27-2013, 10:21 AM   #7
johndallman
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blood Legend View Post
I'm running in a post-apocalyptic game and we found a downed Stryker.
For a Stryker, the manuals may well be in the onboard computers. Getting those going is going to be harder than reading a paper manual, of course, but higher-TL equipment is often harder to salvage.
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Old 01-27-2013, 10:55 AM   #8
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

There should be some manuals on board, but not necessarily what you are looking for. That is, the manuals present will represent knowledge that the intended operators would (a) reasonably need in an emergency but (b) not be expected to know off the top of their heads. In other words, they will NOT waste space and weight on a book that tells you how to turn it on - you are already expected to know that! There may be some field maintenance manuals or the like, but operation is expected to be routine and should not require reference to a manual.

Also, what were the circumstances under which the vehicle was abandoned or lost? Crew abandoning such a vehicle would be expected to remove or destroy anything sensitive, and may well have taken a liberal stance on what that meant - they might have destroyed anything printed and wiped any computer memory, presuming they had the chance!
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Old 01-27-2013, 11:56 AM   #9
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

I spent 8 years in the Army and every unit I was in required that the Technical Manual (TM or "dash ten") be present in the vehicle as part of the standard load plan, used when we were on convoys or during field exercises. These manuals would cover not only how to start up the vehicle, but how to perform basic maintenance in addition to a wide variety of technical specifications (dimensions, weight, maximum grade, fluid and fuel types, etc). There will also be instructions on how to operate the vehicle in unusual conditions. The humvee TM, for example, shows how to put the vehicle in 4x4 drive and offers tips for operating the vehicle in snowy or desert environments.

The TM will usually cover several variant setups of a vehicle. In the example of a humvee this means the same technical manual is used for a truck set up as an ambulance, or a two-passenger with a flatbed and a winch, or perhaps a hard-top with a turret and hatchback. It should be noted that a TM only covers the operation of the vehicle. Any attached generators, weapons systems, comm equipment or computers would likely have their own documentation.
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Old 01-27-2013, 01:26 PM   #10
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Default Re: Quick Question for Military Vehicles and User Manuals

Quote:
Originally Posted by dire_peril View Post
I spent 8 years in the Army and every unit I was in required that the Technical Manual (TM or "dash ten") be present in the vehicle as part of the standard load plan, used when we were on convoys or during field exercises. These manuals would cover not only how to start up the vehicle, but how to perform basic maintenance in addition to a wide variety of technical specifications (dimensions, weight, maximum grade, fluid and fuel types, etc). There will also be instructions on how to operate the vehicle in unusual conditions. The humvee TM, for example, shows how to put the vehicle in 4x4 drive and offers tips for operating the vehicle in snowy or desert environments.

The TM will usually cover several variant setups of a vehicle. In the example of a humvee this means the same technical manual is used for a truck set up as an ambulance, or a two-passenger with a flatbed and a winch, or perhaps a hard-top with a turret and hatchback. It should be noted that a TM only covers the operation of the vehicle. Any attached generators, weapons systems, comm equipment or computers would likely have their own documentation.
Wooo!!

Now in a post-apocolyptic setting, a lot of these vehicles aren't just simply abandoned, their occupants were probably destroyed. In the event that you do abandon a vehicle in an orderly fashion, how likely is it that you destroy the manuals and other data?
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