Author Topic: Do tank crews ever get "carsick"? (Read 6123 times)

mbear · « **on:** 23 February 2018, 14:10:11 »

I was rewatching a MythBusters episode and they said that a lot of astronauts get motion sickness. Then they explained why and I was wondering if tank crews ever got motion sickness. Everyone other than the driver is getting conflicting information from their eyes and their sense of motion, so that would seem a perfect recipe for a vomit-scented tank.

Anyone seen this in person? Or receive any training in how to counter it?

HobbesHurlbut · « **Reply #1 on:** 23 February 2018, 14:54:58 »

it's the disassociation between your body being at rest and your mind perceiving you are in motion.

elf25s · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 February 2018, 16:42:04 »

during deployment back during desert storm my buddy was in motor pool he can attest that after being assigned kp duty for doing something silly not dangerous he had been stuck on cleaning detail of apc and armor crew compartments that yes tankers do get car sick. there was one in particular he recalls because it was same crew and same tank he ended cleaning up after made it no fun to be stuck on that detail whenever they got back...and barf bags do not seal as tightly as you think

Nav_Alpha · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 February 2018, 18:02:37 »

Forget tank crews - try being the CARGO. Stuck in the dimly lit crew compartment, packed in like sardines because designers never factored packing in men and equipment, it’s hot... so bloody hot.

elf25s · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 February 2018, 18:27:47 »

Quote from: Nav_Alpha on 23 February 2018, 18:02:37

Forget tank crews - try being the CARGO. Stuck in the dimly lit crew compartment, packed in like sardines because designers never factored packing in men and equipment, it’s hot... so bloody hot.

ohhh i can sympathize i suffer thanks to my Mrs a very nasty claustrophobia...did not have it prior to getting married go figure.
i do not go to NYC unless i have to and used to go every weekend...

CrossfirePilot · « **Reply #5 on:** 23 February 2018, 18:57:55 »

Funny thing about claustrophobia and the Mrs. I started getting it really bad a couple years ago. Started to feel it when stuck in an airplane when it was stuck on the ground (though not when flying) and then when snorkeling. I know a few pilots (myself included) that get airsick when they are not the one whose hands are at the controls.

marauder648 · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 February 2018, 12:29:43 »

I know that it was a big problem during the MBT-70 tests. The driver for the tank sat in a self contained pod that would turn and angle in location to the hull whilst the turret he was in would turn and move independently. The result was motion sickness and dizzyness.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 February 2018, 14:16:00 »

Most armored vehicles have limited ventilation and little or no air conditioning, right? That right there is enough to insure that people will get motion sickness in them.

HobbesHurlbut · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 February 2018, 15:30:42 »

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 24 February 2018, 14:16:00

Most armored vehicles have limited ventilation and little or no air conditioning, right? That right there is enough to insure that people will get motion sickness in them.

add in the nuclear/biological/gas attack protection.

ColBosch · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 February 2018, 15:36:20 »

Hi! First-hand experience here, and I will attest that everyone blows chunks in the tank sooner or later.

idea weenie · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 February 2018, 15:43:00 »

Short version:
Inner Ear says you are moving, eyes say you are still (since all you can see is the interior of the vehicle). The when the eye and inner ear tell different things, this means to the old part of our brain that something is wrong, and for most of human history when that disconnect occurred it was because we ate bad food. So we developed a certain reaction, to remove the bad food before we died from it.

Result - motion sickness leads humans to blow chunks.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #11 on:** 25 February 2018, 04:06:48 »

One more reason why the TC (and I imagine the loader) stick their heads out of the top for "situational awareness." Being buttoned up with only vision slits and having the tank doing its thing is much more likely to redecorate the interior.

Hey Bosch, you got any experience with the Pattons or older machines? I've heard the automated hydraulics on the Abrams give it a smoother ride, but that means you're doing a rolling 'bumpy-float' motion rather than thudding on various terrain features. I'd imagine that would make the older machines a lot more painful in general, but the Abrams a chunkbucket.

marauder648 · « **Reply #12 on:** 25 February 2018, 04:23:55 »

When I was in Iraq and in the back of Warrior AFV's I didn't get motion sick but we usually had the mortar hatches open and would either be sat down inside or standing up looking outside.

Sharpnel · « **Reply #13 on:** 25 February 2018, 06:58:21 »

Quote from: ColBosch on 24 February 2018, 15:36:20

Hi! First-hand experience here, and I will attest that everyone blows chunks in the tank sooner or later.

I know I would if were in anything but the M1. The sell of diesel fuel makes me sick, especially the mess that the Army uses.

ColBosch · « **Reply #14 on:** 25 February 2018, 15:14:48 »

Quote from: Sharpnel on 25 February 2018, 06:58:21

I know I would if were in anything but the M1. The sell of diesel fuel makes me sick, especially the mess that the Army uses.

We burned Army biodiesel in the tanks now and then. The nice thing about the turbines is that you can put anything in them and they'll run. (Okay, having incredible amounts of power and torque were also pretty nice.) I will note that the Abrams never particularly smelled of fuel to me.

Black_Knyght · « **Reply #15 on:** 25 February 2018, 18:18:14 »

Quote from: Nav_Alpha on 23 February 2018, 18:02:37

Forget tank crews - try being the CARGO. Stuck in the dimly lit crew compartment, packed in like sardines because designers never factored packing in men and equipment, it’s hot... so bloody hot.

Couldn't agree more! AND while I never rode around in a tank, I've been in numerous APCs and IFVs and you take a helluva beating riding around in those.

Charlie 6 · « **Reply #16 on:** 25 February 2018, 18:56:32 »

Try an AAV-P7 in the surf zone after people have already gotten sick.

Nothing quite like three directions of movement, fuel exhaust, and vomit.

ColBosch · « **Reply #17 on:** 25 February 2018, 21:43:13 »

And that's why I joined the Army, folks. So I could heave my guts out on dry land. :D

Feenix74 · « **Reply #18 on:** 25 February 2018, 22:24:39 »

Yes, that is why I joined the Air Force. I have a life rule of trying to avoiding going into any environment where I am not at the top of the foodchain.

So wallowing in a surf zone, with diesel fumes and with my tendency towards motion sickness meaning that I become a human burley machine is something I will always avoid . . . sharks are the apex predator in a surf zone.

Much better to get motion sickness in the back of a C-130 which is doing nape-of-earth tactical flying. That way I can spend 45 mins with my head in a garbage bag and having my face turn as green as my DPCUs (camo uniform) - as one of my "mates" nicely put it.

Black_Knyght · « **Reply #19 on:** 26 February 2018, 03:53:58 »

Quote from: Charlie 6 on 25 February 2018, 18:56:32

Try an AAV-P7 in the surf zone after people have already gotten sick.

Nothing quite like three directions of movement, fuel exhaust, and vomit.

Been there, done that, and you are sooooo right!

mbear · « **Reply #20 on:** 26 February 2018, 11:06:22 »

OK. Thanks all!

One thing that occurs to me is that the recent trend in AFVs moving to seats that aren't bolted to the floor could be really useful not only for reducing IED damage, but for hosing out regurgitated crew food. Now I just need to insure that I include a hatch on the bottom hull to allow for the water (and stuff) to drain out.

Thantos13 · « **Reply #21 on:** 26 February 2018, 16:36:34 »

While not strictly a tank, submarine sailors get seasick too. ^-^

CrossfirePilot · « **Reply #22 on:** 26 February 2018, 19:42:30 »

Quote from: Thantos13 on 26 February 2018, 16:36:34

While not strictly a tank, submarine sailors get seasick too. ^-^

A friend of my brothers was on submarine and said that it was actually much worse when the boat was surfaced than when it was submerged.

HobbesHurlbut · « **Reply #23 on:** 26 February 2018, 20:02:02 »

Quote from: CrossfirePilot on 26 February 2018, 19:42:30

A friend of my brothers was on submarine and said that it was actually much worse when the boat was surfaced than when it was submerged.

underwater = no wave motion.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #24 on:** 26 February 2018, 20:03:26 »

Yeah, dive twenty or thirty meters when you're out at sea and it'll be smooth regardless of how rough the surface is.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #25 on:** 26 February 2018, 22:20:13 »

There's also the exceptionally terrible roll stability of a sub on the surface. There's virtually nothing to keep it aligned with the horizon, unlike large ships with a square cross-section and strakes, or a proper keel. And if you're completely surfaced, there's that big thing quite accurately called a sail that's gonna be grabbing at crosswinds...

At least they get the best meals aboard those boats, so it doesn't taste as bad as it could on the rebound.

MoneyLovinOgre4Hire · « **Reply #26 on:** 26 February 2018, 23:06:39 »

I'm not very familiar with sub operations. Why would a sub surface in those conditions? Don't modern subs move faster and easier when fully submerged in the first place?

Daryk · « **Reply #27 on:** 27 February 2018, 04:33:24 »

Quote from: HobbesHurlbut on 26 February 2018, 20:02:02

underwater = no wave motion.

That depends on the size of the storm. I've been rocked by weather when deep.

Nightlord01 · « **Reply #28 on:** 27 February 2018, 07:06:38 »

Quote from: Daryk on 27 February 2018, 04:33:24

That depends on the size of the storm. I've been rocked by weather when deep.

Indeed, I've got quite a few submariner friends who've all told me that subs can cop a pounding down to below 50m if the storm is particularly nasty.

Quote from: MoneyLovinOgre4Hire on 26 February 2018, 23:06:39

I'm not very familiar with sub operations. Why would a sub surface in those conditions? Don't modern subs move faster and easier when fully submerged in the first place?

Subs have places to be, and can't really transit confined, shallow or busy waterways underwater, it's a natural constraint. The real fun part is that subs can't actually submerge when the seas get above a certain level, so they just have to remain on the surface and tough it out. :-)

Quote from: Feenix74 on 25 February 2018, 22:24:39

Yes, that is why I joined the Air Force. I have a life rule of trying to avoiding going into any environment where I am not at the top of the foodchain.

So wallowing in a surf zone, with diesel fumes and with my tendency towards motion sickness meaning that I become a human burley machine is something I will always avoid . . . sharks are the apex predator in a surf zone.

Much better to get motion sickness in the back of a C-130 which is doing nape-of-earth tactical flying. That way I can spend 45 mins with my head in a garbage bag and having my face turn as green as my DPCUs (camo uniform) - as one of my "mates" nicely put it.

Dude, in the air your apex predator is the ground! You have to meet him someday!

Simon Landmine · « **Reply #29 on:** 27 February 2018, 08:58:04 »

Quote from: Nightlord01 on 27 February 2018, 07:06:38

The real fun part is that subs can't actually submerge when the seas get above a certain level, so they just have to remain on the surface and tough it out. :-)

Ouch.