What are the odds of surviving a military tank?

Answer 1

All US tanks are small arms (bullets) survivable; only the Vietnam era M551 Sheridan was probably the least survivable of them all. The M551 was constructed of an aluminum and a steel turret & gun. This was due to it's swimming and air drop capabilities. The Sheridan also fired a completely caseless 152mm main gun round; nothing but smoke came out of the breech after firing.

When striking a land mine or taking an anti-tank rocket, when the 152mm cartridge was contacted by flame from the mine/rocket, the Sheridan caught fire; burned and exploded. While many armored vehicles in Vietnam caught fire after hits, the crewmen often pulled the fire extinguisher handles (emergency handles installed in the vehicles) & attempted to put the fire out (after awhile they didn't even bother to do that, they just bailed). However, with the Sheridan, when it took a hit...which was often, the crew IMMEDIATELY bailed out! And let it burn to the ground. The turret would sink into the melted aluminum hull. Of all the armored fighting vehicles in the war, only the M551 was intentionally abandoned with no serious attempts at saving after taking a hit.