Re: Bullets + Gas tanks. The truth?

["Scott" <becubed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If by big tankers you mean the 18 wheel trucks with the tanks on the back then
I think that you might penetrate the tank. In Australia the tanks tend to be
either all aluminium or stainless steel. They aren't "armoured" in any way.
Here is a link, the only one that I can find after a quick search, it South
African but the tank design shouldn't be too different.
http://www.truckcoza.com/diesel1.htm
or 
http://www.truckcoza.com/dtank2.htm
for a two compartment tank.
In both cases the tank is constructed from 5mm thick mild steel plate.
Also the tanks aren't pressurised at all, infact they have inspection hatches
on the top. A few years ago a Darwin Award hopefull of a tanker driver here
in Australia inspected the remaining fuel in his tanker by leaning in through
the manhole with a cigarette lighter. Surprisingly he lived as the blast blew
him out of the hatch.

Scott

>> > What about those big gas tankers? Will it destroy a city block if I
>> > shoot at it with a 5.56?
>>
>> You won't even penetrate the tank.  Those things are heavily armored for

>> a reason.  You'd need a fifty-cal, or something in that range.
>>
>> Even then, there'd be no explosion, nor would the gasoline catch fire.
>> The tanks are purged with nitrogen, which is an inert gas.  There's no
>> oxidizer to react with, thus, no fire.  Once the gas spurted out the
>> fifty-cal hole at high pressure, though, it'd aerosolize and at that
>> point a stray spark could be catastrophic.
>>