Originally Posted by
Frank S
Jon I couldn't say about the Abrams but many of the US tanks and others around the world the hulls and turrets were essentially made from large steel castings many of the other large components were steel forgings. Casting the hull in one piece saves time and money not to mention is makes structurally stronger than mere welding riveting or bolting could ever achieve.
I imagine that the process of creating a single casting of that size probably required more than one crucible of molten metal then re heating it if the oven and quenching would insure good molecular adhesion and alignment