ExactlyMyPoint

I just finished watching a Vietnamese martial arts movie. Ya. Go figure.

It took place in 1950s Vietnam. The hero and heroine were escaping. They shoot a military truck in the gas tank and it explodes thereby facilitating their escape.

OK, OK, I know. It is Hollywood, or at least the Vietnamese equivalent. But if a bullet were to strike a gas tank, especially a vintage 1950s truck, would it explode? Or does it only explode if you are an escaping hero?

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GWRedDragon

The Mythbusters have tried this and their conclusion was that a shot gas tank cannot explode. They tried different amounts of gas in the tank and even tracer rounds. The tank did not explode no matter what they did.

Not absolute proof, but it's something.

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paul34

You can also watch this. Maybe not as "current" as MythBusters, but I think its a pretty straightforward demo. They do blow it up at the end though on purpose, just for the hell of it, heh.

YouTube - Deadly Weapons - Gas tank Myth (petrol Tank)

TriggerFingr

I agree, I don't think you can blow up a gas tank with a bullet, even tracers unless there is more to it. Like a damaged electrical system, extreme impact by the vehicle or some other unlikely circumstance!

buckeyeLCPL

Well, there are always incendiary bullets, I don't believe mythbusters tried those.

Would you count a 40mm He grenade as a bullet, it kinda looks like one?

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dukalmighty

Mythbusters did use incendiary bullets and they caught the gas tank on fire after shooting it multiple times but the tank did not blow up

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Sticks

.50 cal with HE, then it will blow up.

Hydrogen cell or propane car, and 30 rounds of steel core ammo, you might get a bang.

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Yoda

Maybe if the car has a gaseous fuel tank such as propane or hydrogen, otherwise there is no air fuel mixture. The time and energy required to convert liquid fuels to gaseous would retard the reaction and prevent an explosion. Liquid will not burn, just the vapors that come off of it.

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David in FL

Well, waaaaayyy back-in-the-day, my office was an M60 tank. Those "bullets" would pretty much do the job!

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Andy W.

I get a chuckle whenever I watch old movies and a car explodes after leaving the road and heading down a cliff.

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