The Lince was a Spanish main battle tank development program during the
late 1980s and early 1990s. It was intended to replace the Spanish
Army's M47 and M48 Patton tanks which it received through a military
assistance program between 1954 and 1975. The Lince was also intended
to complement the AMX-30E tanks manufactured for the Army during the
1970s. Focusing on mobility and firepower, the Lince program put
secondary priority on protection and aimed for a tank lighter and
faster than its competitors. The vehicle's size was also restricted by
the Spanish railroad and highway network. To achieve a sufficient level
of firepower and protection, given the size requirements, the Lince was
to use Rheinmetall's 120 mm L/44 tank-gun and German composite armor
from the Leopard 2A4. The Spanish government decided to upgrade its
AMX-30Es in the late 1980s, which distracted attention from the
program. The Lince was eventually canceled in 1990 when Spain adopted a
large number of North American M60 Patton tanks retired from Europe in
accordance with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lince_%28tank%29>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1768:
Taksin the Great was crowned king of the newly established Thonburi
Kingdom in the new capital at Thonburi, present-day Thailand.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taksin>
1908:
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Messina,
Italy, killing over 100,000.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908_Messina_earthquake>
1918:
Irishwoman Constance Markiewicz became the first woman Member of
Parliament elected to the British House of Commons.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Markiewicz>
1943:
World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the
1st Canadian Infantry Division captured the Italian town of Ortona.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ortona>
2009:
A suicide bomber killed 43 in Karachi, Pakistan, during a procession on
the Day of Ashura, the holiest of days for followers of Shia Islam.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Karachi_bombing>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fiddle (v):
1. To play aimlessly.
2. To adjust in order to cover a basic flaw or fraud etc.
3. To play
the violin
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fiddle>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
At terrestrial temperatures matter has complex properties which are
likely to prove most difficult to unravel; but it is reasonable to hope
that in the not too distant future we shall be competent to understand
so simple a thing as a star.
--Arthur Stanley Eddington
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Stanley_Eddington>