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Modeling USAREUR, Cold War


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It was summer of 78 when we traded Sheridans for M60A1 Rise passive, I PCSed in Oct. 79 early 80 they got M901 TOW tracks and M60A3s with passive sights. I think they got slick M1s in 82 and had them for REFORGER. I had ETSed from active in 81 before the M1s came on line anywhere. I joined the NG soon after and ended up on M48A5s ablast from the past retired off of slick M1s.

TC

The M1 made its debut in USAREUR for REFORGER 82 (September-October). The 3rd ID had the honor of being the first unit to get them. They had only one company with M1's and they were all painted Olive Drab at that time. The unit (1st ID) I was in sat for a week in an AA (assembly area) across from the M1's that sat in a woodline while we waited for REFORGER to start. I never saw the M1's again during REFORGER 82 once the manuever started. I believe their use was very limited if they were used at all during the manuever. Also if memory serves me correctly there was some doubt if Congress was going to continue to provide the funds for the M1, so the US Army saw REFORGER as an opportunity to sell the M1 to Congress. There was some fudging of what the M1 actually did on REFORGER 82. And the rest is history.

Mike

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The M1 made its debut in USAREUR for REFORGER 82 (September-October). The 3rd ID had the honor of being the first unit to get them. They had only one company with M1's and they were all painted Olive Drab at that time. The unit (1st ID) I was in sat for a week in an AA (assembly area) across from the M1's that sat in a woodline while we waited for REFORGER to start. I never saw the M1's again during REFORGER 82 once the manuever started. I believe their use was very limited if they were used at all during the manuever. Also if memory serves me correctly there was some doubt if Congress was going to continue to provide the funds for the M1, so the US Army saw REFORGER as an opportunity to sell the M1 to Congress. There was some fudging of what the M1 actually did on REFORGER 82. And the rest is history.

Mike

I remember talking to an ex-armor guy that ended up in my infantry unit about the early M1's. He like the power and armor but said that the M-60A3 actually had a better thermal sight and fire control system than the first M-1's. Said the A3 was the first tank that allowed the Army to fight effectively at night.

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I remember talking to an ex-armor guy that ended up in my infantry unit about the early M1's. He like the power and armor but said that the M-60A3 actually had a better thermal sight and fire control system than the first M-1's. Said the A3 was the first tank that allowed the Army to fight effectively at night.

Having crewed, and commanded both vehicles I can say he was absolutly right. The A3s thermals were actually developed from the M1s. The M1 had the themal channel and day light channel in the same eye piece. The M60 had them seperate so you could go between sights. The M60 thermal channel was like a small TV that you could look at with both eyes and could easily use in a gas mask. The seperate laser range finder also gave the TC a higher power sight for target identification and a seprate system from the gunner, not fixed in the M1 until the A2. The problem in the M60 was that all the linkages were still mechanical and could be easily miss aligned, That lost me an easy Q during the 80s. It was also all added to a 20 year old design.

The M1 had the automotive, armor, stab, and system integration adantages that out weighed the sight differences. Though we always missed those old thermals. Going from IR to thermals was a major imprvement though. As an aside did you guys know that a woman's chest area is a different temerature then the rest of the body. The advantages of technology.

TC

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As an aside did you guys know that a woman's chest area is a different temerature then the rest of the body. The advantages of technology.

TC

LOL... The only time I got to play with thermals was when our Combat Support Co. was attached to us. They had TOW-2's mounted on Humvees and the thermals on those were outstanding. They would do overwatch for us at night, the only problem was that every hour or so, a compressor kicked on to recharge the thermals and you could hear it from quite a distance.

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LOL... The only time I got to play with thermals was when our Combat Support Co. was attached to us. They had TOW-2's mounted on Humvees and the thermals on those were outstanding. They would do overwatch for us at night, the only problem was that every hour or so, a compressor kicked on to recharge the thermals and you could hear it from quite a distance.

The advantages of the National Guard Did quite a few parades through various towns in New Jersey with M48s, M60s and M1s. Got to use the thermals.The noise of the cool down was really loud as I remember it as well. I got to ride and drive tanks on American roads as well as German roads.

TC

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  • 4 months later...

Thread revived!

As I've looked through compiled books and web photos from USAREUR in the 1980s, I get the sense that for a great deal of time during REFORGER exercises, the combat arms essentially wore MOPP suits all the time, minus the hood. I assume this was because they expected to in real war. This is interesting, because with the exception of a Verlinden set done years ago that had guys in the full suit (I think Desert Shield was Verlinden's inspiration), vehicle crews included in kits generally don't show this.

I wonder if those MOPP suits also provided some protection from the wet, dreary, cold weather that they seemed to have chosen for the exercise. :(

Edited by Fishwelding
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Thread revived!

As I've looked through compiled books and web photos from USAREUR in the 1980s, I get the sense that for a great deal of time during REFORGER exercises, the combat arms essentially wore MOPP suits all the time, minus the hood. I assume this was because they expected to in real war. This is interesting, because with the exception of a Verlinden set done years ago that had guys in the full suit (I think Desert Shield was Verlinden's inspiration), vehicle crews included in kits generally don't show this.

I wonder if those MOPP suits also provided some protection from the wet, dreary, cold weather that they seemed to have chosen for the exercise. :lol:

When the MOPP suits first came out in the mid 70's they turned out (unintentionally) to be throw away suits, the charcoal in them would break down after 3 days. If they were used in training then they were no good if the balloon went up against the Warsaw Pact. The Army was really hesitate to use them for that reason and re-supplies then were limited but they were issued for training.

We use to wear OD mechanics coveralls that had been impregnated with parafin to replicate the MOPP uniform, in some circles it was thought they would work just as well as the MOPP. There also was still the poncho to wear in the event of a chemical attack. Wearing the MOPP in cold weather made you feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy, in hot weather your sweat would transfer the charcoal to your skin if you weren't wearing a shirt or trousers as a layer between the MOPP.

The hood was actually part of the protective mask.

Edited by Alpha13
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When the MOPP suits first came out in the mid 70's they turned out (unintentionally) to be throw away suits, the charcoal in them would break down after 3 days. If they were used in training then they were no good if the balloon went up against the Warsaw Pact. The Army was really hesitate to use them for that reason and re-supplies then were limited but they were issued for training.

We use to wear OD mechanics coveralls that had been impregnated with parafin to replicate the MOPP uniform, in some circles it was thought they would work just as well as the MOPP. There also was still the poncho to wear in the event of a chemical attack. Wearing the MOPP in cold weather made you feel like the Pillsbury Doughboy, in hot weather your sweat would transfer the charcoal to your skin if you weren't wearing a shirt or trousers as a layer between the MOPP.

The hood was actually part of the protective mask.

You train like you fight.

My unit had a cold-war mission to reinforce NATO if the rooskies ever came over the border, so pretty much every major exercise we had was in MOPP level 1 which was with the suit on, the rest of the stuff in your ruck. Decent to wear in the winter, except for the lack of pockets but in the summer, it kicked your butt in a big way. We did many summer excericises in those d**med things (had the heat casulties to prove it) and I hate those things to this day. You would always have a black residue from the charcoal on your body and since you used the same one over and over during exercises, they also began to stink quite a bit. At some point during every single exercise, we always got hit with the inevitable chemical attack and went to full MOPP-4, gloves, boots, mask, etc.

Most of the time, we had the old style OD ones, towards the 90's we started getting issued the new ones with woodland camo scheme. Great memories.... (not).

John

Edited by 11bee
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  • 4 weeks later...
M113%201.JPG

Nice job. I remember being on detail and touching up the paint job on my unit's old 2-1/2 ton trucks and jeeps back in the early days (mid-80's) before everything went to the current "NATO-flage" three color schemes. The green and brown were sprayed on but the black and buff were hand painted (usually pretty sloppy).

Gotta get some mud and dust on that track, looks way too clean!!

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This was after just finishing the base camouflage. I'm going to add scratches, dust, mud and the rest after I finish some detail work and add the running gear. I've got a track commander and an infantryman painted up, but as their skin tones are in oils, they need several days to cure.

As near as I can tell, there was a range of quality in MERDC application, depending on units. Some seemed to have been entirely sprayed, and perhaps even entirely masked to produce real works of art. Then again, I've seen Guard vehicles at least, where as you say, the tan and black were brushed on.

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This was after just finishing the base camouflage. I'm going to add scratches, dust, mud and the rest after I finish some detail work and add the running gear. I've got a track commander and an infantryman painted up, but as their skin tones are in oils, they need several days to cure.

As near as I can tell, there was a range of quality in MERDC application, depending on units. Some seemed to have been entirely sprayed, and perhaps even entirely masked to produce real works of art. Then again, I've seen Guard vehicles at least, where as you say, the tan and black were brushed on.

I believe I have wrote this before when the MASSTER camouflage schemes first came out they were painted on by brush, most units (at least infantry units) did not have spray equipment and if they did it was easier to brush paint out of a gallon can then to go through the hassle to thin the paint to go through a spray gun. By the time you did that for 4 colors the squad would have the track painted by brush. There also was an added benefit, the Army loves to keep soldiers busy. Remember the Army did not have the facilities of Earl Schibe or Maaco at unit levels. I never saw a MASSTER camo sprayed vehicle.

When the MERDC scheme came out the units sprayed over the MASSTER camo because by then the units had spray equipment or decided to use it. It also saved the Army money and obviously you could get more out of a gallon by thinning it. It was still a hassle to prepare the paint for spraying. In spring of 1977 we spray painted the MERDC scheme on all the battalion vehicles (over 100) on a couple of weekends so as not to interfer with the duty week.

When replacement vehicles arrived at the unit from depot after 1977 they were already either spray painted in the MERDC or solid OD.

Edited by Alpha13
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I wish I had discovered this thread this time last year...so many memories!

I was an original tank platoon leader in B Company, 1-40 Armor and later was the battalion scout platoon leader. I have a stash of photos very similar to those of Alpha 13...the familiar forest green/light green/sand/black MERDC paint scheme. My tanks were hand painted over a factory applied base coat of forest green. The tanks were M60A1 (AOS) rebuilt at Anniston Army Depot and had hull serial numbers in the 3000s. My scout tracks were M113A1s, and looked just like those Alpha 13 had in the infantry, except that I had three men per vehicle, not the 10-11 in the infantry. I had 10 rolling RVs!

After four years in the 1-40 Armor I went to the advanced course and then to Fulda, FRG and duty with 1/11th ACR. When I arrived in 1980, the regiment had just traded their Sheridans and M60A1s for M60A3(Passive). The regimental commander could have kept the older vehicles a little longer and received M60A3(TTS), but he gambled that the 11th ACR would be first to get the M-1 Abrams if they took the A3-Passives....he lost.

In 1982 I went to the 2-68th Armor, 8th INF DIV in Baumholder, FRG (was best-kept secret in West Germany) where I commanded Combat Support Company then activated the new Delta Company. I found the comments on the M901 ITV very interesting, as I had three in the scout platoon when I had CSC. The concept was good, especially as compared to the old TOW pedestal on a M113. The actual execution wasn't up to the concept. The turrets required constant maintenance and frequently failed to go into firing position when it came time to fire a live missile. Additionally, there were small switches at each hatch and the rear ramp that confirmed if the hatches were closed. If a switch indicated a hatch was open, no can fire a missile. The switches just weren't tough enough.

My opinion concerning the M561 Gamma Goat changed through the my early career. At first they were great, as was stated earlier in this thread, but by the time I had CSC they were pushing 15-20 years old. My maintenance section in CSC had one, and the six-wheel drive was constantly breaking down at the front wheels. Back when I was a Scout Platoon Leader, I swam all the amphibious vehicles in the battalion, except for the GOERs assigned to the HHC Support Platoon. The Gamma Goat in the medical platoon was taken for a swim.....it swam, but any chop might swamp it as the driver's cab only has a few inches of free board, but watching those six wheels spin at what appeared to be several hundred RPMs before the thing started to move was hilarious.

2-68 Armor was the last unit in Germany to receive the M60A3, even as the M-1s were entering service. All 58 of the battalions M60A3 came out of rebuild from M60A1s at the Mainz Depot. They were painted in NATO Green, solid one color and stayed that way from 1983 through at least 1984 until the final three-color NATO camouflage pattern was approved. I really loved the fire control on the M60A3...the thermal sights (TTS) were 2nd generation compared to the then new M1 TIS first-generation thermal sights. The M60A3 was a better fire platform when stationary than a stationary M1, but the M1 was way ahead when moving, plus had much better armor.

Just one comment on the M60 kit at start of this thread....great work on the build...the only comment I have is that when 1st Brigade, 5th ID went to REFORGER in 1978, we did not have bumper markings on the vehicles we drew out of POMCUS storage, except for the storage markings. I am not saying that the vehicle as built would not have markings, they might not have. The 1-40 bumper markings were on left side (as viewed from front), were "5 (space) 1(triangle)40". The triangle indicated an armor unit, and was based on the triangle shape of armor division patches. We did not have an "I" after the "5" as there was only one 5th Division in the Army at that time. On the right side was "(company letter)(vehicle number within company)", my tank in Bravo, 1-40 was B21(Bravo Company, 2nd Platoon, 1st Vehicle(Platoon leader)). The number on my scout track was "CS20". In combat support company, the motor platoon had 10-19, Scouts, 20-29, Redeye section, 30-36, and GSR section 40-43.

Great discussion among some "Cold War" vets! HOOAH to all of you :thumbsup:

Jeff

Edited by Ranger74
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I wish I had discovered this thread this time last year...so many memories!

Ranger74

Here are some photos of Fort Polk. For those that don't know the 3rd Brigade of the 5th ID was the Louisana National Guard. The first photo shows a line of M-60 tanks that belonged to the 3rd Brigade, their motor pool was across the road from my Infantry Company.

FortPolk5copy.jpg

The Battalion I was in 3/10 Inf of the 2nd Brigade was up on North Fort aka Tigerland we were in old WWII barracks, if you recall South Fort (1st Brigade) had all the new brick buildings that were like apartments that the Army built after the BCT and AIT training brigades were closed down. I never had the luxury to live in them, but I didn't stay at Polk long I requested to go back to FRG. The front building in the photo is the Company Orderly room which was directly behind the door, the rear of the building was the day room. The building in the rear was the platoon barracks. And beyond that was all training area. I was very familiar with North Fort I took my infantry AIT there 6 1/2 years earlier it hadn't changed much other than the jungle training area was mostly gone.

FortPolk6copy.jpg

Broke down M-113, the universal joint broke to the left final drive. Note the round access plate removed to repair it. The paint job is sprayed MERDC. You can see the chalked convoy number on the side, we went to Peason Ridge Training Area which required we drive on the state roads to get there.

FortPolk3copy.jpg

Edited by Alpha13
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I wish I had discovered this thread this time last year...so many memories!

I was an original tank platoon leader in B Company, 1-40 Armor and later was the battalion scout platoon leader. I have a stash of photos very similar to those of Alpha 13...the familar forest green/light green/sand/black MERDC paint scheme. My tanks were hand painted over a factory applied base coat of forest green. The tanks were M60A1 (AOS) rebuilt at Anniston Army Depot and had hull serial numbers in the 3000s. My scout tracks were M113A1s, and looked just like those Alpha 13 had in the infantry, except that I had three men per vehicle, not the 10-11 in the infantry. I had 10 rolling RVs!

After four years in the 1-40 Armor I went to the advanced course and then to Fulda, FRG and duty with 1/11th ACR. When I arrived in 1980, the regiment had just traded their Sheridans and M60A1s for M60A3(Passive). The regimental commander could have kept the older vehicles a little longer and received M60A3(TTS), but he gambled that the 11th ACR would be first to get the M-1 Abrams if they took the A3-Passives....he lost.

In 1982 I went to the 2-68th Armor, 8th INF DIV in Baumholder, FRG (was best-kept secret in West Germany) where I commanded Combat Support Company then activated the new Delta Company. I found the comments on the M901 ITV very interesting, as I had three in the scout platoon when I had CSC. The concept was good, especially as compared to the old TOW pedestal on a M113. The actual execution wasn't up to the concept. The turrets required constant maintenance and frequently failed to go into firing position when it came time to fire a live missle. Additonally, there were small switches at each hatch and the rear ramp that confirmed if the hatches were closed. If a switch indicated a hatch was open, no can fire a missle. The switches just weren't tough enough.

My opinion concerning the M561 Gamma Goat changed through the my early career. At first they were great, as was stated ealier in this thread, but by the time I had CSC they were pushing 15-20 years old. My maintenance section in CSC had one, and the six-wheel drive was constantly breaking down at the front wheels. Back when I was a Scout Platoon Leader, I swam all the amphibious vehicles in the battalion, except for the GOERs assigned to the HHC Support Platoon. The Gamma Goat in the medical platoon was taken for a swim.....it swam, but any chop might swamp it as the driver's cab only has a few inches of freeboard, but watching those six wheels spin at what appeared to be several hundred RPMs before the thing started to move was hilarious.

2-28 Armor was the last unit in Germany to receive the M60A3, even as the M-1s were entering service. All 58 of the battalions M60A3 came out of rebuild from M60A1s at the Mainz Depot. They were painted in NATO Green, solid one color and stayed that way from 1983 through at least 1984 until the final three-color NATO camoflauge pattern was approved. I really loved the fire control on the M60A3...the thermal sights (TTS) were 2nd generation compared to the then new M1 TIS first-generation thermal sights. The M60A3 was a better fire platform when stationary than a stationary M1, but the M1 was way ahead when moving, plus had much better armor.

Just one comment on the M60kit at start of this thread....great work on the build...the only comment I have is that when 1st Brigade, 5th ID went to REFORGER in 1978, we did not have bumper markings on the vehicles we drew out of POMCUS storage, except for the storage markings. I am not saying that the vehicle as built would not have markings, they might not have. The 1-40 bumper markings were on left side (as viewed from front), were "5 (space) 1(triangle)40". The triangle indicated an armor unit, and was based on the triangle shape of armor division patches. We did not have an "I" after the "5" as there was only one 5th Division in the Army at that time. On the right side was "(company letter)(vehicle number within company)", my tank in Bravo, 1-40 was B21(Bravo Company, 2nd Platoon, 1st Vehicle(Platoon leader)). The number on my scout track was "CS20". In combat support company, the motor platoon had 10-19, Scouts, 20-29, Redeye section, 30-36, and GSR section 40-43.

Great discussion among some "Cold War" vets! HOOAH to all of you :salute:

Jeff

Jeff I was in Fulda 77-79 went from Sheridan to M60A1 RISE passive. A trp. 1st Platoon. I drove A-11. Our 60s ame in in forest green, I sprayed the camo myself. I went on to crew M48A5s, 60A3s and M1s in the NG. nice t see a fellow Blackhorse trooper on the site.

TC

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Hey guys...great to read your followup.

TC, I arrived in Fulda in June 80 and lived in the little village of Fulda-Giesel. I was the 1st squadron S-4 for 10 months before I was drafted, a;long with three other officers out of my advanced course to go to the Imperial V Corps HQs...BAH HUMBUG! My ride was HQ 4, a measly little 1/4-ton.

Something unique to the 11th ACR as far as officers were concerned was that only one troop/company/battery commander when I arrived did not meet the following criteria:

1. Served in the 11th ACR in Vietnam (wore the "pony sandwich" on their shoulders)

2. Served as an enlisted man with the regimental commander in previous assignments

3. Not a single minority served as a company-level commander while I was there.

Alpha13, Don't believe everything you saw with 1st Brigade on South Fort. The 1-40 Armor was the last unit to leave the old WW2 wood. I got there in FEB 76 and out battalion didn't occupy new barracks until 1978 and then the companies did not have orderly rooms and used a first floors of some of the barracks. We originally occupied the last two streets and the last motor pool at the farthest south end of post, along Highway LA10. Te only Army land south of us was the division parade field. There was a seasonal swamp behind the Company A tank line! In the event you don't know, there are two "posts" at Ft. Polk, and also Ft. Hood, others I not sure because they were built when the Army was still segregated. My father-in-law served at Ft. Polk about 1951-2. North Fork was for the black soldiers while the white soldiers served on South Fort. I was there when the 256th Infantry Brigade (LANG) was first assigned to the 5th ID as the 3rd BDE. During the summer of 76 another platoon leader and I were tasked to run a squad live-fire range fro the Guard. The 2-156th was an infantry battalion. The next summer I was the scour platoon leader and I and my company commander were again assisting the 2-156th, but this time they were a tank battalion! Now that was a transition.

Fishwelding...thanks for starting this thread!

Jeff

"RLTW"

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Hey guys...great to read your followup.

TC, I arrived in Fulda in June 80 and lived in the little village of Fulda-Giesel. I was the 1st squadron S-4 for 10 months before I was drafted, a;long with three other officers out of my advanced course to go to the Imperial V Corps HQs...BAH HUMBUG! My ride was HQ 4, a measly little 1/4-ton.

Something unique to the 11th ACR as far as officers were concerned was that only one troop/company/battery commander when I arrived did not meet the following criteria:

1. Served in the 11th ACR in Vietnam (wore the "pony sandwich" on their shoulders)

2. Served as an enlisted man with the regimental commander in previous assignments

3. Not a single minority served as a company-level commander while I was there.

Alpha13, Don't believe everything you saw with 1st Brigade on South Fort. The 1-40 Armor was the last unit to leave the old WW2 wood. I got there in FEB 76 and out battalion didn't occupy new barracks until 1978 and then the companies did not have orderly rooms and used a first floors of some of the barracks. We originally occupied the last two streets and the last motor pool at the farthest south end of post, along Highway LA10. Te only Army land south of us was the division parade field. There was a seasonal swamp behind the Company A tank line! In the event you don't know, there are two "posts" at Ft. Polk, and also Ft. Hood, others I not sure because they were built when the Army was still segregated. My father-in-law served at Ft. Polk about 1951-2. North Fork was for the black soldiers while the white soldiers served on South Fort. I was there when the 256th Infantry Brigade (LANG) was first assigned to the 5th ID as the 3rd BDE. During the summer of 76 another platoon leader and I were tasked to run a squad live-fire range fro the Guard. The 2-156th was an infantry battalion. The next summer I was the scour platoon leader and I and my company commander were again assisting the 2-156th, but this time they were a tank battalion! Now that was a transition.

Fishwelding...thanks for starting this thread!

Jeff

"RLTW"

The below photos are of South Fort January 1978 this is the area that was directly facing the Main Post PX and near the Main Post Bowling Alley. When I was there in 1971 this same view was rows and rows of WWII barracks as far as you could see, South Fort was nothing like it was with the amount of WWII barracks in 1977 when I got back to Polk compared to 1971 and before. I'm sure there was still WWII wood on South Fort but nothing like North Fort, North Fort was 100% WWII barracks. I had a friend that we were together in RVN and then again in FRG and he was with the 61st Inf Bn at South Fort in the new brick buildings. Use to bump into him at the Main Post Bowling Alley and the new NCO Club, we both could not believe how South Fort had changed from the earlier days when we were there. The memories then were a little depressing.

FtPolk8.jpg

FtPolk7.jpg

This is what South Fort looked like in 1971. This is not the area in the above photos, but shows the barracks.

FtPolk9copy.jpg

Edited by Alpha13
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11bee said:
LOL... The only time I got to play with thermals was when our Combat Support Co. was attached to us. They had TOW-2's mounted on Humvees and the thermals on those were outstanding. They would do overwatch for us at night, the only problem was that every hour or so, a compressor kicked on to recharge the thermals and you could hear it from quite a distance.

Thermals also make it about impossible for dismounted/scouts to sneak up on your tank company! Also got to watch a cat stalking a rabbit at night in a German farm field. The TTS system was so sensitive that as the sun set you tell which side of a tree leaf had been facing the sun and which was on the shady side. I believe that thermal sights are a bigger improvement for gunnery than the laser range finder, especially in Germany where we used battle sight gunnery and would rarely need to range a target.

Jeff

Edited by Ranger74
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All,

Thought I would add some photos from Ft. Polk during same time period as those posted by Alpha 13.

The following pictures are from Summer 1976 when 1-40 Armor went to our first gunnery season at the tank range complex at ranges 40-43:

Stationary gunnery, first tank table for live main gun ammo

gunnery2.jpg

gunnery1.jpg

These photos are from Tank Tables 6 (machine guns on the move and stationary) & 7 (all weapons prep for TT VII Crew Qualification)

gunnery3.jpg

cal50shoot.jpg

waitingtheirturn.jpg

firingtank2.jpg

Edited by Ranger74
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Some additional gunnery pics:

One of the natives on the tank ranges....a water moccasin that made mistake of being on the tank trail when a 1/4-ton came along:

uninvitedneighbor.jpg

Loading main gun rounds at ammo point:

ammopoint.jpg

Some night more gunnery shots:

firingtank.jpg

firingpoint7.jpg

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Some additional gunnery pics:

One of the natives on the tank ranges....a water moccasin that made mistake of being on the tank trail when a 1/4-ton came along:

I came across many water moccasin's and rattle snakes out on the ranges, usually when going through a dismounted live fire inflitration course. They always seemed to be sunning themselves directly in the path you had to take. The 5.56 usually put an end to their sunning habits.

Nice photos of the tanks and the firing ranges. Brings back the memories of Fort Polk.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Tamiya's M113 kit. No, not the most accurate track kit, but good for skills-building exercises. Forgot to add antennas. Soldiers are both Tamiya. The Track Commander's pose was supposed to fit with the Ma Deuce at another angle--but then I forgot, and decided to add the ACAV shield. (Sigh. That's how I model.) So he looks as if he's explaining something to someone, or looking at a magical invisible map, right now. I'll sort it out.

M113%202.JPG

Name tapes and shoulder patches from Lawrence Goh's Echelon Decals. The green on them seems somewhat too light, but perhaps my camouflage is too dark for scale.

M113%203.JPG

Wow, I rather wish I hadn't taken this one so close. Interestingly, the flecks you see on him appear to be improperly dissolved flattening agent from the flat coat.

M113A1%204.JPG

I added some smeared mud and some dust, but it isn't very convincing to me. All is supposed to represent around, say, 1985. After Woodland BDUs appeared, but before Kevlar helmets.

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