Abrams Stowage, Then and Now

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Hi all,

I’m pushing along with my vintage Abrams conversion (IPM1, Fort Knox, mid-late 80s), and the last area to look at is the stowage. I have Tamiya’s 1980s-vintage M1 & M60 accessories pack (bought it new, way back when, used it on my very first M1 and still have a set of bits left!) which is obviously era-specific. You get what look like steel water cans instead of the modern plastic ones, you get 80s style MRE cartons, 105mm ammo and protector tubes, and spare track links for the original oblique-block tread design.

But the question of stowage is a knotty one. With the Abrams in the field today you can basically go crazy detailing the contents of the racks. Every conceivable item of stowage is loaded onto that beast, and every bit of it is needed by crews under difficult circumstances for long periods. But what would have been ‘normal’ stowage for vehicles on training exercises on friendly soil, twenty years ago?

Here’s my checklist –

Spare wheel; spare track links; water can; a few .50 cal ammo boxes; a couple of extra 105 rounds in external protector tubes; a couple of MRE cartons; a few alice packs.

What else may have been carried I’m guessing would depend on the circumstances of the exercise. Bedrolls, tentpacks, duffel bags, folding bed – all are available in the new Tamiya accessories pack, and they look pretty generic with the gear on issue twenty years ago. The packs sure don’t look any different. But an exercise would need to take the tanks away from base for a space of at least some days to necessitate this gear being carried, and the question is whether this actually happened, or if training was carried out within reach of normal facilities?

Lt. Col. Gronovius – can you help!!!

Best wishes,

TB379

2

Spare 105mm ammo wasn’t carried. Even during gunnery, you only received enough ammo to perform the various gunnery tables. The 105mm rounds came in the wooden crates that held two rounds. Each round was kept in a tar paper covered cardboard tube called a “Tootsie Roll”. The tank itself held 50 rounds of 105 ammo internally. There was normally a metal 155mm ammo container that held maps for your GDP (German Defense Plan) positions strapped somewhere on the tank or stuffed in the bustle rack. There were always a couple of spare ammo cans for the .50 cal, but most of the time the cans held something other than blank ammo. There wasn’t normally a lot of 7.62mm blank ammo issued to tanks during exercises or even during gunnery.

Normally, four tankers rolls, four ruck sacks (ALICE packs), four Kevlars, a case or two of MREs, the camouflage net set that includes one large, flat bag and one set of camouflage net poles (looks like a big, long duffle bag). Some units might have a hex tent (another big, flat bag) and a large tarp that would either be folded up and looked like the camo net bag or used to cover the gear on the rear of the turret. All tanks carried a semi-permanent “tact board” on the rear of the turret. These were geometric signs (octogon, square, circle, etc.) that had symbols and markings inside that showed which battalion, company and platoon the vehicle belonged to.

Spare fuel was not carried, but a 5 gallon metal can contained oil. There were at least two 5 gallon plastic water cans, and during the 80s could be either the tan or black ones or both.

If it was a large scale maneuver with force on force, then MILES gear, whoopie light and a Hoffman device were mounted as well as blank firing adapters for the .50 cal and M240. A vehicle in Germany would have a second whoopie light that was required for operations on German autobahns and secondary roads. This one was normally mounted at the left rear of the tank or somewhere on the left rear portion of the turret. Later in the 80s to 90s those red/yellow MVDs or military vehicle delineator decals were affixed to the rear of the tank.

3

Dear Rob,

Thank you so much for your detailed information! This really helps!

Couple of questions – you mention plastic water cans back in the 80s – are they the same design in use today, with the knurled, or ‘castelated,’ (not sure what the correct term would be!) base of the container, compared to the plain flat base on the older-design cans?

The Squadron book mentions that the waterproof 105 containers were often used by crews to hold personal gear in external stowage – was this common in the training units?

I’m looking at mounting a Hoffman device and simulating the MILES attachment strip probably with decal material. I’ve studied the photographs under a magnifying glass and the strip (velcro?) looks like it came in a variety of shades to match basic cammo colors. The strips on the 1/12 vehicles look like cammo pale green – do you think would this be correct?

The “tact boards” look like they were attached to the bustle rack with brackets around the upper two bars, and bolts passed through the boards, but I don’t have a photograph showing the back of a board, so I’m guessing here. Am I close?

In most of the photos in the Verlinden book which show a Hoffman device mounted, the MILES sensors themselves are not apparent, nor the “whoopie light.” Would they have been mounted only when tanks reached the immediate zone of the exercise?

In the 80s it seemed standard practice to mount the spare wheel on the outside of the side racks, often on the left of the turret – I’ve never been able to see how the mounting was done. Were bolts passed through? Mounting brackets?

I’ll raid the new Tamiya accessories pack for rucksacks, bedrolls and the other large packages, and get this Abrams ready for some heavy field exercises!

Many thanks, and best wishes,

TB379

4

Hi all,

The Abrams is moving along – the stowage is mostly pre-painted and looking good, and the model as a whole is ready for color. I’m trying to squeeze the work through on days when the heat and humidity let up and I can expect paint to behave predictably.

I’ve been trying to identify the light green in the 1/12th Cav scheme. Depending on the lighting conditions in photos, it looks anywhere from a mid-pale green down to a very yellowish tone, though I’m guessing the latter is probably an optical illusion. My guess, based on the available range of tactical colors, would be FS 34151, but I’ve not been able to verify this yet (never actually seen it…)

I also can’t seem to find it – Humbrol used to make it as #151, but it seems to be out of the range at present: neither Squadron Mail Order nor my LHS have it. Testor make it as #1715 “Interior Green,” but the Testor/Model Master range is not as easily found here in Australia as it used to be. I’ll keep looking, and hopefully it’ll be the shade I’m after, for this long-gestating Abrams.

Cheers,

TB379

5

I served with 2/2 ACR in 1985-1986. The unit had transitioned to M1’s a few months before I was assigned ther. Here is what I remember:

a) Personal gear was limited to sleeping bag, duffle bag, and one smallish portable bag - I used a padded helicopter pilot’s helmet bag, we could get those at the PX. This plus LBE was stored on the outside. Our unit’s SOP prohibited anything from being on top of the blast panels, which was why the gear was so limited. LBE and helmets were usually stored in the turret equipment boxes.

b) Crew gear was a camo net (usually on the front slope of the turret) and a tarp (in the bottom of the bustle rack). Sometimes we had ammo cans with track parts on the outside.

c) One detail I haven’t seen from other units is that each tank had two 105mm howitzer tubes - the metal ones. We stored transmission fluid cans in those (they held three or four apiece).

I have photos, so I’ll try to scan/post them later. Hope that helps.

6

Thunderbolt379 you mentioned heat and humidity. Where might you be located?

-60

7

He mentioned Australia in his post.

“He comes from The Land Down Under, where women go and make…”

Sorry for the bad Men at Work line. Reversed seasons, down there it is summer now.

Also , the spare road wheel is usually hung from the side rails using a spare center guide tooth for the track. The bolt from the tooth is fed through one of the holes in the roadwheel and then the tooth is clamped onto the bar.

8

Thanks, Gino. As for the “tact boards”, these were usually just attached with U bolts and lock nuts, if memory serves. Am I correct or no? Thanks.

-60

9

try Nato Green Tamiya carries that color. Nato green is the green part of the 3 color NATO European Camoflage color scheme of Green Brown and Black.

10

Hi guys,

Thanks for your input, especially re the mounting for the spare wheel and tact boards.

Cyberwombat, it’s most interesting to hear about the way stowage habits varied between units. I’ve seen photos of M1A1s with a pair of 105 tubes mounted on the bustle rack, and used to wonder what use two additional rounds would be against the internal load – but alternate stowage makes sense. I’ve noticed standing M1s have two small metal cans under the rear end, positioned under the final drives, and transmission oil leaks are mentioned in the Verlinden book, so I’m guessing the transmission is/was terminally oil-thirsty?

Looking forward to any photos you can upload! I’m not familiar with the acronym LBE – what’s it stand for?

60 & HeavyArty, yup, I’m in the land down under, where it’s stinking hot and raining, at least it was a few days ago! I don’t want to run the risk of paint “drying funny” so I’ll wait till the air is cooler and dryer to put the main cammo on this animal.

Mikeym, NATO Green looks darker than the shade at Fort Knox, but I’ll be sure to do a visual matching at the shop. Thanks for the tip!

Many thanks all, this’ll be an excellent finished project!

Cheers,

TB379

11

LBE load bearing equipment. In our forces this generally is/was shoulder harness and pistol belt with assorted canteens, buttpacks and ammo pouches attached.

-60

12

well it still is a shoulder harness with belt and pouches don’t think it changed much since the late 70’s though the equipment that goes onto the belt and harness has changed notably the ETools ,ammo, pouches and canteens. And ThunderBolt as for the nato Green on the Abrams you saw at FT Knox take into account weathering and sun bleaching which will make darker colors appear lighter.