Thread: Tank Hatches
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Old 09-08-2011, 06:25 PM
Adm.Lee Adm.Lee is offline
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I just read about something like this last night.

"Despite the practical invincibility of the Army's armored vehicles, they endured one tragic incident on 15 August [2004]. During a firefight, a militiaman climbed onto one of the tanks and fired into an opening in the turret lid, killing the tank commander and the gunner. The fast-thinking driver threw the tank into reverse and crashed it into a building, covering the tank-- and its attacker-- with debris. The driver and loader escaped. When reinforcements arrived, they destroyed the enemy position from which the militiaman came and retrieved the tank." (The battle of an-Najaf, August 2004 / Francis X. Kozlowski, p.31)

The tank was from (or attached to) 1-5th or 2-7th Cavalry, supporting the 11th MEU during the fight to clear al-Sadr's militia from the center of Najaf.

"Thereafter, Marine rifle platoons helped provide 360-degree security around the tanks and tracks as the vehicles pursued their missions."

Seems the cavalry battalions were short on dismounts?
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