Hi all,
Im in process of picking out the time frame for my M1A1 HA that Ive been restoring from Revell (a 20 year old kit that Im redoing, detaling, etc).
Looking for any pics of IFOR Abrams tanks, or generally good quality IFOR armor pictures bank, to understand types of gear they carried, weathering, etc.
Also, on Abbadon tank that I have decals for and plan on building, do we know if wheels were desert sand color or - green? References are unclear.
I have markings for Abbadon (HobbyBoss). I like the IFOR markings, as my tank is originally without any (just D-24 tank, Platoon Sargent) and from 1995, but I think the Bosnia one looks a bit cooler and I can add a bunch of gear. Yes, Im doing a tank thats been done many times and probably should do another tank from IFOR, but I dont print own decals and I kinda want my tank to be real one from photos. Abbadon is on bunch of pics, so it is simipler.
Thank you!
Not many reference photos but good to see that the IFOR …force had tanks from 1st AD and they are not Marine tanks as some internet reference materials pointed to Abbadon being a Marine tank.
IFOR had no Marine units in it. It was the NATO mission to enforce the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia-Herzegovina from Dec '95 - Dec '96. The US contingent was pretty much all 1st Armored Division.
“Multi-National Division (North) Tuzla – US led. Task Force Eagle. The US Army 1st Armored Division under the command of Major General William L. Nash, constituted the bulk of the ground forces for Task Force Eagle. They began to deploy on 18 December 1995. MND-N was composed of two U.S. Brigades, a Russian brigade, a Turkish brigade, and the Nordic-Polish Brigade.”
The wheels are green on NATO camo tanks, not sand.
Come to think of it, not just Bosnia.
I saw pictures of Abrams tanks on exercise showing more then just regular wear and tear, but plenty of rust as well. The whole thing looked a bit run down.
I am seeing pretty good-looking tanks above. Lots of dirt/mud and road grime, but not chipping and rusting. CARC paint is very durable, you don’t get much chipping and rusting with it.
And what was in KFOR later on - same tanks? Or was it already M1A2s? I have an option to build my M1A1 as KFOR or IFOR, picking IFOR as seems like more fitting. The KFOR tanks didnt have CIPs installed it seemed also, and much less pics of them somehow. Decisions decisions…
KFOR starts in 1999, so the US troops were mostly send from units in Germany, like the 1st. Armored Division or 1st Infantry Division. These units were equipped with M1A1HA or M1A1 AIM.
If I’m wrong, please correct me.
Two M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBT) from Bravo Company, 1ST Battalion, 63rd Armor, sit ready to fire on the Falcon 4 range in the town of Ramnjane, Kosovo, in support of Operation Joint Guardian II
Yes, it rusts when metal is exposed. Not common examples, but extreme ones. I never said it kept them perfect. The USMC tank above has been shown before as a very extreme example of a tank that was at sea a long time exposing it to salt spray and air and one that has been very neglected.
This is the same one I posted above when I took photos for Meng. CARC coming off everywhere. And yes, these are common examples. I’m at a different base almost every month.
This one is from “Ft. Cervezas.”
Not sure when it was at sea last.
CARC paint is pretty durable, but some of these vehicles have been around a long time. In WWII a tank was lucky to last six months. Some modern US vehicles have been in hard service for ten years or more. The paint will wear!
Ken
