Tank Tools - Shovel, Pickaxe, Sledgehammer, Axe

So I’m building a modern Bradley, and I’m curious about the tools carried by armor. Are there any specific brands or models of tool that the Army issues? Are these wood-handled, or can crews use plastic-handled axes and sledges? Are they all standardized color and make? I’m not finding many good pictures of the tools.

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Pretty standard here.

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The BII tools are usually with wood handles. Painted black and with natural wood handles, as Dan posted.

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Very intresting pic of vehicle gear, at the top center left there’s a 3/8" cable with a 2" ball attached . . . any idea what it’s use is? Also, below that is a 2" compression plug, what is it for?

Cajun :crocodile:

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What i really want to know is what the deal is with the bore evacuator. Was it removed to show the barrel area has been cleaned? I’m not a tanker, so I don’t know.

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As I recall the gases will build up and once cooled turned to a liquid. That was to dry the area out. You could technically take it off but you have to remove the sensor at the end of the barrel. They didn’t want us touching that as I recall so sliding it down the barrel was the next best option.

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that actually makes a ton of sense. Last thing you wouldn’t want is moisture trapped in there, turning into rust on the barrel.

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To the left of the grease gun? Thats a drop light, a very old fashioned light. I’m surprised to see it.
The compression plug is to plug up the personal heater for deep water fording if I remember correctly.

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You never take the bore evacuator off the barrel. No reason to.
No liquids involved, they are simply showing that the chrome part is cleaned and the vent holes as well.

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Here’s pics of a Bradley BII layout-

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As posted above, they can be commercial ones w/fiberglass handles as well in a multitude of colors. Sometimes they come from supply that way, sometimes the crew will go out to a store and buy replacements that have been broken or lost/stolen.

I like to add these commercial ones to add some color to my builds.

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Here you. Standard 12lb. Commercial sledgehammer (purchased by the agency through Grainger).

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Damn, I’ve been out for 32 years, and not a single piece of BII has changed :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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As Dan @Dan said, it’s a trouble light. You plug it to a socket and then you have a work light, hooch light, whatever.

The plug is for the heater exhaust outlet.

As to the bore evacuator (fume extractor for the Brits); when I was in we usually pulled and cleaned that area and had the gun inspected before and after gunnery. Sometimes they would check the recoil system using the 5ton Wrecker. Accidents with the gun are usually bad, so we tried to ensure they didn’t happen.

Note: you could slide the bore evacuator off over the MRS if you were careful. We usually only did that if there was any gunk in it that had to be cleaned out by hand.
Ken

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Could have swore I recall liquid in ours at least once and strong smell of ammonia. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. :disappointed:

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Chieftain/Challenger 1 had a small screw at the front to drain any liquids as they could build up over time due to temperatures/condensation. The only time I ever took an MRS mirror off the barrel was whilst doing barrel changes in Batus. The tolerances needed to put it back on are shocking so you don’t mess with it unless you really have to.

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Thanks for the feedback Dan @dan and Ken @tankerken, this is the first chance I’ve had to reply, never suspected it was a drop light, never quite seen one like that . . .

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LOL, lots of interesting stuff laid out there, between the sledgehammer and axe handle is a cheater pipe I reckon, but the five black bars with conical ends has me stumped.

Cajun :crocodile:

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It’s not a great photo, being at an angle; but those ends are threaded, not conical. They are the barrel cleaning rods. Modern ones are metal (aluminum) instead of wood.
Ken

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“cheetah” pipe if your from Kentucky!
Haha

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