Jump to content

Question about US Army tank uniform............ or lack thereof


On the way

Recommended Posts

I have not seen any US Army tanker, or for that reason any USMC tanker in a dedicated tank uniform at all. Usually, they appear to be wearing standard issue infantry uniform when operating the tank. Why is this? Other armies have a fire retardant overall for their tank crews. I was issued one myself, with a special handle behind the neck, so that I could be pulled from my tank if incapacitated. Does the US military have any such uniforms for their tank or AFV crews? Or is it the practice to wear what the infantry wears. I see this goes all the way back to WW2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, On the way said:

Military | US Army Best Tank Crew Competition – Sullivan Cup - YouTube

OIC. Thanks for the information. I keep seeing this, so I assume it was just infantry uniform the tankers were wearing.

 

It's hard to tell, but we made nomes suits in that camouflage pattern in a couple of different versions, one for vehicle crews and one for aviators. I'm not sure about the new camouflage pattern, but I expect we did that, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I served, 1979-‘83, the only coveralls we had were primarilly used for working on the vehicle in the field/motorpool.  They had summer and winter versions but they were, to my knowledge, not fire resistant.  We also had parkas and field pants, primarilly used in colder situations, which you could put a liner in.  Other than that we wore what everyone else did.

 

When I was at basic the XM-1 was being tested and we were shown proposed tankers uniforms but I have no idea if they were accepted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Tim Sielbeck said:

When I served, 1979-‘83, the only coveralls we had were primarilly used for working on the vehicle in the field/motorpool.  They had summer and winter versions but they were, to my knowledge, not fire resistant.  We also had parkas and field pants, primarilly used in colder situations, which you could put a liner in.  Other than that we wore what everyone else did.

 

When I was at basic the XM-1 was being tested and we were shown proposed tankers uniforms but I have no idea if they were accepted.

So, it does seem the US Army started dedicated tank uniform later. When I was with the Singapore Army in the mid 80s, we were issued this tank overall. And it had been in issue since early 80s or late 70s. It was also used by the IDF and the Royal Tank Corp in various versions. You can see a thin flap below the neck and about parallel with the shoulders. If you lifted up the flap there was a zipper, and if you unzipped it, there was a strap that you could pull on that would hoist the whole body up if you were incapacitated in the tank. Had lots of pockets and pouches. The belt held 2 mags if I recall for the CAR-15

Senang Diri: Circuit breaker Day 2 pix: Singapore Army Armour Formation  AMX-13 SM1 Tank Crew

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, On the way said:

So, it does seem the US Army started dedicated tank uniform later. When I was with the Singapore Army in the mid 80s, we were issued this tank overall. And it had been in issue since early 80s or late 70s. It was also used by the IDF and the Royal Tank Corp in various versions. You can see a thin flap below the neck and about parallel with the shoulders. If you lifted up the flap there was a zipper, and if you unzipped it, there was a strap that you could pull on that would hoist the whole body up if you were incapacitated in the tank. Had lots of pockets and pouches. The belt held 2 mags if I recall for the CAR-15

Senang Diri: Circuit breaker Day 2 pix: Singapore Army Armour Formation  AMX-13 SM1 Tank Crew

That back flap appears in the uniforms that tankers wear in the TV series "Valley of Tears" on the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, FALightFighter said:

It's hard to tell, but we made nomes suits in that camouflage pattern in a couple of different versions, one for vehicle crews and one for aviators. I'm not sure about the new camouflage pattern, but I expect we did that, too.

The patch  location for the rank insignia indicates that they are neither the aviator ACU nor regular FRACU.

There is a softshell jacket which has the rank insignia above the name, but most likely they're tanker suits in the picture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, sunday said:

That back flap appears in the uniforms that tankers wear in the TV series "Valley of Tears" on the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

IIRC Israeli tankers coveralls were based on French ones.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, sunday said:

That back flap appears in the uniforms that tankers wear in the TV series "Valley of Tears" on the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

Yes, our army has a close relationship with the IDF. Most of the tank gear, eg helmet, uniforms, etc were the same as what the IDF used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, bojan said:

IIRC Israeli tankers coveralls were based on French ones.

Oh really, not sure about that. I as told when I was in the School of Armour that the Israeli's biggest issue with extricating their crew (dead or alive) from a tank was to carry that dead weight out of the turret. If I recall, the procedure for an incapacitated crew was for 2 people to extricate him. One from inside the tank to grab his legs and push him upwards, while at the same time, another person from outside the tank reached in and unzipped the flap and pull him up using handle build into the overall. Some of my instructors were trained by the IDF in Israel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems to be a common design feature. I've noticed that Canadian tank crews would have the handle on the outside, no flap. On the downside, it might catch more just getting in and out of the tank. And, of course, I show the internal harness on the American suit in my video. No flap, just reach down the collar and grab the handle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is also a variation whit two shoulder mounted handles. Heavy-duty fabric straps go inside all around the arms, so it can not rip from the coveralls. IIRC winter version uses internal harness like Nick described.

254884-113469827-soldier-of-the-yugoslav

Edited by bojan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...