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Iraq
US tank falls off bridge into canal in Iraq, killing 4 Marines
2006-05-13
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Four US Marines drowned when their tank rolled off a bridge into a canal, the military said on Friday. Gunmen killed a Sunni preacher and his son in the mostly Shia city of Basra despite an appeal for tolerance by IraqÂ’s top Shia cleric.

The four Marines died on Thursday near Karmah, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Baghdad in Anbar province, a focus of the Sunni Arab-dominated insurgency. A US statement said the accident was not due to hostile fire. “We are a close-knit family and this loss affects us all,” said US Col. Larry D. Nicholson, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these Marines during this difficult period.”
Posted by:Steve White

#20  Ha ha ha ! Die evil scum !
Meanwhile in my country , Canada The Superior , we wave flags (not like when The Yanks wave flags , its inferior/wrong/etc when " they " do it )
and shed tears for our Glorious Warriors who die in accidents and combat , o wait , i forgot , we don't do that combat thing , we are PEACEKEEPERS ! .
And The Yanks are murderers , at least thats what i hear on the " Canadian Street " .
Note that when Canadians raped , tortured and murdered multiple people in Somalia and (former) Yugoslavia and other areas we actualy blamed America .
When we bombed a civillian train and caused other " collateral damage " in Yugo and elsewhere , guess whos fault it was ? (hint , not ours)
Posted by: Slereck Slairt1837   2006-05-13 15:25  

#19  Mod, Thanks for the sink trap. He deserves a good bitch slap.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-05-13 21:41  

#18  God bless them and their families. After reading the comments its clear rantburgers understand the dangers our men and women face in the profession of defending our freedoms, seeing how most have been there and done that. Thanks to you old dogs as well.

NSDQ
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-05-13 21:39  

#17  Clean up in aisle #16
Posted by: RD   2006-05-13 19:16  

#16  
Redacted by moderator. Comments may be redacted for trolling, violation of standards of good manners, or plain stupidity. Please correct the condition that applies and try again. Contents may be viewed in the
sinktrap. Further violations may result in
banning.
Posted by: Slereck Slairt1837   2006-05-13 15:25  

#15  Lots of ways to get killed in a tank that don't include enemy fire. Bless the men that choose armor as a way of life.

When I was an armor crewman in Germany in 1979 (Oh God... is it so long ago?) we hit a cross-country electric train power line with our antenna. Spark jumped to the ready rack in the turret and two rounds blew up. Fortunately, the loader caught most of the flame/shrapnel in the ass ('cause he was facing forward in the turret (fortunately the turret wasn't in travel-lock or he'd a been facing the ready rack and caught the full force of the explosion to his crotch.) The TC caught some of shrapnel in his legs too. I was sleeping (face into a blanket) in the gunners position and woke up to a turret full of flames and smoke. Tunnel-vision escape time! I was up the commanders hatch, down to the sponson boxes, down the ground (injured knee on that jumpl), and 100 feet away from the tank before I looked back. The TC was standing in front of the tank yelling for me to "Get out!" (I was already gone.)

Spent two weeks in the hospital in Nurnburg recovering from from the burns to my face. Looking at my scortched uniform later... I can hardly believe that they didn't catch fire.

It's a dangerous profession. You're the biggest, toughest target on the battlefield and the tank itself is an unforgiving beast.
Posted by: Leigh   2006-05-13 15:22  

#14  Agreed NGaurd - that loaders seat is claustro with the knee switch, amo bin , bore, breech and light panel being the only things you end up remembering after you spend time in there. The size of a small closet. That and how damn sore my back got.

Hear the TC and gunner GunnerAntennaTankRIGHTFRONTgotit sabot Smack kneeswitch grab round put in bore punch fwd with fist no fingers if you dont want to lose em slam breech shut lock it check light yell round type UP get your arms back across your chest if you want to keem them in one piece and let off the knee switch too hear ON THE WAY BOOOOM...

And repeat.

And pray the driver didnt have a bad MRE because his gas is coming straight back to you.
Posted by: Oldspook   2006-05-13 14:20  

#13  Re: #10
Not realy. It was hard to get to, difficult to open, even more difficult to secure. you had to move the driver's seat, and only the driver could realy use it. At the range at summer camp, I just used a piss bottle, and tossed it out the top hach with the rest of the trash at the first opportunity.

The M60, like the M1, has a basket under the turret. betwen the supports for the basket, and the ready ammo storage tubes in the turret(!) (No blow-out ammo compartment in case of ammo fire!) you could only get to the driver's position from the turret when the turret was traversed to certain positons. I cannot recall the mil numbers that the turret had to be traversed to. It's been a while.

Having served in both tracks, I understand why they omitted an escape hatch. Positioning it and utilizing it would be even harder in an M-1. For the other (non-armor) rantburgers out there, the M-1 hull and turret is crammed full of machinery. the four crew members positions are almost form-fitting sockets. Moving around inside the hull is not something you do quickly and easily. And that is with the hull upright, not full of water, and with lots of daylight coming in thru all the open hatches.
Posted by: N guard   2006-05-13 13:36  

#12  They'll never go with the 3 man crew. You can't maintain a tank in the field with a crew of 3. That was the downfall of the old Soviet designs with the autoloader. Plus when it breaks you're hosed, and its yet another piece of gear to be maintained (one that has a lot of motion and hard mechanical wear).

Not a good idea. Driver, gunner, loader and TC. Ya need them all.
Posted by: Oldspook   2006-05-13 12:52  

#11  Re #9: The Marines have had the M1 and its variants since Gulf War I. The current variants of the M1 have four man crews, though there is a variant (only on the drawing board, I think) that has an automated turret and three man crew. God be with the families of the fallen.
Posted by: djh_usmc   2006-05-13 12:15  

#10  I heard the M60 bottom hatch was great if you had to take a whiz while buttoned up.
Posted by: Oldspook   2006-05-13 11:57  

#9  Was this likely to have been an M1, or some other armored vehicle which the reporter is misidentifying as a tank? I didn't think the Marine Corps had M1s, I thought they were all in the Army. Also, isn't the M1 a three-man crew? I am not a military expert and I am not claiming to be one, so please be gentle with me if I'm completely off base.
Posted by: WhiteCollarRedneck   2006-05-13 11:29  

#8  Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2006-05-13 09:39  

#7  No floor emergency hatch?

Nope. A major design goof, IMAO.

The M-60s we used to have in the Guard in the 20th Century, did have a driver escape hatch in the floor. But the driver was the only one who could have gotten out in time. To leave the turret would require it being turned around backwards.
Posted by: N guard   2006-05-13 09:34  

#6  No floor emergency hatch?
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-05-13 08:15  

#5  guessing, turned turtle..and blocked the hatches.
Posted by: RD   2006-05-13 04:32  

#4  Managing a 70-ton M1A1 is a major challenge and these accidents happen on occasion. God Bless the brave Marines who perished.
Posted by: Brett   2006-05-13 01:34  

#3  Having been in the loaders seat of an M1, I can tell you ther's dozens of ways to die there even in peace time. There are usaully s few fatalities every year, especially during the old Team Spirit exercises and Foal Eaglen (Terrain in Korea is just crap for tanks in many places). This is the fourth or fifth one of these I've heard in the Iraq theater of operations. God bless those tankers and speed them on their way.
Posted by: Oldspook   2006-05-13 00:53  

#2  Track or Bridge failure???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-05-13 00:49  

#1  A tragedy.

All of us who have served in armor can probably relate a tale or two about a night/tactical movement that resulted in a submerged/inverted track and 1 or more KIA.

The profession of arms is not an inherently safe profession.
Posted by: N guard   2006-05-13 00:15  

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