Tanker Jimmie Leach

March 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

blockbuster3-1945-3For those that have read the interview that Tank and AFV News did last year with author Steven Zaloga, they may have noticed that Mr. Zaloga mentioned a WWII veteran tanker named Jimmie Leach as someone he talked to regularly while researching WWII armor earlier in his career.  As a young man of 22, Jimmie Leach was a company commander of Sherman tanks in the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division during WWII, serving under the command of Creighton Abrams.   He went on to distinguished military career, reaching the rank of Colonel and receiving numerous awards and decorations, including three Silver Stars, two Bronze Stars, and five Purple Hearts.  He retired from the Army in 1974 but stayed involved with armor, working for tank engine producer Teledyne Continental Motors for 13 years.  He passed away on Dec 17, 2009 at age 87.

Fortunately, researcher Matthew Hermes was able to interview Leach extensively before he passed away and to craft those interviews into a biography.  Extensive excerpts from the unreleased biography can be read at the website Tanker Jimmie Leach. For those interested in the experiences of a US Sherman tank commander in Patton’s 3rd Army, we would highly recommend reading through the content of this website.  Of particular interest will be chapters 6 and 7 which deal with Leach’s experiences in Europe after D-Day.

Go to Tanker Jimmie Leach by Matthew Hermes, PhD.

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French Leclerc to receive $350 million upgrade

March 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

leclerc_11Jane’s is reporting that France has awarded to Nexter Systems a contract to upgrade it’s fleet of 200 Leclerc MBTs.  The contract also includes 18 Leclerc based heavy recover vehicles and is expected to be completed in 2020.  The modernisation project is intended to carry the service life of the vehicles past 2040 and provide improved capabilities in asymmetric warfare environments.  Improvements will include the installation of new armor kits as well as new digitized information systems and a new tactical digital radio system.  More info here. 

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Ukrainian Separatists turn machine plant into “tank factory”

March 15, 2015 by Leave a Comment

718460750Gulfnews.com has published a story about how Ukrainian separatists have converted a machine plant into a tank repair and refurbishment facility in the rebel-hald city of Donetsk.  The Corum Donetskgormash plant, which is owned by Ukraine’s richest man, steel billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, was occupied late last year by rebels.  According to the article, numerous  T-62 and T-64 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and self-propelled artillery are stored in the plant, all of which are “trophies” taken from Kiev government forces on the battlefield.  Separatists claim to be able to produce one working vehicle from every two or three that are captured, turning out one or two vehicles every day.  The majority of the vehicles were captured from government troops when they beat a retreat from the town of Debaltseve after a months-long siege, which culminated with the rebels storming the transport hub on February 18, three days into a ceasefire.  Full article here.

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China’s new IFV has “more Western design”

March 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

04A new article from WantChinaTimes.com is describing the new Chinese infantry fighting vehicle VN12 as a “more Western design.”  The vehicle was revealed last year at the Eurosatory 2014 in Paris and is intended for export.  The VN12 is a variation of the Chinese ZBD-97 IFV.  The ZBD-97 resembles the Russian BMP-3, having a very similar turret although the chassis of the two vehicles is different.  The VN12 differs from the ZBD-97 in that it is armed with a 30mm autocannon and features improved armor.  The Norinco website (run through chrome translator) notes that the vehicle can also be equipped with a 105mm gun.  For the WantChinaTimes article, click here.

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New Chinese light tank ZTQ

March 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

194025z0e0m09o7ar4ef20The blog War is Boring has a feature article about a new Chinese light tank that is being called the ZTQ.  Images of this tank first appeared in 2011, although often with the tank’s turret obscured by camouflage netting.  Earlier this year the website China Defense Blog posted some of the first pictures of the vehicle without any netting on them.  Based on the photos, the vehicle appears to be equipped with a 105mm gun.  Many of the pictures that have appeared so far are of vehicles on train cars, apparently heading for China’s mountainous Tibet region.  For the “War is Boring” article, click here.  For the pictures on the China Defense Blog, click here.

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Iraqi mechanic salvages old vehicles to fight Islamic State

March 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

A metalworker rides a tank as he check the engine in BasraReuters Canada has published an article about an Iraqi former army mechanic that is attempting to repair Saddam era armored vehicles in order to fight against the Islamic State.  The mechanic, identified as Madhi al-Sukaini, is quoted saying “The scrap yard where thousands of bits of army equipment are dumped is close to where I live and it was a constant reminder of the long war with Iran.  One time I passed by and an idea flashed in my mind: Why don’t I repair some of the dumped armored vehicles to help in the war against Daesh?”  The article notes that so far, al-Sukaini and his sons have restored a MT-LB to running order and also mounted a 23mm cannon on it in an improvised armored turret.  Full article here. 

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Moscow Times Editorial on Putin and UralVagonZavod tank factory

March 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

5565-08-pu_fireThe Moscow Times has published an editorial piece pointing out political connections between Russian President Putin and the UralVagonZavod tank factory.  In particular, it claims that tank production in Russia has been based more on Putin’s desire to secure his political base than on the actual defense needs of Russia.  Interestingly, the article also makes some claims regarding Russia’s highly touted new Armata tank, stating that the vehicle will not be produced in significant quantities until 2018.  The editorial states that “In an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov lamented: “We miscalculated on the Armata … The money allocated for that project turned out to be too little to produce the necessary quantity.”  The piece further states that “UralVagonZavod specialized machinery director Vyacheslav Khalitov has announced that the factory will produce only two dozen or so new tanks. They will make an appearance in the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9 and then return to the factory to complete production by year’s end.”  The full article can be read here.

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“Of IS-7s and Other Things” Blog

March 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

IS-7 and other thingsRegular World of Tanks poster T__A has been sporadically posting about Soviet era armor at his blog “Of IS-7s and Other Things.”  He has posted some interesting charts showing Soviet tank production from 1945-1965, a chart of the cost of different WWII era Soviet tanks, and a series of penetration values for various postwar guns.  He has also written some nice descriptions of the T-62A and of Object 141 and Object 142. One of his most recent posts is a translation from the memoir of Soviet tank designer L.N. Kartsev describing how the T-72 came to be:

“In connection with the T-62 entering production, and work on the object 167, Kharkovites started working on a modernized T-64 tank with a 125 mm smoothbore gun and a loading mechanism. Once I decided to look at this tank at a proving grounds. I climbed in. I didn’t like the loading mechanism and the ammunition rack in the turret. The shells were positioned vertically along the turret ring and impeded access to the driver. If he was wounded or concussed, it would be hard to get him out of the tank. When I sat in the driver’s seat, I felt like I was in a trap. Metal all around me, limited ability to communicate with the crew.”  

Read the rest of the post on Kartsev and the T-72 here.

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BMD-4M enters service with Russian Airborne Forces

March 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment

bmd_4mJane’s is reporting that the first production BMD-4Ms have been delivered to Russian Airborne forces.  This includes both the BMD-4M ‘Sadovnitsa’ infantry fighting vehicles and BTR-MDM ‘Rakushka’ armoured personnel carriers.  The tracked BMD-4M is based on BMD-4, but incorporates a variety of improvements including a new upper hull, engine, chassis, and other subsystems. The aim behind the creation of the BMD-4M has been to improve the capabilities of the VDV’s armoured vehicles, while maintaining maximum commonality with BMP-3 IFV operated by the Russian Ground Forces.  Meanwhile the BTR-MDM is based on the existing BTR-MD APC. It has similarly been designed to have a high level of commonality with the BMP-3 and the MBD-4M. The new APC is intended for the transportation of airborne troops, marines, ammunition, spare parts, or fuel.  Full article here.

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On the lighter side: Russian student builds tank out of snow

March 7, 2015 by 1 Comment

snow tankThe Moscow Times is reporting that Alexander Zhuikov, who studies in Novosibirsk, has spent the last month building a solid 20-ton version of a SU-122-54 tank.  The tank, which is colored khaki-green, comes with a gun barrel, turret and caterpillar tracks. It stands at a height of 2 meters and measures 6 meters long, excluding the gun barrel, which is made out of cardboard, Roughly 20 tons of snow was needed to build the tank.  Zhuikov built the tank in order to take part in a competition called “Tank in Ambush,” which is run by the producers of a popular computer game called World of Tanks.  For pictures and full article, click here.

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