A graphic depicting the U.S. Army’s Amphibian Tank Company per the July 1944 TO&E. These “Amtank” units were intended to provide direct fire support to assaulting infantry battalions during amphibious operations, after which the medium tanks (and other direct fire platforms) would take over inland. Their protection and firepower was lacking for taking on heavier inland fortifications. From that point they’d revert to Division Artillery control in the indirect fire role. The indirect fire role became more emphasized during the last year of the war, which followed the adoption of an LVT with a howitzer.

They were equipped mostly with LVT(A)(4)s with the M8 HMC’s turret mounting a 75mm howitzer and LVT(A)(1)s with a more thinly armored version of the M5 Light Tank’s turret with the 37mm gun. Despite the name, the LVT(A)(1) is actually based on the LVT(2) rather than the LVT(1), and the LVT(A)(2) is basically just an uparmored version of a standard LVT(2) without a turret.

Simply because it's slightly easier to follow for the rest of this post I'll refer to the LVT(A)(4) as the 75mm LVT and LVT(A)(1) as the 37mm LVT although it is not proper.

This shift towards indirect fire during sustained land operations was why the 75mm LVT, recently accepted in March 1944, replaced other LVT(A)s in the TO&E in July 1944. The 708th Amphibian Tank Bn had some 75mm LVTs for the June 1944 invasion of Saipan. They used 4 75mm LVTs and 13 37mm LVTs per company at that time. The Amphibian Tank Companies continued a mix of 75mm LVTs and 37mm LVTs to the end of the war. This was still better than their first operations where they had operated a mix of 37mm LVTs and LVT(A)(2)s which only had machine guns. The 776th Bn at Leyte (Oct 1944) for example operated a company HQ with 2 75mm LVTs and platoons of 3 75mm LVTs and 2 37mm LVTs. Although by Okinawa they’d reorged with platoons of 4 75mm LVTs and had 2 37mm LVTs in the Company HQ.

The Army’s Amphibian Tank Battalions included the 708th, 742d, 747th, 776th, 780th and 795th. The 742d and 795th were formed at Fort Ord, California in August 1944 and June 1945 respectively, but did not leave the US. The 747th was formed in Germany from the 747th Tank Bn for Operation Downfall, but was still in Europe when Japan surrendered. The 708th, 776th and 780th saw combat in the Pacific Theater. Amphibian Tractor Battalions, which operated the troop/cargo-carrying LVTs, were more numerous.

The Marine Corps contemporary was the Armored Amphibian Company. The G-series version of that also had 18 Amtanks and 2 Amtracs, but more support vehicles and trailers. Each Marine equivalent had 4 jeeps (1 radio-equipped), 3 2.5-ton trucks, 1 greasing trailer (1-ton), 1 high pressure cleaning unit trailer (1-ton), 1 stockroom trailer (1-ton) and 1 300-gallon water trailer. I do not personally have access to the F-series version which would have been more contemporary to this Army TO&E.

Sources

The original TO&E was provided by War Department Archives:

• January 1944 - https://www.wdarchives.com/archives/record/8872/
• July 1944 Change 1 - https://www.wdarchives.com/archives/record/8869/

Here is a good article by Harry Yeide that covers various Amtank task organizations and unit/campaign-particulars (this graphic just covers the TO&E itself): https://worldoftanks.com/en/news/history/chieftains-hatch-amtanks/

Done!

It took me hours to paint, and although I’m not particularly skilled at this, I think it looks quite good for its scale. This is the Object 640 "Black Eagle" in 1:87 scale—perfect for wargaming or small-scale collections. It includes all the details, and I have to say, I absolutely love this tank.

What do you think of the model? How does the paint job look to you?

Do you think this tank would have been more effective than the early T-90 designs?

I’m open to critiques; I’ve been a 3D artist for a while, but I’m just starting out with brush painting.

This model is part of a larger collection that includes other experimental Soviet "Objects." With your help, we can get this machine into the hands of collectors or players who love this niche. Featuring scales suitable for both display and wargaming, the "Secret Soviet Armored Program" collection awaits you.

Want to see more? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vbertz/secret-soviet-armored-program

Complete with French Army issued wine ration can.

OG post: https://www.reddit.com/r/TankPorn/comments/1vwdk9a/what_if_isseries_style_tank_was_made_after/

Looking for anyone that happens to know what proper fire commands for a modern Leopard 2A6 crew would be. I only vaguely remember [Panzer, Ton, Schutzenpanzer], [range], [steht/querfarht], feuer.

Ideally I'd like to know the whole crew, the entire "tree" of options and any shorthand that's widely adopted that wouldn't be a direct translation.

I.e.

For an Abrams crew-

Commander: Gunner, sabot/HEAT/MPAT, tank/truck/PC. Traverse right/left. On.

Gunner: Identified/obstructed.

Loader: Sabot/HEAT/MPAT up.

Gunner: On the way.

Commander: Target. Ceasefire/reengage. Over/short, relase.

Loader: Black on sabot/HEAT/MPAT (only one round left in the rack).

I vaguely remember that the TC in Leopard 2s isn't as involved with calling out ammo type for the gunner and that the gunner is usually smart enough to intuit what should be loaded.

Thanks in advance

SOURCE: by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Army, filmed at a military training range (such as Fort Moore or Fort Cavazos).