gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Share #1 Posted December 24, 2018 I am starting this thread so that members may share photos of Iraqi tanks, vehicles and artillery, both in theater and later as displayed as war trophies. As subtitled in the Topic Title, much of what equipped Saddam Hussein's army appears to have come from Russian stocks. I was tempted to place these under a Soviet / Warsaw Pact topic, but these have their own history far away from Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #2 Posted December 24, 2018 First up are a set of photos that I took at Iowa's Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge, just outside of Des Moines, Iowa. I took these photos in 2010 when the museum was in the early stages of setting up their displays. It already had a fine collection on display, and from the photos on the internet it appears they have made a number of improvements. https://www.goldstarmuseum.iowa.gov/ They have a vehicle park of mostly US vehicles from the Cold War period, but also a number of what appear to be captured Iraqi items. Unfortunately at the time there were no markers or placards to give the background of the vehicles there, so one is left to speculate as to how they came to be in the middle of Iowa. The first item is the venerable T-55 tank. This one looks like it has had some rough handling either in the field or in shipment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-54%2FT-55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted December 24, 2018 Despite their huge numbers around the world, some US personnel who have encountered the T-55 have considered it to be a poorly made vehicle. Note the less than polite spray painted message on the T-55 wrecked on the infamous "Highway of Death" in 1991. (Source: same Wikipedia article) A close up of the one in Iowa shows a very mangled fender skirt along the side. In the first photo, damage to the front of it can also be observed. This shows the economy with which the Soviets / Russians only armored the most vital portions of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted December 24, 2018 Next we have a MT-LB personnel carrier. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MT-LB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted December 24, 2018 For artillery, this was probably the largest weapon on the lot, a 152 MM D-20 towed howitzer. This looks like it could do some damage in the correct hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/152_mm_towed_gun-howitzer_M1955_(D-20) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted December 24, 2018 To round things out, a Soviet era AZP S-60 57 MM anti-aircraft gun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZP_S-60 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted December 24, 2018 This was parked with the Iraqi equipment, but I am not sure what it is or what the country of origin would be. It does not seem to match anything that the Soviets made. If anyone can provide an identification, I'd be grateful. If anyone has any other photos or story that fit this topic, please feel free to add to the thread. I know the 1st CAV museum also had some Iraqi vehicles captured from the First Gulf War, and I will see if I can find some on-line photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12A54 Posted December 24, 2018 Share #8 Posted December 24, 2018 That’s a Chinese NORINCO M1939 twin 37mm towed AA gun. The Iraqis had them in service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted December 24, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted December 24, 2018 That’s a Chinese NORINCO M1939 twin 37mm towed AA gun. The Iraqis had them in service. Thank you. I was thinking Chinese. I can't seem to find a good reference article on the twin version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MECHINF-A15 Posted December 24, 2018 Share #10 Posted December 24, 2018 Very nice presentation Gil! Thank you for sharing these. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easterneagle87 Posted December 24, 2018 Share #11 Posted December 24, 2018 Good pictures. On a deployment through Ft. Stewart, GA I took a bunch of pictures of Iraqi vehicles brought back from the First Gulf War. It seemed every building had a vehicle out in fronmt of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #12 Posted December 24, 2018 I was at Fort Hood when 2AD and 1st CAV returned from ODS. I volunteered at the 2AD Museum when we took delivery of a MT-LB, BRDM-2, 2S1, BMP-1, Type-59/T-55, and T-72. We got the BMP, 2S1, MT-LB, and T-72 running (along with a T-62 that came from an unspecified country in the 80s) and used them in a training video where they were filmed through the TADS on an AH-64 Apache while driving around. I have a lot of photos I've never shown before of these vehicles. Here's the BMP-1, a sweet driving machine with a 15.8L 300HP 6-cylinder Diesel. I took a series of interior photos too as this was captured fully equipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #13 Posted December 24, 2018 The 2S1 was the NATO code for the M-1974 122mm SP Howitzer. Nice sized turret with a tunnel connecting the rear area with the driver's position in the front left. We sanded it and repainted it while I was there. Here we are driving it around to the painting area. The MT-LB ambulance is parked next to it, the Chinese Type 59 is behind it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #14 Posted December 24, 2018 This low mileage T-72 was like new when captured, the 35L 780HP V-12 Diesel ran like a clock. Very powerful, very fast, and had a shifter much like the old Hurst Speed Shifter where you slammed it manually down a notched gate from gear to gear as you sped away. The smoke generator worked too, very very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #15 Posted December 24, 2018 The BRDM-2 was an amphibious 4WD scout car armed with a 14.5mm machine gun with a 7.62 coax in the small turret. We never could get the gas V-8 running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #16 Posted December 24, 2018 The MT-LB ambulance had a functioning air conditioner for the rear that worked great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #17 Posted December 24, 2018 Rear of the MT-LB set up to carry litters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #18 Posted December 24, 2018 The Fort Hood Sentinel newspaper sent out a photographer to film our training in black and white. Here's the 2S1 with the fresh paint job as an AH-64 Apache and OH-58 Kiowa fly out to 1,000 meters to begin filming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #19 Posted December 24, 2018 I don't know how many Army rules and regulations are being broken in this photo as an OH-58 flying at 30' chases a T-72 around Fort Hood, but it was fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted December 24, 2018 Share #20 Posted December 24, 2018 Lastly, I was in the turret when the driver (a CW2 Apache pilot) told me over the intercom he was going to try the smoke generator. He kept asking, "Is it working?" and I kept yelling, "Turn it off!". End result shut down traffic at Fort Hood for almost a half hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m1ashooter Posted December 25, 2018 Share #21 Posted December 25, 2018 Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share #22 Posted January 1, 2019 Here's a new one that I'd never heard of... a T-55 Enigma. Apparently it was a failed experiment to up armor the T-55. This one lives on as a gate guard for the 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Technical Intelligence) at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/modern/Iraq/t-55-enigma/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattS Posted January 1, 2019 Share #23 Posted January 1, 2019 Interesting experiment, won't stop a Hellfire or Maverick though. Also, good use of chock blocks, wouldn't want that to roll away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted January 23, 2019 Share #24 Posted January 23, 2019 Thank you. I was thinking Chinese. I can't seem to find a good reference article on the twin version. It's designated the Type 65. http://www.army-guide.com/eng/product4188.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riflegreen297 Posted January 7, 2020 Share #25 Posted January 7, 2020 Very nice pics and stories. Thank you for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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