SOP for tank crews

[Michael Dorosh]

TANK STANDING ORDERS
2nd Canadian Armoured Regiment Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) 4th Edition, 5 Feb 1945

1. DRESS. Dress on going into action will be at Squadron Leader's discretion. Crew commanders, drivers and co-drivers will wear steel helmets.

2. PERSONAL. All personnel will carry shell dressing in a uniform place, throughout the Squadron, water sterilizing outfits and three mepacrine pills. Crew commanders will carry compass, binoculars and morphine syrettes, in a box, at all times.

3. KIT. Kit to be carried into action will be at Squadron Leader's discretion. Kit bags will NOT be carried. Crew commanders will be held responsible that unnecessary kit is not carried.

4. DOCUMENTS. Crews going into action will carry no personal documents other than their pay books and personal identity cards (MFM 182). Codes, code signs etc. will be limited to those actually required. When a tank is abandoned all maps, codes etc. will be removed by the crew commander who will, if there is any immediate danger of capture, destroy them.

5. AMMUNITION. Tanks will normally travel into action with 75mm gun loaded with one round High Explosive set at delay. Troop and Squadron leaders tanks may carry Armour Piercing or White Phosphorous Smoke if preferred.

6. ENGINES. Engines must be kept running whenever the guns are being fired.

7. HOMOLITES. Homolites must be kept running whenever the power traverse system is in use. The engine must be kept running whenever the homolite is running and the crew mounted.

8. TOW ROPES. Tow ropes will be attached in rear and a good shackle and pin in easy reach of the crew commander. Crew commanders will ensure that shackles and pins are easily detached before going into action.

9. PERISCOPES. All telescopes and periscopes will be wedged in for firmness against vibration and, if possible, shellac or similar substance painted over the joints to stop dust settling.

10. TANKS LEAVING SCENE OF ACTION. No battleworthy tank will leave the scene of action without permission from the Squadron Commander or officer acting as such. A tank will NOT be evacuated because one member of the crew is hit. In all crews it will be laid down as a drill who is to take over, in the event of a casualty to the crew commander. This drill will be practiced as part of normal training.

11. POLICY re ABANDONING TANK. When a tank is holed or blown up on a mine the crew will remain with the tank and fight until all ammunition has been exhausted, the guns put out of action or the tank catches fire, unless orders to abandon it are given by the Troop Leader or in detached roles, the crew commander.

12. DRILL FOR ABANDONING TANK. When a tank is abandoned as a flamer the crew commander will be responsible for releasing the emergency fire extinguishers. At all other times the crew commander will ensure that the following drill is carried out -

(a) The gunner will remove the striker case and spare striker case of the 75mm and the bolts of the Browning

(b) The operator will put the set off net and remove the six point connector

(c) The bow gunner will remove the bolt and spare bolt from his Browning

(d) All personnel will take personal weapons with them. Stores removed from the tank will be turned over to the Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant at the first opportunity

13. PROTECTION OF KIT. Unless a tank is a complete brew-up or the tactical situation renders it impossible, the crew of an abandoned tank will remain in the vicinity in order to prtect kit from the tank being looted. As soon as it is clear that the tank cannot be recovered under unit arrangements, the turret crew will report to the Regimental Aid Post or Officer Commanding A.1 Echelon as quickly as possible. The hull crews will remain with the tank until the kit is removed and the tank struck off unit charge, when they will report to Officer Commanding A.1 Echelon or to TD TP "G" Squadron 25 Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment if the tank is evacuated to AWD.

14. POLICY CONCERNING DESTRUCTION OF TANKS. The decision to destroy a tank will invariably be made by the Squadron Leader. No tank will be destroyed unless absolutely necessary in order to prevent its falling into enemy hands. The tank can be set on fire by breaking the gas lead from the homolite and setting the petrol on fire or by any other means the crew commander desires.

15. DISMOUNTING. During action no man will dismount from his tank without permission from his Troop Leader. Personnel dismounting will invariably take their personal weapons. Personnel will on NO account leave the vicinity of their tanks without permission from their Troop Leader. This rule applies in all harbour areas.

16. HARBOURS. In harbour tanks will not normally be closer than 50 yards interval. This rule may be relaxed by troop and squadron commanders in order to make full use of cover. No tank will move within the harbour area without permission. Except in the event of direct attack, AA fire will not be opened without the orders of the Squadron Leader.

17. ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION. Immediately upon moving into harbour or when the order "Pass Adm" is given, crew commanders will report to the Troop Commander requirements of ammunition, POL, casualties and mechanical condition of vehicle. Troop Leaders will pass this information to Squadron Battle Captains who will consolidate it and pass it to the Adjutant by runner or in Slidex. Officer Commanding Reconnaissance Troop and Regimental Headquarters tanks will also submit this return. Information will include

(a) ammuntion requirements
(b) POL required
(c) casualties suffered - showing if possible name and nature of casualty
(d) tank state
(e) other stores urgently required

18. INTERCOM IN HARBOUR. When Squadrons are not linked by line to Regimental Headquarters, continuous wireless watch will be kept.

19. REMAINING IN TANKS. Crews must NOT be allowed to remain in their tanks indefinitely or to sleep in them. Troop Leaders will ensure that crews dismount and dig in to rest, in spite of casual artillery or mortar fire.

20. HATCHES ETC. Crew commanders will NOT close both turret flaps except under very heavy mortar fire when the situation does not demand unrestricted vision. Drivers and co-drivers hatches will not be fastened. Saftey belts will NOT be used.

21. MOVEMENT CONTROL. When in forward area, awaiting a movement order an all round watch must be kept. This is especially important when on a road or if wireless silence has been imposed and orders must be sent by messenger.

22. CAMOUFLAGE. At no time will a tank go into action without camouflage in the form of branches, shrubs, etc. unless a special order to that effect is issued by Commanding Officer or Squadron Leader. Troop Leaders and crew commanders will be held responsible that this order is complied with unless permission to the contrary is given by the Commanding Officer.

23. MAINTENANCE. Essential maintenance comes ahead of rest. Squadron and Troop Leaders and crew commanders will be held responsible that this order is complied with unless permission to the contrary is given by the Commanding Officer.

24. WIRELESS MAINTENANCE. Operators will carry out daily maintenance tasks and make appropriate entries in wireless logs.

26. REPORTING OF COMMUNICATIONS. Any communcations faults affecting unit or sub-unit will be reported to Regimental Signals Officer through Battle Captain.

27. DISCIPLINE. Failure to obey these orders will be treated as a court-martial charge.

Thought this was interesting.

Can anyone comment on how this has changed in the last 60 years?

Someone on another board is calling this BS because he doesn't believe that tank crews would actually do maintenance, then dig in, then go to sleep outside their vehicles.  I suspect he has no military experience.  Can someone articulate for me why there would be a prohibition on not sleeping inside the vehicle?

Just trying to find the next guy for fire picket or radio watch would be hard enough if he was inside a frickin' tank.

 

[Marty]

I dont remember seeing anything like this , but I was in 17 yrs ago. however , maintainance is always at the top of the list . Its like an Infantryman looking after his feet I guess, (feet no work grunt no work , tracks no turn tank no work )As for the crews NOT being allowed to remain in the tanks .....I suspect this was also a discretion of the CO thing , I know its not stated there , but for anyone that has ever CRASHED harbour , outside on the ground in a sleeping bag  is absolutly the last place I want to be ,especially when it is for real . You are much much much safer inside when those nasty Arty rounds start falling .But if you are in no danger of contact and you dont have to wind yourself around the long legs of the loader why would you .Besides its much easier to get up to pee than it is to get out . Things have probably changed though

 

[ZipperHead]

I know that one of the only regulations that is similar is not sleeping under any vehicles. Whether it's army urban legend or not, I have heard that this came to be because somebody went to sleep under a vehicle, and the tracks (tires?) settled into the soft ground and killed them (bottom of vehicle crushing them).

I could see not sleeping in the old tanks that were gasoline powered due to flash fires, especially if people had lanterns or stoves going for heat. New AFV's have fire suppressing equipment which would put out the fire, but would probably kill anybody inside that wasn't able to get out (Halon is an effective fire fighting agent but can do you in.... link for effects (whether this exactly the same as what we use, I'm not sure): www.ceasefire.com/files/halon_1301.pdf

Something that has always annoyed crewmen (well, me anyway) is the fact that we dig a "slit" trench beside the vehicle, in case anybody is caught outside the vehicle when artillery, mortars, ground attack, etc occurs. Me, I'd be inside the tank PDQ, rather than playing infantry boy in the trench beside the vehicle.

I would prefer to sleep in the vehicle if I knew contact was imminent, but other than the drivers hole in a LAV, and the loaders side in a Leo, there aren't too many cozy sleeping positions in our AFV's (excluding the back of a LAV III, but I suspect the RHIP factor would win out there, and the normal occupants of the back would be on the ground outside). As for rad watch, sentry etc, I make it a point of ensuring that my relief knows where I sleep, and vice versa, so whether it's inside a vehicle, in a trench, a shelter-half, etc there's little difference (kinda hard to miss a tank when you're stumbling around in the dark...)

Most tank crews (on Leo) sleep on the back deck, with the standard 4 man sponge, er, tent. Keep in mind the engine gets hot, and so does the back deck (hot enough to burn bare skin, and will also cause the new green airmattresses to overinflate if you put too much air into them. Usually the rookies (driver and gunner) slept on the sides (hottest area) and the cmdr and loader slept in the middle, where engine fan is). You have to traverse the turret to 3 or 9 o'clock position, but most crews have it down to a science, even in woodlines. Mind you, that's a peacetime only option, as getting the gun to a fighting position (ie to 12 o'clock) is pretty critical when under attack. A lot of guys also sleep on top of the turret, wherever there's a bit of flat area. Again, not an optimal place if attacked, but the same amount of protection is afforded there as in a 4 man tent (ie. none). At least you can mount the vehicle quickly then.

I got a bit of a laugh from these SOP's, not because they are stupid, but because we don't use anything other than corporate knowledge these days (common sense, too). There are unit SOP's of course, but not detailing (micromanaging some might say) some of the things these old ones do (ie dismounting the vehicle).  I'm sure if we went to war, we'd have to come up with some good SOP's as some of the practices we have in peacetime would have to be ditched in a hurry in wartime.

Al

 

[ZipperHead]

Marty has a few good points, particularly being on the ground during a crash. We don't call infantry "crunchies" for nothing....

As well, we have a SOP for occupying a hide, harbour, etc: Protection (sentry out), Cam (Cam tracks, vehicle), Protection (slit trench), Replen (if not already conducted), MAINTENANCE, Food, Rest. How much maint gets done is dependent on state of readiness, tactical situation, etc. You can't be taking a track apart if enemy is close (noise, immobilizing veh, etc).

Al

 

[TangoTwoBravo]

It looks realisitic enough, although I cannot vouch for their veracity.  Sleeping in the tank does not lend itself to a refreshed crew, although I have seen it done for short periods (basically naps).  I am sure that 1945 SOPs would have digging in them, as the soldiers who wrote them would have been the subject of German bombardments.  Digging during training is a chore.  If you've been hit by arty it might be done with a bit more relish.  As Allan pointed out, tankers certainly do maintenance.

I'll ask some of our association members if they had similar SOPs in the Dragoons at the time. 

Cheers,

2B

p.s. George, would our archives have anything like this?

 

[George Wallace]

2 Bravo

There should be various SOPs hidden away up there, going back quite a ways in time, to include picketing of horses etc. 

 

[plattypuss]

:skull:  Maybe it might be neccessary to sleep inside the tank in a NBC environment (because of the over-pressure system?) but I don't imagine that normal SOP would leave a Sqn operating in that environment for a lengthy period of time.  I think that the idea of the slitty, is to provide a form of protection if the tank is disabled although it might not be the most comfortable place to be when the ammo starts to cook off  .

 

[George Wallace]

As Armour Soldiers don't always stay mounted in their vehicles in Harbours or Hides, there is a necessity for them to dig Slit Trenches as per SOP, so that they can readily take cover in case of Artillery attack or any other type of attack.  It would not be too prudent to start climbing up the side of a three meter high monster while the bullets and/or shrapnel was flying around.
Do to the characteristics of the beasts, you would usually find that Armour crewmen very seldom liked to get onto the ground, prefering to stay up on their vehicles, but if they did they would require the safety precaution of a Slit Trench nearby.

 

[abadasstanker69]

That is the funniest thing I think I have ever read!! We slept in our tanks every day In Iraq and in training missions in Egypt,Fort Stewart,Fort Benning, and pretty much anywhere else we went. If you wanna see something crazy as in stupid sop's look up unmasking procedures for an nbc attack. I dont know how any other country does it but in America it's rather brutal!

 

[Franko]

I am sure that 1945 SOPs would have digging in them, as the soldiers who wrote them would have been the subject of German bombardments.   Digging during training is a chore.
Cheers,

2B

"Digging in only slows down an offensive"......George S Patton 

Regards

 

[Fishbone Jones]

The problem I find with shell scrapes is that my buttons get in the way when I'm trying to lower my profile. If I was worried about splinters, etc, I'd be more inclined to climb under my beast for overhead. If it brews up with me underneath or beside it, I don't think it'll make much difference to me! ;D

 

[George Wallace]

The problem I find with shell scrapes is that my buttons get in the way when I'm trying to lower my profile. If I was worried about splinters, etc, I'd be more inclined to climb under my beast for overhead. If it brews up with me underneath or beside it, I don't think it'll make much difference to me! ;D

unless it sinks in the mud

 

[Michael Dorosh]

unless it sinks in the mud

So much for corporate memory, eh?  The SOPs above were written in early 1945, after the Regiment had been in combat for a year.  I'd be inclined to give the author of that piece the benefit of the doubt as regards his combat experience and job knowledge.  Interesting responses.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

unless it sinks in the mud

I suppose it could start sinking while I was under there, during a barrage, but I'd probably notice. I didn't say anything about sleeping under there. It'd be about the same amount of time we spent under there changing the oil, and we didn't worry about it then.

 

[TangoTwoBravo]

I still haven't sifted through the archives yet, but a quick read through my old 1H history book reveals several references to "digging in" while in harbours.  There are couple of reference to mortar/aircraft and artillery attacks on harbours, including one direct hit that destroys a tank.  The first specific mention of digging occurs in Jul 44 during the Normandy battles.  The Regt had moved to a rest area and subsequently six MPs get killed by a barrage.  The book metions that "the unit dug in immediately". 

Perhaps this particular digging-in SOP came about as a result of experiences such as these.  Since these are LdSH SOPs, they would also reflect the time in Italy.  The Canadian Army was (and still is) rather methodical.  Also bear in mind that this SOP is dated 1945, not 2005.  Digging in would fit with this mind-set (not many long dashes across the desert). 

One other part that rings true is the reference to G Sqn of 25 CADR.  In Italy, at least, G Sqn of 25 Canadian Armoured Delivery Regiment (which was the Elgins) was the tank replacement unit. 

If this is a forgery then it is a very well researched one.

Cheers,

2B

 

[a_majoor]

I remember being told not to sleep in the vehicles since they would be targeted first. (this was in the 1980s when "fire and forget" rounds hadn't made a large impression yet, the reference was to airborn or commando type troops sneaking up and firning RPGs etc.)

I also have read that South African troops often became victims of mortars when going to ground under their Kaspir or Buffel mineproof vehicles, since the pronounced boat shape of the hulls would direct incoming splinters downwards (an inverse to the proper function of deflecting a mine blast up and outwards). What to do in a harbour or hide will depend on the situation you are encountering.

Given the fighting power of an AFV is based on its on board weaponry, they should be at least partially manned at all times, but to get any good rest, you would have to get outside of most vehicles. I hope the next generation of vehicles is designes to take this into account. Short aside, a British author named Richard Simpkin wrote a lot about armoured warfare, and one of his ideas was a pressurized "penthouse" type tent atached to the rear of the vehicle, which would allow the crew to get out and sleep with a certain amount of protection against chemical agents. Like a real penthouse, the crew could presumably scramble in through the rear hatch and drive away fro the tent in an emergency.

 

[time expired]

Ref:Allan Luomala sinking tanks.
True story Gagetown early 60s. it was a Cent. and evidently the ARV just didnt make it to the
location in time,a real trajedy.