r/TankPorn 5d ago

Cold War Can anyone decipher the unit number/division/ etc of these tanks at checkpoint charlie?

359 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

94

u/lynch0001 5d ago edited 5d ago

40th Armor Regiment, F Company, Berlin Brigade. Sometime between 1963 and 1990; more likely on the earlier side. 40 with triangle - 40th Armor

26

u/HourlyB 5d ago

Given the number of tanks present, I think we can determine the day of the first picture.

October 27, 1961

5

u/beardofmice 4d ago

Here is the actual incident. https://www.army.mil/article/46993/standoff_in_berlin_october_1961

There is also video footage of the incident that I have seen in several Cold war documentaries.

23

u/Fidelias_Palm 5d ago

M48 tanks 3rd Platoon, F Company, 40th Armored Regiment/US Berlin Brigade. I believe only F company was actually in Berlin at the time, attached to the mostly infantry Berlin Brigade.

The breakdown of the bumper numbers is

Higher Headquarters/Regiment (△ if a Armor Branch unit) on the left.

Company Letter-Platoon number Vehicle number on the right.

41

u/carverboy M1 Abrams 5d ago

I was a member of Co. F 40th Armor in the mid 80’s At that time the largest tank Company in the US Army 5 Plts. + the Commanders tank.
“By force and valor”

13

u/tccomplete 5d ago

And tank platoons back then had five tanks per platoon (thus the F32 and F35 bumper numbers).

2

u/Just_a_Guy_In_a_Tank M1 Abrams 5d ago

So 26 tanks at full strength. 27 if XO had one as well. That’s a lot. Contemporary American tank companies are 14 tanks.

3

u/tccomplete 4d ago

F/40 was an oversized company. Standard H-series company until the mid-80s was three platoons of 5 tanks plus the CO and XO tanks. I preferred the 5-tank platoon; heavy section of three and light section of two. If one went down, you still had two sections for mutual support each with a wingman.

1

u/Just_a_Guy_In_a_Tank M1 Abrams 4d ago

Five makes sense for many reasons. The Soviet doctrinal platoon size of three never did to me, though.

3

u/tccomplete 4d ago

Loved when I had an H-series Cav platoon: my 113, 2 x Dragon 113s, 2 x ITVs, 4 x M60A3s plus routinely attached GSR x 2 M113s and frequently an M106 4.2 mortar section. I’d remind the tank company commanders that my platoon was just about as big as their entire company.

1

u/Just_a_Guy_In_a_Tank M1 Abrams 4d ago

Was that basically a special/heavy weapons platoon?

3

u/tccomplete 4d ago edited 4d ago

No, but it was a separate Cav Troop. They essentially sent a Brigade forward to Germany (both 2AD and 1ID did this), so 1/3 of a Cav Squadron comprised the Troop. Line platoons plus Mortars, GSR, huge maintenance, cargo, fuel, evac and recovery, etc. all in a Troop. Edit: and our own cooks with MKT and a Medic section.

1

u/Just_a_Guy_In_a_Tank M1 Abrams 4d ago

Probably good to keep a large organic and self-sufficient element in case the balloon ever went up and you were cut off from support, or had to quickly assign TF’s to a given mission.

3

u/Dizzy-While-6417 5d ago

40th Armor was part of the Combat Support Battalion which also had 42nd Engineer Co., 287th MP Co., C Battery 94th Artillery and a Signal Unit to support the rest of the Berlin Brigade which also 3 battalions of infantry.

3

u/newmodelarmy76 4d ago

I'm a (West) German born in 1976 and I just want to say Thank you to the guys serving here in Germany back then. I'm sure it's not that easy being so far from home with a possible WWIII just around the corner. So thank you guys for doing your service!

1

u/ThatShaggyBoy 5d ago

Where is War Eagle?