M1A1 Tow bar

We get our stuff from the same supplier.

Here's my photo album of the Abrams tow bar.

http://gallery3.kitmaker.net/showgallery.php/cat/13731 

Hi Rob, thanks for the reply and for the photos. We just confirmed the tow bar we bought and it really matches the one on the photos. Really cool. But is the tow bar ok to be used on a Marines M1A1. My friend is planning to build his M1 as a Marine M1A1. He wants to copy the same M1A1 that I built months ago.

I told him the tow bar is a universal tool. Just like a wrench. You can find it on cars, SUVs, trucks, etc... so I think yeah it's ok to have the tow bar on a Marine M1A1 but still, we just wanna be sure. The kit that we have already have some minor errors so we don't want to add one more hehe! Thanks!

Items like this are procured by the US Army. The Marines add in their own order to our order. So yes, they use the same tow bar. The Army trains the Marine tankers as well as the tank mechanics.

Doesn't Trumpeter make a 1/35 tow bar?

Great. Many thanks Rob! : )

The tow bar should be the same between the branches and I think it is the same type we used on AAVs.  I dug through my AAVR7 TM and got the NSN for the tow bar.  It is 2540-01-267-2912.  This should make it easy to cross-reference if you can hunt down an Army TM with the tow bar.

I picked up Trumpeter’s1/35 tow bar for a future AAV build and it is a nice little accessory that looks the part.  I also included a pic of an AAV with tow bar attached. 

I am not sure about the AAV tow bar, but the Army has two different sizes. The big one for Abrams and M88s and a smaller one for Brads, M113s and can be used on heavy wheeled vehicles like the HEMTT.

Yes, when I was a platoon leaders driver, I recall having one on the top deck of my 113. It don't  remember a handle on it like the one in the photo with the AAV... But that was a LONG time ago...

@ deattilyo & stikpusher

Yup, that's the one we have (Trumpeter 1/35 tow bar 2540-01-267-2912). It's also the same item that I used on my previous M1 build (when I'm still new to the hobby). I have 2 of this and I gave my other tow bar to my friend as a "starter" acessory gift. Back then I was not into researching yet and just keep putting everything until I've noticed that it was not the way it should be and not cool so now we're very careful hehe.

I checked the tow bar and the photos Rob provided and yep, they look the same. I also looked for folded tow bars just to check the length of it and the tank's hull and they're the same. I hope my eyes aren't just fooling me hehe.

That's not a handle, it is a spot to put the tow shackle pin into. Just a simple metal tube.