Somewhere, some place in my garage, I probably still have my M60A3TTS and CEV TMs.

Wow, that's some nice stuff Pawel!!!

Right now I need to concentrate on just getting something built out of the box but if I ever decide to detail the interior of a M60 I'll know where to look!

Hello everybody!

Thanks a lot for your comments and your kind words!

Rob - I'm especially counting on you with this one, given your experience with the subject.

And to show you I'm not only writing about it, but also working on the subject for some time, here's a render of the turret floor ammo boxes for the MGs, also known as "banana boxes":

I have based this 3D design on some photos, and on this diagram I have created:

So I'd like to as you for review of my design and your comments. Thanks a lot in advance and have a nice day

Paweł

Looking great so far.  I would be up for an M60 interior.  Sounds like a great project and I will be watching.

I would buy at least 5 complete kits.

Just took a look at your Shapeways site. Can you model the M-3A1 grease guns with out the magazine. They were stored in the tank with out them.

Hello!

Gino - thanks a lot for your kind words. Good thing to know I'm not only doing this for myself, but that also other modellers could use my work.

M60_tanker - funny thing you're asking me that, I've just finished to work on this render when I read your last post:

So the answer is absolutely, but I didn't think people would want to have bigger quantities of grease-guns with the magazines out.

Currently I'm working on the gunners controls (the TMs call it a power-pack) and the turret traverse gearbox. I'll post my results soon.

As always I'd be grateful for any comments or remarks you might have here. Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Looking good. Couple of things. In the drawing, the fire extinguisher was not mounted there. It was mounted under the drivers seat. Also, no ammo boxes were inside the turret. All coax ammo was stored in the banana boxes.

Gunner's controls were called Cadillacs, I think that was the company that made the controls. The grease gun magazines were stored in a three pouch container that had a spot on the turret wall to affix it. It could be removed and attached to a soldier's web belt. There were two of them.

Rob, you are correct. The second one was strapped to the top of the sight box located under the main gun, forward so the driver could use it.

Hello!

Thanks a lot for your comments! That's what I was looking for.

M60_tanker - it's interesting what you write about the fire extinguisher - I have some references where the fire extinguisher is mounted exactly where I modelled it. I have also seen this space blank, so could it be it's a difference between versions?

Also, the TM I have says the big box feeds the coax directly, and the small box is for grenades. The TM also says the pouch with mags for the grease gun should be stowed in the tray in the bustle, between the main gun ammo and the radio. I've seen the second ammo pouch above the instrument panel, to the right from the driver. By the way, are we talking about a pouch like this?:

Rob - Cadillacs, that's a good one. Then the company would probably be Cadillac-Gage?

I was planning to do a separate fire extinguisher to be mounted under the loader's seat, and I'll probably have to develop a version of the coax ammo box without the extinguisher, too.

Thanks again for your comments and have a nice day

Paweł

No, it is a 3-magazine pouch. https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Arms-Gear-Ammunition-Magazine/dp/B07B8DFJYH

Hello Rob!

Thanks a lot, that clears it up. Have a nice day!

Paweł

Aw. How come you were not doing this when I was building my M-60 interrior?

Lol

Rob Gronovius

No, it is a 3-magazine pouch. https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Arms-Gear-Ammunition-Magazine/dp/B07B8DFJYH

 

 

LOL! Those mag pouches are straight out of WWII & Korea... I know that the Grease Gun was too. I suppose like the mag pouches and holster for the 1911 pistol, they stayed around as long as the weapon did. Did those mag pouches have the wire attachment for the grommets on a pistol belt, or cloth loops on the backside?

I don't know. The only time we really messed with them was when we conducted lay out inventory. The magazines were still sealed in aluminum packaging. When we fam fired the guns, we just used a handful of magazines that were already used.

Rob Gronovius

When we fam fired the guns, we just used a handful of magazines that were already used.

 

GMorrison

 

 

Rob Gronovius

When we fam fired the guns, we just used a handful of magazines that were already used.

 

 

 

 

Please explain.

 

 

Familiarize Fire- shooting a weapon to familiarize with the type. As opposed to qualifying- shooting for record score.

Thank you for the explanation.

Hello everybody!

I just love the discussion going on here - that's exactly what I have created this thread for.

Mike - glad to hear from you again, it's been a long time! You sure have been an important inspiration to start this whole thing going. First time when you started messing with that M60A1 from AFV Club. Second time when you asked me to make a set of those banana boxes. Back then the technology wasn't available (to me), but then I started learning and now look what cool stuff I can crank out!

Rob, Stick - fam fire! Now that's an insider word! Thanks a lot for explaining this one.

Thanks again for all the comments and have a nice day

Paweł

stikpusher

Did those mag pouches have the wire attachment for the grommets on a pistol belt, or cloth loops on the backside?

By the time they got DLA numbers, the M-1910 wire hooks were out of use on those.

Because the Army kept using the M3A3, the contract to make the carriers was extended and continued on for some time.  They eventually got NSN as the production continued.

If IU remember the discussion over on the USMilitaria forum, some collector had one with a 1982 contract date.  Marine tracks often had khaki examples well into the 60s as they were, A, servicable, and B, inside the track.

Pawel

I just love the discussion going on here

It's particularly necessary, too, as what the Book did was different than what the actual Tankers did. 

Partially, that was from the separation of when the tanks & storage were designed, and partially from the fact that the designers did not actually live in the track like the tankers do/did.

Armor Command, for all its foibles, would back up things that made sense for tankers.  Like moving fire extinguishers, or changing stowage poiints.

This is where first-person accounts can be hugely valuable.

I still find it suprising that so few modelers model a "lay out" instpection.  Which is a "junk on the bunk"sight inventory of all the stuff in a track.  This may be because our tread-headed amigos doe not remember those with any joy at all.

Lmao! 

I do not recall anyone sharing fond stories of any inspection lay outs lol!

Apparently that was one of the most miserable events a tanker had to deal with lol.

There are many stories, but no one talks about that inspection lol.

I do remember when I was a brand new cherry TOW gunner in my first line unit. My assigned weapon was a M1911A1 .45, complete with a black leather holster with those wire hooks to attach to my LBE... in 1984. I was also responsible for our M60 machine gun too. 

Layouts were just a bit more enjoyable than busting track... just a bit...

Since each tanker was issued a .45 as a personal weapon, the grease guns were not assigned to any particular member, although one was often the responsibility of the loader and the other, the driver's.

Each crewman needed to be familiar with the use of the weapon in case of a bailout. Don't know who would be physically able to grab the gun after the tank gets hit.

There was an FM on qualifying the SMG, but we did not bother since it was not a requirement and our ammo requirement was not funded to fully qualify.

We did qualify on the M16A2 our Abrams tanks came with, but it was a brand new weapon and every soldier was already familiar with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Submachine-Guns-Caliber-45-M3A1/dp/1940453119

Hello Rob!

That's interesting about the Abrams - they put M16A2 in it? Must have used up a lot of space.

For my CEV I have built a bit like that:

That's the space above the instrument panel in the driver's compartment on the right side. As can be seen I have used wrong pouch for the SMG ammo. The SMG is from the Dragon "Modern tankers" set. By the way it's not the entirely right version of it, neither - it has the cocking lever of the M3 A-nothing version, the lever was absent from the more correct A1 version.

I have the traverse gearbox almost ready - I'll post it soon. Till then I would like to wish you all a happy new year!

Paweł

Pawel

Hello Rob!

That's interesting about the Abrams - they put M16A2 in it? Must have used up a lot of space.

No, not really. It stores vertically in the commanders station. The barrel goes into the round pipe hole and the bungee cord in the bottom picture holds it in place. The minor problem was the "V" shaped supports that the front grips of the M16 and M16A1 would fit into. The A2 had round grips so it didn't quite fit in the mount as well.

I don't remember a 3 clip pouch. The one's we had were more like a pouch that held around 20 magazines. Yes Caddillac - Gage. Be careful of pictures on the internet, alot of different countries used this tank, and modified it to their taste.

Funny thing about the fire extingusher located under the loaders step. With the turret facing forward, it was right in front of the outlet for the heater tube. If you didn't throw it in the oddment tray, it would eventually cook off and fill the turret with smoke. Scare the crap out of you if it happened at 3: 00 AM.