I've had some requests for information regarding the various markings on US armor. Here is some information:
There is a US Army standard number/chevron system that began in 1989-90. The direction of the chevron denoted what platoon the tank belonged to. It went something like this (I could be wrong, just trying from memory now):
^ was 1st platoon
> was 2nd platoon
V was 3rd platoon
The number system gave each maneuver battalion in the division a number (the first number) and each company in the battalion used the second number. Therefore a tank from the battalion given the number "4" would have tanks numbered 41 for an A Co. tank, 42=B Co., 43=C Co., 44=D Co., 40=HQ Co. (HHC).
This number added with the adjacent chevron would tell you which platoon the tank was:
ex: 43> was a 2nd Plt, C Co. tank

The "^" chevron sat on top of the number like a hat and the "V" chevron was directly under the number.

The HQ tank section of a tank company did not use a chevron (CO's and XO's tank) nor did the Battalion HQ tanks.

Hi Sabot,
Last night the 3rd armor sure did shine! Markings and external baggage is very interesting to observe. Do you record any of Fox or CNN`s broadcasts as it occurs or will you wait untill the conflict is over.
Pete

Rob, your memory is on the money. The number indicates the company, 1=Alpha, 2=Bravo, 3=Charlie, 4=Delta. The Battalion Commander's tank bore 66 and the XO's was 65. The chevron indicated the platoon and was positioned around the company number in the following clock positions: 1st platoon chevron was at 12:00, 2nd platoon at 3:00 and 3rd platoon at 6:00. In the following example, # indicates the company number.

1st Platoon:
^
#

2nd Platoon:
#>

3rd Platoon:
#
v

For instance, my platoon was 2nd platoon Bravo company, so my 4 tanks sported 2>. As far as I know, this is still standard Army numbering.

I miss my M1A1s.