Sorry, I know this has been asked and answered here, but I can't find it anywhere. Can someone please explain again how to read the bumper codes, both left and right side? Also, what kind of code would be used for a tank carrying a mine roller? I am building an Abrams with a mine roller attached to the front. Thanks for the help.

Cory,

There are various posts that have explanations, but you could start with this post, specifically, the first reply by Steve Joyce.

I think I remember reading that the Company XO's Tank carried the Rollers, and a Tank in each Platoon would have a Plow, but I could be remembering this wrong. The bumper number for the appropriate vehicle would follow the Brigade/Division Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), so it can vary. If you are going to model a specific Abrams, research the unit it belonged to.

I hope this helps you some...

Well, that post sorta helped. But, if the XO carried the rollers, what would the bumper codes read for an XO tank? Also, do the stripes on the barrels mean anything? I apologize for having to rehash this because I know it has appeared in here before, but I am just curious. A general break down of the the codes would be a huge help. I know that certain number/letters in certain places of the codes mean something. Thanks again for the help!

Cory,

Here is a more detailed explanation: U.S. Military Vehicle Markings. It is oriented for olive drab (non-camo) painted vehicles, like WWII, Korea and even Vietnam, nut the concept applies.

As an example, if the XO's Abrams happened to be numbered as the 2nd vehicle in B Company, 1st Battalion of the 64th Armored Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, the left "bumper" marking could be "3ID 1-64 A" where the "A" would actually be a solid triangle. The right "bumper" marking could be "B-2".

The other Tactical markings like chevrons on the armored skirts and stripes on the barrel are even more SOP/Unit specific and varied. these markings are mostly intended to be visible from a distance so units can recognize fellow vehicles and "stay together" during tacticle maneuvering on the battle field.

Each modern U.S Army Divisions and Corps have difficulty standardizing what’s in their own units, let alone a standard across the entire Army vehicle fleet. Part of this "variance" or deviation is caused by Operational Security concerns, since you don't really want the enemy to realize that every Company Commander's Tank is numbered "_-1" so they can try to blow it up first.

If you told us of a specific vehicle or unit, them I'm sure someone that knows even has been in the unit could probably tell you the exact markings…

The bumper numbers are usually (starting on the left when looking at them) Div & BN, on the right Company and Platoon and Vehicle number. Fir example, a tank from 3 ID, 3rd BN, 64 Armored Regiment, Alpha Company, 3rd PLT, 3rd vehicle would be as follows:

Left side:
3-I-3^64 (^ would be a filled in black triangle)

Right side
A 33

The Company XOs tank would usually be bumper number A 55 or A 65, depending on SOP.

The stripes on the barrel usually denote PLT as well. A33 above would have 3 stripes for 3rd PLT.

Thanks guys, this has really helped. So, from what I am getting so far, if I am putting a roller on a tank, then I need to find markings for the XO, or right marking of *-55 or -65, right? If that is the case then I am thinking about getting the Echelon set #35015 as that has markings for the 1-64 Armored Charlie Company XO's tank, Crusader II. What does the "QTA 020" mean? Also what would the TF in "TF 1-64detla" mean? Thanks for the info.

Cory,

You are tracking. Getting a set of Echelon Decals would help you alot, since they are very good at showing all of the lettering and symbol locations and are usually quite accurate.



I believe the QTA 020 is a code designation that is used on forward located equipment sets that units use instead of moving their own vehicles or as replacements. A Brigade Set or so was located in Kuwait and some units seem to have utilized some of them. Gino should be able to calrify/confirm this.

The "TF" stands for Task Force, which is a specifically organization for a tactical situation that usually combines Armor and Mechanized Infantry units into Combined Arms teams.

A Task Force is a non-permanent but habitual combined arms unit. Normally a tank battalion and and infantry battalion from the same brigade will swap a tank company for an infantry company making each of them a task force. The tank battalion will be tank heavy (3 tank co. & 1 inf co.) and the infantry battalion will be infantry heavy (3 inf. co. & 1 tank co.).

There is also a third battalion in the brigade. It could swap out a tank or an infantry company to one of the opposite battalions as well. If it was a tank battalion and it gave up a company to the infantry battalion, the infantry battalion would then become a balanced task force (2 inf. co. & 2 tank co.).

In addition to the -65 -66 XO/CO bumper number, the 1st Cav Division used -50 and -60 for the XO's and commander's vehicles. I have to admit I've never seen -55 used as an XO's tank, but many divisions do things slightly differently.

The other guys are all over it on the TF and different numbering systems in different units. The QTA # is from the forward PreOp (PrePositioned) equipment sets, APSs (Army Prepositioned Sets). APS-5 in Kuwait was where 3 ID drew most of their vehicles from for OIF 1. The QTA number is a tracking number used by the managers of the APS site to keep track of the vehicles, mainly for maintenance.