When did NATO start using whoopie lights? I've only seen them on German and US vehicles. What are the regs for their use? Doing a Dutch Leo 1 at Bergen-Hohne Range in 77. Also, totally unrelated, but seeing I'm here .... Any thoughts on AK's Real Color line? How do they work for brush work?

The lights likely started use in the early 1960s. In the Leopards they are part of the kit. The version used on the Leopard is post mounted and clamps to a small welded on post on the turret. An electrical cable could be run into the turret through the loader’s hatch.

The lights were mandatory during road moves in civvie land. They were removed in training areas...so no need to have it mounted for a tank on a range.

Thanks. I thought I remembered the lights were something to do with civilian vehicles running into tanks. (A buddy of mine and I damn near ran into the back of a broke down M-1. Wonder who'd've got the crappy end of THAT stick?) I'e not seen a map of Bergen - Hohne, but the description I've seen it sounds like it is split by a civilian road. Would they keep the lights rigged for that reason?

Ya, if you want to depict a tank on a road then mount the light.

If you take some time and Google search “tank Bergen-Hohne” or “Leopard Bergen-Hohne” you find a variety of images and videos.....researching details for models can be fun too.

On US vehicles, they were permanently attached to the left rear fender support and hard wired to something inside the vehicle. In a tank, it was connected to one of the interior dome lights (the TC one in my M60A3). When we got the M1A1 there was a kit that would allow the whoopie light to be rotated down to a towed position. It could be attached virtually anywhere and the switch could be added to any spot.

From what I remember from my time in Germany, the AWLS (Amber Warning Light System) AKA "Whoopie light" was semi-permanently mounted on all tactical vehicles, and out in the field were covered by an empty sandbag.

Mostly though we didn't bother covering them.

These lights as well as the red/yellow reflective delineators on the rear of vehicles are mandated by German law for all slow moving and or oversized vehicles.

Thanks All. I pulled up photos of Bergen - Hohne. Most photos were Leo2s. Only one I say with the whoopie light was a bergLeo repair track. Another idea that looked good on paper...

I can't say when NATO started using the Whoopie lights but I do remember that 1/32 Armor mounted them in mid-1977. The battalion commander was not very happy with them. As he said, "We ain't gona sneek up on anyone." In my opinion, they were more of a safety "statement" than a real safety device. The mud that track vehicles put on the roads was the real problem. That mud and a dark night and excessive speed contributed to a VW Golf rear-ending a tank. The tank had it Whoopie light on at the moment of impact.

Did the VW even scratch the paint on the tank? Bet I can guess who won that altercation. A buddy and I were taking a road trip from Hwy 101 to Hwy 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in California. The route runs through Fort Hunter Liggett. Came around a turn and near went nose to tail with an M-1, 3/4s of which was on the two lane (more like lane and 3/4s!) Near as we could figure it broke down on Friday afternoon and,being a pretty much 9 -5, Monday to Friday kinda base, the treadheads said "Screw it ... we'll fix it Monday". (On another trek through Ft. Hungry Lizard we came across a heard of water buffalo..... NOT indigenous to Central California. Found out they were filming "We Were Soldiers" out there. The area is very similar to the Ia Drang Valley.