Thus spake sergeants through the ages and almost certainly still do so today. So, 'you 'orrible lot' can 'get fell in' at the Daily Telegraph which has a fascinating briefing on the current and future developments of that awsome 'queen of the battlefield', the tank! The possibilities are immense and with the advent of ultra-sophisticated electronics the horizon is enlarging at speed.
Alas, as an ex-infantryman, I have nothing to add to the debate except enormous gratitude that I never had to face up to enemy tanks. In fact, I wasn't too keen on friendly tanks, either. I once looked inside one and my incipient claustrophobia instantly took over! Even so, this is a fascinating article and I do hope that our military 'brain-boxes' are thinking things through with imagination and technical expertise. If and when the 'brown stuff' hits the fan, it will be too late for any more original thinking!
Immensely brave men who crew them. I sat in one in the Tank Museum at Bovington, while an ex-soldier who worked there talked me through the routines. If the tank catches fire or gets immobilised, you have to extricate yourself from a tiny cramped space full of sharp edges and odd corners, in the dark and heat and possible smoke. They pride themselves on being the last man out. When the hatch is down, they have to squirm into odd positions to piss and shit into a shell case. He said "The most important thing is to put that full shell case near your mate before you hit the rough terrain!"
Posted by: Whyaxye | Monday, 25 November 2019 at 19:46