M1A1 losses by Iraqi forces revealed (Early 2015)

2015-06-13T15:52:41-04:00

The tanker's nightmare, significant losses of Iraqi M1A1 tanks. Their helicopters didn't do too well either.

From Janes:

he armour on five of Iraq's M1A1 Abrams tanks was penetrated by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and six helicopters were shot down between 1 January and the end of May, The New York Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying on 13 June.

The official said 28 Iraqi Army Abrams had been damaged in fighting with militants, five of them suffering full armour penetration when hit by ATGMs. The United States supplied 140 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks to Iraq between 2010 and 2012. While they have new equipment to improve situational awareness, they do not have the depleted uranium amour package that increases protection over the tank's frontal arc.

The penetration of a tank's armour by a shaped-charge warhead increases the likelihood of crew casualties, but does not necessarily result in the destruction of the vehicle, especially if it has a dedicated ammunition compartment, as in the case of the Abrams.

However, the US official said the Iraqi Army has problems maintaining its Abrams, suggesting it will struggle to get damaged tanks back into service.

At least one video has emerged showing an Abrams 'brew up' after being hit by an ATGM during fighting this year in the western province of Al-Anbar. Militants operating in Al-Anbar have also released images of numerous attacks on other Abrams tanks, including ones involving a 9K11 Kornet ATGM, RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and a M70 Osa rocket launcher. The latter is a Yugoslavian weapon that has been widely used by insurgents in neighbouring Syria, but is rarely seen in Iraq.

The damage inflicted on the tanks has been difficult to assess from the images. These mostly seem to be stills from unreleased videos and tend to show spectacular explosions, but not the state of the vehicles after the attacks.

Only one sequence of images posted on a pro-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) Twitter account on 6 June appears to show an Abrams actually being destroyed. A militant is seen placing a charge on the tank and an object is also thrown into an open turret hatch. Flames are then seen coming out of the hatches. The fate of the crew is unclear.

Another sequence posted on 28 May purportedly shows the same militant placing a charge on or in the turret of another Abrams in a hull-down position. While the extent of the damage caused by the resulting explosion is unclear, the fact that militants are repeatedly getting close to the tanks suggests the vehicles lack adequate infantry support.

Other types of armoured vehicle in service with the Iraqi Army appear to have suffered higher attrition rates than the Abrams. Militants have released many images showing destroyed or captured Humvees, M113 armoured personnel carriers (APCs), and mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles.

The Soviet-era armour the Iraqi Army has been using in Al-Anbar has also suffered losses, including MT-LB multipurpose armoured vehicles, a BMP-1, and T-55 tanks.

The US official also said that six Iraqi helicopters had been shot down and 60 damaged in combat between 1 January and the end of May. This represents a significant proportion of the Iraqi Army Aviation Command's assets. Another helicopter was shot down by a light anti-aircraft gun (LAAG) over Al-Saqlawiyah on 16 June; its two crew members were killed.

It is unclear what helicopters the Iraqis have lost, but militants have released footage shot using an infrared camera of heavy machine guns or LAAGs bringing down at least two Mi-24/35 combat helicopters carrying out low-altitude rocket attacks.

http://www.janes.com/article/39550/iraqi-abrams-losses-revealed

Iraqi Abrams losses revealed - IHS Jane's 360

The armour on five of Iraq's M1A1 Abrams tanks was penetrated by anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) and six helicopters were shot down between 1 January and the end of May, The New York Times quoted an unnamed US official as saying on 13 June. The official said 28 Iraqi Army Abrams had been damaged

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Jun 13 at 2015 4:38 PM

2015-06-13T16:38:09-04:00

For those that have spent more then just a few years in the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan, you have seen the hulking remains of vehicles left from days gone by and the wars of predecessors....I am not confident that any country trains their Armored Crewmen as well as we do and would expect they will have heavier losses - due to training coupled with not having all the bells and whistles in the equipment left behind/sold to them. What impact will that make on our Children when the empty hulks of Abrams remain on the sides of roads and line the streets?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jun 13 at 2015 6:13 PM

2015-06-13T18:13:26-04:00

The M1A1 is a mechanical nightmare. The parts are heavy and the sophistication of it means very few people understand the whole tank.

Response by CW4 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2015 6:24 PM

2015-06-13T18:24:31-04:00

This doesn't suprise me one bit. Lack of training and motivation while operating that piece of machinery will get killed. Also, from a maintenance aspect, the U.S. government should of known that the M1A1's would have major sustainability issues with a country that can't successfully change tires and preform other basic preventative maintenance techniques on HMMWV's without direct supervision of U.S. maintenance advisory teams.

Response by Cpl Dennis F. made Jun 13 at 2015 8:59 PM

2015-06-13T20:59:58-04:00

Thanks for posting.
The helo kills have been debunked as being GAME footage.

Response by SGT Nathan Lien made Oct 31 at 2015 1:02 PM

2015-10-31T13:02:38-04:00

This doesn't suprise me when I was assigned to 4 ID we went through the transition from the a1 to a2sep there were times when all 9 tanks were deadline due to issues with the computer systems in them.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 31 at 2015 4:11 PM

2015-10-31T16:11:47-04:00

Tankers should be cognizant of 360 degree threat by enemy infantry.