It smells like....

poniatowski

poniatowski

Well-known member
This morning, walking into work from the parking lot, I got a whiff of diesel exhaust from a delivery truck. Instantly, I thought about the chilly morning walks out to our tank in the tank park and the smell of exhaust as drivers warmed up the engines... and how much I enjoyed crewing with my friends. I thought about how I got used to the noise of the tank and how even one M60 (or M88) would make the ground shake even if it was fifty yards away moving at speed. I enjoyed crewing M60's more than M1's, but would rather take the latter into battle. There was just no comparison.
It's always interesting to me how an aroma can take you back over thirty years or more.

:D Ron
 
Yesterday I was asked if I remembered a certain soldier's name who claims to have been my loader at one time. I could not put the name with the face. It was a long long time ago. 20 years ago this month I was in Bosnia as the G3 of the American division for the great Brcko decision. It was a long long time ago and my memory is getting dimmer. I think my days of smelling diesel are pretty much over.
 
joerookery said:
Yesterday I was asked if I remembered a certain soldier's name who claims to have been my loader at one time. I could not put the name with the face. It was a long long time ago. 20 years ago this month I was in Bosnia as the G3 of the American division for the great Brcko decision. It was a long long time ago and my memory is getting dimmer. I think my days of smelling diesel are pretty much over.
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It's hard to believe that ten years ago I was just back from Iraq. My tanking days are over as well, unless some museum or collector wants me to drive. I'd still like to try an M103 and 'S Tank'.

:D Ron
 
One of my first job's was at the assemly line of M113's at the Henschel facility's near Antwerp.
Lots of diesel fumes, but they never gave me a thrill....
 
stuka f said:
One of my first job's was at the assemly line of M113's at the Henschel facility's near Antwerp.
Lots of diesel fumes, but they never gave me a thrill....
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Have to get them out onto the open ranges and live in them for a while to get that thrill, I guess. An M113 (we called them 'bread boxes') were nice to sleep in... or under... or next to... User friendly too.

:D Ron
 
My experience with the M113 was that we use say that they had one way armor. Would let bullets in but not out.
 
I had my share as a Kommandant of the Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer GEPARD.... And the fumes from the hydraulics. I notice this when using an elevator !! I prefered the smell of the gunsmoke of our 35mm KDA Oerlikon chainguns in the morning...
Francis
 
Khukri said:
I had my share as a Kommandant of the Flugabwehrkanonenpanzer GEPARD.... And the fumes from the hydraulics. I notice this when using an elevator !! I prefered the smell of the gunsmoke of our 35mm KDA Oerlikon chainguns in the morning...
Francis
Click to expand...

I was VERY hung over my first tank gunnery (fool trying to prove he was a 'man'). I had transferred from M109's into M60's as a gunner and the wonderful odor from the M60's main gun almost got me. Between that rich aroma and the turret turning to identify targets, it wasn't a pleasant day in the gunner's seat... but gunnery itself was fun. I know what you mean about the oil smell. We had the same in our tanks and SP howitzers if they'd been buttoned up for a while. I also remember the formaldehyde (?) smell of the artillery charges when the containers were opened.

:D Ron
 
I was a gunner on the M113 :D

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