The first shipment of new tanks is due in Saudi Arabia any day; all should arrive within three weeks. Tank crews will then need several days of “transition training” to convert from M1s to M-1A1s. Pentagon officials say the U.S. mechanized units will be fully operational in the new tanks by Dec. 1.
Without built-in CW protection, the four-man M1 crews must wear heavy protective suits, though not headgear, at all times inside the tanks. Going into battle in the Saudi Arabian heat, Army sources say, the troops would be exhausted after an hour because of the weight of the suits. In addition to heavy air filters, the M-1A1s are equipped with “overpressure”–positive air pressure inside the tanks that would keep contaminated air out in the event they are holed during a CW bombardment. Another advantage of the M-1A1s: they are equipped with bigger and more powerful 120-mm guns than the M1s, which carry 105 mms.
