USMC M-1A1 Abrams Tank, Twentynine Palms, CA, 1998

This color photo was taken by a U.S. Marine Corps photographer at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA on 27 January 1998. Tankers from the USMC 2nd Tank Battalion ("Masters of the Iron Horse") are moving their M-1A1 Abrams main battle tank across the California desert as part of a Combined Arms Exercise.

The principal armament of the M-1A1 is the 120mm M-256 smoothbore gun. The commander has a 12.7mm (.50 cal.) Browning M-2 machine gun and the loader has a 7.62mm M-240 machine gun. A second M-240 machine gun is mounted coaxially on the right hand side of the main gun.

Today in WW II: 17 Sep 1939 Soviet troops invade Poland from the east. More ↓

17 Sep 1944 Thousands of Allied planes begin airborne assault on Holland, Operation Market Garden.
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