From GregB: 15mm Yom Kippur Israeli M51s & Tiran-5 (26 points)

Greg cracks off another fine entry with this great foursome of Israeli armour from the Yom Kippur War.

From Greg:

This submission includes four 15mm Israeli Defence Force tanks - three M51 Shermans and one Tiran-5. The models are all from Old Glory, with a few additional bits (the crew, the .30cal MGs) from Peter Pig.

The M51 Sherman - "ISherman" - is one of my favourite tanks.  I like up-gunned and up-armoured vehicles - everything from late model Panzer IIIs and IVs to things like the current Russian T-90.  The M51 fits this bill, taking a tank designed for WW2 and somehow stuffing a high-velocity 105mm gun into the turret.  The gun looks so large you would think some "horizontally sensitive" Space Marine came up with it.  The end-of-days-size muzzle brake really caps off the look, making giving a menacing air and cool silhouette to a tank that otherwise had a target-practice vibe to it.

These vehicles served in the 1967 Six-Days War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War.  The Centurion rightfully gets most of the glory when it comes to IDF tanks from those periods, but the role of the M51 cannot be overlooked. On the Golan Heights in 1973 it was IDF reservists in M51s that kicked off the critical Isreali counterattack against the Syrian penetrations across the 'Purple Line'.  They were part of the counter-invasion into Syrian, and played major roles in actions such as the ambush of the Iraqi armoured division which had been sent against the Israeli salient on the road to Damascus.

I have more M51s coming - this time from Battlefront.  I was very, very excited to see Battlefront release a line of Arab-Israeli war figures and models, but one thing I find so damn frustrating with Battlefront is how their concept of the word "released" does not seem to involve the notion of "physically available in stores for purchase" without a one or two month (or more) delay. Stay tuned! 

The Tiran-5 is a captured T-55 put into IDF service.  The IDF came into a large stock of captured Arab gear after their decisive win in 1967, including many T-55 tanks.  The IDF gave them a new gun, and maybe a new engine (although I'm not totally sure about that).  They equipped some reserve armoured formations in the IDF. I haven't come across a lot of information about where/when they served, but I believe they saw action in the Sinai in 1973, and equipped some "allied" formations and militias during Israel's incursion into Lebanon.  This particular Tiran figure was a test model, so it's a little lonely - I will need to add a few more to equip a couple of platoons for some T-55 vs. T-55 games in the Sinai!

Wonderful work Greg! I'm looking forward to seeing these during one of our on-the-road gaming weekends soon. (Something with a hot desert theme might be the perfect antidote for us right now.)

These four tanks will give Greg 26 points including the commanders and nice basework.