Sleeping under a tank

[ArcticWolf]

Read somewhere on this site about 'sleeping under vehicles'.

It reminded me of one of very few memories my bio-father ever told me about from his time in national service (he was in the air force but this was not in the UK).
I don't remember the exact details and I was told this in another language so please forgive the poor interpretation of what I was told many years ago.
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There was an exercise involving all military branches some time during the 60s. They were going to spend the night out in a field after a hard day. Tanks and other vehicles were camouflaged and tents erected.

Two guys had decided that they were going to show how tough they were and decided to sleep outside. It had started to drizzle at some point late in the evening and the guys then decided to sleep under a tank, so they settled in for the night in their sleeping bags.

In the morning, it was discovered that the two guys had been crushed to death by the weight of the tank. Although there had been ample room for them to settle in under the tank in the evening, during the night the tank had slowly sunk into the soft ground. Because of the rain this sinking had not been as slow as it would have been if the ground had stayed dry.

I'm sure there are just as tragic stories in all countries, but the bottomline is: never sleep under a tank or other vehicle for that matter. The risk just isn't worth it.

[Bombardier]

A sad story Arcticwolf.
I remember a guy getting cut in two during The Gulf War 1991.
He was untangling some telephone wire at the rear of an M109 Self propelled gun and the vehicle commander did not realise he was there, the vehicle reverses over the top of him.
Im sure that other members have some similar tragic stories to tell. camo;

[John A Silkstone]

Tragic accidents do happen, but I’m glad to say this one had a happy ending.

One winters day in 1979 I was on duty at the School of Infantry in Warminster, the telephone rang to inform me that there had been a serious accident on Salisbury Plains and the medic with the tanks was away dealing with another accident.

I shot off with an ambulance to the grid reference give to find a tank had gone into a small basin that was covered in snow. Unbeknown to the driver at the bottom of the depression was a pool of water that had turned to ice. As the weight of tank reached the ice, it caused it to shoot forward. The ice travelled up the other side of the depression until gravity stopped its forward movement and now the two feet thick saucer shaped piece of ice slid back down again and jammed itself between the tank and its gun.

The drive had been driving with his head outside the tank and was now trapped.

I climbed into the tank to find the driver unconscious with the top of his head removed. The only way to get the driver out was for the Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineer (REME) to remove the seat with a blow torch.

Once the patient was out I cared for his wounds until the helicopter that I’d ordered arrived.

Five months later the driver walked into the medical centre and thanked me for saving his life.

It was a joy to see the man standing there and I could not help but admire the way the surgeons had performed their duty by building his forehead up again with only a small thin visible scar showing.