2020-12-31 Danish armour recognition military card during the war in Bosnia
During the war in Bosnia, the Danish state participated with its military units initially in the UN-led UNPROFOR and later within the NATO-led IFOR and SFOR peacekeeping missions. One more famous aspect of the Danish military participation in Bosnia was the usage of German-made Leopard 1 tanks with 105 mm guns.
Via laststandonzombieisland blog
The Danish Leopards were also used in combat several times, such as around Stupni Do in Herzegovina.
Via Overload blog
At home, I have a military card from the Danish military that was issued by the Danish Army Combat School (“Haerens Kampskole” symbol in the upper right corner) during the war in Bosnia. The text in upper right corner “panserkedingskort” means “armour recognition card”.
This card contains both armoured vehicles as tanks, armoured fighting vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. It also includes other aspects as anti-tank guns and anti-armour guided missiles.
One the first page, when looking at the left side, the following is stated (my translation) :
When you are going to describe an armoured vehicle, remember to!
- Track- och wheel vehicle
- Number of wheels (axletree) and position
- Tight or loose tracks (with or without support wheels)
- Position of driving-wheel or adjustment-wheel
- Position of turret
- Number and position of thickeners
- Particular recognitions
The armoured vehicle used as an example is the Soviet-made 2S1 “Gvozdika” 122 mm self-propelled howitzer.
Another interesting aspect can be seen here – World War 2 era tanks from the 1940 – the American made M4 Sherman and the soviet made T-34. These models existed in former Yugoslavia since the Yugoslav government received them from the American and Soviet governments. The T-34 were provided during and after World War 2. In contrast, the Sherman tanks were supplied during the 1950s when the Yugoslav government sought assistance from America during the political conflict between Yugoslav and Soviet Union. Despite being outdated compared to modern tanks, both types were used by the Yugoslav armed forces as reserve material. Significantly, the T-34 tank came to be used during the wars in Croatia and Bosnia.