Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military
From: jpistrit@oracle.uucp (Joe Pistritto)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: When were tanks last used?
Message-ID: <1990Nov21.222940.21847@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 21 Nov 90 22:29:40 GMT
References: <1990Nov17.020432.234@cbnews.att.com>
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: Oracle Corporation, Belmont, CA
Lines: 25
Approved: military@att.att.com



From: jpistrit@oracle.uucp (Joe Pistritto)

Tanks being used in combat:
	1980-1988 Iran - Iraq - tanks used mainly as flat trajectory weapons
		against infantry.
	1982 (?) Israelis in Lebanon - on film even, Israeli M-60s in action
		against Palestinian & Druze positions.
	1989 Jaffna, Sri Lanka - Indian army tanks (mostly T-54s) in us
		Tamil forces.  (Once again, used mainly as artillery).
	1983 Amritsar, India - Indian army fired multiple shots from a T-54
		into the 'Golden Temple' in Amritsar.  Fairly ineffectively.

The last real tank-on-tank massed combat occured during the Yom Kippur war
of 1973, although both sides in Iran/Iraq used their tanks to support
infantry assaults.

I've been next to a tank when it fired its cannon (105mm from an M1).  Its
pretty impressive.  The Russians used to use the strategy of carrying infantry
riding on their tanks (often with anti-tank weapons), those guys probably can't
hear any more...  I've never really seriously considered being in the TARGET
area a tank was shooting at...

Joseph C. Pistritto: jpistrit@oracle.com