SUMMARY:
B-23 (M1A1 Heavy Armor) was hit by an unknown round that penetrated through the rear grill doors. A fire started in the engine compartment which was automatically extinguished by the on-board Halon system. Initially there were no injuries. The tank engine stopped and the crew attempted to traverse the turret over the right flank due to smoke still coming from the engine compartment. The decision was made to evacuate the tank, at which time, a second "unknown round" penetrated the rear of the tank knocking the loader to the turret floor. As he fell, he struck his knee on the turret ring, bruising his knee and twisting ligaments. The loader was the only crewman injured in this engagement. The crew was picked up by the D Co Executive Officer's tank. The resulting fire caused a catastrophic fire in the hull and a complete meltdown of the suspension system. B-23 sustained sufficient heat and fire damage to cause the ammo blowout panels to function-- they worked as designed. There was no ballistic damage to the inside of B-23's turret as a result of enemy fire. The tank was recovered on or about 7 Mar 91.
