Some additional nices to have.
Unit 214 T-72M KMT-5
I usggest the following changes
1) Icon change to n. 1335
2) Front hull HEAT armor reduced to 45 (standard T-72M value)
3) Speed increase to 21
4) Name change to T-72M KMT-4
The iraqis tended to use mine plows on their T-72s, perhaps because of the nature of the soils encountered and certainly because of the comparative disadvantages of mine rollers kits such as KMT-5; namely the KMT-5 cumbersome structure and weight (over seven tons) impose a far more severe constraint on tank mobility than mine plows. The KMT-5 has to be detached (although this can be done from within the tank) while mine plows can simply be raised with the tank regaining most of its mobility without losing mineclearing capacity. Of course from a game point of view the mine plows do not offer significant standoff protection against HEAT rounds, as they cover only the tracks.
Unit n.9 Sherman V from british OOB could be added
In the iraqi OOB would be armed with the following weapons.
Weapon n.220 75mm Mk VII Gun
Weapon n. 31 .30 cal CMG
Weapon n. 29 .50 cal M2 AAMG
Weapon n. 69 .30 cal BMG
Availability dates 1/1947-12/1965.
I have been told that the british supplied Iraq with some Sherman in the mid late 40’s. While I have not seen the documentation myself it seems a pretty logical move in the context of the british rebuilding of the iraqi armed forces.
Some changes to captured tanks units/formations.
Formation 111: Captured Tanks
Final availability date could be extended to 4/2003
Unit 5: Chieftain Mk.3Q
Final availability date could be extended to 4/2003
Unit n.8: M47
It could be deleted .
The Chieftain was apparently the only captured iranian tank which was put in (very) limited use; even then not directly, they were issued in small numbers to a militia which used them very sparingly.
The iraqis were not interested in captured iranian tanks because mantaining them would have been a logistical headache, they were not significantly better than their own and they could get them in sufficient numbers. The iranians on the other hand used captured iraqi armor extensively.
A captured iraqi Chieftain
Sources:
Pictures
DoD News Briefing
www.tank-net.org
Unit 229: M901 ITV
Availability dates could be changed to 1/1991-4/2003 (X3 radio code should be mantained, this would have been a very rare weapon)
Some units were captured from Kuwait according to “Armies of the Gulf War” by Gordon L. Rottman, Ron Volstad (also confirmed by others sources). There are also reports of iraqi republican guard units still using them during OIF in 2003.
Source for some of the photos:
www.militaryphotos.net