Step away from the tank, buddy! Don Van Duzen gives a sense of scale to the M1A1, a very large vehicle. None of the four vehicles we saw here had the rear skirt segments fitted, an attempt to alleviate the buildup of mud on the sprocket. The tan rims of the roadwheels can also be seen here.

This section is going to focus on the M1A1's turret, and in that vein, we will start by examining the business end of an Abrams, the muzzle of the M256 120mm gun.  At the end of the barrel is the Muzzle Reference Sensor, a device used in conjunction with the gunner's primary sight which helps to measure barrel warpage due to temperature change when firing.  To the left is a rubber cover for the muzzle, which the tanks are typically fitted with when not in the field. Details of the end of the gun's thermal sleeve mounting can also be seen.

The rest of the barrel sleeve can be seen in this photo, including the plastic bore evacuator and the mantlet. Of note are the row of rivets, the rings around the barrel, and the damage to bottom of the sleeve. On the mantlet can be seen the mounts for a searchlight, rarely fitted to the Abrams. At the lower right can be seen one of the locking pins for the side skirt segments.

Two six-barreled smoke dischargers are fitted the the turret, with a box for extra grenades attached to the turret side beneath the mount. Along both sides of the turret are large stowage bins and baskets, which extend to the rear of the vehicle. Underneath those are stowed a tow cable on each side. As can be seen, there is a "T" bracket at the front, which one end of the cable attaches to, then a series of clips which keep the cable from fouling when the turret traverses. Finally, the other end of the cable slips into a retainer at the rear. The anti-slip texturing applied to most horizontal surfaces can be seen on the glacis plate in this photo. The edge of the turret front armour is visible to the left. The latches for the hull stowage bins can be seen at the bottom of the photograph.

The tow cable stowage at the aft of the turret is clearly seen here. On the side of the basket are stowed two T156 track links, giving us an opportunity to study the double-pinned construction of these links up close. Of note is the fact that the tracks are actually secured to the side of the tank using one of the centre connectors, and that another lone connector is at the front of the basket, to the extreme left. Notice the streaky finish on the side of the stowage bin, and the plastic bucket in the rear basket.

The rear basket of the turret is hinged, and can fold up when necessary. Along the bottom of the end of the basket are a series of eyehooks to help tie down stowage. The large panel with the vehicle ID is detachable.

Our final photograph is from a different M1A1, photographed in 1999 (this is the vehicle with its engine removed, featured in the M1A1 Engine Compartment photographs). This shot shows the crosswind sensor at the rear of the turret in the stowed position. Two latches (visible on the left side of the sensor mount) are unclipped, then the sensor fold to the right. It is held in its stowed position with a cloth strap. This vehicle, in Desert Tan, has seen a lot of service, as evidenced by the chipped paint and rust. More details of the construction of the turret stowage basket are also evident here, as well as an antenna. Of note also is the residue where the MILES velcro strip has been removed, and the rough weld seams on the stowage basket.