How a drunken American tanker staged a tank battle on a train
Any military equipment is an object of increased danger, even in peacetime. Everyone knows that this is regularly confirmed in practice: in news Reports now and then slip messages about explosions and fires at the training grounds and at the location of military units with the corresponding number of victims. Basically, these are, of course, the consequences of simple negligence or negligence, or, in extreme cases, malfunctions of the equipment itself. But sometimes it happens that anger, a high degree of alcohol in the blood and a dull desire to take revenge on the offenders interfere with the matter. An example of this is story, which took place on November 4, 1980 in West Germany, when a drunken tanker decided to "restore justice" and kill his colleagues.
The text is brief and may contain inaccuracies, since it is written on the basis of the only sources - the scanty testimonies of several American soldiers who became eyewitnesses and were involved in the investigation of this incident.
Drinking on a train loaded with tanks is a bad idea
As you know, after the end of World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States literally divided the defeated Germany into two parts, which temporarily became actually different states - the GDR and the FRG. Huge contingents of Soviet and American troops were concentrated in them during the Cold War.
In preparation for the possible transformation of the Cold War into a very real war, the United States has placed many military bases near large and not very large settlements in West Germany. But a large number of people in uniform in this case is not always a guarantee of safety and tranquility in the place where they are. This is also a high probability of various kinds of dangerous incidents, ranging from catastrophes and accidents involving military personnel and equipment to “special cases” in the form of drunken fights, murders and other things.
It is difficult to say whether someone dealt with this issue at a high level, but the veterans of the US armed forces themselves at one time tried to collect at least some statistics on the number of non-combat losses in parts of the European contingent. The list turned out to be, although not gigantic, but very voluminous, in which a special place is occupied by the case that we will talk about.
It happened on November 4, 1980, near the small settlement of Hohenfels, in Bavaria. Nearby was a training tank training ground, so trains with armored vehicles at the local railway station were frequent guests. Nothing foreshadowed trouble on that ill-fated day, when a train with M60A3 tanks and personnel of the 3rd battalion of the 32nd tank regiment of the US Army stood up for unloading / loading. Quite an ordinary and routine operation, against which dramatic events began to unfold.
Tank M60. Source: wikipedia.org
Their background is quite typical. The train, the ride is long, but you want to do something and pass the time. Here, of course, you can talk about reading, lively conversations, games and a host of other activities, but the reality is more prosaic: drinking and playing cards. That's what Corporals Hardgrove, Montoya, and Romero did, along with Sergeant Yong and Private Park. Violation of discipline is gross, but, as a rule, quite harmless. However, as it has already become clear, in this case, everything did not go according to plan.
Here it’s hard to say what the stakes were in their game, but they obviously didn’t play for “clicks”. Corporal Hardgrove was unlucky. Apparently, luck was not on his side, but the brain warmed up by alcohol quickly formed the most logical conclusion for him - the rivals were just cheating. As the saying goes, what's on the mind of the sober is on the tongue of the drunk. Having expressed his accusations to his opponents in the game, Hardgrove apparently received a bunch of "goodies" in return, which angered him even more. The conflict, as they say, has moved into an active phase. Verbal skirmish. Perhaps a fight. This could have ended if it weren't for the booze multiplied by hatred.
What happened next raises a number of questions. It is known that Corporal Hardgrove was in one of the M60 tanks on the railway platform, and the rest of the heroes of the story were on the same platform, but in another tank. Whether they were there to arrange a tank duel, or were involved in loading and unloading operations, is not entirely clear. Some sources claim that it really was about an almost full-fledged tank battle. Others say it was about revenge.
As a result, there is only one fact: Hardgrove loaded a sub-caliber projectile into the cannon and fired at his colleagues.
Aftermath
There was a loud roar at the station. At first, no one even realized what had happened until the echelon was enveloped in smoke from a burning tank. Only Sergeant Yong and Private Park somehow managed to get out of the blazing car. Of course, they could not say anything intelligible. They were taken to the hospital with severe shrapnel wounds and severe burns. And, apparently, they really did not even have time to understand what happened. Their condition was so critical that it took a lot of time spent in the hospital to recover.
Corporals Montoya and Romero were much less fortunate. They could not leave the tank on their own. The fire that began after that, which actually turned into explosive combustion, aggravated the situation completely. Both died, becoming silent witnesses of what happened.
It is noteworthy that the subsequent circumstances developed in a very strange way. Upon the fact of the incident, a check began with the involvement of the relevant services, but Hardgrove was not initially the first and unconditional suspect. Yes, there were a lot of people at the station, but everything happened so quickly that no one could definitely point to the corporal. Apparently, the surviving tankers could not say this, at least due to their condition.
Based on the available data, we can conclude that initially the investigation considered the version of the accident. And a very exotic one, namely, a lightning strike on a tank. Yes, it may seem that this is some kind of stupidity, but nevertheless, this has happened more than once. There are many cases when lightning, hitting a tank, ignited the radio station and the subsequent fire with the complete destruction of the car, so in this situation, when "no one saw anything", this assumption had the right to life.
But no matter what, the truth will eventually come out. A detailed examination of the damaged tank showed that there were no lightning strikes there, since a hole characteristic of a sub-caliber projectile was found in the armor of the vehicle. Considering that the burnt M60 did not participate in any battles, it was most logical to assume that it had flown in from somewhere in the echelon.
Further actions, as they say, were a matter of technology. All tanks of the echelon have undergone an inventory. Each machine was fully checked ammunition and compliance with the standards for the number of shots in stacks. The M60, whose crew included Corporal Hardgrove, lacked one shot with a sub-caliber projectile. Here, in fact, the puzzle has developed. It was pointless to refuse.
All things considered, for destroying a tank, killing two people, and injuring two other co-workers, Hardgrove was sentenced to twenty years in prison. For American laws, the period is quite short, which is why even the fellow soldiers of this corporal were indignant.
Even more surprising was the fact that he served only eight years, after which he was released. This was the end of the matter, and the names of the dead added to the list of senseless and stupid non-combat losses of the American army in Europe.
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