Baghdad outskirts, April 5, 2003, 7:00 a.m....
Following the U.S. column that had just entered the city two or three kilometers ahead, he came across a burning wreck... among others. An M1! On the barrel is written "COJONES EH". No one around. Yet the American army is not in the habit of abandoning its equipment. Iraqi soldiers appear in pick-up trucks. The officer confirms to the Frenchman that all five crew members are dead...
The next day, at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, the Iraqis took the foreign journalists to see their "war trophy". They tried to tow it, but without success, as the undercarriage was too badly damaged...
There are several versions about the end of this tank. What is certain is that it caught fire after the turbine overheated. The crew were shot trying to extinguish the fire with fire extinguishers. An anti-tank missile then hit the tank. During an attempt by the Americans to tow it back, a 106 recoilless cannon shot immobilized it for good. Leaving the machine in place, the American forces sent two missiles and a bomb to destroy it completely - very shortly after the photographer's departure !
The 1/35th scale model is assembled from ESCI & TAMIYA kits. Numerous modifications have been made to get as close as possible to the tank wreckage. See Patrick Lebecq's excellent article in MODEL n°4...
