Team Yankee TIBX10 Merkava Mk 3 Tank Platoon (5 Tanks) Plastic Gaming Miniatures

After the 1967 war, the purchase of modern military equipment became more difficult and the Israeli government decided to design, develop, and build an indigenous main battle tank. The design prioritised armour, armament and mobility in that order, with the key characteristic of the new tank being its armour and crew protection. The new design drew from the experience of ordnance experts, who had been upgrading and maintaining Israel’s older tanks, and the tank commanders who knew the combat capabilities they required. The eventual design was the Merkava (Hebrew for chariot). The emphasis on crew protection led to the unique design aspect of the Merkava being its front mounted engine. This meant the crew were protected from the front by the tank’s front armour, the transmission, the engine, a layer of spaced armour, the fuel tank, and another layer of spaced armour. The Merkava 1, 2, and 3 are indigenous Israeli designs and are replacing the US and British designs that saw service in the 1967 and 1973 wars. Like much of the IDF, the tankers of the Armoured Corps are conscripts doing their term of service for the defence of their nation. However, many volunteer to be part of this prestigious corps. All members undergo basic training of two months involving rigorous physical training, infantry weapons training, as well as psychological and physical evaluation. Those chosen to be tankers are sent to the IDF armoured school where they are trained to be drivers, gunners or signaller/loaders for a month. They are then dispatched to an armoured unit where they learn to work as a crew and to operate in platoons and at higher command levels. On completion of this training some are selected to become tank commanders and undergo further training on a tank commander course. Some of these go for further training to become tank platoon commanders and are selected for officer training.