The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment patrolled the border between the two halves of Germany – John Teasdale finds out about the vehicles they used
The M551 is seen here in company with an M113A1 armoured personnel carrier. The crew are adopting suitably martial poses, though none of their weapons are charged with a magazine. Both vehicles are painted in experimental camouflage schemes trialled in Germany by the 7th Army in the early 1970s. As can be seen here, the schemes comprised three main colours (Rust Brown, Forest Green and Sand) and one secondary (Black). Note the lack of a star on the flank of the M113A1.
(PLATE 6399131)
From the end of World War Two until 1990, the inner German border dividing democratic West Germany from the communist East was a running sore across the country. It was regularly patrolled on both sides of the border, and on May 1, 1979, an unidentified American photographer went along to record the situation. His host for the day was the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
