The Daily Iraq errors report

[Marcello]

Just a quick reply.
It is a basic ARV. T-72 chassis, a simple straight dozer blade at the front and others tools to assist repairs and towing. Not a specialized vehicle like IMRs.
More later when I get access to my home computer.

[Marcello]

The vehicle supplied to Iraq is this:



The source for its supply to Iraq is this (though they are mentioned elsewhere) at page four, with a picture included:

http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil/Press_Releases/2008/MAR%2008/080327-01%20-%20MNSTC-I%20-%20$14.7%20million%20of%20equipment%20is%20receive d%20by%20the%20Iraqi%20Ministry%20of%20Defence.pdf

Delivery date is listed as March 2008

These vehicles, as noted previously, are recovery/maintenance assets. They have a dozer blade which might be used for obstacle removal, light earth moving etc. but it is primarily meant to assist recovery operations if I understand correctly. They are not dedicated obstacle removal vehicles as the IMR are.

[DRG]

OK, Thanks

Don

[Marcello]

Unit 291: Al-Walid
Current initial availability date is 1/65. SIPRI lists 1980 as delivery date and given iraqi purchase patterns
I think 1980 is more likely.

Unit 294 and Unit 394: FUG-70
Current initial availability date is 1/72. SIPRI lists 1981 as delivery date and again given iraqi purchase patterns
I think 1981 is more likely.

Unit 393: OT-64 R-2u
Like for the others OT-64s discussed previously intial availability date should be changed to 1981.

Unit 602 and 282 : Panhard AML 60
Unit 285: AML-90
Current initial availability date is 1982 for unit 602 and 1990 for unit 282. According to SIPRI the first ones were delivered in
1967 together with the AML-90 (currently available since 1965). I suggest an intial availability date change for all three units, with all three starting in 1967.
The AML-60 are also issued with AP rounds for their guns. Given that it was a 60mm mortar I would doubt
but given how obscure such things are it will take some time to research. For the short term the date change can suffice.

[Marcello]

Units 304 and 326: medium truck.
I suggest an icon change, with current icons changed to 2982 (green) and 2983(desert). These two icons are more similar to the bulk of iraqi trucks (various models of Zil, Ural etc.)

Unit 355: M109A1
It has a couple of problems
1) It mounts a ZPU-2 as secondary weapon. This was almost certainly not the case and none were present in the pictures of
M109 in iraqi service. I suggest to change it with weapon 29
.50 cal M2 AAMG or similar.
2) It is available since 1975. In reality the first ones were captured from Iran in the 80's during the war. I suggest an initial availability date change to 1988 or such.

Unit 358: SO-152
Current initial availability date is 1975. According to SIPRI the first ones were delivered in 1980, like unit 356 SO-122.

In light of the above formation 160 SPA Battery and formation 161SPA Platoon should have their initial availability date changed from 1975 to 1980.

[Marcello]

Unit 643: Ain Jaria 1
I suggest an icon change. Currently it uses a Mastiff MRAP icon which rather different from.
However specific icons are available 4600 (green) and 4603 (desert). Ain Jaria is just the iraqi name for the Dzik APC.


Unit 313: BTR-60P
I suggest it being renationalized or otherwise deleted.
The first BTR-60s were delivered in 1971 according to SIPRI. Version is listed as BTR-60PB.
Asking and reading around it seems that as a policy the early open topped BTR-60 versions were generally retained by the USSR for various support tasks (carrying mortars etc) instead of being handed down to foreign satellite states as might have been expected. The first to be exported were the BTR-60PA/PB versions with armored roofs.
Current Unit 315 BTR-60PK can cover iraqi BTR-60s adequately.

Unit 536: AMX-10P
According to SIPRI the first ones were delivered in 1981-1982 while currently they are available since 1990.
Also at least one hundred were delivered, so it might be made available as general issue APC.
That would entail increasing carrying capacity to 9 and changing class to 25 APC (Track).
Unit 535 BMD-1 can remain as Light Support APC in the formation which uses this class.

Also an armored HMMWV with a MG should be added. Unit 910 lacks armor and unit 324 lacks a machine gun. They are both fine but a third one with both MG and armor should be included.

[Marcello]

Some notes about formations.
According to “The Iraqi Army: Organization and Tactics" US Army National Training Centre and the US Army “Iraq Country Handbook”
The standard iraqi infantry company, at least from the Iran Iraq war to OIF, was composed by:
1) three rifle platoons with three infantry squads each
2) weapons platoon with three 60mm mortars and four MMG/HMG.

This basic structure applied to regular army non mechanized and mechanized infantry as well as to Republican Guard non mechanized infantry.

I suggest formation 24 Rifle Company to be modified along the following lines:
1) One rifle squad in the first slot
2) Three rifle platoons in slots 2-3-4, each with three squads (the weapons squad should be eliminated, as discussed previously).
3) One weapons platoon in slot 5. That could be made up by a couple of machine guns sections, picked from units 100-104 and
three 60mm mortars , picked from units 425-426.

[Marcello]

According to http://www.longwarjournal.org/oob/index.php the new iraqi army infantry company, available since the beginning of 2005 is composed by:
1) Command element
2) Mortar section with two 60mm mortars
3) Four rifle platoons with three squads each

I therefore suggest the introduction of a new infantry company composed by:
1) One rifle squad in slot 1
2) Unit 804 2x60mm Mortars in slot 2
3) Four rifle platoons (with three squads each) in the following slots

Such infantry company would be available in the 1/2005-12/2020 timeframe.


Formation 25 : Rifle Company +
Based on the information contained in the Iraq Country Handbook I suggest it to be modified along the following lines:

1) One rifle squad in the first slot
2) Three rifle platoons in slots 2-3-4, each with three squads.
3) One weapons platoon in slot 5, (four mmg/hmg and three 60mm mortars).
4) a mortar section picked from units 75-79 in slot 6
5) a couple of recoilless (unit 266 or similar) in the following slots.

Essentially it would be structured like formation 24 discussed previously and reinforced with some battalion weapons.
According to the handbook such a formation would be a typical setup for an infantry company deployed in static defense.
Final availability date would be 4/103.

[Marcello]

Unit 283: Jararaca EE-3
Wrong armament : it is currently armed with an autocannon in the first slot, weapon 247 20mm Rh 202 AC,
and weapon 248 12.7mm M2HB BMG. I suggest weapon 248 to be deleted.

Typically it is actually armed 12.7mm MG in an exposed mount or a protected 7,62mm MG or ATGMs
or combination of such weapons, as can be seen in all the pictures of it.




Still at least one variant, at least on paper, was indeed armed with a 20mm gun in turret.
I doubt it was actually produced and delivered to Iraq but that is hard to verify, so for the moment the 20mm can be left.
Definitively no bow 12.7mm MG was present though. Weapon 248 could be changed in AAMG version of the PKM machine gun.
That would be eventually useful to arm several iraqi vehicles.


Unit 365: SA-2 Dvina
Suggested changes:
1)Initial availability date should be changed 1/1962 or 1/1963. SIPRI lists 1963 and indeed giving the timing of the coup which paved the way for soviet- iraqi military collaboration SIPRI chronology makes sense. Early 1960 would have been too soon for such a demanding weapon system to be put in iraqi hands.
2)The current icon should be changed to n. 4548.
3)The vision rating should be reduced to zero

In light of the above.
Formation 180: SAM Battery
Availability date should be changed from current 1/1960-6/2003 to 1/1963-4/2003

[Marcello]

Some notes about SAMs

Unit 374: SA-6 Kub
Wrong initial availability date: now it is 1/1970 but it should be 1/1978. The formations which use it are available from 1/1978
and the system was indeed delivered about that date. Final availability date could be restricted to 12/110
(unit 46 Avenger HMMWV is available from 1/2011)

Unit 376: SA-13 Strela-10
Wrong initial availability date: now it is 1/1991 but according to SIPRI the system was delivered in 1985. That seems about right.

Unit 380: SA-9 Strela-1
Wrong initial availability date: now it is 1/1978 but according to SIPRI the system was delivered in 1982.

Unit 379: AMX-30 Roland
Wrong availability dates: now it is 1/1970-12/2004. It should be something like 1/1985-12/1998
According to SIPRI they were delivered in 1985 and in 1970 Roland was still under development anyway
(IOC was 1977-1978 by most sources).
The number these of units delivered was apparently rather low and given the issues with spare parts (not a whole lot of AMX-30
to cannibalize in the iraqi Army) it was probably discarded at some point in the 90’s.
Truck mounted Roland (like unit 381) were much more numerous and sill in active service in 2003 of course.