THE smell of gunpowder mixed with cordite fills the claustrophobic confines of a turret already reeking of cigarette smoke and sweat.

In the dark of early morning, the shape of the Iraqi T55 — a green blob on the thermal night vision screens — is unmistakable to all 14 tank commanders of C Squadron.

With quickfire reactions the commander hits the align button to move the main gun in the direction of the prey and hears the whirr of the turret swinging round.

The gunner below, his head between the commander’s knees, checks his own screen and shouts “On!” to confirm that he has seen the target.

The commander releases control of the gun.

Perched on a soft chair with a small backrest, the gunner uses his sight to home in on the target while the commander scans for another target in classic hunter-killer mode.

By this time the loader, standing to the commander’s immediate left, has picked up a 120mm fin round, so-called because of the stabilising fins on the base, and packed it, along with a bag charge, into the loading chamber.

Once the round is loaded an automatic safety shield slots into place between the crew and the gun, protecting them from the blast and the fierce recoil when the gun is fired. Only when the shield is in place are they free to open fire.

The gunner double-checks his readings to make sure that he has the right target. Next, he shouts “Firing” as he pulls the button on his left hand-grip.

If he believes he has hit the target he shouts “Target”.

All this time the loader is waiting to load the next round, which he is already holding, into the barrel as soon as the gun has recoiled.

He opens the charge bin next to his leg, lifts out the charge and places it in the chamber, picks up the next round and closes the shield.

• This is a pooled report for the British press.

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