Bustle rack

[1] The original rack design for the XM1 and first production M1 Abrams tanks was blueprinted by then 1LT John A. Baker III, XO and Company Maintenance Officer, H Co, 2/6 CAV, Ft. Knox, KY. Baker had previously developed the standard combat load plan for M60A1 tanks for the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), 194th Armored Brigade in the early 1980s.

Following his stint as platoon leader and the subsequent XO for H Co, Baker began working with the Armor and Engineering Board to draft blueprints of a prototype rack.

Removing the handful of lower mounting pins allowed the rack to be "pivoted" onto the blowout panels located on top and to the rear of the turret.

Some M113s, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, and the Stryker family of APCs were fitted with similar stowage racks on the sides of the hull.

M109 self-propelled howitzers in Israeli service have used bustle racks on their front turrets for carrying crewmens' personal equipment for decades.