Alavery

It's unlikely to be as new as an M60. I have spent a lot of time looking at tank photos - and the closest I have come is an M41 in a museum in France that has an additional rear light mounted by the exhaust. It has similar bolts on the side - but it appears to have an additional support that isn't there. It is possible that the oval shape by the mounting comes from deformation associated with the hit. I also believe the hole in it is around 60mm, which would seem a bit large for a 50 Cal bullet. The mystery continues....

Hello Britmodellers I joined the forum as I realise there is no better place to try to identify difficult parts as there are seldom anyone more knowledgeable than modellers when it comes to details. I am trying to solve a mystery and identify correctly a misidentified artifact. This is the armour protection for what appears to be a NATO type rear light. I don't want to say what it's been identified as - because I don't want to influence any opinions - but I think it's would be clear to anyone with an eye for detail that this cannot be correct. It would appear to be post war - and 1980s and before. The inside mounting plate matches similar holes I have seen on US vehicles. I would imagine it's a US or British vehicle. The armour has some bolts for the bracket inside, and is welded around about half the edge - very badly, it must be said. I estimate it to be around 20cm in diameter approximately It's obvious been deformed by an impact of some kind, which I believe to have come laterally from one side. I think the piece was originally an oval shape, as the side with the exit hole in it clearly isn't a true circle. Does anyone have any ideas?