:yikes: Anyone on the forum own a tank ? If so from what country and what model ? Just Wonder'in
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:yikes: Anyone on the forum own a tank ? If so from what country and what model ? Just Wonder'in
No, but I had a LOT of P36/P40 parts at one time. (Airplane)
There is at least one member who does have a tank that I know of. (Pardon the English)
Also know a guy who has/had a half track, a C47, and was working on a B17.
Do Ferrets count as tanks?
Don't own one, but spent a LOT of time in the M4A2E8 Sherman ....
Brings back memories .... :)
Here's some 40+ year old pics from my very first day on the tank ranges as a fresh young Crew Commander. Two of my first few engagements (different tanks) at 1,500 to 2,800 yards were captured in the color pics below. What the second one didn't show was the result of the 76mm back blast spinning me around in the turret, blowing my beret off my head and over the back deck, plus burning (singe effect) my eyebrows and hair bad enough that it crumbled to the touch. :) Of course, I straightened myself up and tried to look "very cool" to all of my buddies watching. :lol:
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...0/Tank7M-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...0/Tank6M-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../Tank10M-1.jpg
Regards,
Doug
==================================
Qualifications:
Sherman (M4A2E8) & Centurion
Group 3 Gunner (RCAC)
Group 2 Driver Mechanic Tracked (RCAC)
Group 2 Signaler (RCAC)
CC and Troop Leader Instructor
Always wanted one but sinc I don't have any place to shoot a tank I opted for a bulldozer instead.
Thanks for the pictures and story, Doug. Awesome.:thup:
Ob's stürmt oder schneit, ob die Sonne uns lacht, eh?
This place has plenty; IIRC, one of the founders said they had about 40 or so (tanks).
The Veterans Memorial Museum - Huntsville Alabama
They had a Sherman, an SPG, an APC, Several Jeeps, 2 motorcylcles (one Harley, one Indian), A 6 wheel drive ambulance, etc. , at the last AGCA gunshow in Birmingham. Also a "pack howitzer" artillery piece, along with several other items.
A VERY impressive display.
OK, I just looked ( first time ) at the website I linked to. NOT a Sherman but I think it was this one they had there. I've never been there, ( the museum ), just talk to one of the organizers, a Club member, when I see him @ the show.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...04/M24d1-1.jpg
FWIW,
Emri
Yup .. :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Stevo
Back in the early 60's, I had a Troop Sergeant who was an ex-Panzer commander during the war. He made us learn and sing (Panzerlied) in both English and German. We used to sing it as we marched out to the tank park in the morning to mount our Shermans for the day's training. He always used to whine about not having a Panther to work with.
Panzerlied March (Six Videos with Various Music Versions)
Regards,
Doug
Not exactly a tank but SORT of a tank. A Centurion Mk2 Armoured Recovery Vehicle. Not a gun tank (but it should have a .300" L3 Browning, the rear-sear equivalent of the M1919 for crew protection). Was destined for use as a hard target after a total thousands of ££'s rebuild.
As a matter of interest Badger, what happened to your Shermans? Hard targets? Were they replaced by the Centurions? When?
Replaced during the 60's with Centurions and many of the old Shermans became "hard targets" for them, or the TOW anti-tank missle system which was popular during that era. There were also a lot of Shermans that were donated to various amouries and museums as display pieces.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Laidler
Regards,
Doug
Here's the annual UK Mecca for AFV owners:
War Peace Show - The Largest Military Vehicle Spectacular in the World - Home
I am a member of the American Airpower Museum here on Long Island. In addition to our WWII aircraft collection we now have some operating heavy iron. A British "Ferret" scout car, An American M-8 "Greyhound", an M-20 , which is a Greyhound with less armamant, and our most recent aquisition, a WWII Sherman. The Sherman came from Belgium. Paperwork and approvals needed from State Dept, Dept of Defense, Alcohol Treasury and Firearms, Dept of Agriculture ( Belgian dirt in treads ), negotiation with dockworkers union when it arrived in Port as they are only one who take any cargo off a ship but they could not lift it off as lift lugs were not certified as sound enough to be lifted from. It had to be driven off so they conceded and allowed our people to drive it off and out of the ship. A long ardous process but we got our Sherman. Probably slightly less complicated if you buy one domestically.
I know a guy that has two Centurions, he lives in northern Alberta.
Badger, where was that pic taken? Gagetown, Wainwright, Meaford? The pad is unfamiliar. They still use the stairs for static work. The owner of Crown Assets in Calgary used to have a Centurion in the back with the 20 pounder on board. He had a brand new Israeli 105 lying on the floor beside it. I think he eventually found a buyer for it.
Hi Jim ... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
Meaford tank range ..... 1963 (I think?)
Regards,
Doug
The fate of many of the armoured vehicles. This Fort Garry Horse Sherman now guards the Charleswood Legion in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Minnedosa, Manitoba, has a Manitoba Dragoons Sherman on a downtown lot. The Artillery Museum at Shilo has a Lee.
About a week ago, I googled "military vehicles for sale" and found out there are quite a few in England and Europe. Two different Lee tanks, and even Russian T-72 models, lots of trucks and other wheeled stuff too.
.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1/04/016-1.jpg
At SMC at Shilo, the XII Dragoons shared operational Fireflies with the Garrys, supposedly so we didn't wear them all out at the same time and give the RCEME guys too much shop time.
Our training was rather 'intensive', I think would be a good word. This was just a few months after the Cuban Missile thing. At that time, the Dagoons were on 2-hour notice to pick up their tanks..... and Shilo was better than an hour and a half away. The following Summer, those of us with no prior armour experience got the full training course, and it was nothing like what was in the manuals. Every man was trained to do every job in the tank, every man had to qualify as a Gunner, everyone took Driver training and we even got a smattering of Crew Commander. Loader, of course, doubled with Radioman and we had had radio, on the Number 19 Sets, all the previous Winter. Actual field training was like being in a pressure-cooker, with ALL the instructors being World War Two combat veterans. If we had actually got into a war and had had to fight T-55s with Shermans, it sure wouldn't have been THEIR fault if we screwed up!
The one thing I never could figure out was why Minnedosa was given their tank and Virden was ignored; HQ Troop was Virden.
About 20 years ago I was taking photos out at an oil rig and heard an awfully-familiar scream, so I ducked into the mud shack and there it was: an old 6-71 running the mud pump, Sherman instrument panel bolted onto the thing, ripping out its 250 horses at 2100. We used to run them at 2300, 2350 even.
And here's something: did you know that it was possible to shift a Sherman from 5th into Reverse, on the fly? Yes, it is. Thing almost stood on its muzzle, burned out both clutches, of course. Crew bailed because they were afraid the unit was going to brew. Work on the suspension (needed it after that), couple of new clutches, rebulds on both engines and 78-783 was ready to go out and take more abuse. I think she ended up on the arty range at Shilo. Sad.
.
There is a crane hire man that lives in a big house near me who owns a Sherman Firefly. He bought it form Portugal in the early 80's for, I think £600 but it cost slightly more to bring it back. It was impounded here for a couple of weeks because no one knew quite what to do with the live gun. It was solved but he now has it garaged. He used his crane hire low loader to bring it up from Weymouth where it was landed - and impounded.
Does anyone know what happened to the Mk1 Centurion outside the Eastbourne (UK) seafront museum ? Awhile back it was gone, of course maybe it was just moved a bit, I was just passing by. Kids could play on it, so I'm suspecting 'elf n safety or the p-c lot got it disposed of.
Since the end of the Cold War, there are many surplus vehicles on the market, especially British.
I used to restore military vehicles as a hobby but I stayed away from tracked vehicles because they are not legal to drive on the roads most places in the US (tear up the asphalt).
But I did fully restore a Ferret and a Saladin. The Ferret, which is about the size of a pickup truck, was great fun to drive around. The Saladin was a bit bulky for cruising :yikes:
Both had live full auto Browning M1919s mounted. Used to tear up old car bodies out on the desert :madsmile:
Both are now in museums. And, after getting appriasals, I was able to write off their values on my taxes as donations. That allowed me to buy other toys while making sure the ones I had restored were well maintained and cared for and on display :lol:
The only military vehicle in my stable these days is an M151A2, a Vietnam era jeep. Since I drove an M151 for many years in the US Army Military Police, it is my "nostalgia car" or, more correctly, my "time machine."
Armour is just a bigger toy for bigger boys.
I have owned several Bren gun carriers over the years (just one now), a Canadian Ferret mk1, and a Brit FV432. I was going to put together a sherman about a decade back. I had the 76mm gun and mantlet, lined up a good turret, and had a hull lined up as well. Alas, life got in the way. Of course, I also have had more than my fair share of jeeps, CMPs, 3/4tons etc over the years.
I also have a 40mm bofors, and recently purchased a 90mm AA gun, which I will likely take delivery of in July when I get home (currently working in Afghanistan, so the larger purchases have gone on hold for a while).
There must be a word for it somewhere but I recall that out on the tank ranges at Warcop in the 60's there were a whole bunch of late Churchill Mk7 and 8 gun tanks that were a bit battered about but complete and on Salisbury plain, Sherman, Comet and Cromwells galore.
Then, about 15 years ago, a whole line of about 10 or 12 Sherman and others in all types of configuration including one Churshill recovery tank were uncovered that had been used to protect a bank from collapsing in what is known as Battlesbury bowl. The find was widely reported and a couple of the tanks looked over but later, just pulled onto the ranges as targets. The paint was still there as were the post war registration numbers, such as 12 ZA 36 and the identifiable tactical signs
The problem now is that while many years ago a tank would last for a couple of years being hit with 105 and 120mm solid shot practice ammo. Now, even the biggest Chieftain and Challenger 1's last about 20 minutes with a couple of Javelin hits!
Have often thought about buying some land in Normandy and running a Tank Driving Experience instead of the day job - genuine WW2 vehicles are too expensive but maybe some of the more modern vehicles could be good? Ther seem to be a few guys running Scimitars, FV432 and the like these days in the UK......maybe even an old Chieftain ot Eastern block vehicles?
Reading this thread has brought back many cherished memories of my time in BOAR in the 9/12th Royal Lancers 1983-1988. At the time it was an armoured recce regt, and was I believe the closest British unit to the old East German /West German border. We were equipped with the Alvis S-Class series of CVR/T. The ones I can recall are;
Scimitar, 30mm rarden canon
Scorpion, 76mm gun
Sultan, command & communications
Spartan, assault vehicle
Samson, REME recovery Wagon
Samaritan, First aid & medical
We also had a missile troop with i think swingfire but i'll stand corrected, can any one else remember any other variants?
The 76mm canister round was a blast if you will pardon the pun, like a massive shotgun on crack!!!
Happy Days:cool:
I can remember teh cannister rounds Lancer........ The 105mm cannister rounds that we had on the Centurions were fiendish. Just a couple of cannisters would totally destroy the hundreds of figure 11 man-targets that were supposed to represent Chinese or NVA infantry. Some of the projectiles looked like chopped up lengths of 1" long x 1/2" dia steel reinforcing rods while other stuff looked like 3/4" x 3/4" size lumps of guillotined 1/8" steel plate with sharp edges that would just tear you apart., Deadly stuff.......... I think that the sheet steel projectiles were primarily to be used to clear other tanks that had been swarmed by enemy infantry
Does anyone use cannister nowadays?
Hi Guys
Im a new member and yes I do own a tank.. 1941 built M3 Stuart Light Tank... still a runner, with turret and a fairly complete 37mm. Also have a Bren gun carrier and a M3 Autocar halftrack..
Have a look at .:. Tim's Tank World.com : Vintage Military Collection .:. there are some other toys not on there.. the biggest is a very good complete and original DUKW..
Tim
Very nice! Good you are ready for the Zombie Apocalypse!:super:Quote:
Originally Posted by Scrivo18
Welcome to the forum and you have an impressive array of military equipment my friend , I love to hear that these pieces of history are in private ownership and haven't been used tor target practice by the military or cut up for scrap metal
Thanks Guys.. I had the Stuart and the Bren carrier out for a drive last weekend.. A contact organised for a cancer patient to come and have a ride in a Tank. Part of his bucket list.. Anyway 4 hours latter and a very happy gentlman and his wife had not only had a ride in the bren and the Stuart they had driven them both.. Not sure who had the biggest smile actually them or me. The newest project will hopefully be picked up next weekend. A 7.5cm german minnenweffer..
Tim
That was an interesting note scrivo that brought back a few memories! When my wife had the dreaded C. several years ago and was feeling pretty low, I took my son Robert to work as I was out on to Salisbury Plain during some hot dusty exercise. He got in his school Cadet uniform so as to make it ‘semi-sort-of-official-if-you-don’t-look-too-close’ sort of thing. When it was my turn to speak a load of waffle and generally bore the top brass, I took him over to a huge REME CRAARV (that’s a monster Challenger tank recovery tank to me and the rest of the world…..), put my helmet on his head and asked the crew to keep an eye on him for an hour or so. You know the sort of thing, make a pot of tea on the cooker and show him how to answer their radio, fire a zillion blanks through the L37 tank machine gun etc etc.
When I went back over there an hour or so later the tank AND he’d gone and nobody knew quite where. So I got the radio net operator to ask and they’d apparently gone back somewhere 17 miles away to re-fuel. So an hour later, there, through my binoculars I see this ponderous great recovery tank coming back, spewing dust and whatever in its wake, detouring as it did so, so that it went through every ditch, pond and muddy outcrop. As it got closer, I looked again and there, head poking out of the drivers cupola hatch is Robert, driving this great tank.
Well, what do you say to the foolhardy and reckless crew…………..? I asked the commander, Baker, not toooo politely words to the effect ‘………….what the fxxx is going on Baker…., he’s 14 and you’re letting him drive the xxxxxxx great xxxxxxx tank through the xxxxxxx and xxxxx……’ and so it went on.
Then he said ‘…….. he told us that you’d bought him to work to give his mum a rest as she had cancer. It killed my mum 4 years ago, so we decided to make it a memorable day for him’. It was a memorable day. Well, no one was hurt and he still remembers it to this day. They got a bottle of something ‘from Scotland’ the next day. Their confidential reports that year were remarkably spectacular too………….. All’s well that ends well as they say!
That what i figure collecting is all about.. sharing our passions and toys with other people and if you can make someone smile and have a great day.. or in this case forget there troubles, well thats just a bonus.. They were fairly impressed with toys in the gun safe as well.. Especially the boyes :-)
Tim
I do not own any but I have worked on a few. in the 70's and 80's we had a state representive in Ohio that got laws passedfor military mueseums.
Before he passed away he had a VN era tank, a WW2 halftrack and a jeep and ambulance. Other items were both a Harley and a BMW motorcycle 3 Hueys and a Cobra. The Hueys were flyable are were flown regularly. The Cobra we had to cut the drive shaft. The tank we had to plug the barrel of the big gun.
---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:50 PM ----------
and I forgot about the DUWCK