Tanks For the Memories

| January 27, 2021

No, I did not forget Tankers Day yesterday. I got sidetracked, but – okay, so I’m late with the “stuff” of which history is made, but you have World War II tanks and tanker crews to peruse this time. Carry on. The case with the sand and medallion in it contains sand from the beaches at Normandy, and the article on the righthand side of the image shows some small black round pellets. Those are the remains of bullets from that battle,

These are links to articles about mechanized vehicles (tanks and their cousins) from World War II, including the bridge layer and the amphibious tank.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-funny-tanks-of-d-day

This link will take you to a site dedicated to the Normandy American Heroes from WWII.

Note: 29 “floating” tanks went into the water 27 of them sank. Not once was this idea tested in rough seas to find out if it worked. It was tested on a calm lake. Big, huge difference. The float assist device did work, but had not been tested, with a catastrophic result.

https://www.normandyamericanheroes.com/blog/duplex-drive-amphibious-tanks-on-omaha-beach

And this video gives a brief history of the landing at Normandy on D-Day 6 June 1944.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i8KDgecCz4

Pop some popcorn and enjoy a good read and a movie, as you travel through some of the history of those armored vehicles.

Category: Historical, War Stories

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KoB

“Tanks” Mi’Lady. Great video and linkys. Lubs me some Tracked Artillery Platforms. Took me awhile to get to ’em, was delayed with the prep and eating of a porked beast ham steak, some grilled up squash with zoo kinneys and some buttered rice. Then had to catch an unseen episode of Gunsmoke. Damned if that Miss Kitty was as fine as all out doors. Two things I look for during my Miss Kitty sessions. Where is the beauty mark gonna migrate to today and if her outfit has a zipper? But, here again, I digress.

You are forgiven for the delay on Tanker Tuesday. Unlike a Monday’s Recipe (Ed’s AoR) or a Thursdays Are For Cooking segment, we can’t eat a Tank. Tho, then again, the Gun Bunnies of Btry C Seven Forty FIRST (ht 2 Sarge) did a good job of chewing thru a number of Tiger and Panzer Tanks with both direct and indirect fire from the Normandy Campaign all the way thru the Hurtgen Forest, Battle of the Bulge, and the Rhine Campaign. Nothing like whipping out the Big 8 Inch.

We all can look forward now to the Field Artillery Fridays. Will help take up the slack time between Mason’s Valor Stories and the dropping of the TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread.

AW1Ed

Thanks, Ex. As I was reminded a while ago by one whom I highly respect, this is a MilBlog after all.

FuzeVT

I’ve never been a tanker, but I was able to live my love of armor vicariously when I was the S-6 at 2d Tank Battalion. Here are pictures of some FEXes I did with them long, long ago. (I know, not as long as some of y’all, but still seems two “longs” worth to me.)
https://goo.gl/photos/zxqnFbBpwvR2iUNs6

Here are some pictures of the M4A3 HVSS POA-CWS-H5 Flame Sherman they found in the middle of a training area on Camp Lejeune. Sounds like gunny said, “Corporal, get rid of that old flame tank and make sure it isn’t found for a loooong time.”
https://goo.gl/photos/fv5TeiUindWZ412x6

A collection of stuff from Aberdeen. They were in the middle of moving down to Fort Lee so the whole collection wasn’t there.
https://goo.gl/photos/LRaY8Aa8Rzd5FuRd8

Being a modeler, I like lots of detailed shots. Here are a bunch from some tanks I saw tucked away near OCS in Quantico. Presumably they were getting ready for storage or restoration.
https://goo.gl/photos/jysZvi2F8mx8MR2M6
https://goo.gl/photos/KnXbXfb5oVSXW2gy7
https://goo.gl/photos/JbATLiBdEqgdGXzU8

And why take all these detail shots? For things like this:
Panther
https://goo.gl/photos/dU4jSJ8MjrGP1rTN6
Sd.Kfz 222
https://goo.gl/photos/2x3JeuU8fkR6SWpdA
Hetzer
https://goo.gl/photos/e1ZKQBNenX9142SG9
Sturmtiger
https://goo.gl/photos/8yvGeGJ35545dmQV9

UpNorth

Great pics of the models, and a really good job on the zimmerit on the Sturmtiger.

FuzeVT

Thanks! That was my first attempt at zimmerit and I believe I used Tamiya putty but it was a long time ago. That was a good model to do zimmerit on because it isn’t over the whole vehicle (like a King Tiger!) It was also my first PE (photo etch for those not in the know) model. The comparisons between the kit piece and the PE piece are in the photos. I was sold.

FuzeVT

Thank you, m’lady.