WW1 Military Motors - 1916 set x 50 cards

[Scalyback]

I could go on! Corgi are releasing a die cast set.

http://www.corgi.co.uk/shop/corgi-direct/corgi-catalogue-january-june-2014/wwi/cs90694-wwi-centenary-set/

Happy like a small child Only problem at the moment is the shortage of the Emhar tadpole tank! Santa not bringing that in the sack.

[RobL]

Master box are doing 1/72 Mk I and Mk II Male and Female tanks in plastic shortly - they look superb, and will knock the inaccurate Airfix ones into a cocked hat!

Hornby are also doing a troop train - a GWR locomotive and x3 carriages of the era. Nothing seems to be specifically military about it though unfortunately

[GRANVILLE]

I know of one company who propose a Hospital Train set in tin printed O Gauge, but more than that I cannot say at the moment.

David

[patrick Eggs]

Hello LF

I like your tank photo's your post 968, the crew men of the Mk.1V male tank, and some of mens cap badge's have the MGC badge of the the first tank men of the Heavy Branch.

Crimson Rambler.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Hello LF

I like your tank photo's your post 968, the crew men of the Mk.1V male tank, and some of mens cap badge's have the MGC badge of the the first tank men of the Heavy Branch.

Crimson Rambler.

Many thanks for posting the MGC cap badge, which I know was worn with pride by the early tank crews.

I have two excellent close up photos ( attached ) taken of the forward observation hatches on a Mark IV tank, one of which was used by the driver, and in one of the photos, the sun is catching and highlighting the MGC badge on the crew member's cap making a superb photo.

The photos also provide excellent details of those forward hatches, and the central front machine gun port between them which took the .303 Lewis machine gun.

Regards,

LF

[patrick Eggs]

Well done super photo's of the hatches and the face's of the crew ,the first Tank men came from many sections of the army all with various expertise.

This is a drawing from my Dad's autograph book of his memories in the Heavy Branch.

Crimson Rambler.

Edited 17 December , 2013 by crimson rambler

[Lancashire Fusilier]

This is a drawing from my Dad's autograph book of his memories in the Heavy Branch.

Great drawing by your Dad, and a wonderful first hand rendering of what he actually saw during WW1.

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

With reference to post # 979, here is a photograph showing the view from inside a Mark IV Male Tank looking towards those forward observation hatches, one open hatch can be seen with the crew's seat in front of the hatch, the central front machine gun port is also shown.

To the left of the photograph is the 6 pounder 6 cwt Quick Firing Gun, protected by its secondary armoured shield, mounted in the Sponson, and to the the right, is part of the tank's engine.

Whilst this photo shows the cramped and confined conditions in which the tank's crew fought, what the photo cannot show, is the intense heat, choking fumes, deafening noise, and the physical battering from the tank's movements which the tank's crew had to contend with and endure during combat, not to mention the extreme danger.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Scalyback]

No room in there! Still amazed they got anywhere.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

No room in there! Still amazed they got anywhere.

And remember, the tank had a crew of 8 men.

LF

[Scalyback]

Plus uncovered engine, paint spalsh and any other risks in there! Brave men.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Plus uncovered engine, paint spalsh and any other risks in there! Brave men.

I have seen photographs showing a mesh screen used to encase the engine, not that a screen would eliminate any of the hazards of being the member of a tank's crew.

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

In response to the serious threat posed by the introduction of the British Mark IV Tank onto the battlefield in June 1917, the Germans needed to develop a new anti-tank weapon, as their existing 7.92 mm armour-piercing ' K ' Bullet was no longer effective against the new British Mk. IV Tank's armour.

The German weapon developed specifically to meet the new Mark IV Tank threat was the Mauser 13 mm anti-tank rifle the ' Tankgewehr M1918 ' more commonly known as the ' T-Gewehr '.

The T-Gewehr fired the formidable 13.2 mm ' Tank und Flieger ' ( Tank and Aircraft ) cartridge known also as the 13.2x92SR ' TuF ' round, which was developed by The German munitions company, Polte Armaturen- u. Maschinenfabrik AG, Magdeburg, and was the first cartridge specifically designed to destroy an armoured target. The 13.2 mm round was intended to penetrate the tank's armour plating and ricochet inside the tank killing the tank's crew and disabling the tank.

The T-Gewehr first appeared in February 1918, and mass production started at Mauser's Oberndorf am Neckar factory in May 1918, and ultimately some 15,800 T-Gewehrs were produced.

The T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle was a single shot bolt action rifle utilising the Mauser action, albeit that the T-Gewehr was probably 3 times larger then the standard German Mauser bolt action rifle.

The T-Gewehr was operated by a two-man team consisting of a Gunner and a Loader/Ammunition Carrier, and was fired with its barrel supported by a metal bipod, other examples have been found mounted on a specially designed wheeled cart.

The 13.2 mm round was loaded manually one round at a time, the T-Gewehr did not have a magazine. The T-Gewehr had conventional rifle sights, a front blade and a rear tangent, graduated in 100 meter increments ranging from 100 to 500 meters.

The 13.2 mm TuF round had a base diameter of 16.3 mm and a case length of 92 mm.

The attached photograph, which remains the best image of a WW1 German T-Gewehr captured on the battlefield, shows officers from the New Zealand Division holding a German T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle captured from a German emplacement near Grevillers on 25th August, 1918. This photo, clearly shows the enormous size of the T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle.

LF

IWMQ11264. This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Another rare and very interesting photograph which shows Tank Corps tank crew standing alongside their Mark V Male Tank ( equipped with the Hotchkiss machine guns ) holding a captured German T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Rifle, the very weapon designed to destroy their tank.

Also of important note, the member of the tank's crew standing to the right of the T-Gewehr is wearing a Tank Visor ( lowered below his chin ) and seen better in the attached close up photo, this is the only photograph I have seen of the WW1 British Tank Visor actually being worn on the battlefield.

Additionally, the Tank Corps tank crew member on the left, is wearing the new Tank Corps ' tank ' sleeve badge on his upper right arm.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Close up of the Tank Corps tank crew wearing the Tank Visor ( lowered below his chin ).

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Another rare T-Gewehr photo, showing a captured German T-Gewehr Anti-Tank Gun mounted on a specially designed cart, this is the only photograph I have seen of the T-Gewehr cart.

The soldiers can also be seen examining the massive German 13.2 mm ' Tank und Flieger ' ( Tank and Aircraft ) cartridges.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Members of a German Anti-Tank Unit with their Tankgewehr M1918 Anti-Tank Rifles, they are also carrying Anti-Tank Grenade bundles ( Geballte Ladung ).

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Photo showing the size comparison between the formidable German 13.2 mm ' Tank und Flieger ' ( Tank and Aircraft ) cartridge known also as the 13.2x92SR ' TuF ' round, and the British .303 cartridge.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Tank Corps Tank Sleeve Badge as seen being worn in post # 988.

LF

[redbarchetta]

I understand these anti-tank rifles were widely issued, but rarely used, as few German's had been trained on them, and the rumour was they would break your shoulder if you fired one, so nobody dared try!! Hence the frequent recovery of them by Allied troops.

If true, does this give the lie to the idea everyone wanted a Blighty (or German equivalent) - using said gun, if it did break your shoulder, would have been an ideal excuse and no-one could accuse you of not having offensive spirit!

James

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Interestingly, American tank crews trained in Britain were authorized to wear the British Tank Corps Tank Sleeve Badge on their upper right arm.

In the attached photograph, showing the uniform of a Lieutenant in the American 301st Heavy Tank Battalion, a Tank Commander, the British Tank Corps Tank Sleeve Badge can be clearly seen being worn on the upper right arm.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Tank Corps ' Tank ' Sleeve Badge being worn.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[BSM]

LF an interesting group of images and thanks for the effort. You have been busy. In post #992 - the comparison of the anti tank round to a .303. I note the German example has the recessed groove you would expect on a standard 'rimless' cartridge however the rim protrudes past the body line of the cartridge case. Maybe to improve extraction. A more learned armament (field of interest) member might care to comment. Rod

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Maybe to improve extraction. A more learned armament (field of interest) member might care to comment. Rod

Rod,

Thanks for the post and comments, I am sure you are correct regarding the ' extraction ' factor, as with the T-Gewehr being a massively oversized Mauser bolt action rifle using a conventional bolt action cartridge case extraction system, and with the 13.2 mm case being so large, a substantial case rim would have been needed to give the extractor sufficient grip area to pull out such a large cartridge case from the chamber.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The Tank Corps Central Workshops at Teneur, France, had its own Light Rail system used for transporting heavy tank parts, and here we see the Light Rail transporting a tank engine.

As the Light Rail's locomotive was considered a ' Military Vehicle ' it carried a Military Vehicle Registration code and number, the code being ' LR ' for Light Rail.

LF

IWMQ9911 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.