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Worlds Greatest Tank Battles

Discussion in 'WWII Films & TV' started by Prospero Quevedo, Apr 14, 2021.

  1. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    I think it is interesting to listen to the WWII tank vets. These guys knew they were going in the fire but not one of them ever thought their tank was a steel coffin. These guys talked like they were so sure their tank would get the job done. Like the Hochwald gap guys could see tanks getting knocked out all around but they kept moving forward attacking. I don't know if its a sense of duty or bravery or what but these guys seem to talk like nothing was going to stop them. Like most of these guys seemed proud to be a tanker and fought in these great battles. Just like the pilots they were cocky then and still are.
     
  2. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I remember an old story about a general telling a group of fighter pilots "99% of you won't make it back". He could tell that every one of them was thinking "you poor bastards."
     
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  3. Riter

    Riter Well-Known Member

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    Humphrey Bogart never got LuLu (or whatever the name of that M3 Grant was) to Berlin.
     
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  4. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    You should be a comedian because you come up with off the wall stuff. I bet it was like the tankers you poor guys aren't gonna make it but me and my Bertha are going to the Berlin parade.
     
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  5. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Insanity keeps me sane.
     
  6. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    I think it was lulubell, that is true, I can't remember seeing any pics of m3s in action. Did see some made as support vehicle's, engineering or tank recovery didn't we give some to the Russians. Probably got knocked out fast. Wonder what they did with all the tanks we gave them. Return or scrap. The Russians have been big in recovering old WWII tanks most pulled out of lakes rivers and swamps. I guess a lot of Russian tank crews drove their tanks into lakes rivers and swamps to avoid capture. Its amazing how well preserved some of the vehicles were, said that the cold water kept the tanks from corroding excessively.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2021
  7. Riter

    Riter Well-Known Member

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    The Soviets called the M-3 "a grave for seven brothers."
     
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  8. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    [​IMG]
     
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  9. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Hardly surprising...The Soviets used the moniker "A grave for X brothers" for all their tanks (with X being the crew compliment of said tank type).
     
  10. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    No, but Spielburg got "Lulubelle" into "1941".
    [​IMG]
    Not, the real one, but a mocked up M7 hull "stolen" of a test range. Specifically as an homage to Bogie & Sahara.
     
  11. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    That looks interesting, but wasn't American tanks olive drab even in north Africa. The British had all sorts of camos even with grey black blue yellow and some odd purplish color I don't know how those colors work but the Brits didn't do things that were generally ineffective. I want to paint a few desert camo Sherman's.
     
  12. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I chose it for the "LULU BELLE" inscription on the side, not the paint.
     
  13. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    I think it's funny the movie is based loosely on true facts but they combined two incidents as happening on the same day. They say no one knows what really happened on the air attack they say a number of radar stations had a track and the the guns had to be shooting at something 1400 RDS fired. Some military heads said most likely a lost weather balloon others swore fifteen planes flew over the city. You'd think that these gunner's had to be shooting at something or all suffering from too much party punch. So that that was a m7 mocked up as a m3. Have a m7, was thinking if I never can get the m3 I would scratch my m7, im not paying a hundred for a 1/144 tank cause its a collector item.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2021
  14. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    Yeah, it was an M-7 mocked up with plywood. From another forum.
     
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  15. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    Wow that's a great job, like how do you sneak something that big out plus like what kind of transporter did they use to move something like that and not get caught. Sounds crazy, hello wanna file a claim my car was mysteriously crushed into a pancake.
     
  16. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

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    Lulubelle is right, but she was a Lee, the original American version, characterized by the upper commander's turret with the .30-caliber machine gun. What the US Army was using when they helped make the movie. The M3s we had Lend-Leased to the British, which participated in the battles of Gazala and El Alamein, were Grants with the modifications the British had requested, eliminating the commander's turret and extending the rear of the 37mm turret to accommodate the relocated radio. The US forces which landed in Operation Torch employed Lees.

    The British did employ Lees in Burma, and I wonder if they might have been American tanks left behind in North Africa when that campaign ended and the armored units upgraded to Shermans. The Lees were fine for the opposition they faced in the Far East, and it might have been the best way to make use of them and upgrade the eastern forces.

    Postwar I've read of the Russians converting Shermans to tractors for agricultural use, and that might have applied to Lees as well.
     
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  17. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    Wow wonder how that worked for them, they said one of the biggest problems when the Berlin Wall came down and the east and west both had to withdraw thousands of tanks the Russians was like 100,000. They tried to convert them but they burn so much more fuel than a tractor no one wanted them. I remember watching age of tanks the Russians had a tank remanufacturing plant in Ukraine and just abandoned it with like 10,000, tanks maybe the Ukrainians could remanufacture them and sell them or modify them as MBTs for their army and sit them all along the border facing Russia. Wonder how many us tanks are still running there. Been interesting over the years so many WWII aircraft and tanks turning up. They found a spitfire in Czech, in a backyard, the pilot was allowed to fly the plane back to his home by the British and the guy parked it in the backyard and built a garden around it. Then some guy exploring an old abandoned airbase found a hanger with a complete 109 and parts for several more. Two panthers in Germany one in a barn of a farm another some guys private collection. Also a number of tiger twos the Russians had a number of tiger twos they used as part of their national guard but rearmed with 100mm finally retired hem and replaced by more modern tanks. Its kinda weird how the keep finding uboats they found three in some subpen two were reported missing yet they sat in plain sight for years. Some farmer read about a b17 going down in a jungle gets a expedition to recover it and now has been totally rebuilding it in his barn. I love watching tank overhaul, they had some group rebuild a kV but they used a IS hull the original hull was beyond repair they said the IS was narrower built close enough. Then another group restored an elephant to running condition and completely stripped it down repaired or manufactured parts have to say when they had that thing jacked up I really would hate crawling under something that heavy. The drive assembly on one side was destroyed by a AP hit which put the tank out and was captured.
     
  18. Thumpalumpacus

    Thumpalumpacus Active Member

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    I'm not a combat veteran, but I was a firefighter in the Air Force, and the thought of dying in a fire, while it occasionally occurred to me, was the furthest thing from my mind when we rolled up onto a burner. My attitude was give me a wet handline, and I will handle business.

    I don't doubt that that thinking occurred in many combat vets, outside the ones who hadn't been ground down by siege, retreat, or constant battle.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2021
  19. Prospero Quevedo

    Prospero Quevedo Well-Known Member

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    I thank you for your service guys like you save lots of lives, I'm sure when the Forestal caught fire the fire control team didn't think about damn I might get killed, no they ran in there and tried their best to save their ship terrible what happened all those men were hero's in my opinion. Stupid thing the navy had reports and were trying to decide how to handle it. Like how hard to add a diffuser. Then after all that nothing really done and an almost identical repeat on the big E.
     
  20. Thumpalumpacus

    Thumpalumpacus Active Member

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    Yours thanks are appreciated, we did our best and got good work done. It did give me a little bit of insight into what it means to put one's ass on the line. My own experience is just that when SHTF I had no time to worry about "what if?", we just fell back onto our training, equipment, and esprit.

    Shipboard firefighting is an entirely different thing and I would not in any way compare my service with theirs. If we couldn't save a building or airplane, we could retreat. If you cannot save a ship, you're swimming ... or drowning. I've got nothing but respect for naval firefighters, it's the worst end of a s**t sandwich.
     
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