WWI Tanks in WWII

I was trying to emphasis that it was unlikely to be used as a tank or strongpoint. obviously it got whacked about, but that would be inevitable during the battle, a case of "knocking on the door to see if anyone was in". the track damage was probably done during Post War movement.

When I said shelter I meant for fire watchers/ARP/Police and Firemen who would need to be out during a raid,- it would make a good storage and rest unit rather than a proper air raid shelters to put grand mother in. I thought with it facing the Catherdral it might have been placed there for this or similar purpose.

An old Station Officer (Police Watch Commander) once told me that it was not uncommon for foot patrol officers to sit out an air-raid in the Police Phone Box (the Dr Who Tardis thing) although some places had Steel boxes like an over grown British postal box.

 

If you look at the pic in post #116 it looks like the tank is pointing one way and in post#117 it is pointing in a different direction. Also the positioning of the track is different.

 

Looking all 3 photos, the first in #116 shows it shortly after surrender and it seems to be intact, there is no damage to the right side as in photo #213.

Photo #117 and #213 show the tank after it had been moved toward the road on the left side of photo #116. (Unless there were 2 MkV in the area which is unlikely).

The loss of tracks is probably due to it being moved, the hull damage which is very bad including the loss of the whole glacis, lower front plate and destroyed lower right side.

There are 2 possiblites for this type of damage -training for example use of Panzerfausts (unlikely) or the result of some form of demolition or fire, it is not uncommon for ordnance clearance squads to burn explosives,cordite etc in a hull of a convenient wreck, -I remember an EOD section doing this in a range wreck Matilda 2 near London when clearing a redundant training area.

The gun in #117 and #213 is a puzzle it doesn't seem to be in #116 although there is a trailer from what looks like a 76/85mm FlakM31(r) in the foreground. By the looks of the gun it could be a 10cm K04 of WW1 vintage.

My speculation that it had been used as a shelter, was to emphasis that the tank had not been used as such , or I am sure within days some computer wargamer will have troops of the things battling it out with T34s. We both know that partically anything discussed in this group is uploaded onto google.

 

NOOOOOO!!!!!! LOL. You may be right about that. Another "What If?" LOL .

 

You're being sarcastic again

 

Who Me??? LOL

 

With the amount of obsolete weapons and vehicles used it was desperation.

 

Canadian FT-17s

 

Once again the cramped quarters for the crew can clearly be seen on the photos.

 

Note the turret hatch doors removed but the drivers visor is still in place, for driver training it would have been better to remove this to stop it dropping down into the face of the driver. Rare to see 6 tonners actually running in Canada.

 

I can't imaging the visor plate slamming down on your face lol.

 

seriously looking at the photo the old guy in the turret of the first tank could be Bgd Worthington, any caption on the photo?

 

Ive heard of incidents that a 1920s T-35 was used against the Germans by the USSR. An unfortunate situation it was.

T-35 Heavy Tank
1 60mm mortar
2 45mm cannons
3 2 MGs

Very slow, very weak, were captured by Germans in a warehouse near Leningrad.

 

Sorry the only info on it was that they were used for training at Camp Borden in Canada.

 

Sorry the T-35 was developed by the OKMO design bureau of the Bolshevik Factory, which began work on a heavy tank in 1930. It was not a WWI nor WWI designed tank.

 

It does look like him though.





"In 1940, the Canadian Armoured Corps was formally established (the Royal prefix was granted in 1945). As its first senior officer, Colonel Worthington bought 265 US-built Renault tanks of First World War vintage to use in training. Because U.S. neutrality laws prohibited the sale of weapons to Canada, these antiques were bought for $120 each as scrap metal from the Rock Island Arsenal by the "Camp Borden Iron Foundry". During the Second World War Worthington organized the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade (later the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, an independent formation) and then converted the 4th Canadian Infantry Division to an armoured division in only five months. The division served overseas under the designation 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division and included the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade and the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Worthington commanded the division in Europe, though not in action. In 1944 he returned to Canada to administer Camp Borden, where replacements were trained for the Canadian Armoured Corps and Infantry, as well as the Royal Army Service Corps and the Canadian Provost Corps.
After the war, he became the first Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps"

F. F. Worthington - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Canada Rallies Her Cat Men

 

I thought the "RYPA" in the above article very interesting.

 

Quick reponse this one is a Post War unit for training Centurion crews
View attachment 5541
There was a near complete RYPA found stuffed into a hedge in east Yorkshire U.K. about 10years ago close to a wartime tank training school. I see if I can find a photo of it.
View attachment 5542
This is a Sherman crew trainer of U.S. origin whether it had the tilting mechanism of the British RYPA I don't know-probably did.

Steve