Category: bovington tank museum

Whippet Medium Tank

While the heavy tanks were designed for direct attacks against enemy trenches the Tank Corps also wanted a lighter, faster tank to work with the cavalry over open country. Designed by Sir William Tritton and built by Fosters of Lincoln the Medium A, or Whippet, was the only such tank to see service with the Tank Corps, starting in 1918. Though originally envisioned with a rotating turret, the production model had an armoured housing for three to four 303 Hotchkiss machine guns, which could be relocated between four gun ports. Approved in June 1917, roughly 200 vehicles were produced starting in October 1917. This was the only type of medium tank to see action in World War I.

These Whippet Medium Tanks were on display at Bovington Tank Museum and the Musée royal de l’armée et de l’histoire militaire or Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.

The Whippet was a difficult tank to drive; it had two engines, two clutches and two gearboxes but it was fast, by 1918 standards and very manoeuvrable in skilled hands. Even so experience soon showed that it was incapable of working with the cavalry and, in truth, should have been seen as an alternative. The Whippet was powered by a pair of Tylor four-cylinder engines, the same type that would be found in London buses of that period.

I do think that this tank would make for a great base for vehicles for an alternative Great War. It could be converted into a turreted tank, or a self propelled gun. One other idea is to use the tanks for A Very British Civil War background, those in storage are taken out of retirement and used by both sides.

Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917

The Renault FT-17 was for its time a real innovation in tank design. These surviving tanks were at Bovington Tank Museum and the Musée royal de l’armée et de l’histoire militaire or Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels.

The Renault FT or Automitrailleuse à chenilles Renault FT modèle 1917, inexactly known as the FT-17 or FT17, was a French light tank; it is among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first operational tank with an armament in a fully rotating turret, and its configuration with the turret on top, engine in the back and the driver in front became the conventional one, repeated in most tanks until today; at the time it was a revolutionary innovation. Copies and derivative designs were manufactured in the United States (M1917 light tank), in Italy (Fiat 3000), and in the Soviet Union (T-18 tank).

France still had several thousand First World War Renault FT tanks in 1940. Over 500 of them were still in service in independent bataillons de chars de combat (BCC) tank battalions in the front lines. Although adequate for infantry support, they were totally outclassed by German tanks in a mobile battle. Unlike the French Army, the Belgian Army had withdrawn all FT tanks from front line service before World War II.

It is one of my favourite tanks, I have always had a fondness for this little tank, probably as a result of making that Matchbox plastic kit of the Renaultand the Char B1 when I was young.

As I am creating an Early War French army I got some of these little tanks for Flames of War.

15mm Second English Civil War

A few decades back I wrote an article about a modern era English Civil War that was published in Issue #43 of Wargames Illustrated in April 1991.

” … its six o’clock, on Tuesday the 27th October 1998. This is the Royal Somerset Broadcasting Service, and now the news from Wessex and around the world. The headlines: Scotland has seceded from the British Republic, fighting has broken out along the border. Royalist army and volunteer militia units have pushed back across the border an armed incursion by Democratic Guards into south-west Dorset last night. Bristol Docks were once again the target of bombing over the night, but damage has been minimal. The United States has once again confirmed its commitment to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Wessex and Duchy of Cornwall.”

The main inspiration for the background was the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and wondering if a similar scenario could play out in a disunited broken Great Britain. It was also an opportunity to bring in modern armoured trains as well.

After a visit to The Tank Museum I posted a photograph of the Alvis Saracen.

I also wrote: As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

So when I saw Battlefront were releasing a 15mm FV603 Saracen for Team Yankee, I thought it was time to reboot my Second English Civil War and start painting some models for it.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

Along with the Saracen release, Battlefront also released the Saladin armoured car.

I also posted some photographs of the Saladin Armoured Car from The Tank Museum and said of possible Wessex scenarios: You can easily imagine how these armoured cars would have been used for reconnaissance, keeping down unrest, and defending key installations against attack.

So I have ordered one pack of each.

I already have some Scorpion light tanks and along with some recently ordered Militia Pickup Trucks as well, I have the first makings of a 15mm army of Wessex. I have noted that Hornby have started a TT120 range of 1/120th scale trains, which would sit well within Wessex. Some ideas to work on there now.

Alvis Saracen

Outside the Bovington Tank Museum is an Alvis Saracen.

The FV603 Saracen is a six-wheeled armoured personnel carrier built by Alvis and used by the British Army.

It became a recognisable vehicle as a result of its part in the policing of Northern Ireland as well as for its role in enforcing apartheid in South Africa. 

As part of the Second English Civil War, you can imagine the use of the FV603 Saracen to patrol urban areas and to suppress armed resistance.

88mm PaK 43/41

88mm PaK 43/41

The German 88mm gun is perhaps the most infamous weapon of World War II. Initially designed for anti-aircraft defence, its devastating effectiveness against tanks, first showcased in the Spanish Civil War, earned it a fearsome reputation. Despite its potency, the original 88 was bulky and difficult to manoeuvre.

Recognising the 88’s potential, the Germans developed a two-piece barrel version in 1943. This design was intended for both tanks and anti-tank roles, using the same ammunition. 

The Pak 43 was a German 8.8 cm anti-tank gun developed by Krupp and used during World War II. The Pak 43 was the most powerful anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht to see service in significant numbers.

It appeared as the PaK43/41 on a mobile carriage and the KwK43 within the Tiger II tank. However, production delays for the anti-tank version necessitated a rushed, simplified model mounted on a cumbersome, two-wheeled carriage.

This 88mm PaK 43/41 which was captured by the British stood outside the School of Infantry in Warminster for decades. In 1996 it was donated to the Tank Museum. The decision was made to restore the weapon. Back then, the Tank Museum did not restore its exhibits, it would conserve them. So this was quite a change. The restoration was started in 2008 and was finished four years later in 2012.

Cromwell IV

This Cromwell IV tank was on display at the Tank Museum.

The Cromwell tank, named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was the first tank in the British arsenal to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed from the powerful and reliable Meteor engine, and reasonable armour, all in one balanced package. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank. The Cromwell first saw action in June 1944, with the reconnaissance regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps.

The Cromwell tank was one of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War.  Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank. However by the time the Cromwell first saw action in Normandy in many ways it was already out of date.

Overall the Cromwell was a welcome addition to the British forces, but as with many allied tanks, they were under armoured and under-gunned when faced with the German tanks of the same time period. Where the allies won out was in sheer numbers and probably more importantly logistics.

I am the process of painting some Cromwells for Flames of War.

Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car Mark IV

This Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car Mark IV was on display at Bovington.

The Marmon–Herrington armoured car was a series of armoured vehicles that were produced in South Africa and adopted by the British Army during World War II. 

The Mark IV was a completely redesigned vehicle, though still based on the same engine and Marmon–Herrington components. It was a monocoque with rear-mounted engine and a turret-mounted 2-pounder with a coaxial .30 in Browning machine gun as the standard armament. 

Further versions were designed but never got beyond the prototype stage. By that time (late 1943), the North African Campaign had ended, the mountainous geography of the Italian campaign did not suit armoured cars, and the British and Commonwealth armies were receiving enough armoured cars from other sources.

Kettenkrad

This Kettenkrad is on display at the Bovington Tank Museum.

The Kettenkrad SdKfz 2 started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. The vehicle was designed to be delivered by Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, though not by parachute.

The vehicle had the advantage of being the only gun tractor small enough to fit inside the hold of the Ju 52, and was the lightest mass-produced German military vehicle to use the complex Schachtellaufwerk overlapped and interleaved road wheels used on almost all German military half-tracked vehicles of World War II.

 

Panzer III

This Panzer III was on display at Bovington.

The Panzerkampfwagen III, commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support similar Panzer IV which was originally designed for infantry support.

However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, more powerful anti-tank guns were needed, and since the Panzer IV had more development potential with a larger turret ring, it was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun.

The Panzer III effectively swapped roles with the Panzer IV, as from 1942 the last version of Panzer III mounted the 7.5 cm KwK 37 L/24 that was better suited for infantry support.

Production of the Panzer III ceased in 1943. Nevertheless, the Panzer III’s capable chassis provided hulls for the Sturmgeschütz III assault gun until the end of the war.

Tiger 131

The Tiger was feared so much by the Allies, that most German tanks were referred to as Tiger tanks.

Tiger 131 is the world’s only running Tiger I tank. It was captured on 24th April 1943 on Point 174 on the way between Medjez el Bab and Montarnaud in Tunisia, by 142nd Battalion RAC and 2nd Sherwood Foresters.

Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank used in World War II, developed in 1942. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of Operation Barbarossa, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1.

The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank mounting the 88 mm gun, which had previously demonstrated its effectiveness against both air and ground targets. During the course of the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts. It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be quite formidable.