bovington tank museum Archives - Felix's Gaming Pages

Centaur Dozer

The Royal Engineers and their Canadian counterparts had used armoured bulldozers, ordinary commercial machines covered in armour plate, since D-Day. These did a satisfactory job but were too slow and vulnerable to work with tanks. Thus it was agreed to convert some redundant Centaur Cruiser tanks into armoured bulldozers since they would be able to keep up with tanks during an advance.

The Centaur was an alternative to the Cromwell with similar characteristics but a different engine – a Nuffield Liberty V12 instead of a Rolls-Royce Meteor. The conversion was carried out by the MG Car Company of Abingdon. It involved removing the turret, installing a winch in the fighting compartment, and plating over the turret aperture. An armoured lookout was created for the tank commander, alongside the driver and the bulldozer blade was fitted to a frame attached to the sides of the tank. The blade was raised and lowered by the winch via a small tripod jib.

Centaur Dozers entered service in the last months of the war. They were operated by 87th Assault Dozer Squadron in 6th Assault Regiment, Royal Engineers as part of 79th Armoured Division. They were employed to clear paths for tanks through the rubble of bombed German cities. They were later used by British forces during the Korean War and the Suez Crisis of 1956.

This Dozer at the Tank Museum was converted from a Mark IV, one of 80 Centaurs fitted with the 95mm Close Support Howitzer. It served with the Army until 7th August 1963.

T34-85

The T-34, was a Soviet medium tank, which had a profound and lasting effect on the field of tank design. At its introduction in 1940, the T-34 possessed an unprecedented combination of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness.

After an unsuccessful attempt to develop a new, better armoured and armed tank, the T-43, Soviet command made the decision to retool the factories to produce an improved version of the T-34.

Its turret ring was enlarged allowing a larger turret to be fitted and thus the larger 85 mm gun. This tank was called the T-34-85.

This T-34-85 was on display at The Tank Museum at Bovington.

Sherman Crab

The iconic image of D-Day often features landing craft disgorging infantry and the thundering advance of tanks. Yet, less celebrated but equally important, were the specialised vehicles that paved the way for this advance. Among these was the Sherman Crab, a modified M4 Sherman tank designed for a singular, brutal purpose: detonating landmines.

This Sherman Crab was on display at The Tank Museum at Bovington.

The brainchild of a South African officer and developed by the British, the Sherman Crab was a testament to battlefield pragmatism. Its most recognisable feature was the rotating drum mounted on its front, equipped with heavy chains. As the tank lumbered forward, the drum whipped the chains against the ground, detonating any buried mines in its path. This unglamorous but essential task reduced the threat of mines crippling the Allied assault.

The Sherman Crab wasn’t without its limitations. Its flailing mechanism was slow, limiting its speed to a walking pace. Additionally, the flailing process created a massive dust cloud, obscuring the battlefield for both sides. Unlike earlier flail tanks, the Crab’s genius lay in its power source. It didn’t rely on a separate engine, but cleverly drew power from the tank’s own powerful drivetrain, making it more efficient and reliable. While vulnerable when flailing, the Crab retained its main gun, offering some defensive capability. Though the gun was reversed when flailing reducing the capacity to fight back if attacked.

Despite these drawbacks, the Sherman Crab proved its worth on D-Day. The D-Day landings in Normandy on June 6th, 1944, were a defining moment of the war. Allied forces faced heavily fortified German defenses, including extensive minefields protecting the beaches. This is where the Sherman Crab came into its own. Several Crab flail tanks were among the first vehicles to land on the Normandy beaches. Their job was critical: to clear a path for the following infantry and armored units. Despite their slow speed (around 1.25 miles per hour while flailing), the Crabs effectively detonated mines, creating a safer passage for the main assault. Clearing pre-laid minefields was crucial for establishing beachheads and allowing follow-on forces to move inland. The Crab’s effectiveness helped pave the way for the bloody but ultimately successful Allied landings in Normandy.

The Sherman Crab proved to be a valuable asset for the Allies, particularly in Western Europe. While overshadowed by the more famous Sherman tanks in battles, the Crab played a crucial, if unglamorous, role in clearing the path to victory. Its design influenced future mine-clearing vehicles, showcasing the ingenuity employed to overcome the challenges of modern warfare.

M4A1 Sherman Tank

The first standard-production 76 mm gun-armed Sherman was an M4A1, accepted in January 1944, which first saw combat in July 1944 during Operation Cobra.

The 76mm-armed Sherman began to enter British and South African service around the time of the Gothic Line battles. This was because versions armed with the original 75mm gun were in short supply. In Italy, both types were used more against German fortifications than tanks.

The Gothic Line was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed the Germans’ last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains during the fighting retreat of the German forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy,

The new 76mm gun made the Sherman more capable against enemy tanks than the 75mm it replaced, although not by as much as had been hoped. In contrast, its High Explosive shell was actually less powerful, and in Italy this saw much more use. Both types were used by all Allied nations until the end of the war, and 76mm Shermans continued in service around the world into the 1960s.

This M4A1 Sherman Tank was on display at The Tank Museum. It was one of 3,426 Sherman IlAs built by the Pressed Steel Car company in Chicago during 1944 and early 1945. It has modifications suggesting it was upgraded under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program during the 1950s, which supplied Shermans to European nations. It came to The Tank Museum in 1989.

Churchill IV

The Tank, Infantry, Mk IV (A22) Churchill was a British infantry tank used in the Second World War, best known for its heavy armour, large longitudinal chassis with all-around tracks with multiple bogies, its ability to climb steep slopes, and its use as the basis of many specialist vehicles. It was one of the heaviest Allied tanks of the war.

The IV, the most numerous Churchill produced, was virtually identical to the III, the largest change being a return to the cheaper cast turret, keeping the welded turret’s “clean” squarish shape. A tank telephone was fitted to the rear of the tank for communication with infantry.

This Churchill IV was on display at The Tank Museum.

This Churchill has serial number T31579. It was originally built in 1941 as a Mark I or Mark II, then converted to a Mark IV. Its wartime service is unknown, but afterwards it was converted into a ‘Twin ARK’ bridging vehicle.

It was restored back to its wartime configuration by The Churchill Trust and loaned to The Tank Museum in 2018.

It is painted in the markings of 3 Troop, A Squadron of the North Irish Horse.

AEC Armoured Car Mark II

This AEC Armoured Car Mark II was on display at The Tank Museum, it is armed with a 6 pounder gun. AEC Armoured Car is the name of a series of British heavy armoured cars built by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC) during the Second World War.

AEC tried to build an armoured car with fire power and protection comparable to those of contemporary British cruiser tanks. The first version used the turret of a Valentine Mk II infantry tank complete with the 2 pounder gun. Subsequent versions received a 6 pounder or a 75 mm gun in a custom-built turret.

The AEC came about following British experience in the Western Desert against Italian armoured cars. British armoured cars were only armed with light and heavy machine guns and the army was fitting captured Italian and German 20mm or larger autocannon to have enough firepower when meeting enemy reconnaissance vehicles.

The Mk I was first used in combat in the North African Campaign late in 1942, where a few vehicles were reportedly fitted with a Crusader tank turret mounting a 6 pounder gun. The Mk II and Mk III took part in the fighting in Europe with British and British Indian Army units, often together with the American-supplied Staghound armoured car.

StuG III at the Tank Museum

When I visited Bovington last year they had a StuG III on display.

It had been on display at The Imperial War Museum Duxford, but was returned to the Tank Museum at Bovington in December 2019.

Here David Willey discusses the Sturmgeschütz III Self-Propelled Assault Gun, better known as the StuG III, Germany’s most numerously produced fully tracked Armoured Fighting Vehicle of the Second World War.

This was a late model StuG III supplied to Finnish forces. Has Saukopf gun mantlet introduced February 1944. It is the only vehicle left carrying original ‘waffle pattern’ zimmerit.

The final and by far the most common of the StuG series. The Ausf. G used the hull of the Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. M. Upper superstructure was widened: welded boxes on either sides were abandoned. This new superstructure design increased its height to 2160mm. Backside wall of the fighting compartment got straightened, and ventilation fan on top of the superstructure was relocated to the back of fighting compartment. From March 1943, driver’s periscope was abandoned. From May 1943, side hull skirts (schurzen) were fitted to G models for added armor protection particularly against anti-tank rifles. Side skirts were retro-fitted to some Ausf. F/8 models, as they were be fitted to all front line StuGs and other tanks by June 1943 in preparation for the battle of Kursk. Mountings for side skirts proved inadequate, many were lost in the field. From March 1944, improved mounting was introduced, as a result side skirts are seen more often with late model Ausf G.

Here is the link to the StuG III Miniatures Gallery. I also have a workbench feature on the Flames of War StuG III Assault Guns.

Light Tank M5A1 Stuart Mark VI

The M3 Stuart, officially Light Tank, M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version entered service as M5. It was supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. into the war.

Thereafter, it was used by U.S. and Allied forces until the end of the war.

This Light Tank M5A1 Stuart Mark VI is at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

Another photograph of the Light Tank M5A1 Stuart Mark VI from an earlier visit to Bovington.

M9A1 Armoured Half-track

This M9A1 armoured half-track was on display at Bovington.

The M9 half-track was a half-track produced by International Harvester in the United States during World War II for lend-lease supply to the Allies. It was designed to provide a similar vehicle to the M2 half-track car.

It had the same body and chassis as the M5 half-track but had the same stowage and radio fit as the M2 half-track. 3500 were produced by the end of World War II.

The M9A1 variant of the M9 matched the improvements made to the M2, M3, and M5, changing to ring mount machine gun mount and three pintle machine gun mounts.

Morris Light Reconnaissance Car

Morris Light Reconnaissance Car (LRC) was a British light armoured car for reconnaissance use produced by Morris Motors Limited and used by the British during the Second World War.

This Morris Light Reconnaissance Car was on display at Bovington Tank Museum.

The vehicle was used in the North African, Italian and in North-West Europe campaigns. Some served with the RAF Regiment, others were given to Polish units.

Over two thousand were built.