bovington tank museum Archives - Page 6 of 20

RAM Kangaroo

The Tank, Cruiser, Ram was a cruiser tank designed and built by Canada in the Second World War, based on the U.S. M3 Medium tank chassis. Due to standardisation on the American Sherman tank for frontline units, it was used exclusively for training purposes and was never used in combat as a gun tank. The chassis was used for several other combat roles however, such as a flamethrower tank, observation post, and armoured personnel carrier.

The armoured personnel carrier version was known as the Ram Kangaroo.

I remember buying some of Heroics and Ros 1/300th scale Ram Kangaroos back in the 1980s for my Late War British army.

Valentine Archer

The Self Propelled 17pdr, Valentine, Mk I, Archer was a British tank destroyer of the Second World War based on the Valentine infantry tank chassis fitted with an Ordnance QF 17 pounder gun. Designed and manufactured by Vickers-Armstrongs, 655 were produced between March 1943 and May 1945. It was used in north-west Europe and Italy during the war; post-war, it served with the Egyptian Army.

This Valentine Archer was on display at Bovington.

This vehicle was unusual in that its gun faced the rear of the chassis instead of the front.

The Valentine chassis was soon chosen, as it was in production but obsolescent for British use and was also one of the few chassis that could accommodate the size of the Ordnance QF 17 pounder.

The Archer served with some units of the Royal Armoured Corps in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) in the early 1950s. This makes them a possible unit for scenarios based in the world of Turtledove’s Hot War alternate history. Reading the Hot War books from Harry Turtledove has inspired me to think about gaming some scenarios from the books. British Comets and Centurions versus Russians T34-85 and T54 Soviet tanks with American M26 Pershing and M48 Patton tanks. In the book there are also Sherman manned by (West) German forces.

M24 Chaffee

This M24 Chaffee was on display at The Tank Museum.

The Light Tank M24 was an American light tank used during World War II and in postwar conflicts including the Korean War and with the French in the First Indochina War and war in Algeria.

In British service it was given the service name Chaffee, after the United States Army General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr., who helped develop the use of tanks in the United States armed forces.

LVT-4 Buffalo Amtrac

This LVT-4 Buffalo Amtrac was at the Tank Museum at Bovington.

The Landing Vehicle Tracked (LVT) is an amphibious warfare vehicle and amphibious landing craft, introduced by the United States Navy. The Marine Corps and Army used several LVT models during World War II. Five hundred were provided to the British Army.

Originally intended solely as cargo carriers for ship to shore operations, they evolved into assault troop and fire support vehicles.

I have a Bolt Action LVT-4 Buffalo Amtrac on the workbench.

M29C Weasel

The M29 Weasel is a World War II tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. Built by Studebaker, Weasels were also used in sandy, muddy, and desert terrains, including towing loads over terrain wheeled vehicles could not negotiate as in the U.S. Marine invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Amphibious M29 Weasels of 4th Special Service Brigade were used by British commando troops in the Walcheren operation, supplementing LVT Buffalos. The 79th Armoured Division used also non-amphibious variant of the Weasel, modified for clearing anti-personnel devices. The Lovat Scouts used the amphibious Weasel during their time in Jasper, Alberta, where they were being trained in advanced winter and mountain warfare tactics, having already carried out the basic winter and mountain combat training in the Scottish Highlands and North Wales.

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.