Michlos Posted October 2, 2000 Share Posted October 2, 2000 I got this picture yesterday and I was wondering what tank this is. It's taken in Normandy and features a tank that was in the D-day landing as far as i know. http://hem.passagen.se/combatmission/tank.jpg ------------------ < All gave some, some gave ALL> Owner of MiNa's CMBO Page http://www.combat-mission.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rune Posted October 2, 2000 Share Posted October 2, 2000 Picture is fuzzy, but it looks like a Churchill AVRE. Rune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oompa-Loompa Posted October 2, 2000 Share Posted October 2, 2000 I agree with Rune, seems like a Churchill to me too. ------------------ "Do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal" Dwight D. Eisenhower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted October 2, 2000 Share Posted October 2, 2000 Yeah, judging by the size of that barrel it's the AVRE. Big honking petard launcher... Innaccurate as hell but ideal for bunker busting. GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Clark Posted October 2, 2000 Share Posted October 2, 2000 OMG! This thread just reminded me that we have a TANK sitting next to the street downtown! I've been living here so long that it just became natural to me... NOW, I must go down and snap a picture of it for Identification!!! I'll post it once I get a chance to photograph it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michlos Posted October 2, 2000 Author Share Posted October 2, 2000 Thanx guys. I pretty much figured it was a british tank but i was uncertain due to the short gun. ------------------ < All gave some, some gave ALL> Owner of MiNa's CMBO Page http://www.combat-mission.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 I was reading in Ambrose's "D-Day" that a Canadian (I think) funny tank sunk into a shell crater as it moved off the beach. Two other funny tanks with bridge sections layed their bridges across the crater using the sunken tank as a piling. Engineers later reinforced the structure and it was used as a bridge until 1976 when the tank was lifted out and placed near the beach as a memorial. I haven't seen the memorial, but I would bet that this is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Commissar Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 That must be terrible for a tanker. Sinking into mud while in a steel coffin, waiting for the air to dissapear and the tank to fill with mud and water. ------------------ "...Every position, every meter of Soviet soil must be defended to the last drop of blood..." - Segment from Order 227 "Not a step back" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
109 Gustav Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 I think a lot of the Hobart's funnies tanks had short guns, or just a mortar to throw a large explosive charge, especially the bridge carrying ones. ------------------ Well my skiff's a twenty dollar boat, And I hope to God she stays afloat. But if somehow my skiff goes down, I'll freeze to death before I drown. And pray my body will be found, Alaska salmon fishing, boys, Alaska salmon fishing. -Commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 Commissar, from the description in the book, I think the tank was just immobilized in the soft sand of the crater; the crew probably got out okay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pvt. Ryan: I was reading in Ambrose's "D-Day" that a Canadian (I think) funny tank sunk into a shell crater as it moved off the beach. Two other funny tanks with bridge sections layed their bridges across the crater using the sunken tank as a piling. Engineers later reinforced the structure and it was used as a bridge until 1976 when the tank was lifted out and placed near the beach as a memorial. I haven't seen the memorial, but I would bet that this is it.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> If that's what Ambrose says, then (as usual) he's gotten the story wrong. There was an article in After the Battle on it at about the time it was raised. First of all, it wasn't a crater, but a small river, what we would call a creek in the States. The Germans had blown the bridge and the British were in a hurry to get across. So the tank was driven voluntarily into the river to support a (supposedly temporary) bridge structure. Thing is, they REs did such a good job of it, nobody thought of tearing it out and replacing it with a more conventional structure for over three decades. Oh, and while I wouldn't bet the farm on it, I think it was a British and not a Canadian RE unit. Ambrose spins some entertaining yarns, but I would be very careful to get a second source before I quoted him on anything. Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 Yes, it's an Avre. This picture was taken at Lion-sur-Mer (Sword Beach). This tank is exposed near the beach (100 meters)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkfrog_uk Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 what is the churchill AVRE about any way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 Referring to the book now, here is a summary of what is written: Telling the story of Capt. Cyril Hendry, commander of a group of Funnies On Juno Beach a flail tank reached a huge tank trap and turned aside to let a Sherman carrying a fascine (bundle of logs) move up and drop the fascine into the hole. Then the Sherman started to cross, only to slide down into a deeper hole, evidently caused by a naval shell. The combination tank trap and crater was 60 feet wide. The Captain moved forward with his bridge tank, which had a 30 foot reach. He used the sunken Sherman as a pier and another bridge tank dropped its bridge to reach the other side, also using the Sherman as a pier. Ambrose, in a footnote, explains that the sunken tank was a Churchill with the 26th Assault Engineer Squadron, Royal Engineers, under the command of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the tank was lifted out it was placed at a gap in the sand dunes just west of Courseulles as a memorial to all those from Britain and Canada who came to liberate France. I don't know how accurate Ambrose's footnote is, but the rest of the story is the 50 year old recollection of the Canadian Captain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claus B Posted October 3, 2000 Share Posted October 3, 2000 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pvt. Ryan: When the tank was lifted out it was placed at a gap in the sand dunes just west of Courseulles as a memorial to all those from Britain and Canada who came to liberate France. I don't know how accurate Ambrose's footnote is, but the rest of the story is the 50 year old recollection of the Canadian Captain.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> It is a different vehicle from the one in the picture. There are no less than three monuments with Chruchills AVREs in this area of Normandy. Claus B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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