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With apologies for the crappy scanning quality.

Who can tell what these vehicles are? Extra grog award for being able to tell who did come up with the concoctions. Übergrog award if you can name the unit the vehicles in the second and third picture served with.

what.jpg

what1.jpg

what2.jpg

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Schnellen Brigade West perhaps?

Or is it 15. Batterie Artillerie Regimente 227?

The vehicles are.. ehhh..

10,5 cm leFH auf Geschützwagen Mk VI (e), Kenn-Nummer 736 (e) early and later model. Followed by a Beobachtungspanzer based on the same leichter Panzerkampfwagen Mk VI.

M.

[ June 10, 2002, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: Mattias ]

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The bottom two are both part of the late 1942 GeFingerPoken, also known as GFPK.

The middle one is the earlier one, the GFPK-6z1q, with two elastic-powered catapults and a drive powered by rabid hamsters. It was found that the class J9-sprockets which connected the third and fourth sets of powered wheels on either side wore away with sustained use, reducing hamster efficiency (hereafter classified in terms of RP% (rodentia power %) by a factor of two.

The J9-sprockets were replaced by 1943. However, I think this important factor should be modelled in, along with zephyrs and gusts blowing leaves into the path of incoming shells, thus knocking their trajectory out by .001 of a degree across 91 miles.

The definitive version of the GeFingerPoken is the bottom one. The picture clearly demonstrates the colossal scale of the 122mm FDM (FizzerDrinkenMixer). Note that this late 1943 model has J-11 sprockets on the fourth set of power wheel, but only J-9s on the third set. This I attribute to an in-field repair of some kind.

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Originally posted by Soddball:

Note that this late 1943 model has J-11 sprockets on the fourth set of power wheel, but only J-9s on the third set. This I attribute to an in-field repair of some kind.

This was an especially nice touch. Good eye. ;)

Scott

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Not bad, but you maybe thinking of the wrong vehicle and gun. Or there is something I don't know about the Schnelle Brigade West. In any fact the vehicles pictured in two and three are definitely not in it.

lorraine.jpg

This was was not either, but is identical to those who were.

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Originally posted by Mattias:

Schnellen Brigade West perhaps?

Or is it 15. Batterie Artillerie Regimente 227?

The vehicles are.. ehhh..

10,5 cm leFH auf Geschützwagen Mk VI (e), Kenn-Nummer 736 (e) early and later model. Followed by a Beobachtungspanzer based on the same leichter Panzerkampfwagen Mk VI.

M.

Tut tut, edited while I wrote the first response.

Übergrog award goes to you, mate.

Do you by any chance own Fleischer/Eiermann's book too? ;)

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Were these part of Assault Gun Battalion 200? I know that Becker arranged for the conversion of a number of French tank chassis to accept German 75s and 105s, but I was unaware of the conversion of any British tanks (presumably captured after the evacuation of the BEF in 1940).

All these vehicles look like they would have terrible ground pressure, high centers of gravity, and be barely capable of absorbing the recoil of the main armament being fired.

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They were all converted by Hauptmann Alfred Becker's lot. The top picture shows a 10,5cm lFH 16 (Sfl.) on the chassis of the Pzkpfw. Mk. VI 736 (e). This is a special vehicle, from 1940.

The second picture shows one of the four armoured observation vehicles on the Mk VI 736 (e) chassis, part of 15. (Sturmgeschuetz) Batterie, 227. Artillerieregiment, 227. Infanteriedivision, created 29. Mai 1941. This battery had 12 10,5cm lFH 16 on the chassis of the Mk VI 736 (e). In October 1941 it became III. Abteilung/Artillerieregiment (mot.) 140 of the new 22. PD. The version shown in the bottom picture is a batch production version.

The picture in the other post shows a 15cm sFH 13/1 on gun carriage Lorraine Tug (f) (Sdkfz.135/1), captured by the British in North Africa. These were converted in 1941/2. 30 were sent to the Afrikakorps (23 arrived).

All information and the pictures from the excellent Book 'Die motorisierte und Panzerartillerie des deutschen Heeres 1939-45' by Wolfgang Fleischer and Richard Eiermann, published by Podzun-Pallas, 2001. ISBN: 3-7909-0721-9

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Originally posted by redeker:

[snips]

All these vehicles look like they would have terrible ground pressure, high centers of gravity, and be barely capable of absorbing the recoil of the main armament being fired.

Certainly they do. Now you know why the British Army fights all its battles in the pouring rain on the side of a hill where two maps meet. The pouring rain will soften the ground and make these vehicles bog down; and if they don't, their high C of G and inability to absorb recoil forces means they will topple gracelessly off the slope of the hill and lie stupidly on their sides.

A great British tradition is explained at last as a coherent counter-Gefingerpoken tactic (or "Gefingerpokenabwehrtaktik", as the Germans would almost certainly say).

Of course this doesn't explain the bit about two maps meeting. I expect that's just Sod's Law.

All the best,

John.

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Originally posted by Andreas:

John, stop making up excuses for the stupidity of your erstwhile bosses, and answer the question of whether you will be gracing us with your presence on Thursday.

Ja, gerne, I assume it will be the usual place and the usual time?

I imagine from the above that you have sent me e-mail recently. The reason I haven't replied is that British Telecom hasn't let me have it yet. Whoever it was who was asking about British broadband services not so long ago might care to note that BTOpenWorld screwed up its news server a couple of weeks ago and has still not fixed it, screwed up its e-mail service in the middle of last week and has still not fixed it, and has only just this evening let me use my browser again. The service really is carp (anag.)

I expect I have about 6 e-mails from Brian demanding to knwo where his PBEM turn is... :(

Originally posted by Andreas:

[QB]

I found out that the cute barmaid is Italian.

Sapristi!

All the best,

John.

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Andreas, as fascinating as it is to discuss the relative merits of the San Marco Marines, Ariete Division, and the Afrika Korps, we do place faith in you not to try and impress the bar wench with such a discussion.

If however you do and she finds it fascinating, find out if she has relatives in Canada.

Congrats on the good German scanner. Will look over the photos you sent today in detail. My grandfathers were not prime service specimens. Lucky for them, not so lucky for me.

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Michael, contrary to how it may appear here, I can make decent conversation about other topics, if properly incentivised ;)

John, BT has been trying the same with me, but I have Homechoice. So I just call them and tell them to sort out BT. Works wonders. Engineer showing in a day and that kind of stuff.

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