rune Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 In the beta thread, we were discussing our infamour trip to Ft. Knox. Basically the young lady in the photo now graduated high school, and my two boys, one a senior in college and the other getting ready to deploy to afganistan with his National Guard Unit. Artillery suffered gun hit. Sherman had a bad day. Group Photo T28 Front 88mm flak Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 King Tiger Interior T28 Rear T28 Front again 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Panther II: Hetzer: ???: Churchill Croc: Againx2: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 ???: Looks like some variety of Churchill to me. What were you drinking that day? There seem to be a lot of bubbles about. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 Dust, it was a closed off section we had special permission to go see. Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I think they stole Fizzy Lifting Drinks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixxkiller Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Thats really awesome. The times I was at ft Knox I didnt have time to go have a look see. Hopefully next summer I can talk the other half to take a tour. She has stated thankfully she wants to run the Darby Queen and Nasty Nick so maybe I can get her to take a trip to a few bases that doesnt involve me running my expanding waistline through the mud. Also she thinks she can beat me and she may be right lol! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosseau Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Been to Aberdeen, but they don't have a T-28 there. What a machine! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyD Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I've got an article somewhere about that T28 being entirely lost and someone stumbling on the rusting hulk out in an overgrown wood lot in the 1970s. It took a herculean effort to get the beast out of the woods and refurbished. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLeftFlank Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 So did you meet the big Japanese dude with the bowler hat? And was Pussy Galore all that? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpie_Oz Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 So did you meet the big Japanese dude with the bowler hat? And was Pussy Galore all that? Odd Job is whom you are thinking of. Was it Pussy Galore or Alotta Fagina ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Fun fact... that warehouse is located on the old section of Ft. Knox that is kept in mothballs since WW2. A little movie called Stripes was filmed there. THAT was fun to see. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequoia Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 So when you add the Maus in the Battle of the Bulge family Battlepack we're going to get the T-28 too right? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Nice. I wish I could find my hundreds of slides of APG in the 1970's. Everything was in the open so it would be a pretty traumatic experience for the AFV buffs here...rust, rust and more rust. They'd had a nice selection under cover for many years but in the post-Viet Nam budget cuts they had to close the building and shove everything outdoors...or so I was told at the time. Also had some photos of OPFOR Soviet armor, which the GI's working on were not too happy to have me photograph at the time. Nothing special, BMP's, BTR's, PT-76, mostly Israeli captures but back then a big deal and not widely known to civilians. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailApe Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Rune the other getting ready to deploy to afganistan with his National Guard Unit Good luck to you young ‘un. Tell him to keep his weapon clean, his bowels working and his head down. Oh – and to be nice to all sergeants, especially those in charge of kit allocation. Good idea to be nice to the cooks too, they (in my estimation) should be high on the list of ‘people who are good to know’ for any squaddie. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 TrailApe, I'll pass on the message, he belongs to a Horizontal Engineering Company [i never knew they got that specific], and he has double duty as an engineer and basically the armourer. Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 ...Horizontal Engineering Company... Sounds like he should be getting plenty of rack time. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rune Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 No comment on the Panther II, the only known one is existance? Surprising... Rune 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Rune: Maybe there is not much reaction because at first glance it does not look like the final Panther II many grogs are familiar with. The museum specimen is an incomplete, hybrid Panther II - it has the hull of the Panther II but with the regular Panther I turret. The Panther II turret was an entirely new design reminiscent of the Tiger II"s turret, with the small circular mantlet. What was most obvious about the Panther II as planned for production was the turret and this specimen does not have it. Yes, it is the only preserved specimen but unfortunately it is easy to pass by unless you really know what to look for. Best links I could find find on short notice: http://preservedtanks.com/Types.aspx?TypeCategoryId=160&Select=2 Soon after the Panther and Tiger tanks entered production a new generation of tanks was planned. The new designs were to incorporate lessons learned from the existing ones and to put a high priority on simplified production, reduced maintenance and use of materials, and particularly on the standardisation of components. In February 1943 MAN and Henschel were commissioned by Waffenprüfamt 6 to produce improved designs for the Panther and Tiger. These were to be known as Panther II and Tiger II and were to share as many components as possible. The Panther II consisted of a new design of turret, known as the Schmalturm, on a modified Panther Ausf G chassis. The most significant change to the chassis was the adoption of the same form of suspension as the Tiger II. The standard Panther twin torsion bar system was replaced with larger single bar assemblies. These were in the same sequence as in the Tiger II, but at wider intervals, and carried the same overlapping resilient steel roadwheels in place of the interleaved rubber-tyred ones of the standard Panther Ausf G. Also fitted were new 18-tooth sprockets and idler wheels which were similar to those of the prototype Tiger IIs except that the idlers had eight spokes instead of six. Therefore, where the Panther Ausf G had six spoke sprockets and six spoke dished idlers, the Panther II had five spoke sprockets and eight spoke open idlers. The track used was the narrow Tiger II transport track, and therefore, unlike on the Tiger II, the track did not have to be changed for movement on railway flatcars. Because of its shorter length and lower weight, the Panther II was fitted with seven pairs of roadwheels each side, two fewer than the Tiger II. This compares with the eight roadwheel stations on the Panther Ausf G. The Panther Ausf F was to be fitted with resilient steel roadwheels but retained the original eight roadwheel stations and interleaved arrangement. A number of other changes were made to the chassis included the adoption of various mechanical parts identical to those in the Tiger II. The ball mount in the glacis plate was modified to take the MG 42 instead of the MG 34 and the hull top armour was increased in thickness from 12mm to 25mm. A cowl was fitted to the driver’s rotating periscope. The steering gear and final drive fitted was the L801 of the Tiger II, however in place of the normal friction clutch an electromagnetic clutch and brake parts were used. The Panther II was planned to be fitted with the standard Schürzen as carried on the Panther Ausf G, and also had the low fan cover on the engine deck as seen on many mid-production Ausf Gs. The Panzerturm Schmal or Schmalturm (Narrow Turret) was an attempt to improve the original Panther turret by reducing it in size and increasing its armour protection, while keeping within the same weight limit. It was developed as a separate project by Daimler-Benz and was very successful. While retaining the same ring diameter and weight limit of the original turret, it took 30 to 40 per cent less time to make and had 30 per cent more armour plate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runyan99 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Looks like a normal Panther to me. With a dull paint job too. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Looks like a normal Panther to me. With a dull paint job too. Look closely at the running gear and compare that to other panthers. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastables Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 Rune: Maybe there is not much reaction because at first glance it does not look like the final Panther II many grogs are familiar with. The museum specimen is an incomplete, hybrid Panther II - it has the hull of the Panther II but with the regular Panther I turret. The Panther II turret was an entirely new design reminiscent of the Tiger II"s turret, with the small circular mantlet. What was most obvious about the Panther II as planned for production was the turret and this specimen does not have it. Yes, it is the only preserved specimen but unfortunately it is easy to pass by unless you really know what to look for. Best links I could find find on short notice: http://preservedtanks.com/Types.aspx?TypeCategoryId=160&Select=2 The Panther II was a redesigned hull with 10cm of glacis armour as opposed to 8cm. If it had gone beyond testing it would have replaced the Panther I ausf D1 with a ausf D or A turret and later its own turret. The Panther I ausf G took the improvements made in the shelved Panther II design by incorporating the "single plate" side armour configuration. During the ausf G production continued intrest in production efficiency and thicker armour resulted in the small turret which would have gone on the ausf G hull resulting in the ausf F. You can see how the Panther II was a earlier design by looking at the assigned chassie numbers Panther II 021Gr50400 Panther G and F 021Gr51100 Panther A/D 021Gr48300 Panther II development was from 22 Jan 43- 5 Apr 43 Panther F Smalturm 20 Nov 44(turret number 021Gr71000) This is from Jentz research during the 90s (Jentz 1995 pg 7). Meetings began through 42/43 concerning the shifting panther II targets with initially production to be begun by Demag firm in Feb 43 then countermanded to January 44 when Krupp was to switch from Panther I production and Nibelungwerk was to switch from PIV. The final meeting held at M.A.N. by the Panzer commission shelved the design and requested that improvements in the Panther II be incorporated into the Panther I, which resulted in the ausf G 4th May 1943. Only two experimental Panther 2 were ordred and of these only one was ever completed, the one at Fort Knox. The Panther II turret was never actually designed other than mooted armour thicknesses without angles, the ausf F turret was a different design for mating to the Ausf G Chassie. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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