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Range Wrecks


challenger

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Just in case you missed my article in Military Machines International here are some more of the Tortoise at Kirkcudbright. I reckon it is probably P6

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59321[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59322[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59323[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59324[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]59325[/ATTACH]

I worked at Kirkcudbright ranges they were firing pleated uranium shells on some of the targets used to get right bad sun burn on relay cold days there was three of us one lad lost his leg to cancer one lad past away from cancer and now there is me and my white blood cells are trying to kill me, just be careful out there;)
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The reasion that DEpleated uranium is to be avoided is not that it is radioactive (that is why it is called depleated - most of the radioactivity has gone) but that it is a 'heavy metal' like cadmium, mercury and lead and as such is very poisonous. The human body has no mechanism for removing these metals once they have been absorbed and bad things happen.

 

Gunrunner, very sorry to hear about you and your mates illnesses. When I used to get onto Kirkudbright scavenging tank parts (with full permissions) they would never let us near the DU targets so they were taking it seriously by then.

 

David

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The reasion that DEpleated uranium is to be avoided is not that it is radioactive (that is why it is called depleated - most of the radioactivity has gone) but that it is a 'heavy metal' like cadmium, mercury and lead and as such is very poisonous. The human body has no mechanism for removing these metals once they have been absorbed and bad things happen.

 

Gunrunner, very sorry to hear about you and your mates illnesses. When I used to get onto Kirkudbright scavenging tank parts (with full permissions) they would never let us near the DU targets so they were taking it seriously by then.

 

David

 

We never knew david about DU rounds they never told us and we found out through a local rag but by then it was to late removed heavy nato armour targets like they hand been sliced with a laser cutter and removing lots of guide wires and some hush hush stuff ;)

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Actually depleted uranium is still radioactive "The enrichment process reduces the radioactivity of depleted uranium to approximately half of that of natural uranium".

 

Apart from ammunition it is used for shielding isotopes because it is denser than lead or tungsten, obviously higher density is better for ammo also. In my job it is used to shield Iridium and Selenium sources, with the sources out the DU container still emits.

 

You have basically 2 types of radiation to be concerned about, radiation exposure and radiation contamination.

 

Exposure is the electromagnetic waves passing through your body like from an xray machine or isotope. Isotopes are split into Gamma, Beta, Neutron and Alpha. For exposure the larger ones are Gamma and Neutron as the pass through you at the speed of light and being large can juggle long chain molecules about i.e. DNA, sperm, white blood cells etc. The intensify of the exposure is 4 times higher if you halve the distance between you and it, so if it is in you hand the calculation gets interestingly high because even low intensities get rather high. Anyway lots of extra calculations are possible like whole body exposure or just hand etc.

 

The biggest problem with depleted uranium is contamination as we are talking about digestion or internal contamination. DU on impact creates dust and it also corrodes. If this dust is ingested the oxides emit Alpha particles. In normal air a piece of paper stops them but if ingested they create the most damage to cell structure. It is quite a complex problem but the paper attached discusses the magnitude of DU contamination.

toxics-02-00050.pdf

Edited by fesm_ndt
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Sorry, not me, I have never owned a pair of gloves that colour but have probably stood in that exact spot. The M44 is nothing like as good as it looks, we had quite a job to find anything worth unscrewing. It had been well smashed up and although not burned it was very rusty.

 

David H

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  • 1 month later...

More thoughts on my milant near side number got bent up when I crossed a small stream and drop it a large rock it was made a short wheel base to pull the radar units to the top of the cliffs and be able to move in a very confined space Bedford rl was not up for the job when being us for this armoured plate was put on the back for ballast because it was built for a special purpose it was kept in service late seventies I last drove it in 1977 it was bronze green to start with then along with centurion range hulls tanks with out turrets to carry targets all were painted yellow it only ever did range duty so was kept in good condition never towed a trailer except a water bowser to keep the dust down on the tank crossings the body was a one off special flat back flat straight rear wings which got bent a few times when I got it stuck the near side front wing got bent as well that was all that got bent roof was stood on a lot to put red flags on the poles around the range any more thoughts I will let you no

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[QUwOTE=volvoc303;486261]More thoughts on my milant near side number got bent up when I crossed a small stream and drop it a large rock it was made a short wheel base to pull the radar units to the top of the cliffs and be able to move in a very confined space Bedford rl was not up for the job when being us for this armoured plate was put on the back for ballast because it was built for a special purpose it was kept in service late seventies I last drove it in 1977 it was bronze green to start with then along with centurion range hulls tanks with out turrets to carry targets all were painted yellow it only ever did range duty so was kept in good condition never towed a trailer except a water bowser to keep the dust down on the tank crossings the body was a one off special flat back flat straight rear wings which got bent a few times when I got it stuck the near side front wing got bent as well that was all that got bent roof was stood on a lot to put red flags on the poles around the range any more thoughts I will let you no

 

That's brilliant mate amazing information ! Would love to see a picture of her ? Do you think you might have a picture ?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Back to the mid 1990's at Kirkudbright removing parts for the Tank Museum from an early Churchill. On the left is Neville Anderson, then the assistant curator, who is the son of General Kenneth Anderson, 1st Army Commander in Tunisia. On the right is the late Col John Gillman a good friend of a lot of tank restorers.

Scan0023.jpg

Edited by Bob Grundy
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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
A Chieftain sporting a crane that was used on the range at Kirkudbright driven by John Gillman. although I was taking the photo, due to it being a while ago, I cannot remember what we were moving.

 

Interesting to see this photo of the Cheiftain crane and then a Centurion version appears on Ebay - a bargain at 30K!!

 

Under the "Tracked Vehicle" grouping theres a thread on "cranes" which has the black and white photo (somewhat grainy) of the two tank cranes - cheiftain (the one posted above) and a centurion (the picture appears in the Simon Dunstan book and the more recent Haynes "manual")

 

The Ebay cent supposedly has a telescopic boom which mean it can't be a Rapier & Ransomes crane (see the black and white photo- the R&R boom is pretty distinctive and was used on their railway recovery cranes) or can it?

 

Ebay photo doesnt show enough of the boom - and there's only one photo..........

 

On a separate subject of Range Wrecks - there is an Episode of the BBC Coast programme which includes the Tain bombing range (looking at seals and not AFV's) that has a couple of Cheiftain ARRV's and at least one Cent briefly pictured (not sure if this is a recent episode given the number of repeats.....)

 

Thought I'd mention Tain as it never seems to get mentioned when it comes to wrecks or the favourite subject of Buried/Forgotten vehicles....

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I'd be interested to see some photos of Tain - I grew up in the late 1960s and early 1970s about 10 miles away (and had an endless stream of aeroplanes on the run in to Tain fly past our farm at low level) - we were 760 feet up so often looking down on them - fond memories of things like Sea Vixens, Harriers, Jaguars, Phantoms, Vulcans and Hunters going past a few hundred yards away ..

 

Iain

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I'd be interested to see some photos of Tain - I grew up in the late 1960s and early 1970s about 10 miles away (and had an endless stream of aeroplanes on the run in to Tain fly past our farm at low level) - we were 760 feet up so often looking down on them - fond memories of things like Sea Vixens, Harriers, Jaguars, Phantoms, Vulcans and Hunters going past a few hundred yards away ..

 

Iain

 

With the Lossiemouth based Tornado training squadron being disbanded its just Typhoons and the occasional F15 in the area now.... Tornado has been withdrawn from service as of the end of March..

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I left in 1987 so it seems a long time ago now - the Tornado was still new then.

 

My dad had a small farm on the hill above the Kyle line near Auchterneed - I think they used to follow the line down to Dingwall and continue a few miles down the Cromarty Firth before turning left for Tain. I remember being really excited seeing my first Harrier around 1971 or 1972

 

Regards

 

Iain

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A Chieftain sporting a crane that was used on the range at Kirkudbright driven by John Gillman. although I was taking the photo, due to it being a while ago, I cannot remember what we were moving.

 

 

The Mk4 Chieftain, only two ever made and they were built as a result of the requirements of the IDF; politics got in the way and the sale never happened. As far as is known one vehicle was scrapped and this one, 02 SP 97, was fitted with the crane. It was used at Kirk to move heavy lumps around etc. As I said this one was the only surviving Mk4 Chieftain; if anyone knows what became of it I and others would be very interested.

 

The following images are from when it was a gun tank and at Kirkcudbright in the seventies. One parked next to the Centurion crane which we also used on the range at that time.

 

The one with the crane attached to the Chieftain with the 21 cupola was low tech testing of the new fire control system that came to be known as IFCS.

 

attachment.php?attachmentid=125577&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=125578&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=125579&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=125580&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=125581&stc=1attachment.php?attachmentid=125582&stc=1

Chieftai Mk401.jpg

Chieftain Mk4 02.jpg

Chieftain Mk4 03.jpg

IMG_0799.jpg

AAA1 Chieftain01b.jpg

Chieftain Mk4 04.jpg

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Interesting to see this photo of the Cheiftain crane and then a Centurion version appears on Ebay - a bargain at 30K!!

 

Under the "Tracked Vehicle" grouping theres a thread on "cranes" which has the black and white photo (somewhat grainy) of the two tank cranes - cheiftain (the one posted above) and a centurion (the picture appears in the Simon Dunstan book and the more recent Haynes "manual")

 

The Ebay cent supposedly has a telescopic boom which mean it can't be a Rapier & Ransomes crane (see the black and white photo- the R&R boom is pretty distinctive and was used on their railway recovery cranes) or can it?

 

Ebay photo doesnt show enough of the boom - and there's only one photo..........

 

On a separate subject of Range Wrecks - there is an Episode of the BBC Coast programme which includes the Tain bombing range (looking at seals and not AFV's) that has a couple of Cheiftain ARRV's and at least one Cent briefly pictured (not sure if this is a recent episode given the number of repeats.....)

 

Thought I'd mention Tain as it never seems to get mentioned when it comes to wrecks or the favourite subject of Buried/Forgotten vehicles....

The comment - a Bargain at 30K - was firmly tongue in cheek............

 

Whats the going price for a Cent these days........there was a time when there seemed to be ARV's for sale just about everywhere..........? (apologies if this is going off topic)

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...

The Ebay cent supposedly has a telescopic boom which mean it can't be a Rapier & Ransomes crane (see the black and white photo- the R&R boom is pretty distinctive and was used on their railway recovery cranes) or can it?

 

Ebay photo doesnt show enough of the boom - and there's only one photo..........

 

Some confusion here with Ransomes & Rapier products I suspect.

 

The Centurian in the b&w photo has a Jones crane mounted on it, and the Chieftain has an NCK Rapier crane. The latter was introduced after R&R had been taken over by Newton Chambers Koehring and long after R&R had ceased manufacture of any sort of railway crane.

 

Although there were some rail-mounted Jones cranes with superstructures similar to that on the Cent, these were nothing to do with R&R.

 

It is unfortunate that so little of the crane is visible in the eBay photo, but I feel it is unlikely that the crane is a Rapier crane. It certainly isn't a Ransomes & Rapier crane.

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Cheers,

 

Since posting the question I have done a bit more research and came to the conclusion it couldn't be NCK Rapier.....

 

If I find anymore information I'll post it under the Ebay thread.......

 

Thanks again for the clarification.

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These come with the kind permission of Terry Almond ex of the Irish Guards and were taken when posted to Oxford Barracks at Munster in the mid 1980s, that is all I know.

 

My thanks to Terry and there are plenty more very interesting images he has allowed me to post coming in the future.

Range wreck irish guards munster 1980s.jpg

range wreck irish guards munster 02 1980s.jpg

range wreck irish guards munster 1980s 02.jpg

range wreck irish guards munster 03 1980s.jpg

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A Chieftain sporting a crane that was used on the range at Kirkudbright driven by John Gillman. although I was taking the photo, due to it being a while ago, I cannot remember what we were moving.

Something similar to this for sale on eBay under military vehicles

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These come with the kind permission of Terry Almond ex of the Irish Guards and were taken when posted to Oxford Barracks at Munster in the mid 1980s, that is all I know.

My thanks to Terry and there are plenty more very interesting images he has allowed me to post coming in the future.

Lots of sadness when the Conquerors & Churchills were cleared & then scrapped.

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