Sprocket321

This second Duster was used as a recovery wreck Cennelager 1984/5

couple of range wrecks on Cennelager ranges 1985

Brilliant Mcspool, that's the first I've heard of that article, was it just a picture article and ww2 history, or was there much information about Bovy's intentions with the Sherman Priest?

Hi Maurice, can you describe the snake device and what it did?

One leave in the UK I took my Grandfather to Bovington to see it when I returned from leave, the American General had generously given 1 Div two tanks, an M24 Chaffee and a erm Sherman, trouble was it was armed with a 76mm gun in a T23 turret, not the type the Division had used in it's Operations in WW2. the picture shows the ADC in civies with his pal from the Div HQ with the M24 and the Sherman just in frame to the left. Dissapointed, or what. I later found out, by taking prints of the Sherman back to Bovvy that the British Army had three 76 armed Shermans on ops for evaluation with the RTR, Annaconda Adder and ASP, I was shown a picture by Museum staff of the three tanks and an M24 in British service. But by then the GOC had lost interest in the project and HQ 1st armoured Div never did get a Sherman gate guard. I also found out that Bovy swapped the M7 for a Panther Engine.

the one being transported back to blighty was the most complete with both louvre engine hatches still in place, our American General would have enough parts from the two we were sending him to make one good one up for his collection. having scraped out the mud and washed out the rain water that had collected in the hull, (the drain plug was missing and the hole was chocked solid with muck) the M7 was ready for it's journey to Dorset.

The vehicles were chock full of used training ordnance, water and mud from years of being stuck on the training area. So the following day after their arrival at Verden Barracks, I had nothing better to do on that sunny Saturday morning, (needed some fresh air after the previous night in 1ADSR HQ Sqn bar anyway,) decided to clean the one due to be sent to Bovington Tank Museum, realising that the used ordnance would create real headaches for the poor RCT driver from 16 tanks, trying to get it through customs, let alone the small but real chance of the phosphorous drying out and re-igniting, we'd had one too many Ferry disasters in the late 80's, did'nt need another one thanks. So I set about cleaning it up. using the fire hose and wheeled a bin over to dump the fired shermuley rockets and such, lucky nothing went bang or whooosh thank goodness.

Here's a couple of happy snaps of two of the vehicles in the Generals collection on Display at Graffehoer U.S. army base. There were also two M3 halftracks on the training area at Wulfenbuttle with trees growing through them, they were in a terrible state, when the scrappers came to take them they carefully cut the vehicle away from the tree leaving a strange M3 gearbox shape in the tree trunk. So two M7B2s were selected for the U.S. Army General, and one (the best one,shhhhh) was kept aside for Bovvy. Here is a picture of the first one arriving at Div HQ Verden.

they were quickly recovered making quite a mess of the parklands nice green grass.

The GOC of 1st Armoured Division Major General Swinburn tasked his ADC to find him a M4 Sherman tank to be displayed on a section of Bailey bridge at the gates of the Div HQ. Quite a formidable task in the late 80's as the collectors scene was well underway and WW2 kit was going for shedloads, and the budget for this was nowt. So he turned to his recent contacts. We had just had the CAT Trophy 1987, won't go there as it was rather painful, The General at Graffenhoer (spelling) was a AFV collector, had them on display all over the camp. He did have a Sherman M4 to trade, and he didn't have an M7 in his collection. It just so happens that there were three M7B2s on 1 Div. General Officer Commanding 1st Armoured Division the three hulks were on a disused training area in Wulfenbuttle home of the QDGs, shortly due to be reclaimed as local parkland, so the hulks were no longer wanted and due to be towed off to the scrapyard, so their 11th hour salvation had come.

the second picture looks like a M56 Scorpion anti tank gun, the thick tyres give it away, they must be very rare as I'm not sure that many were built. I wonder how it found it's way to a range in Egypt.

an old shot of what I think is a Comet in the background, Warminster Battlesbury Bowl 1987.

Hi all I'm Dave, been lurking on here a while, every time I search an armoured or soft skin subject on my google search engine this site comes up with the goods, so it is high time I put something back. My first interest with MV's came when I joined MVCG in Worthing as a lad, back in the late seventies, chap there under worthing rail bridge had a M3 Halftrack that I had just made the Tamiya kit of. So natuarally my interest grew, knowing family WW2 history involved such vehicle as Morris Quads, Dodge Weapons Carriers and such like it all seemed too glamourous to be true. when combined with Christmas showings of Battle of the Bulge, Kellys Heroes, Dirty Dozen and where eagles Dare It's hardly surprising I though of war as a cool, exciting adventure. Of course, it isnt, as I found out later on when I joined the Infantry Milan platoon of my county regiment, then later as an Army Phot in what is now refered to as the AFPU, or in it's previous guises as PINFO, Media Ops. But it gave me an ideal chance to photograph my secret obsession of WW2 vehicles. So, no time to waste, I've some old photographs to post...

this was the M4 at Pristina small arms range in Kosovo. It had been there for quite some time judging by the graffitti weathering and so on. The interior was mostly present if I remember correctly, (that's me in the turret, with two colleagues from Media ops) it was taken on Op Agricola in 1999, The tank had to be moved off the Barracks area by order the top Brass and the gun and turret was jammed, rusted in the position you see, so the barrel was cut off by the REME, the tank low loaded and taken to Pristina scrapyard, it was still there at the end of my tour in June 99, I wonder it it's still there. This is the retro re graded type of Sherman used in the movie Kelly's Heroes, be amazing if this was Oddballs actual tank. (Now there's a Urban Myth to start), I have no idea if the tank was cut up or if it's still there in the Pristina Scrapyard. If I remember right, the cut off barrel was dropped down inside the commanders copola, so if it's survived it probably still with the vehicle. Anyone able to update?