eddy8men Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 hi fella's just happened to be passing pirbright training area this morning whilst on the way to the shops for a loaf of bread (i live in manchester):nut:.went down for a range recce but couldn't get on the area due to the 8ft fence around the perimeter,although i did see two tanks from the perimeter,one about 200m away i couldn't identify but the other was right on the fence line,it apears to be a crusader at first i thought it was an a10 until i noticed the dampers for the torsion bar suspension which ruled the a10 out as this used same set up as the valentine.there wasn't a right lot left i could see no running gear or final drive but that seems to be the norm with wrecks.i did find the steel plate shown in the car park 50m from the tank i'm assuming it was a cover for the suspension but it might also have been a sign for the naafi shop,i'm sure someone will recognise it,if you want it it's in the car park near to where the pylon line crosses red road. sorry about the crappy pics,must get a better camera eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Hi eddy It's probably one of the Covenanter on this range:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 [ATTACH=CONFIG]24682[/ATTACH]i did find the steel plate shown in the car park 50m from the tank i'm assuming it was a cover for the suspension but it might also have been a sign for the naafi shop, That was what remains of the sign that said DANGER - DO NOT ENTER :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 hi steve definately not a covenanter if you click on the last pic and enlarge it you can see the slope of the glacis plate and drivers vision port to the left. eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 The reason I think it may be a Cov. is that on the nose plate are two central fixings which held the central headlamp on Covenanters but were missing on most Crusaders -although it could be the remains of a prototype Crusader which did have the central headlamp -prototypes are/were fairly common on Pirbright due to proximity to MVEE. On my attachment the lower lug is visible the upper lug has been lost along with the headlamp cover but fixing hole is visible Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 It is almost certainly a Covenanter as there are/were several on Pirbrite but I didn't see a Crusader. Covenanter and Crusader do not have torsion bars. They have Christie suspension which uses spring cases compressed by axle arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 yes steve i think you're right having seen that pic you posted i'd say it was a covenanter not a crusader. i thought i could "mix it" with the big boys, i thought wrong :blush: i could see that the area next to the drivers compartment was flat and missing any components and i wrongly assumed that it had been an early crusader with mg turret that had been removed. i'm not worthy:D eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 thanks adrian i wrongly assumed that the visible angled tubes i could see were suspension dampers.so apart from it NOT being a crusader and NOT having torsion bar suspension it's all good,it was definately pirbright anyway (i think)! i'm still not worthy eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 eddy8men i thought i could "mix it" with the big boys, i thought wrong :blush: ...........i'm not worthy:-D eddy Don't worry about it mate, everyone on this site can learn from each other and the good thing about the forum is we are willing to learn:-) Anyway you did a pretty good I.D. of the M33 prime mover for a comparative novice-. steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Barrell Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Don't worry about it mate, everyone on this site can learn from each other and the good thing about the forum is we are willing to learn:-) steve Steve is dead right, we all have to learn stuff at some point. Eddy, the angled tubes are the spring cases but the front and rear ones also have a parallel shock absorber so you were right in a way! But don't worry about thinking that Christie suspension is torsion bar, many have made the same mistake, including some who should know better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 thanks for the kind words guys, it makes me laugh to be so far wrong ,( i only got the location right) eddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 As I've got the scanner running at the moment here is a drawing/sketch from the Cromwell showing the road wheel springs spring cases and shock absorber casing -the earlier British Christie are similar -ish. If you view the interior of T34 variants (there were some recently on mil web -a Czech T34 and a SU100) the springs are encased in almost vertical square tubes rather than the British method of having a twin side walled hull -the British system was very close to Christies original design, which I would think would have been seen in BT tanks too. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy8men Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 i never thought when i took this pic i'd own a covenanter one day 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.