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Peter4456

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Posts posted by Peter4456

  1. If you email, write or phone the Tank Museum at Bovington they will, for a fee, send you the Vehicle History Card for your Ferret - they will email you a copy.

     

    Once you've got it, post it on here or PM me and I'll translate it from Army Speak into English for you!

  2. Brett,

     

    Once you've found out for sure which vehicle it is, send off for the vehicle card from the Tank Museum and I'll help you decipher it.

     

    Try gently scraping the paint off above the driver's hatch - you should find the reg number there and also on the back of the Ferret. If there's an aluminium data plate inside the hull (often missing!), this will have the reg number and under that plate is the hull number (look for something like 6/54)

     

    01 CA 19 - 1958 Ferret Mk 2/3

     

    33 BA 72 - 1951 Ferret Mk 1 (may have been converted to Mk 2/3)

     

    33 BB 72 - No trace of this number

     

    I'm wondering if it's a Canadian Ferret (plenty of experts on here!) or a British one used at BATUS in Canada.

  3. Steve,

     

    Having written a few books myself I know what a huge undetaking this is - and your project is much bigger than any of mine!

     

    This is a long overdue book and very interesting indeed, so keep going and don't get too disappointed if you can't find a publisher straight away - you will get there in the end!

     

    Good luck - I'd buy a copy so that's one you've sold!

  4. It seems there are a number of Champs that were base overhauled at a location called B269 (that's what's stamped on the vehicle plate!). It is believed that this relates to Henlys at Weston Super Mare. Henlys did indeed have premises at Weston Super Mare - they certainly shared the Bristol wartime aircraft factory with Westland Helicopters in the early 60s - but did the War Office / MOD sub contract the Champ base overhaul work out that early? Did Henlys overhaul any other Army vehicles?

     

    It looks like there might be an interesting story here, can anyone help with any information?

  5. The plot thickens - it's either a 'soft skin', 'SP', prototype painted up as an RSDG Gulf War veteran, or it's the real thing!!

     

    It's all very interesting and I can't to find out which it really is, but whatever it is, it was worth saving so thanks to the new owner!!

     

    Please keep us posted on this one!

  6. I thought you'd like to see this set of Tank Denims I've recently acquired. Almost new, they fit perfectly, go well with our 1954 Champ and also mean that I don't have to wear itchy BD or the thicker 'Pixie suit' to be authentic!

     

    001.jpg

    004.jpg

  7. As the author of two books on the squadron, I feel compelled to let you all know that FO Kenneth Roy Collier of 91 (Nigeria) Squadron was the first man to 'flick' a V1. He did it on 23rd June 1944 when he ran out of ammo and lost his temper with the rocket - a rocket which, as you say, was flying at around 350 - 400 mph!

     

    Sadly Ken, an Australian, was killed on 5th December 1944 whilst still serving with the squadron. It was an honour to vist his grave at Rheinberg in Germany some years ago with one of his many wartime girlfriends!!

  8. I don't know if this helps but the 16th / 5th Lancers history, 'The Scarlet Lancers', has a photo of a Centurion in Hong Kong in 1964 and what looks like a Squadron of CVR (T) Scorpions parading through Kowloon, Hong Kong, in 1973 /4 (the only reg number visible being 02 FD 57 - is it still around?).

     

    Can we find out the reg number of the Ferret in the Hong Kong 'collection'? Were 432s really ever based there?

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