EMacionga

November 20th, 1910. Opposition leader Francisco I Madero calls for a general insurrection in Mexico because of voting fraud and corruption by the government of dictator Porfirio Diaz. the first great revolution of the 20th century (1910-1920) woud cost an estimated million dead. It saw some of the first air-air combat (with pistols) but no armoured vehicles that I know of other than the use of dynamite trains used to breach fortified city walls.

Thanks Neil. I have researched and viewed a number of images of the SU-85, 100s and have started looking into the T-34 types. Most of the color images are from museums and the driver's and commanders hatches seem to be mostly white and other hatches dark colors. Since these vehicles are resored its not possible for me to know if they followed the restoration expedient of "paint it - it will protect it!" Ed

Gents, The interiors of russian armour were usually a gloss white or white inside in WWII, but what about the inside of hatches that would be open at times? White or a green of the great variety of russian green available? Ed

April 3-4, 1940. The Soviets begin killing Polish prisoners captured in 1939. Of the estimated 250,000 Polish officers and soldiers captured 15,000 would be shot in secret in places like the Katyn Forrest and the Kalinin and Kharkov prisons and other prisons in several other Soviet cities. The Nazi death camps of Auschwitz, Belzac and Treblinka are infamous, but since the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s more of the Soviet crimes have come to light. During the second world war one in six Poles died under the brutal occupation policies of the Nazi's and Soviets.

Anyone know anything about the proto-type Benz-Brauer half-track developed during WWI? It was supposed to have modiifed orionwagen parts as rear end running gear. I have a picture in a book showing a short open topped vehicle with two large solid front tires and a short bed and short V-shaped track with a large drive wheel flanked by two smaller bogies. The track looks similar to modern catapiller or bobcat loader tracks.

In my research I found an interesting on-line site with photos of surviving T-26s mostly at museums. Check out the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_T26 for a closer look. Most of them are in Spain and are the 1935 model. I suppose they were not heavily used after the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War unlike those in Russia which were used, abused captured by Finns or Germans and reused and abused and recaptured by the Russians and re-reused and abused.

Thanks Enigma. I have been doing a recreational multi-volume, multi-media study of the conflict and of course, seeing as I am on this forum, the armor caught my eye and led me down a sidetrack. Ed

The first major tank action of the Spanish Civil War. October 29th, 1936. During the seige of Madrid twelve Russian made T-26 light tanks advanced 35 kilometers in a ten hour raid inflicting casualties on Nationalist Infantry and Cavalry and destroying or damaging almost thirty cargo trucks and four Italian made CV-33 machine gun tanks. Unsupported by their Infantry, who "got tired and sat down" three T-26s were destroyed by gasoline bombs thrown by desperate Moroccan Infantrymen. The Moroccan "Regulares", part of the Spanish Army of Africa made and used what was to be called "Molotov Cocktails" in another war. This action saw the first known ramming in tank warfare when the T-26 of Lt. Semyon Osadachy rammed and pushed a CV-33 into a small ravine. The Republican commander Pavlev Arman who lost a quarter of his vehicles was soon made a "Hero of the Soviet Union." The dominant tank of the Spanish Civil War the thin skinned T-26 would soon be controlled by Nationalist air superiority in the form of German and Italian fighters and bombers and the introduction of more effecient anti-tank guns. There was a standing reward of 500 pesetas on the Nationalist side for captured, operational T-26s and by 1939 the third company of two Armored Battalions would be equipped with captured T-26s. Ed

Anyone out there know their Russian light tanks? My knowledge does not extend beyiond the BMP family so I am a bit skethcy on the earlier eras.:-D What types of T-26s did the Soviets supply the Republicans during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War? I know that they were up to a T-26P by WWII. I am looing at the photo of the T-26 on page 23 of the Osprey Men- At-Arms booklet "The Spanish Civil War 1936-39. I am currently reading Antony Beevor's "The Battle For Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936-39. Mulitiple volume research reading is an old habit of mine... EMacionga

Well, thanks for the input. If they are a small shop I am sure they are kept very busy. What is the worst time of year to be ordering this sort of thing? I would guess, from my experience Fall and early winter are the best bet. Ed

Gents, What is the reputation of the service and products of: Sutlers Store Old Wareham Road, Poole? :??? Ed

Earlier in this century I did a small job for FEMA. I picked up seventeen peices of the Space Shuttle Columbia STS 107 that broke apart over North America over several wesern states. Well I didn't actually pick up the big seven by five foot peice of a wing I found on February 25th, 2003. I was a wildland firefighter with the NPS at the time and was part of an NPS, Forrest Service and Utah State Prison crew sent to Big Thicket National Park in East Texas. According to FEMA over 3,000 personnel took part in the recovery mission covering 103,000 acres and recovering 22,100 peices. We endured cold, rainy weather with occasional violent lightning, swampy terrain, dense vegetation and briar thickets. Basically they lined us up in 19th century open skirmish order with the NASA boys behind us with baggies and marched us through concertina wire-like briar patches amidst swamps to pick up the peices. At least it was too cold for the insects and poisonous snakes. Ed

We used to change road wheels with a one-peice device called a "dog bone" - a peice of metal about one and a half foot long, inch and a half thick shaped like an opened end wrench. One would lie under the vehicle:sweat: and the driver (with hopefully a very good ground guide) would back over you and the dog bone would ideally pop upright jacking the bogie in the air. It was also possible to jump start this vechicle using seven strands of commo wire with the ends stripped. The trick was to start it up before the plastic melted. One had to have nerves since electrical tingles were creeping up the arms long before that time. :shake: Ahh! when we were young and dumb, etc. Ed

I thought of posting this in the "I may be stupid..." What is W&P? I take it the P part may be "pub" by chance? Ed

Gents, Anyone know, what exactly the track links on MKIV's were made of? I have only seen photos, and the tracks in photos of surviving vehicles in museums seem to be painted. In actual use I suppose they would have not worried about rust as long as they were functional. Ed