rnixartillery

www.staman.nl He will deliver to Beltring ! Rob...................rnixartillery.

Fortunately its not the first............................far from it ! Rob........................rnixartillery.

A few more pics of this afternoons achievement, after a tug of war with two tractors and the Recouperator and cradle slung between it was evident that these two were not going to part with ease so I had to resort to my previous plan of splitting the Cradle. I cut the cradle into three pieces through existing welds relieving pressure on the recouperator, although I still needed a 10 ton bottle jack to seperate the parts ! Still having a struggle with the Block and I have used up all my copper hammers so I may have to have it pressed out !:iamsmiling: Rob..................rnixartillery.

Good Question Alastair. 150 Pheasants were assembled by Weir Ltd and sent out to North Africa in late 42 but by mid 43 the newly designed 17 pdr carriages were being manufactured. My research has indicated that around 100 pheasants were dismantled in 1943 but with the speed of things approximately 50 guns went on to fight in Italy. So the answer to your question is that all the guns were all initially painted in light stone but the guns that went on to fight further could well have been re-painted Light earth or even Khaki ! Rob.....................rnixartillery.

Ron, The 2 pdr looks well with the locker fitted :thumbsup:,I think you came up trumps with that thanks to Tim. I was looking at the other gun that came in with yours a while ago but unfortunately it is not for sale ! ........................... and the man has two. :wow: Rob.....................rnixartillery. Ps............Very envious !

After a few set backs and lost time over the weekend I managed to break the gun down with the exception of the Block which is being a bitch to move. The part I thought I would have problems with was the Breech ring however this turned out to be the easiest part to remove ! I had the idea in my head for some reason that the ring was on an interupted screw thread like the 25 pdr but it turned out to be a complete thread so the scaffold tube came into play. The carriage is no more than a box of bits now as most of it is scrap but some parts might be going over to Oz as a parts trade with another collector I know. next job is to seperate the recouperator from the cradle, I was thinking about splitting the cradle but on reflection I think I will try to remove it some other way to save the cradle for the next 17 pdr project ! Plenty more to do............................pics attached Rob...........................rnixartillery.

I second that ! well done that man...........:clap: Rob......................rnixartillery.

and more..................................................... Rob...................rnixartillery.

Well after several phone calls and a few headaches the doner 17 pdr arrived this morning from Portsmouth.......................... in several pieces ! :shocked:. The majority of the carriage will be scrapped as it really is 'beyond redemption',I will strip it of any salvagable parts,patterns etc just for future reference. I already had a spare carriage so the gun was dropped onto this for ease of moving plus it makes a good bed to strip the gun down,plenty of heat required for this job I think :sweat: More to follow. Rob...................rnixartillery

Adrian,I guess you will be looking for the gun next ? Great addition . Rob...................rnixartillery.

The Battle of Britain Museum at Hawkinge was always a good one to have a look around................If its still there ! Rob..................rnixartillery.

Last year I was contacted by a collector in Germany interested in two UK de-activated Artillery pieces I had for sale,For him to import the guns I had to do more de-ac work to comply with German regs,one part was a meter long cut up the bottom of the barrel :cry:. Uk spec is not sufficiant in Germany ! Rob..................rnixartillery

Gordon,is the premesis still as big as it was or has it been sold off over the years for development ? Rob..............rnixartillery.

Several months ago I de-activated two 25 pounder guns and had them removed from my section one firearms license,When the inspector from Birmingham proof house was inspecting the guns he told me that in the near future there was a strong possibility that Firearms licensing in several counties will be checking DE-activated weapons for certification and date related de-activication specification ( If they have been tampered with ). I was Inspected by North Yorkshire Police in January but not for my Live weapons,they were only interested in inspecting my de-ac Artillery. My ship is in order.............................is yours ? Rob......................rnixartillery.

Er.................No ! a Deactivated weapon must have a valid proof house certificate present.buying a weapon without this piece of paper is illegal unless you have the appropriate firearms license which in the case of a bren would be a section 5. You could take the risk but be prepared for any repercussions if you are caught by your local Constabulary.! Rob...................rnixartillery.

:banghead: Rob............................rnixartillery.

Every thing is wrong about this design,no wonder it didn't get anywhere.firing this gun from the truck bed would snap the leaf springs and possible the chasis,!It might have worked if they built the portee on a 6x6 AEC Matador ! Rob.........................rnixartillery.

Andy,Thanks for the offer but its all sorted now.I contacted an IOW resident haulier called T.A.Reader of Cowes,they delivered it to a friends yard at Chidham for less than I could get a ferry ticket for.I reckon they must have a special rate coming off the Island on a daily basis. Thanks again. :tup:: Rob.....................rnixartillery.

Quite right Tim, Infact I picked up two fresh bottles of Oxy last weekend and I'm pretty sure I might need some more ! :saluting: Rob...................rnixartillery.

I am constantly on the look out for anything 17 pdr and came up trumps last week and bought a very nice wooden ammo box dated 1944 although it did come from Australia,postage was OTT :cry: But not many wooden boxes have survived so it was worth the cost. Also picked up a very nice fired 17 pdr Smoke round,Quite unusual.I nomally only collect ordnance with unfired drive bands but made the exception with this one being so rare ! Rob....................rnixartillery.

Well, the 17 pdr was the only British anti-tank gun that could deliver enough firepower to cope with the German armour at the time at long range however at close quarters I could imagine the 17 pdr being slow to put into action which is why the 6 pdr came into its own especially in the Bocage region where fighting was from hedgrow to hedgrow. Going back to the Oosterbeek guns,the airborne division was given 16 17 pdr's and Morris tractors ,all of which were carried in Hamilcar Gliders during Operation Market Garden, However only 11 guns made it into action. The 17 pdr is a very large and heavy Anti-Tank gun but it seemed to be worth the effort dropping them into the Netherlands. Rob..................rnixartillery.

There is actually three at the museum Philip,Hanno is the man who can shed more info on these 17 pdr's but yes you are quite right they should be preserved Rob....................rnixartillery.

Ford produced one prototype and trialled it in July 1943 including firing the gun from the trucks platform,the gun turned out to be too heavy for the vehicle and with no space to store ammunition the project was scraped by Septemer 1943. Not surprising by the look of it ! :wow: Rob..................rnixartillery.

Pictures as promised. :readbook: They also trialed a Lloyd carrier with the 25 pdr fitted as a self propelled gun. Rob....................rnixartillery

I have pictures of the prototype somewhere,I will have a look and upload them. Rob....................rnixartillery.