mcspool

Parts.....

Trailers....

Here are the pics Stuart sent me. He can add the captions / explanations himself.

petition signed!

These Shermans were run by George Rotinoff as part of his open cast mining operation. The same man who built Rotinoff trucks.

Ah yes, that explains the "O" in the background of Ian Hutchinson.

From my webpage "Shermans into ploughshares":

Among the companies that did conversions were Rotinoff Construction Ltd of Poyle, Buckinghamshire.

This company marketed a simple bulldozer conversion on the basis of a turretless M4A2 Sherman tank.

 

Looks like a M4A2 to me. Another great example of "Shermans into ploughshares"!

Sherman tank

Ian Hutchinson driving an early 1950's Sherman tank pulling a scraper box at Winston Open Cast Coal Site, near Staindrop.

Location: Winston

County: Co Durham

NEG20942

 

Sherman tank pulling a scraper box working at Winston Open Cast site, driven by Ian Hutchinson. 500hp twin engine, 30 mph over rough gound.

Location: Winston

County: Co Durham

NEG20938

 

Ian Hutchinson of Mickleton - driver of Sherman tank used at Winston Open Cast site near Staindrop. 500hp twin engine, 30 mph over rough ground.

Location: Winston

County: Co Durham

NEG20937

 

I know of a US Marine Corps M3 Stuart abandoned on what used to be called Arundel Island in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, and at least on Japanese Model 95 Light Tank on a sunken freighter off of Vella Lavella Island in the same area. The Stuart is stranded in a swamp, so not that easy to get at, but the Japanese tank is readily available in the cargo hold of the sunken freighter. Hard to say if more are out there.

Is it this Stuart?

http://traveloscopy.blogspot.nl/2014/07/solomon-islands-trash-and-treasure.html

During WW2 only a limited number of manufacturers made dedicated military bikes.

Welcome on here, I regularly go back to your site to do some more reading on the subject of military bicycles.

Would you happen t have more information about the Hercules Cycle and Motor Company and if they made bicycles for British forces during WW2 (see link)?

9" high and dated 1943

If they are for a Cab 13, I am interested. Email sent.

Great find!

Good luck with the restoration.

I would have thought that those plated over Sextons would have seen use as defacto APCs like the Rams & Preists did during WWII....

This is a Gun Position Officer version, these were used by artillery units:

http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/Sexton-spg-GPO-Gun-Position-offficer.html

Of course no one knows what they were used for at the end of their service life, APC is an option, but maybe even as a skip by the garrison garbage man :-D

These are something to do with the Pakistan Army's storage depot at Rawalpindi, one of Pakistan's biggest depots, and the nearby Army Museum which is located in the Ayub National Park. Apparently a lot of them are stored on behalf of the Pakistani Army Heritage Foundation. It's difficult to see all of them being restored or surviving locally though.

Interesting collection, nice to see they have no less than TWO Sexton GPO's (Gun Position Officer):

Ayub National Park, Rawalpindi, Pakistan by raihans photography, on Flickr

They have a third one here:

http://www.urbanpk.com/pakdef/museums/armymuseumgallery.html

:thumbsup:

Great to see your progress!

Is it a dog to drive?

Lex,

I would like to have a scan / copy / reprint please.

Other information re. wartime bikes is welcome, too.

Thanks,

Hanno

Mk4B on the rack but can't find much reference.

Looking at the pictures on this site http://bsamuseum.wordpress.com/the-military-roadster/

it seems the "carrier, kit, rear" had it's own mark system, separate from the mark of bicycle it was fitted to?

They are very similar but a 20 " Rim.

.... and fitted with 7.00-20 tyres? If so, where did you find those?

H.

Some screen shots from the last few minutes of http://www.steamcar.net/video-page-23.html

Is this a Philips MK5 Infantry bike ? or just a civilian bike painted green ? what would be the distinguishing feature's if any ?

Ian, further to Lex's excellent input, I found out earlier these bikes were also referred to as "Trade Pattern" bicycles and/or contracts referred to "Contractor's standard specification". This means the military bikes were indeed basically civilian bicycles, with some military features like paint, rear cargo carrier and rifle brackets.

The basic design was the English "Roadster" type, an old-fashioned style of bicycle popular in the countryside. They usually had 28 x 1-1/2" wheels with Westwood rims, long cranks and long wheelbases, and very shallow frame angles (68 degrees or less). Roadsters used "roller-lever" brakes operated by rods. Roadsters were built for durability above all else, and were intended to be able to cope with dirt roads, cobblestones and unpaved footpaths, with a bare minimum of maintenance. No serious attempt was made to save weight in their design or construction.

With those design requirements in mind, one can understand why the military ordered "trade pattern" roadsters - they fitted the bill for a sturdy bike perfectly.

John's Dozer was sold outside of the auction.

That's it, it's the one Staman bought isn't it?

John Marchant had a Centaur Dozer, he may still have it.

IIRC this was sold at his auction a good few years ago. It went to Holland.

I like the "believed to be internally complete .... concrete needs to be removed from the inside"

Bring your own chisel and find out!

PO,

Is this the Sherman that was knocked out in the foret d'Ecouves?

http://balmoralgreen.com/les-blind-s/sherman-m4a2-2.html

How did they manage to get hold of that monument tank?!?!

H.

If I had a turretless M4A4 hull, I would transform it into a towing vehicle or a turretless ARV. The British army used some.

Totally agree. It's great they save Shermans from the torch, but spending all that effort on a fictional machine is a bit of a waste, IMHO. It's their money, though.

Here's a suggestion for their next turretless Sherman hull: a Sherman ARV (Armoured Recovery Vehicle)

The Cadmans' Grant?

Yes, that's the "Pepperpot Grant" that can be seen running & driving at shows in the UK.

Not sure who owns it today, but it was put back in running order by Carl Brown.

Ron, that was a humorous reply I made

Watch out Richard, some people take stuff they read literally and that is how old wive's tales like factory-fresh jeeps in crates start!

Re. the picture: typically American, real men don't ride trikes, let alone a merry-go-round horse.... :cool2: [note: this is a humorous reply]

Hanno