steveo578

The highlighted section should have been at the beginning of the paragraph, health and safety wasn't very high on the writers priority:-\

I would be nice if it remained a G13 but as Pzkfw-e says the money is on it being finished as a German TD. Personally I'd do it as a G13 and make components (remote m.g mount) to make it a faux Hetzer just in case it was needed for movie work -after all the Dunkelgelb system allowed a water based mix so paint could be easily removed -assuming it survived long enough -for example winter and the spotty ambush-forest scheme. Oddly enough a number of Wehrmacht Hetzer were painted in none Dunkelgelb scheme -possibly those may have been intended for Hungarian service or perhaps paint shortage required using any spare paint that was to hand in the factory. Hope you're of slight build they are remarkably cramped -even for a wehrmacht vehicle. Demilitarisation -which seems to be a bit OTT in this Afv did they think it might end up in the Congo or Shri-lanka? As instructional holes the position would be a bit odd look at the one on the glacis -I suppose it could be used for foot pedal instruction. Steve

I reckon to make it 4 ton everyhing including the roof has been removed and it's now a skip:D.

The major difference between a Hetzer and a G13 is that the crew layout is different, the commander moved over to the lefthand hatch and the remote machine gun mount was replaced by a hood for the commanders periscope, the socket to the left/rear of the hatch is a mount for an A/A machine gun. The original gasoline motor was replaced by a V8 Sauer during a later rebuild by the Swiss. I think some of the Swiss order may have been from the aborted Israeli Hetzer order. Steve

Thanks for that I hope it doesn't get converted to any inapropriate half baked attempt at a faux Pzkfz38(t). The Soviet RSO you mention is probably the KT12 aka TDT40 -TDT55 Steve

I believe Los Alamos used a light tank possibly a M5A1 in some experiments but I don't know for what purpose -it could have been just to protect observers testing implosion rings. I would be surprised if the 2 Shermans were buried contaminated waste was not generally regarded as a problem in the first years of the atomic age -they weren't very particular in examining the old battlewagons used in the Bikini tests. In Australia the Centurion used in the nuclear tests was washed down, had minor parts such as periscopes and soft fittings replaced and put back in service- I'm pretty sure it went to Vietnam later and is in private ownership today. One of the Churchill Mk7 ARVEs once at Bovy was used by the Atomic Energy authority -don't know what for, it's not believed to have been exposed to radio-activity. Steve

Well at least the reaction worked -both mustard and lewisite have chlorine as a major component -hence the bleach smell. I've heard of disposal by using gasoline -shooting at bombs until they leaked and ignited is either brave or fool-hardy:nut:. What was the ground like before digging -any grass or was it almost bare earth with a thin coating of chick weed? Steve

Fair point - LAs have discresionary powers under the Road Traffic regulations Act 1984 on any vehicles and may impose restrictions on any including commercial vehicles in any catergory even those under 3.5t which are not covered by operator licence and use Road Traffic Act 1991 to enforce without recourse to other authority, regulations on vehicles over 3.5t under restrictions imposed by the operators licence. The point I was making was that the statement- is not actually correct -I was trying to avoid getting into an overly long discourse on RTRA and RTA 1991. Steve

A palace and bees too -when I was a lad all we had was a hole in the road:-D. Great idea, loathsome beasts they should be skinned and used for insulation -it's pity we can't eat them. Steve

I think these convoys park up at Albermarle barracks in Northumberland -a few miles west of Newcastle on their way to the submarine base at loch long

:wow: sharp eyed or you know a lot about Brens or both:thumbsup: Steve

What you are thinking of is a section 72 of the traffic Act 1835 "It is a offence to ....use a convayance.. on a section of the highway... segregated for the exclusive use of pedestrians" It probably only survived as it was useful in preventing cycling on the pavement -velocepeds in those days:-). It still can be used for lack of anything better to prevent some-one parking (partially) on the footpath -it is an act of desparation by the police and normally arrives as a warning letter -rather like a solicitors frightener- it is difficult to enforce as to apply a penalty an officer (in uniform) must see the offence -it has recently been used to enforce -prevent cycle, skateboard, those powered scooters, two wheeled pogo sticks and powered skate board use on footpaths and predestrian precincts. Obviously an officer seeing some-one park up on the pavement may fix penalty the driver -but I can assure you that a PCs training sargeant will not view hanging around in the hope of doing some-one in those circumstances very highly. Problem is outside London the fixed pentalty could be appealed on RTRA (can't remember the year) sect 5 which while disapproving curbing, allows it unless signage forbids it -London it is the other way round GL(GP)A sect 15. Hence as I said it will be good if the "law" is clarified. My mention of 1.5ton vehicles also needs clarication - vehicles upto a load capacity of 1.5ton (30cwt in old money) can curb -over that it is dis allowed as it will cause damage to the curbing. Only if the vehicle is a Private or PLG vehicle can it park in a residential street -Commercial vehicles have restriction placed on them. Detached trailers is still an on going problem in many areas. I like the crane story:-D Steve

By the way the ad. is made I think the producer of the programme has spent too much time watching too many X File re-runs. Steve

If I remember correctly the British storage barge at either Taranto or Naples was blown up -can't remember the circumstances -air bombing,sabotage or stupidity:nut: but so well covered up was the incident to only came to light in the late 1970s when doctors were contacting the War Pensions Dept. because they were treating ex servicemen with long term effects of mustard gas derivative exposure -most were down to this incident -although I imagine some may have resulted from the stupid way the mustard stockpiles especially aerial bombs were disposed at the end of WW2 by digging a hole and burning them. Evidently Soman nerve agent was captured by the Russians along with the necessary manufacturing facility/knowledge. Don't know if Tabin and Sarin facilities were captured but it is likely as the main research facility was in Berlin and the 3rd reich was pretty poor at destroying assets -mainly because of Hitlers orders of no retreat -destroying things was classed as defeatist. Steve

I'd be certainly pleased to see the "law" on this regularised, (prohibitions in many cases date back to when local bye-laws existed - making it now difficult to enforce), in my locality traffic management had enlarged the paved areas on junctions on residential streets to improve diver visiblity and pedestrian safety -results idiots park wholy on the paved area -police refuse to enforce existing regs. as they are open to interperation -in some instances this parking has been stopped by strategically placing street funiture in the centre of the paved area. Steve

Parking a vehicle wholy on a footway is an offence -a vehicle less than 1.5tons (cars & lt vans) may in some circumstances park with 2 wheels on a footway -as long as sufficient footpath remains for free movement of pedestrian, wheel chairs and prams etc.

While I'm sure the paper discs are one use only I'm not too sure about the gas plates on trucks being a one shot deal -I think they may have been cleanable to a limited extent, pillar boxes tops were also painted with a yellow paint that would turn green or black depending on the level of mustard gas contamination and safety depending on when the contaminant evaporated or was washed off by rain -the idea of ARP running around scraping off contaminated paint and recoating after each raid seems a bit of a stretch. Mustard was very lethal even at low levels -as in the cases of horses/mules dying after eating lightly contaminated grass. The nerve agent was Tabin (1936) Sarin (1938) and Soman (1944) but it has to be remembered that sheep dip is technically a nerve agent.

The original seems to be a bit off the mark 4tonne with a chieftain shown, then it becomes a FV434 -which must be more than 4tonne- that's a U/Cs weight:shocked:. In some areas/estates (often built by the large national builders) there are "covenants" to prevent large vehicles such as business vehicles -,ice cream vans, plumbers, electricians, windscreen fitters and the like, being parked either on drives or the roadways of the estates. Normally if there is no parking restriction it is ok to park on a public road (as long as it does not cause danger to others or an obstruction) -but it is not a right -a householder cannot dictate who parks on the public road outside their house -likewise there is no absolute right to do so, in this case it's probably a moot point- as Antarmike has already said it is debatable whether a 434 is road legal.

Whether a Mk4 had a commanders hatch (flush hatch) or cupola (all round vision No1 & 2) is down to when the vehicle was last refitted- you will not see a Mk4 in tunisia with a cupola but during the Reichwald operation in Feb 1945 cupolas were becoming more common but some early marks were never refitted. No1 Mk1 cupolas were fitted to some tanks at Normandy. Have you developed the characteristic rust marks yet:??? Steve

Good link -RSO are one of the few pieces of 3rd reich kit that I really like, lot of character:cheesy: although some of the stuff shown on the polish site hardly seems worth the effort in digging it up -a few more years and it would have returned to iron ore. Wonder what the AFV? to the right is?

So restoration sickness is caused by a ferrous virus or bacilli:??? I must find where I've put the number for the Homeland Security Agency. Steve

good link:cheesy:

Hi Rick Yep that's why I put your Dieppe thread post#4 up:D glad to see you're acquiring parts for the Churchill. Probably the reason the Canadians went over to the Sherman for active service was more to do with dis-satisfaction with the 6pdr gun- I am sure that troopers were happier with better layout and heavier armour of the Churchill but I think the decision to field in Shermans was a higher level -corps level decision -it's like the end of a "Bridge to Far" when the Staff officers blamed anyone and anything but themselves, as I said elsewhere it was difficult for the Staff to get a proper briefing on how the Churchill behaved at Dieppe as all but 2 of the crews were captured or dead. Hope the gearbox is Ist class Steve

This has been asked and answered before -15 churchills + 1 dingo got over the beach and cruised the promenade at Dieppe try referencing my post in;- Dingo under new ownership post#10 10-7-2010 http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?10966-Dingo-under-new-ownership&highlight=churchills+dieppe and the thread Dieppe posted 19-8-2010 Eddy8mens post #4 http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?20215-Dieppe&highlight=dieppe there's quite a lot on dieppe on the Forum try typing dieppe into the search box Steve

yes HM King Hussein no doubt showing himself to encourage the loyality of his troops after the coup in Iraq had caused the federation to fall apart -which was inspired by Nasser(pan Arab fraternity:???) -his majesty was of course successful in holding his kingdom together, -nothing changes in the Arab nations - tribalism has a lot to answer for:-( Steve