haybaggerman

yeah, looks really good mate. Uparmoured version, and you've also got the curious extra plate welded on your rear engine covers too. Have fun!!! Paul

Someone said earlier saracens were unreliable, well, I just drove once round a field with mine tonight and it never broke down once. That is all

Easy, they arn't that fast really. Just big and thirsty, infact, they are the darts player of the mv world

Well, spoke to my uncle tonight, he had a day he said he will never forget. A big THANKYOU to Adrian for the tank ride, and also to others who took a genuine interest in asking questions and listening to recollections. As my uncle said, he was very surprised and moved that people were interested in what he had done, and that he wasn't just an old codger who no-one cares about. Well done HMVF and thankyou

and you did just that. Thankyou Enigma and good to meet you

Our driver came back past Dorchester yesterday and said there were tanks on low loaders and jeeps everywhere. Sounds like something is going on, this could be the big push!! Hope to put a few faces to names tomorrow. Good luck at the carnival you lucky buggers Paul

yeah, only joking, just wondered what desperate lengths one could go to in order to join in at A & E with a lowly post war vehicle. Molecular level eh?........... just maybe

So it was the flywheel oil? Not the gearbox, thank goodness. All you have to do now is put petrol in it. Was your saracen one of the really early ones that erm.... landed on D-Day? Cos some did honest, probably. If so you can take it and have some fun at A&E!!!! Well done for sorting the old girl out Paul

This is the last time I shall resurrect this thread. It has led up to A&E where my uncle is going to be reunited with a sherman and he is very much looking forward to it, infact, we all are. I think it is happening on sunday morning, which has yet to be fully arranged, but it is going to happen:) Anyway, this is a story he kept private for a long time, for reasons you will understand, but now, after talking about his experiences he has given permission to publish, which has been done on a website set up for him at http://www.frankdennisgent.com/ june 1944 No title for this one. Only two people have heard the following true story. My wife and our family doctor because it is not one I am proud of. My wife because we do not have any secrets, and our doctor because I asked his opinion as to whether the victim's bullet wound would have proved fatal or not. This unpleasant incident occurred in June 1944 (about the same time as "The Cherry Tree" story), after we had by-passed Rome. We had had a fairly rapid advance from Monte Cassino but were held up by determined German rearguard fighting. We were pinned down in undulating , open countryside, very exposed and far from ideal for our tanks. The sun was beating down and the metal too hot to touch as the crews inside perspired freely. We wore only thin shirts, trousers and light shoes but all were soaked by the sweat which ran down our faces and bodies. The squadron's tanks were spaced well apart but we dare not move as we were under observation by enemy artillery officer's who spotted the slightest movement and brought down salvoes of High Explosive shells. Also, we dare not leave the tanks or even put our head out of the hatch because German snipers were watching us (they killed three tank commander's at Cassino). So we spent the whole day from first light at 5am until dusk at 7pm suffering in the heat. It was my job as co-driver to brew up at intervals by boiling water on a small primus stove on my seat whilst I knelt on the floor in front with my face just above it. Very, very uncomfortable but the tea was welcome. As we dare not show our heads above the hatch you may wonder how we managed for toilet facilities? Well, we used one of the empty 75mm brass shell cases and then flung it, with contents, out of the tank! For the "other", we had accustomed ourselves to going during the hours of darkness. I never heard of a case of diarrhoea, thank God! We couldn't have a meal until we pulled back out of the front line for the night. In the laager (camp), we had to top up the fuel tanks and the ammunition racks for the 75mm and machine guns before we could ravenously devour the meal the cooks had brought up for us in the convoy of 3 ton trucks. To get back to the story, it was inevitable in the day-long heavy bombardment that several tanks would be hit and we did suffer many casualties. Perhaps this partially explained but did not excuse what happened as we started to leave the battlefield. As we headed for a gap in the hedge, a figure suddenly rose up out of the ground in front of us, with his hands in the air. It was a German infantryman, obviously wanting to give himself up. As I looked at him I suddenly heard a gun firing and saw spurts of earth leaping up around the German's feet. He turned and tried to run as the gun kept firing. I was horrified and looked round to see who was trying to kill him. I could not believe it but it was our own sergeant tank-commander who was cold-bloodedly blazing away with a Thomson sub-machine gun. The rocking and rolling motion of the tank made it difficult to aim straight but then the soldier stumbled and fell. I couldn't belive my ears as the sergeant screamed at our driver to "Run over and kill the bastard"! The driver did drive right up to the prostrate German but stopped with the tracks hovering over him. I realized this was deliberate because the overhanging nose of the tank prevented him from being seen from the turret........ And certain death. Another tank in our troop had stopped alongside and, as I climbed out, the other co-driver did the same. Together we went to the wounded soldier and lifted him to his feet, draping his arms around our shoulders. We practically carried him, groaning with pain, through the gap. On the other side in the shelfter of the hedge was a long line of wounded Allied soldiers, infantrymen and tank crews. As we gently laid down the young German, who didn't look more than 18 or 19 years old, I noticed he was clutching his stomach. Grey intestines were oozing out between his fingers, as he desperately tried to hold them in. I realized then that one of the heavy ·45 bullets had hit him in the back and passed straight through. A medical orderly came up then so I asked him if there was much chance for the lad. He glanced down and said, disinterestedly, "He'll live". You can, perhaps, excuse the orderly who had seen so many of our boys die that he hadn't much time for a German. So Len (the other co-driver) and I, put some cigarette's in the poor lad's top pocket, looked at him again and then ran back to our tanks. I have always regretted that I never found out the boy's name and so have never been able to discover if he survived or not. What our sergeant did was dreadful and inexcusable and shocked the few who witnessed it. WE thought only the Germans, and not all of them, did things like that. I have had nightmares ever since and, as I said at the beginning, I told the whole story to Dr Whiting, our G.P. and asked his frank and honest opinion. He said that, from what I had told him, the bullet had entered the man's back and exited through his stomach to the left of his spine and navel. If it had not seriously damaged any vital organs on the way, he thought there was a reasonable chance of survival. Not exactly reassuring but, at least, there was some hope. I wish I knew.................... I hope to meet a few other HMVF 'ers on Sunday and am looking forward to seeing all the vehicles. If you see my uncle do come up and say hi, I know he'd like to meet you. Cheers for now Paul

Hi Oily Thanks for the advice, I'll look into it. Does your heat shield above the manifold reach right across the entire width of the engine, I'm thinking I might be missing a bit as it covers only one half and leaves the HT leads exposed to heat. Cheers Paul

Don't worry, you'll here them coming

Hmmm. thought you might say that. Each chapter of the manual should start with step 1... remove everything anyway, the issue is a crack on the joint halfway between the engine and hull. I see it has been welded before. Are new parts still available as there is a hole in the silencer too. Paul

Regarding ACV's with turrets, according to the Alvis Saracen Family by Bill Munro (excellant book if you dont have it, loads of copes on ebay) it says (p62) "the Royal Armoured Corps would also convert some FV603B's to ACV's for use as signals vehicles. Some retained the turret but those that did not had the anti aircraft gun mounting ring moved forward to where the turret had been. The conversions would be numbered as the FV604 ACV"

Hi Howard I only have a couple of pictures taken when it arrived. Definitely uparmoured I say, with vision blocks and welded side flaps etc See what you think Cheers Paul

All sorted, new pipe (5/16ths) flared and fitted. Next, exhaust manifold, how hard can it be...................

Congratulations!! In all the few days I've had mine I've never regretted it. Presumeably that is the one on ebay. Looked in good nick, cheers Paul

Hi Antarmike Thanks for the photos. I'm going to say that there isn't a turret on that one. For a start the roof section of a turret would be obscuring the commander alot more if it were opened up. From what I've heard I am making the following assumptions/conclusions regarding my own saracen, given that I don't have the mil reg. 1... it was rfc at some point, quite possibly during it's NI service. 2... it was uparmoured for NI service. 3... there is no evidence to suggest it was used for Lilliput operations as part of a bomb disposal unit, but then there is no evidence to dispute if either. 4.... This is an earlier model of saracen as it doesn't have a dip stick on central or rear bevel boxes 5... It started out as an APC 6.... The turret is original and hasn't been removed/replaced during it's ACV makeover.

Heres one. If you look at alan turners pics the top two are interior shots, the small panels near the floor (numbered 14 and 20 respectively) are listed in my manual as vents rfc. I have one present on the left side. Does the presence of this mean it was definitely RFC before or is this included on every saracen, even non RFC? Thought it might be a dead giveaway. Cheers Paul

That photo is exactly like my saracen, but was it used in ni as a acv or converted afterwards? Perhaps we will never know...............

You're not that nigerian general who wants to send $000,000's dollars to this country and needs my bank account to help him out are you? Apparently I get to keep some of the money for helping out. What luck!!

There is so much saracen porn here its obscene (and I love it). There is a difference between the custom made acp which had a high top and the apcs converted to acv. I can't see why a turret would be a disadvantage in an acv, still very useful for defence, so why remove it. Probably different units had different ideas and converted things differently, so there could be a number of different versions out there. Can anyone fit the word different into a sentence more times than I just have. Cheers Paul

Hi Alien Yes, that one is mine. It needs a turret to give the commander headroom when drinking tea. Thats what I've found so far anyway. Cheers Paul

Its all relative, yes canada may be a few thousand miles from the English midlands but Devon is about 60 years behind. You have to go through a wormhole around Bristol

Yes, there is definitely an ACV there, although with turret removed. It makes sense that an ACV would be used for signal sweeping and jamming as the extra equipment would require the external gensets and battery stowage bins, also the welded mast mounts on the roof. Interestingly, the three saracen APC's in the photo are RFC, much more effective against petrol bombs as ordinary cooling would suck fire into the engine compartment. However, the ACV is not RFC, suggesting a less confrontational role. Paul

Right here are a few photos as evidence of poss. rfc, can you confirm if I'm right please. 1... There are two bolt holes on the grill, did this mount the front cowling for rfc or perhaps horizontal bars for pushing 2... There is a welded plate over each rear engine cover. The welding is a bit poor. Would beehive intakes have been mounted here? The photos I have seen show the beehives completely replacing the engine lids. 3... There do seem to be some unnecessary bolts around teh front lights. Did these mount light gaurds? 4... The front hatch hits the back stop way before it reaches the engine covers, this reduces visibility alot. Was this because beehive air intakes were present before. Cheers Paul