Adrian Barrell

And here it is! http://www.cannyscot.com/

No, you're excused, must just be having a bad day! :-) Oh and the chap at Rolls Royce was Robotham......

Always and never cannot be used in this context! I have near me the remains of the Boyton AFV range, built for pre-D Day practice. Some of the winch houses are stll there, substantial concrete structures and the stop banks are still littered with 75mm AP shot. My Cromwell was here at some point with the rest of the regiment. They were certainly using service rounds there! I have no doubt you are correct for more modern use. I have seen mobile target Cents and Comets that were certainly manned but I understand these were subject to small arms fire only.

Good point and it reminds me of something else I've noticed though a little off topic. I have a few preliminary handbooks and manuals that were obviously cheaply produced in small numbers for and probably by the Army. The covers are invariably recycled card, often with pension details or similar on the reverse!

That's fine for a hole with parallel sides but not for a tapered hole. I would bore a tapered hole and file to fit as Matt suggested.

Steve, are you referring to key cards, the cards with 10 vehicles on each? These exist for most vehicles but give no clue as to service history. The individual service cards are the rare ones as these go into more detail but I believe they were all, generally, destroyed.

Though that is a 6pdr but that's just a point of interest!

I suspect it was nothing more than a towed target.

Hercules use an oval section cotter through the valve stem.

It takes more than that to fool me....... I see it has a Cromwell wheel station though! I would also suggest that tube is real too. Nice to see Major Anderson again!

Olive drab.

It's a tool for cutting internal profiles. Usually drawn through the workpiece, it has multiple teeth, each one cutting a little more material until it is fully through leaving the desired shape. Internal keyways and splines are usually broached.

Folding Boat Equipment?

I have a slotter of a similar vintage and a bit closer to you if you feel the need!

That is clearly a Mk 1 and quite a rarity.

There are quite a few on disused ranges in France but..... they are not really abandoned, just resting! :-)

To clarify a little, there were three 'Cromwells' on BoB. Dennis Roberts' Centaur, originally restored by Colin Jones using a dozer hull and a range turret and two Finish Charioteers. These were less convincing as they retained many of the Charioteer parts, one still used the Charioteer turret ring making it look a little odd. This is not a criticism, they were modded for a film and time is always tight on such projects. One of these ended up in the Czech Republic and the other is currently being prepared for a move to Brussels as part of an exchange. There are only two genuine, unmodified Cromwells in the UK, Bovingtons and the Wheatcroft Collections. The latter is a German range wreck and I have no idea when Bovingtons last ran. It is complete though. Charioteers were of course Cromwells originally and retained the Cromwell makers plate inside so they do count! There are about half a dozen Charioteers in the UK, though I don't think many will be converted back to Cromwells. It is a big job to do properly and the parts are not easy to find..... A&E 2012? Unlikely and not just for the reason of their size! A troop at full chat would be good though....

Cheers Steve! (your cheque is in the post) :-D

I'll take that bet...! Ians two Centaur wrecks consist of one dozer and one gun tank from SPTA, both from David Herbert.

No Cromwell, two Centaurs.

I can't remember where it came from, I believe it sat in the car park for a while before being 'refurbed'. I understand Waiouru were a little disappointed by the condition of the Grizzly, they supplied a fully rebuilt M41 and had been led to believe the Grizzly had been subject to a similar treatment. Lost in translation.....? :-\

It was, though the relative degree of 'refurbishment' caused a few raised eyebrows in NZ....

I've got loads of range pics though mostly historical now! When I get a mo, I'll scan them in.

Even then you must not put yourself in a position where you cannot land clear of obstructions in the event of an engine failure.