Adrian Barrell

If he thinks he's getting in my tank in a leotard, he can think again...:shake:

So in tarten with a fur lining........

I've just measured mine, though the dimensions are a little approx as it's in a stillage and they were taken at arms length in the dark....... 21" Longest side. 19" Shortest side. 9" Wide 20mm Thick. 13 3/4" Hinge centres. The thickness is standard roof and hatch thickness on British tanks of the time. The photo looks like 18mm but as this type of armour tends to corrode in flakes, that might explain it. I think it fits the picture well and I still think it is a cupola door. If it came off a tank with a stubby gun, could it have been a Centaur IV or Cromwell VI? Never seen one on a range but you never know....

The hatch in Mantogs picture is the hatch you close first, note the grooved rebate for the other door to fit onto so it would not have had the locking catch. I still think it is a cupola hatch.

How right you are.... The other thing we used to think was 'It will always be there'. How wrong we were. The fall of the Berlin Wall helped in that respect.

It looks like a cupola hatch to me so could well be a Matilda 1 turret hatch.

I didn't think of it as a moan Eddy, I just like to put a different view forwards sometimes....:evil: The BARV you mentioned is a good case in point. It was the D Day Museum who funded it, Ian Miller and friends did the work. It was by no stretch of the imagination a restoration but was possible because of the relatively good condition of the vehicle. These things are a finite quantity though and there are fewer vehicles to find like that, regardless of the size of your wallet! The Grizzlies were never a problem to sell, it was the range or scrapyard wrecks that could have been had but with a few exceptions, nobody wanted. Many went for scrap. Hindsight.....

The thing is though Eddy, when tank wrecks were easy to obtain and cheap, where were the ''true core of the hobby, the greasy enthusiasts'' then? They weren't buying them, they were buying Jeeps for 6 to 7 times the price. A large part of the increased demand is, I'm sure, due to the increased values. One drives the other. The value is in no way a reflection of the sacrifices made by soldiers, that would be priceless, it's simply down to collectors saying to themselves 'I must have it!'

Don't be so sure. Nigel is restoring three Churchills, all to a very high standard. They will be seen out and about I'm sure. He served in tanks and is an enthusiast.

A private collector.

As mentioned at the start of the thread, the M4A4 is Jims and is an ex-SPTA target. Now fitted with a radial but not an M4A4T per se as it is not a French conversion.

Er no. I suppose the fact that the nose was the first bit to hit the ground followed by the rest makes that sort of true but the crash was nothing to do with any structural failure. It was a faulty carburettor that caused an engine problem at a critical stage of flight. Loss of control followed and there was insufficient height to effect a full recovery. But you are right, it was a tragedy.

The mirror itself is standard wartime WD and normally mounted on a stalk as a door or wing mirror. The bracket looks too well made to be a bodge up so probably original to allow mounting a normal mirror above a windscreen.

I wouldn't worry too much, it was often done wrong at the time!

Is it an original plate? Looks like a repro in the picture.

The other halves are now being welded together to revive another Grizzly, so both 52 and 76 survive just not quite as built...!

Good girl! My daughter (2) likes tanks, tractors and aeroplanes, though she was a bit frightened when the Antonov 124 went over low a couple of times at the weekend......

You should be ok, all that mint cake to keep up your energy levels....

The B-29 service ceiling was not much different to the B-17. Both were within the jetstreams level in theory.

I know that feeling......:yawn:

You imagine meeting it in a tank! Welcome Mrs mac, did you realise your husband was toying with the idea of sleeping under my tank? :nut:

Charming! Remind me again why you didn't attend Bolero? :iloveyou:

Especially when the Tank Museums prime focus is British Tanks and there are a few gaps in the display collection that could be filled with a relatively small investment, A30 Challenger springs to mind and Cavalier to a lesser degree. Having said that, the Tank Museum can not survive purely by pandering to enthusiasts. They have to attract the public in very large numbers and a running Tiger will have much more effect than two more static tanks. After all, it's prompted a couple of threads on here! Personally, I would rather see a few of those gaps filled but that's just my personal opinion and in no way a criticism of the Museum. It is still the best tank museum in the world in my view.

Read the title!!!!!