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timbo

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    White Star??

    in I may be stupid, but......

    Posted

    Yep I know a good few of you will be tutting over me asking this but...:undecided:.....

    What year of WW2 was the 'White Star' adopted as the 'Allies' universal symbol?...and was it actually adopted as the universal symbol or am I imagining that ??????

    ...now....I've seen Free French and Polish Exile Army Trucks/Tanks /Jeeps and such like with it on .....but was it supposedly adopted by all vehicles of all the Allies except the Soviets?...

    I'm guessing some vehicles that were maybe already 'in the field' maybe never ever got one painted on ..but were they supposed to have it on?

    ...I know we kept the 'roundel' on our aircraft right up to the end of the war but...

    ...did we actually use the 'white star' on all British Army vehicles such as Armour /Transport/Artillery etc etc etc ??

    Cheers!

     

    Coincidentally I was just reading about this in Warpaint vol 4 last night - a truly excellent series of books by the way. It was primarily an air recognition signal, and was adopted for widespread use in the run up to D day, although from recollection there was a more limited use of it earlier (1943 I think). All vehicles were to have it on although the size and positioning varied greatly. Tanks tended not to have it on the sides or front as it was feared it could make a convenient aiming mark..! Some tanks had white painted turret tops instead. I would imagine nearly all vehicles had it on, even if roughly applied, in order to protect against attack by roving bands of tiffies and thunderbolts..

     

    Hope this helps. Sure someone will be along soon with more definitive info..

     

    Cheers

    E-petition for annual safety inspection of pre-1960s vehicles

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    I know this is sitting on the fence but I can definitely see both sides of the argument. All my vehicles (with one exception), are post 1960 anyway, but are exempt as tracked vehicles.

     

    On balance I think this is a useful reduction in red tape and cost. Ultimately it is all our responsibilities to make sure our vehicles are safe. That has always been the case and this change makes it no different.

    Potential bio fuel problems with DIESEL

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    We have run the new 10ppm ulsd in trains since January this year (had a one year exemption). Bizarrely we have seen a reduction in blocked filters but a very consistent 6-7% increase in consumption...I cant imagine the storage issue is a problem as we tend to be filling the tanks every day or so...

    Alvis juggernaut

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    Try this link...

     

    http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690011113_1969011113.pdf

     

    If you google nasa friction testing you will see that they have done a great deal of this sort of thing over the years, but the above paper refers to tests at Wallop Island in 1969. There is a picture of the heavy load friction vehicle, and some of the test data refers to the 'juggernaut'. There is also a photo but it is wearing ministry of technology markings...

    Battlegroup North ( formerly Wheels & Wings ) at Elvington May 25~27th

    in The meetings log and photobook

    Posted

    Its about as local as they get around here.

     

    Maybe next year, its not road registered yet.

     

    Hoping to sort that tomorrow afternoon on the way home from work.

     

    Then I need to take the tracked vehicle test.

     

    If it had been registered before I bought it last month it might have been possible.

     

    Cheers

     

    Mike

     

    Good luck with the test Mike I took mine in my Sabre last year. Would guess you really have to watch the observation in a Spartan with visibility being a bit more limited - I really need to put a cushion in mine as I struggle, esp with the smokes on.

     

    If you havent got them already get some of Marcus Glenns big convex mirrors they are a big help!

     

    Although I found the test quite straightforward it certainly wasnt in the 'drive it once round the field' category that some would have you believe. For a start the examiner insisted it was on public road (in a housing estate), and it involved a number of laps in either direction, and parking up in various places, then a few highway code questions. I passed but main thing i was picked up on was position on road esp at junctions so watch out for that, its very easy to go too far right, esp with the left hand drive position. I also know somebody who failed because he got mixed up over indicator direction and indicated left instead of right. Although he corrected straight away examiner said it had to be instant fail.

     

    Some good tips in the tractor and specialist vehicle test booklet produced by dvla.

     

    Cheers

    Timbo

    Challenger Tank Fleet

    in British Vehicles

    Posted

    I wonder if we will see them coming through Withams? I can see the blurb now 'last one ever, rare opportunity..' and my personal favourite...'stripped ready for rebuild'...if you hadnt stripped it we wouldnt need to rebuild it..!

    Specific Forum Vehicles :

    in Other Chatter

    Posted

    I suspect an awful lot of the vehicles in the 'American vehicles' section spent most of their service lives as French vehicles..!

     

    Were there not also some French built FW190's and Panthers in the immediate post war years?

     

    I always quite like the look of the AMX13 myself..

    Who was at the sale with the money bags then?????

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    Chaps

     

    When was the last time a complete running Scorpion came on the open market? Ditto the chieftain...? The Scorpion that went through Withams 2 or 3 years ago fetched £15k + vat, and was a non runner! If you can get a good one for less than £20k then i think you would be a lucky man (or woman) indeed. The only one that really surprised me was the Bedford!

     

    Timbo

    Raf cvr(t) bomb disposal

    in Tracked vehicles

    Posted

    Hi Robin,

     

    I served in the Royal Engineers and am ex-33 Engr Regt EOD (Bomb Disposal) for 5 years, and prior to that served in 23 Engr Regt in Germany as was a CVRT(T) driver.

     

    I have first hand experience of using an RAF CVR(T) "Spartan" on "Op Crabstick" which involved locating the pipe mines on disused WW2 airfields with ferrous metal detectors and then using remote control excavators to dig up the explosive filled pipes and flushing the explosive cartridges out with water.

     

    The RAF "Spartan" had what I can only describe as a goldfish bowl on the back decks which was to enable the operator (in this case a plant operator) to visually see the excavator as it exposed the pipe mines in the middle of Goodwood race track (which is the Op I was on).

     

    As for using the 30mm CVR(T) Scimitar Raden main armament to hit munitions, this wasn't how Royal Engineers EOD did things (trying to be tactful). When I served, we used a Barrett CAL .50 to clear munitions such as cluster bombs (UK BL755 and US Rockeye) as accuracy is imperative as you don't want the munition to "high-order" (explode), you just want to disable the munition so that it didn't function as designed so it can be disposed of by using an explosive charge (PE4).

     

    The reason why you don't want a munition to "high-order" is that (for example) a cluster bomb can penetrate between 190mm and 250mm of armour (and a CVR(T) Scimitar or Spartan does not provide that level of protection.

    Best regards,

     

    Martin

     

     

     

     

    Top info thanks for posting.. I presume the goldfish bowl must have had some kind of ballistic properties..!

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