question DD Screens

[Big Al]

There was a TV programme recently about a chap who made a Scorpian tank float. He built a home made DD frame and screen based on the Sherman design. It worked, the tank floated but unfortunately the hull wasnt as waterproof as it should have been. The test was curtailed by water ingress into the engine bay. But the screen inflated, deflated and was waterproof.

I think you will find that was Bob Grundy who is on this forum

Big Al

[Grasshopper]

I thought the original CVRT floatation screens were held up by stays and raised "mandraulically"? I helped Nigel (Ratty on this forum) raise his Spartan floatation screen at Beltring a couple of years ago and that was hard work!

 

Has the floating Scorpion made it onto Youtube yet?

[R Cubed]

A little side step off the original thread a bit, but on the link further up this thread for the DD tank in Port en Bessin on the rear idler wheels there are recessed discs on the outsides of them, does any one know why they are there, of course some one does all they have to do is post the answer !!!!

[Maurice]

The rear idlers are also used to drive the propellors via timken diff housing.

Orriginally they had another set of Sprockets fitted on them , but because the tracks kept jumping on them they were removed , they discoverred that the tracks would annyway not slip on the rear idler because if they were in the water the weight of the tracks hanging unsuported at the bottom would prevent them from slipping.