60 year old tank found.........

[Jack]

Posted up over on CCKW.org :-o

 

I have asked Joris to translate but reckons that out of the 10 langauages that he speaks, Czech isn't one of them :evil:

 

http://www.detektorweb.cz/index.4me?s=show&i=2988&mm=1&vd=1

[Joris]

:oops2:

[Enigma]

Never seen those tracks before on a sturmgeschutz.

[ashley]

Hi,

not sure but i think that after this vehicle was pulled from the mud still in its winter coat it was left outside neglected until the white became a coat of red rust :evil:

 

Ashley

[AlienFTM]

Never seen those tracks before on a sturmgeschutz.

 

 

They are Ostketten, "East Tracks" - tracks for the Eastern Front. Less hindered by narrow railway tunnels, the Germans got better performance in the Russian mud on these tracks. I think they may also have been used on Mark 4s, which is why the Thoma bazooka plates on H and J models were mounted so far away from the running gear.

 

I believe the Americans did the same with some Shermans. The picture I have in my mind is of an M4A3E2, the so-called Cobra King brought into service for Op Cobra in Normandy in July 1944 and introducing the enlarged turret and hull with stronger glacis plate, the same hull as comprised the M4A3E8, the so-called Easy 8 with horizontal volute spring suspension in lieu of the early vertical volute spring suspension system.

 

Note that all Tigers had Ostketten: they WERE wide enough to cause railway problems and had to change FROM wide tracks to NARROW tracks for shipment by train. Occasionally you will see pictures of Tigers rushed off the train and straight into battle still on transport tracks and the small side skirts above them missing. These items would be stowed underneath the tank whilst in transit.