Jump to content

Range wrecks


plainmilitary

Recommended Posts

Ello Chaps

 

Just added a load of picies onto Plain Military. They are all Hard Targets on Salisbury Plain. Sorry if they course upset but maybe some day someone will rescue one or two for restoration. I know which two I would go for but the MOD are not very keen on these vehicle being removed for safety reasons. Plus the tree huggers think birdies are nesting in them. Look out birdie another 155mm incoming. :rofl:

Hope you enjoy

Tony

http://plain-military.tripod.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 132
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Oh my God Tony - great work.

 

There are some real beauties there - those Pigs have had the hell whacked out of them.

 

..........surely, none of those could be restored :dunno:

 

So Tony - we can we have an HMVF visit :-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To the ranges or the Impact zone? I would love to have you all come over to the SPTA for a drive around but the I.Z is well out of the question. I'm not that brave to go out there on foot let alone in a vehicle. The chap who got these pictures was doing it as part of his job and like he told me it still scares the hell out of him every time. I have been out there once on foot and I will never do it again. You name the ammo and it is out there the thing is its not the new shells that are the problem its the stuff that was fired during WW2 and before. This stuff only takes a small knock to set it off. Every now and then the army have a scrub burn which set some of this stuff of and hell when it goes it goes with one hell of a bang. Foss shells are the worst they scare the crap out of me. A story went round that a chap was digging out a bank in his garden when he found about ten shells. A army BDT was sent to have a look , It turned out to be WW1 live mustard gas shells. There is a road that runs through the I.Z which is full of craters but passable. You can see some of the vehicle but you will need a pair of binos and a spare change of under pants just in case. :rofl: Anyways please feel free to come over to the ranges for a jolly. There are plenty of things to see like trees and grass and sheep. I like to get there early so I don't end up with an ugly one (did i say that out loud). No really you must come over and have a look around, the ranges are open all year round and as long as we stay to the scalpins roads we will be fine. It is lovely in the summer. I will leave it in your hands you never know it could turn in to a yearly thing.

All the best

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony, that's fascinating but heartbreaking. I used go Johns scrapyard up there & strip things off the pigs before they got put out as targets. Presumably the pigs are pretty stripped bare inside now?

 

I see some still had registration plates, the only one I could be certain of reading was 23BK40. On the others I had difficulty being certain of the last two digits. Have you got a record of them or got other views that would cliunch the identity?

 

I do have records of all 1,700 Pigs & listings of pigs I have in photos taken by myself or appeared in books, newsreels etc It's always nice to gather as much info as poss even if it is a rather pathetic end of life on the plain. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Clive I used to think that but if it helps our troops learn the tricks of there trade then alls well. The new rules of the ranges is that they are not allowed to hit the target but get as close as they can. According to the target sheet I have here there are 20 Humbers on the centre range and 21 on the west range. I have no VRNs for any of the vehicles on the centre but all for the west range.

West humber targets are

09 BK 25

16 BK 98

22 BK 66

23 BK 40

23 BK 43

23 BK 90

24 BK 03

24 BK 60

24 BK 76

24 BK 90

25 BK 77

26 BK 43

27 BK 08

27 BK 11

27 BK 25

27 BK 94

28 BK 97

29 BK 15

30 BK 34

31 BK 64

32 BK 82

 

Thats all I have if anything comes to light I will give you a shout.

Hope this helps.

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Clive I used to think that but if it helps our troops learn the tricks of there trade then alls well. The new rules of the ranges is that they are not allowed to hit the target but get as close as they can. According to the target sheet I have here there are 20 Humbers on the centre range and 21 on the west range. I have no VRNs for any of the vehicles on the centre but all for the west range. I will email them to you.

Hope this helps.

Tony

 

 

Yes its better that they die in action rather than the hot spanner of a scrapyard. Even if they were all saved I doubt if there are 1,700 enthusiasts who would each want a pig. I have two & even if each Pig enthusiast did the same still there would be too many to go round. Although I don't see why not!

 

Aiming for a near hit, that's an interesting way of preserving targets. So if you hit the target then you have missed!

 

Yes that would be great to have a list of pigs & a good bit of common sense recording it all.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No really you must come over and have a look around, the ranges are open all year round and as long as we stay to the scalpins roads we will be fine. It is lovely in the summer. I will leave it in your hands you never know it could turn in to a yearly thing.

All the best

Tony

 

 

Tony - this could well be a possible HMVF meet up like Rowan proposed??

 

Is that possible?

 

Cheers

 

Jack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As long as they don't think my back garden is an Impact zone. Filling in dog scrapes is bad enough let aloan 155mm shell holes. I would have the lot. Maybe we could all club together and replace all the hard targets with smart cars. Do you think they would notice. A near miss is a hit and a direct hit is a kick in the slabs and a long walk home.

 

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are write it is a Sherman BARV. Also there is a debait going on another forum about the Centurions. Aparently only three of the type were built and two of them are on the range having rounds fired at them :banghead:.

Tony

 

 

Tony,

 

I think you will find that there were 12 Cent BARV's built.

 

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh my God Tony - great work.

 

There are some real beauties there - those Pigs have had the hell whacked out of them.

 

..........surely, none of those could be restored :dunno:

 

So Tony - we can we have an HMVF visit :-D

 

 

Can someone help an idiot find the pics of the pigs please :oops:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

West humber targets are

 

Tony excellent that you have recorded the numbers.

 

About half of them were struck off 1967-69 then recovered in 1972 & in 1973 made into Mk2. About a quarter of them have appeared in books official & unofficial.

 

You have probably spotted this coming but are there pictures of them all?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony,

 

I think you will find that there were 12 Cent BARV's built.

 

Richard

 

 

Sorry Richard What I was ment to say they are having a debait about purpose built Centurion moving range targets not BARVs. These were radio controled tanks and only three were made two of which they think are on the ranges

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tony,

 

I'll log on to your site when I'm at work. I've been promising you a visit for at least five years!!

 

Mark

 

 

Hello Mark have a look at the new Bulldog pictures I got today as well. Again there seems to be a bit of a ruckus brewing if these are the real thing or prototype versions. Due to the amount of pictures that have been added over the last few months the site is a bit of a mish-mash.

Hope you enjoy.

Tony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...