No Signals Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 [/img] I'm pretty sure some will know this, but let's hear the other guesses first! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Am I thinking not in England? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Dummy landing craft, to practise loading and disembarking. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 That was my guess too, you just beat me to it Richard :evil: :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 That was my guess too, you just beat me to it Richard :evil: :-D Sorry ;-) early bird catches the worm and all that :whistle: Not sure of the location but have seen pictures of them before, but not this one I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 OoH! I Know, i Know. :cheesy: I have driven my Jeep on and off there several times. Great fun. Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Hang on, i know what i said http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/GMC.jpg[/img] but thats not my Jeep. I have a photo somehwere. Keep looking, keep looking. Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Signals Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 What a clever bunch! Definitely England. Saunton Sands, Devon. US training area, four of these concrete landing craft with a now overgrown/unrecognisable ‘beach’ in front of them. The adjacent headland is interesting in that it retains some of the mock pillboxes it had on it. Again these were part of a ‘beach’ scenario, but were attacked from landward, as the cliffs are too steep. At least one of the boxes has/had (it’s a few years since I was there) discolouration that suggested flamethrower practise to me – but I could be wrong. Others have extensive battle damage, some of them repaired and re-used. One has the name ‘Augustine’ written in to the concrete. A local told me he was killed on D-Day and is buried in the cemetery at Omaha Beach. Not checked this though. Tim, I’m surprised you were able to get vehicle access as I thought it was a restricted nature reserve. Certainly the pontoons are now on the County list as scheduled monuments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Tim, I’m surprised you were able to get vehicle access as I thought it was a restricted nature reserve. Certainly the pontoons are now on the County list as scheduled monuments. Ah you see, it is not what you know, but who you know. We became very friendly with the warden who allowed us to take our trucks and stuff up there. I have been up there three times with MV's and it is very interesting. However, you have to know what you are looking at otherwise things will pass you by. There are as you say 4 TLC but there is also one Higgins boat. Did you notice the line of post holes running back on each side of the TLC? They had fitted scaffolding type poles in them then hung canvas from them to enclose the sides of the landing craft. Several TLC have big gouges in the entrances where the Sherman drivers messed up their reversing. One of them has the name written in the wet cement by an engineer who was involved in building them from the 146th Engineer Btn. They landed in the first wave at Omaha with the 29th Div clearing the obstacles. If you are interested in more info on the location then drop me a PM. I have books for sale! Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Are the books by Richard T Bass, by any chance, Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Oh you guessed! :whistle: Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Oh you guessed! :whistle: Tim (too) WELL Worth getting, these................ :-) Certainly a huge amount of info contained within each volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Signals Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 Yes Tim I spotted the Higgins boat and the scaffold holes too. Her ladyship of course wished I hadn't spotted any of these and drew the line at going hunting for Matilda- whoever she was : )!! Do you know if she is still there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Didnt see the Matilda, but did find an inverted Cromwell and a Churchill which had been blown to pieces. Did also find one of the scaffolding poles though. It is hard to get a definite id on the remains of the tanks and even more so as things keep being buried and dug up again. Of course it is illegal to take any finds off of the dunes, so even if i had found something of great interest i would have left it behind. :whistle: Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Actually lots more photos, historymaps etc can be found at: http://www.assaulttrainingcenter.com/Contents.html Worth a look. The site is still under construction but there is quite a lot of info there. Tim (too) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeEnfield Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Actually lots more photos, historymaps etc can be found at: http://www.assaulttrainingcenter.com/Contents.html Worth a look. The site is still under construction but there is quite a lot of info there. Tim (too) As you say, Tim (too), site looks to be well worth coming back to on a regular basis. Must admit to maybe's having a week down there next year, and having a wander armed with the field edition, Spirits of the sand. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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