Poppy day

blueghost_39 said:
He worked on Sherman tanks ?
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Not as far as I know. There was a book by an American guy involved with Shermans. Can't think of the name at the moment but I recall a show on it and it also mentions having to deal with knocked out Shermans and the fate of the crewmen.

Dominic Rooney said:
As usual LG had to put his 'corporations are the ev0L' spin on it :sick:
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Yeah well freedom of speech :o
 
alanf85 said:
Not as far as I know. There was a book by an American guy involved with Shermans. Can't think of the name at the moment but I recall a show on it and it also mentions having to deal with knocked out Shermans and the fate of the crewmen.
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Researching WWII armour is a sideline project I've been busy with for some 5 years now.

Managed to track down several examples of WWII armour in SA - including the 6 surviving Sherman Fireflies preserved in SA :)
 
blueghost_39 said:
Researching WWII armour is a sideline project I've been busy with for some 5 years now.

Managed to track down several examples of WWII armour in SA - including the 6 surviving Sherman Fireflies preserved in SA :)
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:eek:


Found the book.

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Traps-Survival-American-Division/dp/0891418148/ref=sr_1_1/203-7316573-3946336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194794295&sr=8-1"]Death Traps: The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II [/ame]


Only R53 @ Take2.

Haven't read it yet but I will soon ;)
 
blueghost: not sure if it still exists, but a place you might want to go and look is "Natal Mounted Rifles" in durban.

They used to have a collection of tanks on the grounds. I remember as a kid playing in them, was great fun.
 
ToxicBunny said:
blueghost: not sure if it still exists, but a place you might want to go and look is "Natal Mounted Rifles" in durban.

They used to have a collection of tanks on the grounds. I remember as a kid playing in them, was great fun.
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Many thanks :)

Have already finished searching through Free State , Gauteng & Limpopo for WWII armour.
 
It are my pleasure... there are a couple of military museums around durban and in the midlands... they should hold some treasures for you I think.. :)
 
ToxicBunny said:
It are my pleasure... there are a couple of military museums around durban and in the midlands... they should hold some treasures for you I think.. :)
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My research is for non-commercial purposes - all relevant information that I gather is passed on to the National Museum of Military History, JHB.

Must get to KZN and start the tank hunting :D
 
Even better to hear that.

When I am back in DBN over xmas I shall dig thru my grandfathers stuff and see what I can find, he was heavily into the history of that area, but maybe he has some stuff on WWII and things that were in Natal. I do know there was a big battery on the bluff during WWII and a sub-killer type thing in the harbour entrance.
 
blueghost_39 said:
My research is for non-commercial purposes - all relevant information that I gather is passed on to the National Museum of Military History, JHB.

Must get to KZN and start the tank hunting :D
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There's an old WW 2 era tank outside the Moth Cottages here in PMB. Can't remember what kind though :o
 
alanf85 said:
There's an old WW 2 era tank outside the Moth Cottages here in PMB. Can't remember what kind though :o
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It's a M3A1 Stuart light tank - armed with a 37mm gun.

Useless in the ETO , fared much better in the Pacific :D
 
alanf85 said:
There's an old WW 2 era tank outside the Moth Cottages here in PMB. Can't remember what kind though :o
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Same for the MOTH in Rugby. Can drive by and take a pic I guess (not an expert).

The Great War : who hasn't seen Gallipoli?

K
 
Debbie2 : Nope, unfortunately he died of colon cancer a few years ago. He was very heavily into the history of the Natal region, the Anglo-Boer and the Anglo-Zulu war.

Our grandfathers may have known each other if your grandfather followed a similar path.
 
My grandfather was a Delville Wood survivor, and he suffered from ill health for the rest of his life as a result of his experiences. He also didnt speak about them readily. Sadly I dont think many people really know what Remembrance Day is about, there are no more WW1 survivors alive as far as I know, and the amount of WW2 survivors is getting smaller all the time.

I have been photographing war graves and war memorials in and around JHB and believe me its a very sobering experience.

Out of curiosity, the Sherman tank was known as the "Tommy Cooker" because it had a nasty tendency to catch fire when hit.
 
OhGats said:
My grandfather was a Delville Wood survivor, and he suffered from ill health for the rest of his life as a result of his experiences. He also didnt speak about them readily. Sadly I dont think many people really know what Remembrance Day is about, there are no more WW1 survivors alive as far as I know, and the amount of WW2 survivors is getting smaller all the time.

I have been photographing war graves and war memorials in and around JHB and believe me its a very sobering experience.
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Yes it must have been :(. A real shame so many know so little about the wars

Out of curiosity, the Sherman tank was known as the "Tommy Cooker" because it had a nasty tendency to catch fire when hit.
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Yeah being a Sherman crew member was not fun at all :sick:
 
OhGats said:
Out of curiosity, the Sherman tank was known as the "Tommy Cooker" because it had a nasty tendency to catch fire when hit.
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Problem was more or less corrected with the introduction of "wet" ammo storage.

It took a lot of nerve (and courage IMO) taking on a Panther or Tiger with a Sherman.
 
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