From: Think Tank Subject: Think Tank Vol. 0027 04/03/2000 Think.tank@tesco.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS' INDEX 1: Stuart Batchelor visiting Europe 2: Comand Vehicle set up for Warrior 3: UK Visit 4: Tigers in the UK 5: Famo heavy transport trailers 6: Normandy 7: PLM mounts 8: StuG III MG ammunition stowage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD INDEX 1: Bounced transmissions 2: Tank Museum news 3: Think Tank down for next two weeks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MODELLERS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Koenraad Cracco [cracck@pandora.be] Subject: Stuart Batchelor visiting Europe In reply to Stuart's question on things to visit. In London, the National Army Museum (Hospital Road in Chelsea) is worthwhile if you like small arms and uniforms and to fill in any gaps why not visit the Guards Museum in Wellington Barracks (Birdcage Walk on the way to Buckingham Palace from the Houses of Parliament). All these museums are in London itself. If you go to Waterloo, Belgium, you're just about 20 miles from Brussels. In Brussels there is the Royal Museum of the Army and Military History which has an AVF and aeroplane department. This museum is located in the Jubelpark (Dutch) (in French Parc du Cinquantenaire). Have a nice trip to Europe Koenraad Cracco Belgium -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: JimThomson [jim@jthomson57.freeserve.co.uk] Subject: Comand Vehicle set up for Warrior Hi. Can anybody help with details on the layout for the Warrior Battery Command Vehicle? I know the basic layout is set by the manufacturer with the radio harness put in by the army. Is the Bty Command layout the same as the Infantry Command Vehicle? Also can anybody tell me where I can get information on the German Bruckenlegepanzer BIBER used by the Norwegians, I'm looking for photo references of the vehicle painted in the green & white winter camouflage. Thanks Jim Thomson -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From:  [stock@bits-pcs.fsnet.co.uk] Subject: UK Visit Hi Stuart, Further to your request for Museum information in the "Think.Tank". The UK is one big museum. A few worth the effort are: The Aerospace Museum, RAF Cosford, Shifnal, Shropshire, TF11 8UP Tel: (01902) 374 112. There is an excellent and interesting collection of aircraft. It includes big stuff, many prototype and experimental aircraft, Jap and German aircraft. The German experimental rocket and missile stuff is there and it is also the BA, BEA and BOAC museums base. A smaller Aircraft Museum is among the whole complex of museums at the Castlefields Exhibitions Centre in Manchester, including railways, industry, steam, electricity, etc. There is another smaller interesting Aircraft museum in Southampton, Hampshire. Liverpool now has the Western Approaches HQ now open for visitors. This is where the Battle of the Atlantic was commanded this side by the Royal Navy. On the other side of the River Mersey at Dock Rd, Birkenhead is the Historic Warships Display. Featuring HMS Plymouth (Frigate), HMS Onyx (Submarine), Tank Landing Craft, Landing Craft Infantry (All saw action in the Falklands War). Last but not least is a WW2 German U-Boat that was salvaged and is being renovated. I don't see you registered as a MAFVA member, so we will keep our fingers crossed?? I hope that the above may help a little. Best regards, Gary Williams, Pres & Sec of MAFVA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) From: John Harris [john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk] Subject: Tigers in the UK Further to my own post, I have had contact with a couple of 'usually reliable sources', no names no pack drill, and apparently the rumour is true; one of my sources had pictured the vehicle and the other had worked on it!. The collection might also have acquired some other interesting vehicles of the 'Panzer' ilk! The modern replicas will have more modern internals, notably the engine and gearboxes. I suggest that we just hope for a 'rollover' on the lottery! John Harris john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk UK Military Modelling http://www.ukmilmod.force9.co.uk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) From: John Harris [john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk] Subject: Famo heavy transport trailers The trailer is available as a kit from DES Kit, I think it was £80 at TnT last weekend. I also think there was a 'Schmidt Hobby' (spelling....?) vacuform kit for this trailer. Judging from their stand at TnT SMA seem to be turning away from 1/35th kits and figures, more 1/76th items this year. John Harris john@ukmilmod.force9.co.uk UK Military Modelling http://www.ukmilmod.force9.co.uk I think the company was called Hobbymodellbau Schmidt - seems to me that making a trailer that size from vacform would call for some significant beefing up if you were going to put much of a load on it though. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) From: Karl Grubb [karl@grubb72.freeserve.co.uk] Subject: Normandy Hi there I have read your post on think tank and offer you some suggestions. The distances you are proposing to drive (i.e. Verdun Waterloo Normandy) are enormous. You would have to use toll roads with the attendant cost factor. I have done the Normandy run and it took me a (long) weekend. I travelled out (ferry) via Le Havre, travelled to Omaha beach, Pegasus bridge etc. and back via Cherbourg as this allows you to see the maximum amount without retracing your steps and seeing same things twice. I recommend trip to Vimoutiers to see Tiger I (see attached postcard). In Normandy there is plenty to see, you almost fall over the stuff wherever you go. Caen is a must see for Museums etc I have found that you must plan your journey but not too much as this means you sometimes find things you did not know about and have to forego as you have other things planned. If you require any further help please ask. cheers Karl Grubb I can't comment on the Verdun Waterloo bit but I was surprised when we "did" the British sector of Normandy a couple of years ago how small it was. To see the places whose names are so familiar (Tilly, Lingevres, Bretteville, St Lambert etc) and see how they are still hamlets was a major surprise, as many villages in the UK have changed massively since the war (new houses, bypasses etc.). It was surprisingly easy to spot where famous photos were taken, as many are actually on the main roads through villages and we suddenly came upon them. It is worth having a copy of Lefevre's book "Panzers in Normandy - Then and Now" with you for location spotting, as he has done much of the work already. Normandy is still pretty much a backwater in France, which is good in that much of the historic stuff remains intact. Speaking of backwaters, Villers Bocage is a pretty desperate place with no restaurants and precious few hotels. We had to visit it for the ATB book but there is not too much left of the old town (the RAF pretty much flattened it) apart from at the top of the high street so if you are hoping to see the road along which the CLY advanced to point 213, you will be disappointed. I certainly wouldn’t go there again out of season. There are several bunkers along the coast (a 5cm position in the sea wall at Lion sur Mer springs to mind) and an interesting bunker complex near Douvres with flak posts as well as command bunkers. The only museums we visited were Bayeux (excellent - includes some great photos on the walls which show rare vehicles including what might be a de-gunned triple 20mm Crusader hull in a scrapyard) and Arromanches. Mind you, the trip still took several days, as it is less a matter of distance (it is a comparatively small area) than the fact that you feel a need to keep stopping to look at things ;-).. And if you're into bunkerage, go and see Batterie Todt near Cap Gris Nez and also the ruins of Batterie Grosser Kurfurst at Framzelles (right on the Cap). These, and the now buried (under tunnel spoil) Batterie Lindemann, made life very rough for Dover and the coastal towns until the Canadians captured the area in September 1944 and they are very impressive even now. Todt had the same 38cm turret as Batterie Vara in Norway, which was the subject of a recent feature in Fine Scale Modeler. Unfortunately only the concrete remains, although one casemate is now a museum and there was a 28cm K5 railgun there last time we went. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) From: Listmaster Subject: PLM mounts Many of you will doubtless have seen these on Humber scout cars, a few Daimler armoured cars and even the occasional Cromwell in NW Europe. They consist of a hollow central post mounted on the vehicle roof with a longitudinal bar and several shorter transverse bars all bolted together with a series of adjustable collars and hold either a single Bren (with drum magazine) or twin Vickers K guns. The whole affair can be traversed, elevated and fired from inside the vehicle by means of a pair of handlebars which are attached to the bottom of a rod running up the hollow column. Anyway, I had always understood the thing to be called a Parish Lakeman Mounting (i.e. just PLM, not PLM mounting). I was therefore interested to bump into Ken Jones at Trucks and Tracks last weekend where it came up in conversation that it was actually called the Parish Lulworth Motley, so the term PLM mounting is apparently correct. He subsequently sent me the following missive: The reference for the PLM as Parish-Lulworth-Motley is in Section 8 in Royal Armoured Corps Weapons, Military Training Pamphlet No.35, Part 4: Vickers GO Machine Gun Mark I (July 1943) on Page 15. This, incidentally, states the guns have a maximum elevation of 85 degrees, and "traversed in a full circle". The grip trigger assembly has to be removed from Vickers GO guns and a trigger casing substituted when they are fitted to the mount. Total weight of the mounting and both machine guns fully loaded is 163 lbs. It also says that "Pressure on either lever will cause both guns to fire", so it looks like they could be fired only in pairs and not singly. So thanks, Ken, for sorting it out. If only I could work out from my drawings and photographs how to build one ;-)). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) From: Listmaster Subject: StuG III MG ammunition stowage Does anyone know what arrangements there were for stowage of MG ammo in the StuG IIIG? Specifically, were the tank-type bags used or were belts just carried in the usual infantry-type boxes? And where were they stowed inside? None of my photos seem to show any…. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRADERS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & NOTICEBOARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) From: Listmaster Subject: Bounced transmissions I am having one or two bounces again from addresses which my system has decided not to recognise any more. Can anyone help with a current address for: takopj@mbox5.singnet.com.sg (sorry, no name known) And to Kelvin Mok - are you missing any issues? I had a message after sending 0025 that your "user(s) account is temporarily over quota" recently but the last one seems to have gone through OK. Thanks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) From: MALCOLM IRESON [ireson@carltons36.freeserve.co.uk] Subject: Tank Museum news This was sent to me by David at the Tank Museum; is it any use to anyone else? Cheers, Malc. ----- Original Message ----- From: David Butt Subject: Tank Museum news 'Exciting news from the Tank Museum on a new release' THE TIGER ON CD David Fletcher's book 'The Tiger Tank a British View' is now available for the IBM PC, from our on line shop. This book has been out of print for a number of years and takes a look from the British standpoint of this formidable German tank. The CD reproduces military intelligence reports from the very first rumours of the Tiger to the end of the Second World War and also includes a complete transcript of the examination report on Tiger 131, which was carried out in England by British experts after the tank had been captured. http://www.tankmuseum.co.uk/shop.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) From: Listmaster Subject: Think Tank down for next two weeks Just a reminder that due to my imminent absence on an undeserved holiday, on which I will not be taking a PC (for once), there will be no issues until 25th March, when I hope to have plenty of material from you all for a bumper volume. In the meantime, may I suggest consulting the Missing Links site at http://www.missing-lynx.com/ if you find yourself in need of a ‘fix’ on AFV-related discussions. Robert -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Lockie (Think Tank Listmaster) Visit the Miniature AFV Association website at http://homepages.go.com/~mafva/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End of Volume