For the Record has noted that footage from 1918 of US Army tests of an Mk. VIII Liberty tank has been posted on youtube. The footage seems to have been sped up, making the tank seem unusually agile. Playing the video at half speed results in a more realistic look playback.
MS-1 Soviet tank restoration
February 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Over at Archive Awareness they have posted a series of pictures and videos chronicling the restoration of a vintage Soviet MS-1. This particular vehicle was found near the Russian-Chinese boarder where it had been dug in as a bunker. According to the man responsible for the restoration, “The work took about three years, but preparing for the restoration took even more time. We needed to retain all technical subtleties, so it was not just a copy, but as close to possible to the original. It is known that this tank participated in the events at Lake Hasan. To this day, no more than 5 tanks of this kind remain. Experts already admit that our tank is the closest to the original.” The full post can be read here.
British Intel on Japanese Tanks
February 24, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Over at Overlord’s Blog, researcher David Lister has made a post detailing files he found in a UK Archive concerning Japanese WWII tanks, specifically the Type 97. The files include information gathered from Japanese POWs, including descriptions and drawings. Some of the information provided by the captured Japanese soldiers is downright unusual, including claims that “all tanks had radio’s, air conditioning and twin 47mm guns, with one mounted in the standard turret and another in the hull. He also claimed that they could fit 30 ammunition boxes in the tank, each box being 2 feet long, 1 foot tall and 1.5 feet wide.” The entire post can be read here.
WoT’s Chieftain posts new article: US Centurion Part 2
February 21, 2015 by Leave a Comment
World of Tanks researcher Nicholas Moran, aka “The Chieftain” has published part 2 of his article on US testing of the Centurion III tank. Part one dealt with the US assessment of the Centurion III’s fighting compartment. Part 2 deals with automotive tests. This picture of “damaged parts of clutch assembly” should give the reader a hint of how the tests went.
The full article is available to read at The Chieftain’s Hatch.
IS-3M Heavy tank pictures
February 20, 2015 by Leave a Comment
War History Online has posted a description and photo collection of a Soviet era IS-3M heavy tank on static display. The vehicle is quite weathered and need of restoration. The photos include both exterior and interior shots, along with a general description of the IS-3. The location is not noted in the article. Judging from the vehicles visible in the background, we are going to guess these pictures were taken at Snegiri Museum of Military History, but we could be wrong.
A Brief History of AFV News by George Bradford
February 19, 2015 by 8 Comments
Editors note: Some of you may have noticed the similarity between the name of this website and the long running publication AFV News. While the similarity in names was not intended, we have been fortunate to have gotten the attention of AFV News publisher and book author George Bradford of Ontario, Canada. Mr. Bradford has been kind enough to share his extensive knowledge of all matters pertaining to tanks and armored vehicles with us (and also catching some of our typos!) He has graciously provided us with a history of the AFV News Bulletin for us to share with our readers. While AFV News is no longer published, its legacy lives on at the AFV News Discussion Board at Com-Central. Mr. Bradford’s vehicle plans and blueprints are available at AFVplans.blogspot.
AFV News magazine 1966 to 2010
By George Bradford
I was about 32 when I first took a serious interest in armoured vehicles. At that time (about 1963) I published “ARMORED VEHICLES from their conception to the present times” a small illustrated booklet attempting to show little line drawings of every tank built to that date. This was sold to all the armour contacts I had at the time, and later to AFV News subscribers as well. At this time I had also been subscribing to a little wargaming magazine called “TABLE TOP TALK” by Jack Scruby out of California. I wrote a few articles and did some artwork to improve the cover design for Jack, and all this must have planted the seed for AFV News. There wasn’t much out there on AFVs, but Merberlen in the UK did have a nice series of Bellona plan view drawings coming along, for which I was assigned to do cover illustrations. Also out of the UK was the renowned series of AFV Profiles, which appeared on a regular basis.
Leon Kent, who helped stop a column of German tanks at Battle of the Bulge, dies at 99
February 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The LA Times is reporting that Silver Star recipient Leon Kent has passed away at the age of 99. During the opening hours of the German offense commonly referred to as The Battle of the Bulge, Kent’s battery of 90mm anti-aircraft guns had knocked out five tanks, including on King Tiger tank over a two hour period. Kent and three other men in his battery received the Silver Star for their actions, although Kent did not receive his award until 1998 due to “lost paperwork.”
Kent related a detailed account of his experiences during the Battle of the Bulge in an interview in 2003 for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. Audio of the interview as well as photos and a history of the 143rd AAA Gun Battalion are available from the Veterans History Project here. The parts of the interview relating to the destruction of the German tanks is posted below. [Read more…]
Overlord’s blog on Project Foil
February 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Overlord’s blog has posted an article and some diagrams from the archives describing the history of the failed British “Foil” multiple rocket launch system.
The project was to design a multiple rocket launch system for the British Army. This had become possible with recent advancements in rockets that had made them more accurate than the area weapons of the Second World War. So with this in mind the British started looking at large calibre unguided rockets. Phase one of the project was finished in 1969, with talks about a joint German and Italian collaboration the following year. It seems that the rocket chosen was the same one as used in Project JAWL, which ran from 1963 until 1968. Foil in turn lead to the RS-80 project of 1974, which got killed off by the United States MLRS system, which had a massively faster reload due to the rockets being loaded in pods.
Valentine IX Trails in the USSR
February 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
For the Record has an interesting post translating information on the Valentine infantry tank in Soviet service provided by Russian researcher Yuri Pasholok. The post relates the results of Soviet testing at Kubinka in March of 1943 of a Valentine IX tank. The IX variant was equipped with a larger turret and 57mm 6 pounder gun as compared to earlier versions of the vehicle which had the 2 pounder gun. The report concludes that the Soviets were less than enthusiastic about this varient of the tank due to the lack of an HE round for the main gun and lack of coaxial machine gun. The test results can be viewed at the Archive Awareness website.
Altorfer Bros. Co. armor piercing tank shells
February 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The Washington Times-Reporter (Indiana) has an article about the Altorfer Bros. Company of East Peoria discussing their production of armor piercing tank ammunition during World War II. Altorfer Bros. Co. (A.B.C.) was a manufacturer of washing machines prior to the war. During the war they switched over to the production of war materials, including tank ammunition. The article is written primarily based on the remembrances of 91 year old Hank Altorfer and his sons. Much of the information is frankly either incorrect or exaggerated, but tank enthusiasts will still find the article of interest. Unfortunately the article does not mention the type, or even the caliber of shell that A.B.C. manufactured.
Tank and AFV News 