Jason

A couple of others survived, but were unfortunately scrapped...ELFRIEDE was displayed in Paris after the war (it was used for target practice and had huge aiming panels painted on it). SCHNUCK was displayed with HAGEN in London until scrapping. Interesting to note - the Polish Army used the remaining A7V's and Renault tanks in their short territorial conflict with the Soviets in 1918. Apparently, the remaining A7V's lasted until 1926 in Polish service!

The book I got these pics from is called "MEPHISTO A7V Sturmpanzerwagen 506" by Mark Whitmore, and is available from the Queensland Museum. It has a wealth of pictures, technical drawings, names of the various commanders and battles the tanks fought in. cheers Jason

being relocated to the new Museum in 1986

out in the open minus the tin roof (still covered in graffiti) - the tank was sandblasted and repainted in 1971.

into the museum grounds, thanks to 2 city council steam rollers. The tracks churned up the roads quite badly, but the steam rollers put everything right again after the delivery!

Mephisto arrived at Norman Wharf in Brisbane on 2 June 1919 and was unloaded the following week....

This pic shows 506 Mephisto (right) being converted from a "female" tank to a "male" tank

This is a shot of "Hagen", displayed at House Guards Parade in London. It was scrapped after a small boy injured his fingers in one of the doors.... The A7V taken to Aberdeen in the USA was NIXE II, which was cut up in 1942.

The names of the "Tank Boys" in the rear armour plate.

Thought I'd test out my camera and cropping skills. Here are some images from the book I have about the tank. First up - the graffiti. The tank was at the 5th Tank Brigade demonstration ground at Vaux-en-Amienois (near Amiens) when this pic was taken, August 1918. Note the fuel tanks on the ground at the left of the picture.

I'll see if I can scan some of the pictures from the Mephisto reference book I have here when I go back to work next week to show the condition it was in aftre it was captured. From those it was covered in graffiti by allied soldiers who came to have a look at it, so that current paint scheme isn't original unfortunately! cheers Jason

Thanks guys...I remember when I was a kid I'd go to see it "in the open" pretty much every weekend with my father. A friend of mine is one of the curators at the museum who gets to climb around inside it occasionally when it needs to be checked to see how it's holding up! Tony - yep, you're right on all counts! Good old Uncle Herb - in between stealing a farmer's fruit and being wounded he managed to leave his mark on this little beauty!! cheers Jason

one more of the rifle cheers Jason

on the same theme...a Mauser anti-tank rifle, 1918 vintage, also in the Museum's collection

insignia

broadside

name - note the shrapnel scars under the gun mount!

Front

Good evening gents I have finally (!) gotten around to taking some pics of the only surviving A7V. Its located at the Queensland Museum in a climate controlled environment to prevent further deterioration. It was originally located at the "old" museum at Bowen Hills in the garden, behind a wire fence and under a tin roof. Just as a side note, the names of the "Tank Boys" cold-chiselled into the rear armour plate includes one H WILLIAMS - my great-uncle. Unfortunately, the way its displayed is a bit hard to get a large number of pictures at different angles! Hope you enjoy these anyway. cheers Jason

WOW!

and the catch assembly - another upside down one like the other bar I posted above cheers Jason

and the reverse

Hopefully these are a little clearer!

Hi guys Just got word a registered package arrived at my front door today. I'll take some better pics tonight when I get home from work and post them up. cheers Jason

Thanks Wild Card The search has already begun, the campaign medal I can source locally no problem, the EK2 may take a little longer, but should present no problems in the long run, the the last one... ...wow, the ones I've found to suit the bar so far are out of my reach just at the moment. Maybe when that lotto cheque arrives cheers Jason