Firefly

I can't seem to find too many details of the circumstances surrounding his VC award. I know the basic details, about leading the Warrior under fire etc, and getting hit by an RPG later on...

Has anyone been able to get hold of the wording of the actual citation?

Any views on the award?

The Germans should have stuck with the long-barrelled and up-gunned MKIV Panzer. The production lines were so well established that they could have produced so many thousands of the things....

By the end of the war it wasn't the 'best' tank, but there was nothing wrong with it. The crews may have found themselves with the same probs the Shernman crews had, but there would have been so many more of them....

Having said that, one of my books says that the Allies needed ten Shermans to take out just one Tiger I!!....

Poor soul, just shows how very basic first aid can save a life...

Read a bit more about these the other day... they could reach a massive 6MPH in the water...and 50MPH on land. Surely they must have had replacement 'European' engines by now?.....

I can tell you that we got covered in mud trudging over to it to get that picture!!!

Seeing the T34-85 in action was worth it though! There's loads of the old PT series still in front line service around the world isn't there? They're all amphibious arn't they?

As i was told by an Inspector on a Central London aid once....."St Johns Ambulance are in attendance today......my advice to you is.... don't get injured!!"...

You're making these harder arn't you! Will have to hit the books on this one......obviously WWI (or am i wrong?). Some sort of coastal defence or minesweeper.......hmmmm......

'Cat out the bag' does indeed refer to the Cat 'O Nine Tails. Not a nice experience i should wager....

I think that they're containers for the steroids. Ohh, what a bitch! cheeky

I recently returned from a trip to Devon. I took a boat tour of Devonport dockyard (about the tenth time i've done so). What history! Then look at the 'navy' we have now..... flame

All these new variants of the Russian designs have me confused!

Is the 'Black Hawk' you're referring to also known as the 'Black Eagle' or Chiormy Oriol?

I've got a couple of pictures of it in a book at an arms fair a few years back. The turret was covered in a net but is a radical departure from the traditional dome-type, being much more like a Abrams. I presume this is to allow better protection for the crew from the rounds.

The chassis is almost exactly the same as a T80 but i think it has thicker armour as you say....

Time for a Google search me thinks........

BJOW,

Not that's it's your bag, but don't go looking for any 'modern' helmet badges, certain old bill have got themselves into BIG trouble flogging current Police gear on e-bay. By 'big' i mean getting nicked kind of big!....

Having said that though, John has a lovely Police Community Support cap if you're interested... cheeky

The website now has a facility where they will update you by e-mail of any news involving either the website or the museum. You just send them a blank e-mail via the link provided on the site.....

Top post. Some very interesting stuff there. Sounds like the infantry were left high and dry to die. Some things never change....

Just got back form my latest trip down there. They've changed it round a bit but it's as good as ever.

In terms of armour, they focus on tanks but have a good range of armoured cars. The WWII British armour is pretty comprehensive as you would expect, with just about every tank you can think of.

It's the smaller displays tucked away in corners that make it so good. There's many personal diaries, letters etc which have been donated by families of men who fought. Every time i go i discover something i missed the previous time....

I can't think of a more relaxed museum. No security guards or hordes of tourists, just a nice quiet atmosphere.

When i visited there was an Italian guy, very old and could hardly walk. The museum staff were assisting his family in lifting him onto one of the Italian tanks, a Carro Armato i think. The emotion in his face had to be seen, it meant so much to him, he had obviously crewed one in the war. The tank was in great nick, one careful owner, never used....

the F104 had the dubious distinction of cutting the pilots legs off at the knees during ejection.  Thats why F104 pilots became the only ones to wear Spurs in the cockpit.  they are attached by cable to the seat.  On initiating the ejection sequence, the cables pull the pilots legs back to the seat so the instrument panel does'nt cut them off when he leaves.

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UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :excl: :excl: :excl: :excl: :excl:

Yes, the early Panthers were very unreliable, catching fire very easily, but they actually ended up becoming one of the best tanks of the war. Funny though, when you consider that they were supposed to be the German answer to the T34! Originally the Germans were considering simply copying the T34, but Hitler stopped that idea in its tracks. The thought of Germany having to copy the 'Untermunchen'? Never!

As you also say, the 'Elephant' was a very effective weapon, being powerful yet cheap to make. I think the main problem with it was when it was used without infantry support, because it had NO defensive armament (as in machine-guns), it was very prone to attack by enemy troops. Powerful main gun yes, but no self-defence. Also, it produced a very high and large target for the enemy due to it's sheer size, making it hard to conceal.

It's true that the Germans were the losers in the first ever tank battle!

I believe that for the price of a Tiger I they could build 3 Panzer IV's?

The Royal Tiger was a bit of a pointless tank, the Tiger I already being more than capable of taking on anything in the world at that time. Having stood next to one though, i can vouch that's it an awesome sight! It wouldn't look that out of place on a modern battlefield.

In regard to the Witmann and Typhoon story (which we've discussed on another thread), i'm very dubious...........

Saw this programme a few months ago when it was first aired. I love things like this, the History and Discovery channels can always be trusted to come up with great programmes.

The only thing that detracted it slightly was the continual reference to the German pilot heading for Buckingham Palace. I doubt very much indeed whether he was heading for there as some specific target, he was more likely just heading in that general direction. There was no need to jazz the story up in that way, the deeds done that day were heroic enough......

This coming from a man in his 30's who can't even drive. Not that you'd ever be sober enough to anyway.......

What is important is that we all recognise our hero's and what they have done regardless of their nationality. In a society where film stars and football players are seen as hero's it is important to remember the sacrifices that others have made for the greater good.

Well said.

To clear things up for my part, my original post did stress that i was in no way undermining the achievements of Medal of Honor winners. I did also state that i considered the VC possibly too hard to be awarded (if it is even possible to place 'criteria' on such a thing). I still hold that opinion.

I have no interest in buying or selling medals, and my second reply was to Tom Kings interesting post, not Biscuit Browns. As for one-upmanship, thats not my bag at all....

I do hold the Medal of Honor (when awarded for combat) in high regard. I was recently reading a book about the battle for Iwo Jima, and the stories of the twenty-four Medal of Honor recipients after that horrific battle. I cannot imagine what those men must have gone through on that island, each and every award being deserved.

I hope this has made my views a bit clearer.....

MY POINT EXACTLY!! Am i really being out of order here?

Just spent an hour looking at that site, it's very very interesting. I particularly like the 'Underwater Assault Rifle', described as being for 'protection from sea predators'!!!!!!! Got to start saving up for that T90 now...........

For POW's they look pretty pleased with themselves! Hard to say. I suppose they probably are quite chipper that they're nowhere near the trenches. Can't really make out the headgear too well at the back, but yes, it certainly doesn't look British......

I believe the Americans had no tank designs of their own during WWI. They may have used a few MKV tanks, but their first attempt at tanks was with the MkVIII or 'Liberty' International Heavy Tank. This was a joint venture between the UK and U.S, but entered service in 1920. They were therefore never used in action, and many ended up being given to Canada to train their crews before they entered WWII.