More than a decade ago I found a few old snapshots of WWI tanks and people in an antique mall in Davenport, Iowa. They've finally surfaced and I have them up ion the web at: http://rockislandww1tanks.blogspot.com/ The blog fromat might not be the best, but it's an experiment. The pictures are mostly of a Mark VIII, with what I assume are the guys who built it. There is one picture of a Ford 3 ton in camo, a British tank of some mark, a self propelled gun of some kind, and a Renault with some unidentified person who really looks like he owns it. I think these are interesting pictures and hope they will be useful and interesting to others. If you have any ideas on what the equipment is, or who the people are please let me know! Thanks Andrew
Hi A Few Thoughts... At first I thought the top picture is a of a St charmond or Schnieder self propelled gun however, I think its an american experimental prototype built using a altered holt chassis..the apparant size is probarbly deceptive.... The Renault behind this vehicle appears to be the same one in the side shot with the guy who looks like he owns it, this is an american built 6 Tonner not a renault ft17... This same man appears to feature in several of the other pictures, 2nd from right on top or in front of the MKVIII.... The tank 2nd from bottom is a MKV and has "Read em and Weep" written on the side.. The same house appears in the background of several of the pictures...these may be interconnected and taken on the same date, there may be some kind of exhibition going on.. These pictures all appear to be post War possibly even as late as the 1930s
That top pic appears to be the Self-Propelled Caterpillar Mk I mounting the British 8" Howitzer, three of which were built after the Armistice. It used the same engine as the Holt 10-ton Artillery Tractor discussed recently.
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I believe this Mark V is a Male, number 9015 and also known as Baby Doll. As Centurion says it did belong to the 301st battalion. This tank seems to have travelled the States on war bond work. The words "Buy A Bond" can be seen painted on the gun shield (though partially obscured in this shot as the gun has been traversed). A photo of this tank taken in the same location was recently for sale on eBay. Photos of Baby Doll in Minneapolis in July 1919 can be found elsewhere on this forum - somewhere....
At first glance I thought the 6-tonner in the top pic was a TSF, but in the later pic it appears to be carrying some sort of placard or billboard attached to the turret. I can't read what it says, but there's a similar, legible one on the Ford 3 Ton, as if the vehicles are taking part in some sort of display or parade. The caterpillar-mounted howitzer was very rare, so what could this event have been? A private collection? An Army PR display?
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Could some of these pictures be from the re-opening of the arsenal museum to the public in 1919? the picture of baby doll might indicate a 1919 date as it seems little different to the one posted on the brittania thread which is dated 26/7/19
Could some of these pictures be from the re-opening of the arsenal museum to the public in 1919? the picture of baby doll might indicate a 1919 date as it seems little different to the one posted on the brittania thread which is dated 26/7/19
-- Edited by Ironsides at 10:05, 2008-11-19
Thats no way Baby Doll which was a Mk V and the tank in the link
The last tank in the series of photos linked to in the first post of this thread.
No, that's definitely a Mk V. Check the rear roof position. It has a flat front and a top-hinged single side flap. The Mk V* had an angled front and two side flaps hinged at the front and rear. The tank itself is too short to be a Mk V*. The panel ahead of the vent comes almost all the way to the sponson. On the Mk V* it stops roughly 6 feet further aft.
Is it possible that Cent has mistaken the open sponson door for the side door of the V*?
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"Sometimes things that are not true are included in Wikipedia. While at first glance that may appear like a very great problem for Wikipedia, in reality is it not. In fact, it's a good thing." - Wikipedia.
Thanks for all of the information! The photos themselves seem to be in two groups, in two different sizes and paper. Some are from some kind of event, with the tanks staged and sometimes with signs (the Ford, SPG, and the Mk. VIII in front of the brick warehouse). The Mk.VIII pictures with crew and tree are slightly different in size and paper, and the guys in coveralls don't seem to be dressed for an open house. The Mk. V is also being gone over by workmen. The picture of the "owner" of the 6 tonner is an 8X10, and there was a smaller print of the same picture in the lot. Please keep the suggestions coming! If any of the people or locations are identifiable I would really like to know.
Hi All... here are some more pictures from the Minnesota Historical Society's archives.. which may be connected it seems that there was a large event there on the 26/7/19 this may have been an event at Fort Snelling... Im posting all the pics for clarity...