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Post Info TOPIC: The "Snail Tank"
Hughbearson


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The "Snail Tank"
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A few years back, Vilkata posted a photo, or drawing of the elusive Snail Tank, which has since dissapeared or been deleted. I have this drawing by Hugo Bremer of it (I think) but I am trying to find Vilkata's picture.

Help appreciated.



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James H


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This might be a completely different thing, but a most interesting book says that the "Snail" was a fictional "tracked, petrol-powered vehicle used to breach an enemy's otherwise unassailable entrenchments," described in a book entitled "The Trenches" written by a Major Vickers in 1907. Vickers and Ernest Swinton worked together, and it is suggested that Swinton knew of this work. Swinton also claimed to have read "The Land Ironclads" but to have forgotten all about it until the Tank was a going concern.

AFAICT the Snail was supposed to burrow its way to the enemy lines (although I don't think actual snails do burrow) and then emerge to take them by surprise.

Can't find "The Trenches" but the story of its likely influence on Swinton can be read in large part at the location shown below. Worth having a search inside for "snail," "Vickers," etcetera.

http://books.google.com/books/about/Rumors_of_war_and_infernal_machines.html?id=dZKrzqFjnVIC



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Tim R


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Here you go the Snail Tank..

Translated from Russian.

I hope this helps.

All the Best

Tim R.

"Mobile Battery Improved Snail"

The project is self-propelled installation aritteriyskoy Navrotsky


No less original was the project engineer Navrotsky "Mobile Battery Improved Snail" , submitted in early 1917 This project is distinguished by its original chassis, consisting of one master and two spherical roller additional wheels of smaller diameter. Despite the similarity Navrotsky did not know about built wheeled tank Lebedenko, as well as the results of its tests. However, the general principle of using such a chassis that can overcome the deep ditches and trenches, then had a lot of followers. 
On the question of weapons Nawrocki approached seriously. As conceived by the creator of the mobile battery was armed with two 203-mm howitzers, two 152.4-mm guns, eight 76.2-mm guns and ten 7.62-mm machine guns. Armament hosted by brtam housing at the top of the tower and the two sponsors, board, which gave "mobile battery" has great similarity with the tank Lebedenko. The mass of this combat vehicle approaching 192 tons, the truth about the engines, which were to remove the battery not reported. Thus, the anticipated creation of super-heavy artillery self-propelled. 
In spring 1917, the Commission considered the draft GVTU Navrotsky, but to the practical implementation is not reached. Quite naturally, many questions arose in determining the dynamic characteristics of the ACS and its operational capacity. In addition, the undercarriage, "monitors" such as has already proven its complete failure, and its huge size made of "mobile battery" an excellent target.

 




-- Edited by Tim R on Monday 19th of September 2011 01:26:49 AM

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Tim R


Hero

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I forgot to mintion, the other drawing you have is as you stated by Hugo Bremer. Here is another drawing as well as a photo of the actual tank prototype dated 1915.

All the Best

Tim R.



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James H


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Ah. Thank you, Tim.

It seems we have more than one Snail - the two Russian ones and Vickers's imaginary one, although it would appear that it is the imaginary one that had the greatest influence on Tank development. Fair enough, in the circumstances, since there was more than one "Centipede," and the imagery is rather obvious.

I am in a position to inform you that the collective noun for snails is "walk," "rout," or, "escargotoire." Who decides such things?



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Rectalgia


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James H wrote:
I am in a position to inform you that the collective noun for snails is "walk," "rout," or, "escargotoire." Who decides such things?

 A question explored in detail by James Lipton in his An Exaltation of Larks (1968, 1977) in which he details numerous examples of venereal terms ("Stop tittering that boy!") in six families:

  1. Onomatopoeia (gaggle of geese, etc.)
  2. Characteristic (skulk of foxes, etc.)
  3. Appearance (knot of toads, etc.)
  4. Habitat (shoal of bass, etc.)
  5. Comment (cowardice of curs, etc.)
  6. Error (school of fish, etc. - from "shoal")

Not sure offhand what he offers for your snails but he is the first to admit there is no definitive list:

The language lives, the venereal game continues, your move.

 



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