Couple of questions on the hydraulic ram/pump/jack on the back of a MkI.
Were they all armoured (or covered or plated) like the one on Sir Archibald in Gaza, or was that just a Palestine Detachment modification?
What way up were they? The Airfix instructions direct you to put the cylinder at the bottom, and a sampling of built Airfix kits shows that sometimes the cylinder is on top, sometimes on the bottom. Is it possible that Airifx have accurately copied a mistake made by The Tank Museum staff, have Airfix just made a mistake, or are they correct? Are there any good, clear contemporary photos of real MkI tanks' derrières?
Will go look at my photos, but I 'think' that they all had shields, although not all used them as they got in the way, and the Gaza sheild was much larger and as much a cover as anything due to the mechanism no longer being used.
As for museum tanks, they get better as more research is done, so if anything changes on them, then go with the recent photos. Other than that, any tank while in service.
Looks like my brain is having a holiday, or it's one of those dreaded 'read it somewhere' thingys... No, they did'nt have a sheild when in use in Europe. Just one of the many Gaza modifications.
As for the Airfix kit....... Oh Dear God, tell me it hasn't always been like that!?!?! It's upside down! the ram is pointing upwards.
I suspect that the shields were a modification introduced during October or November 1916. None of the photos showing tanks in action (or wrecked) at Flers-Courcelette on Sept. 15, or Thiepval/Morval on Sept. 25/26, which I have seen show the shield in place. However, the shield is present in photos taken in November. All of the Gaza detachment tanks seem to have had the shield, despite no longer carrying a hyraulic ram. Presumably it was retained to protect the apertures for the radiator drain and filler.
-- Edited by Rhomboid on Sunday 30th of December 2012 08:36:29 PM
I do love it when I'm wrong! I know that's a strange thing to say, but it normally means I've learnt something new.
The photo of Sir Archibald is in fact NOT a Gaza modification, but in fact a very rare example of the standard sheild in use.
I had a look back through my copy of 'The Tanks of Flers' by Trevor Pidgeon, and there is the reference to the sheild with its Rear Light. On looking at the photo again, it is quite clear the sheild is a well made riveted afair and there on the top right hand corner is the bracket for the tail light.
The sheild attaches to the sides of the Hydraulics bracket, not the rear of the tank. You can see two of the bolts in the photo.
Just looking through my Mk.1 pics with tail wheels still fitted it appears some had the shield fitted but not others, C19 Clan Leslie doesn't have one but the wrecked A company female does... not very conclusive!
The mistake in the Airfix instructions would seem to belong to whoever drew them up. As you are aware, the subject of the Airfix kit seems to be tank 785, a MkII modified after WWI to resemble a MkI. Photos of 785 taken at Bovington Camp after the war, and at Chertsey in the 1950's show the hydraulic tank in the correct position. The tail was fitted to the Hatfield Park MkI after its arrival at the Tank Museum in the late 1960's, and photos from this era show that it was again correctly installed.
