Looking at a picture that Mad Zeppelin placed I noticed two things that I would like to know more about.
1. In the red circle there is a rope or cable with at the end a hook. It looks like the rope or cable is coming from inside the tank. Is it a winch?
2. In the green circle there is a steel rod between the two l-beams. I noticed that this rod is on many Mark IV's. So was this a standard on these tanks and was this rod to place the spuds on while not in use? Or was there an other purpose?
In respect of No. 2, I have seen this rod described as a stiffener or spacer as it is placed approximately equidistant between the end connector and the penultimate support which was attached to the cable stowage box. The hook and chain could have been used as a tying point for a cable.
While there are many shots of the unditching rails with different numbers of holes for various attachments or or fixing positions, there seem to be very few pictures of the rod in place, and all those I have seen have been on captured tanks - perhaps it was a German fitting?
thanks for your reply. A stiffener could very well be it. But I think it was not a German thing. I thought that too at first, seeing them very clearly on the Beute Mark IV's, but looking at other pictures of Mark IV's that are not (yet) put in German service, the stiffener is there also. See these examples:
The cable/rope with chain ..... ? I don't know. It looks like the rope/cable comes from within the Mark IV. Or am I seeing things that are not there
Number 1: When the stowage of the unditching beam was modified, so that it was positioned at the rear of the hull over the petrol tank rather than on top of the tank, a bolt was removed from the rear hull and the hole thus made was used to accommodate a cable with a hook on the end. Internally, the cable ran to a windlass. Externally, the cable was wrapped around the unditching beam, the hook attaching to its own cable so as to hold the beam in place.
The answer to the purpose of the cable and hook is great ....... but brings on a second question. In photos I see the chain wrapped around the unditching beam. On this photo it is lying loose on the beam. My question: the rope with hook was another way to secure the beam? An extra way to attach it? Or could it be that the hook was attached to the chain that is hanging on the beam in the picture?
I have looked at this again and decided my first answer was not quite right. You are correct that the small chain also plays a part. This runs from one unditching rail to the other. The beam itself is mounted on chocks on each rail. The thin chain is then wrapped around it, and the hook attached to it (as you suppose) to keep the beam in place. The large chains on the rail are used to attach the beam to the tracks if the beam is needed. Two more photos may help.
Gwyn
(I am having problems attaching files - I will just post this and post photos another time)
This is the rear of 2830 J.21 'Jingle' seen in April 1918. It's the only pictorial proof I can find that fits GE's initial description. Unfortunately, the quality is not the best.
-- Edited by mad zeppelin on Saturday 7th of May 2016 04:41:21 PM
-- Edited by mad zeppelin on Saturday 7th of May 2016 04:47:23 PM
I can't say whether they really meet. But the small chain certainly is under tension, it's not hanging down loosely. So, perhaps, you're seeing the right thing.
Hi MZ. Very nice photos. Thanks for posting. This is rather cheeky, perhaps, but would you mind posting the images uncropped? I'd very much like to see the one of 6022 in particular as I think it may be a tank I have been trying to identify.
6022 is the supply tank prominent in the activity report of B.A.K.P. 20 for the first six months of 1918 - as example for recovery from the Somme area. But sorry, I can only post a picture of the tank before recovery, none of the recovery process itself. (Not yet scanned, may take some time.)
-- Edited by mad zeppelin on Sunday 8th of May 2016 07:55:25 PM
Hello Mad Zeppelin,
is this then the same tank as shown on pages 42 and 43 of Tankograd No. 1003 Beute Tanks?
It is also a supply tank lost in a swampy area and lifted up by the new owners.
Best regards,
Willem
