I attach two photos. One shows a tank with the word Baggage on the mild steel sponson (its rescuing a Mk V) whilst the other, supporting the Canadians at Amiens, has the word Supply. Is there a difference? I can find equal numbers of tanks with Supply and Baggage. One thought is that Supply might mean that it's supporting other units of the army whilst Baggage means that it provides services to its own unit. Ideas?
And for Gwyn's benefit the second tank has the dreaded 4 on the side!
Just notice - when I edit, the forum software changes the sequence of the pictures!
I think there may be something in the hypothesis Centurion. I note that 4th Battalion's War Diary refers to the battalion's "Baggage" tanks. But Tank Supply Companies supported any unit - and the companies were called "Supply". (Doubtless someone will point out that Tank Supply Companies became Tank Carrier Companies, but I've never seen "Carrier" on a tank.
I wonder if someone could enlighten me on Tenders: 1. Were all Mark IV tanks built as Tenders fitted with 125hp engines? 2. I've seen reference to Tenders fitted with "top towing gear". What is this, what does it look like and wasn't it fitted to all Tenders?
I've found a better copy of the "Supply" photo posted above and the serial number of the Tender can just be read. It's 4551, and this tank belonged to 3rd Tank Supply Coy, which I think further supports Centurion's hypothesis for the difference between "Baggage" and "Supply" tanks.
I have another Mark IV Tender question: Could their sponsons be withdrawn into their hulls, like Males and Females? If not, how was rail travel accomplished?
There's a photo of a supply tank in Foster's 'parking' area with its sponsons retracted. I'll scan and post later. One problem appears to have been that they had to be transported to the battlefront empty and then loaded with stores before proceding. This could mean that although they foloowed the waves of fighting tanks into action they had to be transported to the front earlier and spend some time 'parked'. This could compromise any surprise element as well as leaving them open to artillery attack.
