Landships II

Fascinating!

Ha! You call that souvenir hunting? THIS is souvenir hunting!

souvenirs and salvage: 36th Ulsters are 're enacting' their victory after the mining operation at Mesen 7th june 1917.
The text on the second picture speaks for itself I think.

-- Edited by kieffer on Tuesday 12th of October 2010 08:57:33 PM

The first tank seems to me to be a Mark IV Male rather than a supply tank. The tank in the foreground of the second photo is a Mark IV Male, that in the background a Mark IV Female. The general state of the battlefield suggests the aftermath of Third Ypres but I don't recognise these tanks as appearing in other photos. I can't (yet) identify any of the tanks pictured. Thanks for posting them.

Gwyn

Gwyn Evans wrote:

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The first tank seems to me to be a Mark IV Male rather than a supply tank....

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Is there any identifying feature which you base that on, Gwyn? I thought it was a supply tank mostly due to the sponson door, which has the plain bottom section. Another feature is the plain finish of the angled panel on the sponson side. It's hard to be sure but there don't appear to be rivets toward the front, which should be there on a male sponson. Also, there is a small bar above the rear of the stores box. This is something I have not seen on male tanks but does appear on supply tanks. The interior of the tank has the ammo rack layout of a male body but I don't know what the layout was for a supply tank.

I certainly do not claim to have any knowledge of these tanks.(Well I have more now.)
But I am glad you Gents, and Ladies do, and this forum even exists.
My link interest of course to WW1 is my Grandfather. He served with the 184 Battalion CEF, or I should say he mustered under them, but served under others in France during his time there.

Picture #two, the fellow in the upper hatch is holding quite a good sized wrench.
Perhaps the term for that is spanner.

Picture one, just curiouse, what might be the object near out of the pictue just below the right track? Two cylinders appear to be attached.
And also, by the right boot of the man just behind the tank? Odd shaped canister.

Strange cylinder in the lower right corner.

Also there seems to be a lot of paper debris scattered. This would indicate to me that the contents of the vehicle had been stripped for information.
May also be an indication that German forces had a good supply of toilet paper. If they were short, you probably would not see one scrap on the ground for paper would be worth something. (Even if the ink was harsh on the intended new target).

These questions may not be of importance but knowing what these men may have had can help indicate how they lived, worked and functioned.
Again, I was just curiouse.

All,

Having studied this some more, and after comparing it to other photos, I'm going to revise my assessment and say that yes, this is a Tender.

So sackcloth, ashes, hairshirt and dunce's cap for me, but my study of photos has taught me something new, which is what I always want.

Gwyn

No sack cloth, et al, required Gwyn. I could just as easily have been wrong. Thanks for posting the tender interior - it looks identical to the male.

The small bar above the rear of the stowage box is certainly a common feature on Tenders, but it's not unique to them.  Here's a Male with such a bar. 

Gwyn

Yes, it's hard to read! This caused me some puzzlement but I was helped when I found that in amongst my extensive collection of photos of tanks I can't identify was another of this tank, but taken from the other side. That didn't reveal any serial at all, nor any other markings, but it had a place - Peronne - and a date - May 1918. That seemed to rule out 2309, which to the best of my knowledge was lost in Flanders in August 1917. My identification of the tank is still somewhat tentative, but I believe it's 2303. This was a 4th Battalion tank, abandoned after developing engine trouble on 23 March 1918.

Gwyn

Gwyn Evans wrote:

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The small bar above the rear of the stowage box is certainly a common feature on Tenders, but it's not unique to them.  Here's a Male with such a bar. 

Gwyn

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 Yes, I shall have myself a slice of humble pie on that one and a side order of better glasses, as the bar appears on many Mk IV's, male and female as well as supply. It seems that there are at least 2 different patterns to the unditching rails and the bar is very common on the one with the extra supports in the stores box.