Landships II

compound eye · Colonel

Sponson transit stowage

compound eye · Colonel

Anyone know about the above?

Thank you

d_fernetti · Hero

Frankly, I don't know. It occurs to me that perhaps the Mk.IV tank owner's manual by David Fletcher might say something about it.

compound eye · Colonel

I'll admit to not reading very much of it, yet [!], but there is nothing diagramatic or pictorial showing inboard sponsons, nevermind how they might get that way.

I might have a more thorough look later, and report back if I find anything.

Gwyn Evans · Legend

Can't find much in Fletcher about the mechanics of it, though the general description in post 1 is about right except I don't believe there was a guide on which the sponsons ran. The work was done by the crews themselves, using brute force.

Gwyn

d_fernetti · Hero

Perhaps you can find some clues in the pictures here: http://englishrussia.com/2009/10/02/the-refurbished-tanks/

compound eye · Colonel

Thanks Gwyn. That certainly would explain the very 'jauntily' stowed sponsons you see on well known photos of clusters of Supply Tanks. Imagine trying to manhandle a sponson - metal on metal too. Must've been hell with an uneven lump of 6pdr to shift also. Surely it took the whole crew - 1 inside to stow the gun and unpin/pin the sponson, and everyone else to shove & swear... and not necessarily in that order.

'These days' sponsons would be on runners like kitchen drawers OR - more appropriately - like the pull-out powerpack on US M18 Hellcat tank destroyers of WWII.

compound eye · Colonel

Thanks D Fernetti! Those Russian pics are great.

The 'barn door' hinges on the female sponson are very nicely shown. It is easily to imagine how they swung inward from the middle.

The male sponson looks like it is bolted on brackets all the way round on the inside, so stowage must've been a long & tedious job for at least one 'spanner monkey' BUT it is hard to imagine what 'points' were available inside the hull to rebolt - or [more likely] pin - the sponsons inboard for rail transportation.

Presumably, running - even at 2-4mph - with inboard [male] sponsons was avoided wherever possible, other than in transit, as sponsons juddering about with only a few pins / bolts to 'lock' them inboard would surely have been a far greater liability than deployed and fully secured sponsons.

-- Edited by compound eye on Wednesday 30th of July 2014 07:06:41 PM

Gwyn Evans · Legend

There was a pin. If alot of travel was involved, I've seen Mark Vs with wooden planks bolted across the opening, either vertically or horizontally, apparently in an effort to prevent the sponson from coming loose. See attached 9128 on its way across the USA.

Gwyn

compound eye · Colonel

Superb photo there. Looks desperate.

I wonder if they were lashed internally too to help alleviate movement. You could imagine a modern long-haul truckers 'ratchet strap' would've been very useful, were they invented back then!