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Post Info TOPIC: BL - 8 HOWITZER


Major

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BL - 8 HOWITZER
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Hello, everyone here. Please advise-the BL 8 howitzer had an artillery platform. Wood beams formed the base, or metal profiles could also be used?                                       Or was it a combination of both types of material? The platform was still in the ground - wood could have had a damp problem....

Thank you for the expert response. Ivoplatform.jpg

 



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Legend

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Yes - the 8inch howitzer had a platform. It was formed from beams and metal parts.

The attached images are from the 1918 manual for the howitzer.

Regards,

Charlie

 



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Major

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Hello Charlie, thank you so much for the pictures, for me it is a great help in building the model BL 8. Ivo, Czech RepublicBL8 STAVBA.jpg



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Hero

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Here are a few photo's I thought would be of interest from IPMS Nationals in Chattanooga Tennessee this year of the BL-8 Howitzer and its platform.

All the best

Tim R



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Major

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Hello Tim, thank you for the inspiration in the photos. Ivo



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Field Marshal

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Charlie, is there a plate showing the detail of the front limber?



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Major

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Hello here on the forum. Your information has helped me - I can improve the look of the platform. Ivo from Czech Republicnový-6.jpgnový-5.jpg



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Major

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Hello everyone. Finished  handrails for handling and tin parts as drawn. Ivonový-10.jpgnový-9.jpg



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Legend

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Tonys wrote:

Charlie, is there a plate showing the detail of the front limber?


 Unfortunately not - there's not much information around on the limber except for a 1 page description in a US Army

Handbook of Artillery 1920. The text says the limber is similar to the 6inch howitzer but I haven't found a drawing of that limber.

Regards,

Charlie

 

Later - found some drawings of the limber - https://www.scalenews.de/bl-8-inch-howitzer-mk-vi-technische-daten-zeichnungen-1926/

reproduced from a Russian manual for the 8inch howitzer - the Tsarist and Red Armies had Mark VI 8inch howitzers on strength - no idea how many

or how long they stayed in service

 

 



-- Edited by CharlieC on Friday 18th of October 2019 06:56:50 AM

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Legend

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Did a bit of digging into the arcana of 8inch howitzers. It seems that only the British howitzers used the platforms. The platform

was an improvised design to overcome the early problems of the Mark VI in soft and very hard ground where the gun would skate across

the ground without the recoil system working at all. The other users of the Mark VI - the USA and Russia didn't seem to use the platform.

The US Army specified the use of a platform but in the few images of deployed US 8inch howitzers the platforms don't seem to have been used.

The USA's 8inch howitzers stayed in the US and although about 500 were produced (Marks VI, VII and VIII) most went into reserve

and weren't issued to units.

The 72 or so Russian Mark VIs saw service with the Tsarist army. The Red Army had 50 on strength in 1936.

The Mark VIs remained in service in Russia until 1943 and were highly regarded by the Red Army - there were attempts to improve the range of the howitzer

and the mobility of the carriage but these didn't seem to go anywhere. The limbers on the Russian howitzers were replaced with a locally produced design

without the box in the 1920s (Shirokorad). It's noted that a criticism of the Mark VI howitzer in Russian service was the need to dig a hole under the trails

to allow for recoil at high elevations - suggests the platforms weren't being used.

The US gave 32 Mark VIs to Finland in 1940 and all the remaining 434 were released to Lend-Lease. Many of the British L-L howitzers were reworked

as 7.2inch howitzers.

Regards,

Charlie

 

 



-- Edited by CharlieC on Friday 18th of October 2019 11:34:21 AM



-- Edited by CharlieC on Friday 18th of October 2019 11:39:54 AM

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Major

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Hello everyone. I have finished the BL 8 project. Thank you all for helping with the construction information. Ivo from Czech Republic.BL 10.jpgBL 10 2.jpgBL 10 3.jpgBL 10 7.jpg



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Colonel

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Wonderful work!  Hope you'll share images of your other models with us.

 

Bosun Al



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Private

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Hi Ivo , very nice work on the Howitzer bl 8inch cannon really like the detail ,what sort of size is model?

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Major

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I salute everyone here and thank you. The model is 1/35 RODEN production. My other work - new parts on the kit TAKOM. Simple adjustments only - there´s no way to fix everything. 

Ivo from Czech Republic

 

BERTHA REPAS.jpg



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Legend

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Have you got a copy of Steen Winthers' 3D model of the Dicke Berta as reference? (https://grabcad.com/library/dicke-berta-1)

You might need to download a Solidworks viewer to see the model.

There are .stl files of the Dicke Berta on Landships II created by Hans van Oerle from Steen's model.

Regards,

Charlie

 

 

 



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Colonel

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Holy crow . . . that's some gun!  Little bit beyond my skill level, however.

 

Bosun Al



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Major

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Hi all, I have a photos of 3D model - a great inspiration to modify the model.  Ivo from Czech Republic



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Major

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Hello everyone here, I´m slowly working on more changes. IvoB1.jpgB2.jpgB3.jpgB4.jpg



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Field Marshal

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Are you going to do the platform under the maim wheels?



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Major

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Yes, I want to put the platform under the wheels. There are a lot of things to redo on the model - I´m only trying what I´m able to do. I ´m now working on the back - the magnification. Ivo4.jpg1.jpg



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Field Marshal

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Looks great!



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Major

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Thank you.  But I don´t think I´ve won yet. I still have to do the bottom part.B1.jpg



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Major

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Please, someone knows the purpose of things - marked with yellow arrows. These things are not in the kit - I have to make them.B1.jpg

 

Thank you very much for the answer. Ivo from Czech Republic. 



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Legend

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The striped poles are to establish a sight line for indirect fire. I think other poles are for barrel cleaning - I think they might have been slotted together with a brush

or oiled wad on the end.  The barrel was so high up on the Dicke Berta that doing cleaning and maintenance on the gun would have been a real problem.

Regards,

Charlie

 



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Major

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Thank you very much for your response and please - what was the purpose for this chain? Thank you for your response. IvoB1.jpg



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Legend

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Sorry - I don't know. It doesn't look like a lifting chain because the mountings are fairly small and couldn't handle heavy loads.

Regards,

Charlie

 



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Field Marshal

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Possibly could have been used by soldiers pulling on it to help the gun  traverse?



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Major

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Thank you for the answer - I´ll be doing both poles and chain on the model.

Please, I have more questions for building a model...

1, The front plank was being used in real life? I couldn´t see any real pictures. Only in pictures of models at the museum.

2, I am working on the wheel controls at the rear. What purpose were these 2 pipes for?

Thank you wery much. Ivo MODEL.jpg



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Legend

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As far as I can tell none of the operational Dicke Berta's had the platforms on the front although the constructor's model does.

Perhaps it was an idea that was dropped before the operational guns were completed.

I think the circular housings on the destroyed Dicke Berta were for the traverse gearboxes.

Regards,

Charlie

 



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Major

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Thank you for the answer, here´s my next job on the model.I´m also trying to make a new piece-the gun barrel. Base Al logs 25 mm thick. Ivo from Czech Republic.MODEL5.jpgMODEL1.jpgMODEL2.jpgmodel3.jpgMODEL4.jpg



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Corporal

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I have only ever seen pictures of one 'real' gun that had the front platform installed:

624.jpg



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Drawing 3d models of military and naval hardware
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