Battlegroup Fehrmann Tiger v. three British Comets, 3RTR

Discussion in 'RAC & RTR' started by SDP, Jan 6, 2012.

  1. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    Hi Rich and herzlich willkomen!
    Not sure I fully understand where you mean. Could you put a point on a map or a Google Earth screenshot of the area?

    I was stationed in Fallingbostel for nearly 3 years so know your part of the world quite well, and remain very fond of it. Many retired British soldiers miss serving in Germany and look back on their time there with good memories.
     
  2. Richard Auld

    Richard Auld Member

    Not sure I fully understand where you mean. Could you put a point on a map or a Google Earth screenshot of the area?

    It is a big area, that is why I will ask Alfred to show me exactly where. The ground and it's use has changed a lot since the war, back then it was all Moore but it was dried out in the 50s and is now farm land. Obviously the now dried out land is more accessible and has been developed. When I have that area I will post it up on an OS map. At the moment with all this corona we are on reduced hours so I am not out as much as usual.
    Best
    Rich

    Albert, not Alfred!
     
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  3. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    No hurry Rich. After all it's nearly 76 years since the guns were in position! Keep well, and AstraZeneca is good stuff! ;)
     
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  4. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    ‘Incidentally’, just seen the IWM caption to the photo and the engineers are working on the bridge at Mandelsloh not Essel. Doh! Apologies Olli! :rolleyes:
     
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  5. ltdan

    ltdan banana counter

    Phew - I was already afraid that the history of the world war would have to be completely rewritten.
     
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  6. Jeremy Richardson

    Jeremy Richardson New Member

  7. S54

    S54 Junior Member

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  8. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    Not wishing to upstage Jeremy but all Germany 1:25000 series maps can be found at https://lib.byu.edu/collections/german-maps/. They were totally invaluable for forming the base layer for many of my maps in Theirs the Strife.
     
  9. ltdan

    ltdan banana counter

    Oh yes, two good sources for contemporary map material at once - how nice!
    In fact, these maps (in German: Meßtischblätter), which are partly still based on the 19th century, are first-class source material.
    I also only work with them, because after 1945 the changes were really significant.
     
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  10. SDP

    SDP Incurable Cometoholic

    ...and, of course, there are always previous posts in this thread to consult :)

    On a more serious point, I find the use of period maps - the more sources the better - an essential aid to understanding what actually happened all those years ago.
     
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  11. SDP

    SDP Incurable Cometoholic

  12. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    Excellent effort. Sorry to be uber picky but the model maker has made one mistake.

    The fire in F01 cooked off a round loaded in the main armament. The heat from the fire then caused the barrel to jam on full recoil. The model does not show this. Other than that a great model.
     
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  13. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    Oh dear, this is red rag to a bull! In the photos of the model F01 on Facebook there is a rear view of the tank which seems to show that it left tracks in the ground, indicating that it was either driven to its final position or pushed on its tracks. Neither happened and the immobilised F01 had to be shoved and dragged broadside off the Ostenholz road to clear the road for 3 RTR’s advance.
     
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2022
  14. SDP

    SDP Incurable Cometoholic

    To be fair to the modeller, he based his diorama solely on those photos albeit missed the stuck gun tube recoil. He also didn't have access to photos of the rear of F01 or, indeed, knew of this forum or thread (to best of my knowledge).
     
  15. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    I know. I know. I just can’t help it…

    Fires in Tigers weakened the strength of the torsion bar suspension resulting in track flattening onto the road wheels. This is visible in the left hand photograph. The track in the model over the first two road wheels could therefore benefit from some flattening.
     
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2022
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  16. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    • Panzerfaust missing from base of birch tree.
    • On less certain ground, but I think in some photos of F01 a radio antenna is visible on the rear left of the hull (looking from the front). As a command vehicle this would be logical.
    This is beginning to feel like ‘Spot the Difference’ drawings which used to feature (and perhaps still do) in the British Army’s monthly ‘Soldier’ magazine. I think the draughtsman was Frank Finch.
     
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  17. SDP

    SDP Incurable Cometoholic

    I think 'Spot the Difference' reference just goes to show how good this model is!

    John: have you seen the original Facebook post?
     
  18. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    Yup, although I have only just discovered that there are 16 or so photos! It’s an exceptional model IMHO.
     
  19. JDKR

    JDKR Senior Member

    I think Tamiya are bringing out a Comet model in the near future. Given the extreme close range that Sgt Harding engaged F01, the two tanks could be fitted on the same diorama!
     
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