More LVT's

Fantastic! And the LVsT are supposed to still lie buried there! Now, where's my shovel...?

 

Do any of you have or know information about the LVT Buffalo that were brought to Crowland to help seal the breach in 1947 be nice to find out where they came from before they got to Crowland ?

 

I'm chairman of a team of 20 locals looking into recovering the LVT Buffalo's feel free to get back to me

 

I have 275 photographs of the 1947 floods and including Buffalo's LVTS of Crowland be nice to hear what you know about this ?

 

Hello there we here at Crowland Buffalo LVT Association are trying to find Photos info about our Buffalo Number 47 can anyone help us out

 

I wonder if anyone can make out the name of this vehicle ? Not BEAUVILLE or BEDOUIN I think.



Arjan

 

Yes, this is BEDOUIN P5822120 of 2 Tp 82 Aslt Sqn RE:


Michel

 

Thanks a lot Michel, the pic was supposedly taken near Terneuzen.

Regards,

Arjan

 

Last week I happened across a pic showing parts of a completely wrecked LVT-4 . The photo was taken on Walcheren and I assumed it had to show the wreckage of LVT-4 Conqueror which struck a mine at Serooskerke on 8 November 1944 . In this dramatic incident 20 soldiers lost their lives.



However, this couldn't be the case because this is a pic of what the wreck of Conqueror looked like :



The memorial plaque :



There was only one other instance of a Buffalo striking a mine on Walcheren so it had to be this incident (from Battle for Antwerp by J.L. Moulton) :

"Guided by a Dutch civilian, the Buffaloes swam out into the floods across the nearby airfield, outflanking the pillboxes which were holding up the 4th KOSB to join the road beyond. One became entangled in the airfield obstructions and had to be left behind, and later another, sent to find a way around a nest of pillboxes near Middelburg, struck a large mine and was completely destroyed with six of the men in it killed and six wounded. A third was sent back with the wounded, but the remaining eight reached Middelburg and climbed out of the woods along the rising streets of the town."

Apparently the name of this completely destroyed LVT-4 was "Snipe" and it makes sense that the first pic I posted shows the remains of this vehicle.

The memorial plaque commemorating this tragic incident can be found here (scroll down) :

extra1

Arjan

 

Some nice pics of an LVT-2 wreck left behind in Middelburg after the war. I don't know anything about its history :





Dutch kids having fun with British floats (probably from LVT's) :



Arjan

 

Hi Arjan,

Here is a picture of SNIPE obviously sometime before it's demise.
Thanks for posting a picture of CONQUEROR that is a new one to me. I think the image came from the MLU site.

Cheers

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin, I know the pic of Snipe you posted. Despite the poor quality of the pic I'm convinced that the Snipe on this trailer is actually an LVT-2 (the ramp of an LVT-4 would protrude further above the tracks). The name Stallion was also used for both an LVT-2 and LVT-4,

Regards,

Arjan

 

Hi Arjan,

Apologies. You are quite right I posted the picture without checking if it s a 2 or 4.
The same is true of STALLION.

Cheers

Kevin

 

I take it most of you know the photos that were taken in Serooskerke on 8 November 1944. According to J.L. Moulton 3 LVT's were involved in the mission but later sources mention 4 LVT's. One of these was an LVT-2 which can't be identified because no markings are visible. The only vehicle that can be positively identified is Corvette because we get views from two different angles. Not clear if Corvette is also the vehicle with the lowered ramp shown in two pics.The photo of the plaque I posted in the above shows the AoS number 1233 but I wonder if this is correct. Didn't Conqueror belong to 6 ARRE (AoS 1234) like Corvette ?

By the way, yesterday I found a pic that was new to me and it shows that one of the LVT-4 's present at the scene was "2B" . According to Michel 2B belonged to 5 ARRE (AoS 1233):

Missing-Lynx-British use of the LVT (aka "Buffalo")

Regards,

Arjan

 

Various pics Serooskerke 8-11-44 . Unidentified LVT-2 :



Corvette :




Possibly also Corvette or 2B plus unidentified LVT-2 :




2B :






Arjan

 

Arjan,

In my post on Missing-Lynx back in 2011, I wrote "Corvette "3D" (AoS maybe "1234"=6 ARRE)", but I have since found that CORVETTE was definitely in 5 ARRE instead. Other LVsT from the same 3 Troop, 79 Aslt Sqn RE have the same unique shape of the "3" in their callsign:

LVT(4) CUTTER 3F, showing the AoS is definitely 1233:


Source: Grant PA-136754, captioned "across Scheldt to Hoofdplaat near Terneuzen, 13 Oct 44"

LVT(2) 3H has the Red circle Sqn sign, therefore 79 ASRE:


The LVT(4) 2B which I mentioned back in 2011 (British Pathé 1994.07.122) is another one altogether. The LVT(4) with the lowered ramp is not CORVETTE but indeed 2B as shown by various details on all three photos: LVT(2) ahead, no MG on starboard side, tires on sides etc., plus we can see the 2 and part if the B on her lower port side. The name is also visible - but not readable - on the upper port side. I believe it may start with COUP DE ..., which would be in line with other LVsT similarly named after French phrases (COUP D'ESSAI, COUTE QUE COUTE), or possibly be COEUR DE LION....

Michel

 

Much obliged Michel ! I always enjoy finding out which buildings/features can still be recognized today. The facade marked with a red dot is present in all but one of the following images:








Regards,

Arjan

 

Same name but different vehicles I think. The second one appears to have the later type of sponson armour.




Arjan

 

Yes, the first one was transferred from 3 Tp A Sqn 11 R Tks to 4 Tp 26 Aslt Sqn RE for Op INFATUATE II, whereas the other is its replacement vehicle in 11 R Tks after 1 Nov 44 (see the White A Sqn triangle).

 

Hi...these are the first pictures I have seen of, what I believe from the white square markings, to be B Sqn 11 RTR Buffaloes. Do you know the location of the pictures? Thanks, Mick