warcop Range Targets (& Range Wrecks in General)

looking through an album I came across this photo of a self propelled artillery gun ,I labelled it a '155 long tom' thats the extent of my knowledge waiting to be placed on the range I took the Photo at 'Warcop Training camp 'in the late 60's , also in the photo are two crane type things behind , does anyone know what they are ? also a Churchill in very good condition ready for a useful retirement , what a shame

John

Ps. to mods If this is in thewrong forum please redirect

 

John
Look like a pair of AVRE retired vehicles, last time I Passed Warcop there was the remains of a pair of Bedford Tks awaiting disposal

 

the T55 was still on Whinney Hill at Catterick last time i was there a few years ago

Feldom Range had old armour targets too

cant remember which range i was on in Germany in 2006, but it had Pattons for targets.

 

Cor! last time I used Warcop ranges was back in 1976!. Then they had Saracens and an old Centurion to blast at. Any one remember the Chieftain bag charges going up in flames?, they were stacked right near the range tower. Someone said a guy in the tower had flicked a fag amongst them all.

 

looking through an album I came across this photo of a self propelled artillery gun ,I labelled it a '155 long tom' thats the extent of my knowledge waiting to be placed on the range I took the Photo at 'Warcop Training camp 'in the late 60's , also in the photo are two crane type things behind , does anyone know what they are ? also a Churchill in very good condition ready for a useful retirement , what a shame

John

Ps. to mods If this is in thewrong forum please redirect


Just spotted the soldier facing the camera behind the front of the Self propelled Long Tom .

Regards
Tom

 

I think the "crane type" tanks are churchill bridgelayers with the bridge removed.
Noel

 

Some Identifying Numbers on the Churchil , they might be Interesting to someone , also there is the remains of a Diamond on the side of the turret .

John

 

I remeber going to a fire power display at Warcop in 1979 and they had a M60 of allt hings as a target for the chieftains.

 

The attatched are some pics ive taken of targets when working on the ranges at Warcop..
have many more target photos ive taken at otterburn if anyones interested

 

Spotter
Thanks for the post they are good looking and fit into the scheme of things, do you have any of the runway at Otterburn, last time I went cameras had to be left in our vehicles.

 

whinney hill in catterick still had the T55 last time I was in the FIBUA village a few year back

And a matt black Ferret - well it is the target on the Molatov range

 

Good grief - RAMC and QARANC in the FIBUA village? Did someone suffer a GSW ?

Great pics Spotter and cheers for the memories

 

Quite Drew
I thought you missed Catterick out!
They change them regular, last time we went past Ripon there where 2 rather bent and battered pigs looking deceidly worse for wear

 

If you mean the short length of concrete runway,,it only gets used as hard standing now..heres some pics then from Otterburn,because i was working on the ranges i got permission from the range office to get up close and take these pictures

 

Spotter
Thanks for the post yes it was the concrete runway I was thinking of, The last time I went up there was to view the demise of ordanance that was past it sell by date and dropped for our viewing by Harriers on a convoy of adhoc wagons and scout cars that had seen better days.

It beat going out on landing craft and watching the navy dispose of ordanance.

 

I do sometimes wonder what tortuous route those Sov-Block T-Series Machines took to an English field.

I was wondering how they came by the T-55 too and can only think of the Kuwait war-Were we fighting anyone with Soviet kit any earlier than that in the 70's or 80's?

I've got some pics of T Tanks being lifed in Iraq in 2003 to bring back to the UK. I was jiffed with transporting one T 55 and two AA guns on low loaders down to Umn Qasar Docks in Iraq to be frieghted to Germany. The tank for 7 Armd Bde HQ and the two guns for 7 Armd Bde Sig Sqn HQ.

I can clearly remember the made dash of all the British units with spray cans to tag the best abandoned kit with their unit ID. I was like the gold rush staking claims