No way to treat a Tortoise...

[43rdRecceReg]

Well, not the proverbial garden slowcoach variety, anyway; but this former 79 ton rarity:

Tortured Tortoise A39- languishing at Kirkcudbright firing range..

Only six were made, and Tom has the only 1/16 version, so far as I know. At almost 80 tons, 33ft in length and 13 ft wide, not many bridges would have been happy to support it, nor narrow streets eager to allow it to pass through Northern Europe.
Bovington has, of course, a working example; but it still seems a shame that such a rare experimental beast should end up shot to buggery in a remote part of Scotland.
This pic was posted on the Historic Military Vehicle Forum ( http://hmvf.co.uk/topic/20282-range-wrecks/?page=7 )
and for those inclined- as I am sometimes- to wonder where all the WW2 hardware went, this site gives some good clues about the armoured inventory. Quite a few Comets and Shermans have had the stuffing shot out of them on the same range.
What interests me though, about the A39 Tortoise, is that it had a gun equivalent to the German 88. We probably all know that the Germans modified their Anti-aircraft, and Anti-tank 8.8 cm flak gun design, to produce a gun to fit the Tiger 1, and later the King Tiger. But it's not common knowledge that the Brits did the same with their 3.7 inch (94mm) QF anti-tank gun. The mark VI version of the gun had a ceiling of almost 50,000 ft (way more than the 88). and a muzzle velocity of over 1,000 metres per sec (3,425 Fps), again better than the 88. Apparently, the Canadians attempted to fit the gun to a Ram tank; but it never got beyond the testing phase- which was probably good news for German tank crews..

Canadian Ram fitted with British 3.7in QF Anti-Aircraft gun

Ram 3.7in-Canadian prototype.jpg (70.3 KiB) Viewed 3954 times

This greater performance came at price: the 3.7 in gun was almost two tons heavier than the German 88, and this created an almost insuperable mobility issue. Even though this British gun had always been envisioned to have a secondary role as an anti-tank weapon; the weight factor precluded its use. Until, that is, the Tortoise Assault Tank project came along in 1944.
Here's an interesting thread begun by Giganaut in 2014, on the topic of the Tortoise, and other Assault Tank designs.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13512&p=121671&hili ... 39#p121671

[43rdRecceReg]

Oh, yes, I forgot to include this interesting background piece on the ill-fated Tortoise:
https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/d ... mor_id=354

The Tortoise at Bovington in 2011- pic by Paul

[capt midnight]

Interesting read.

Although I was really expecting something like this...

Bill

[capt midnight]

Nothing special. I'm using the stock running gear, powered by lettuce and other vegetables. The rotation is good, but the elevation leaves a bit to be desired.

Bill

[43rdRecceReg]

Interesting read.

Although I was really expecting something like this...

85430371.jpg

Bill

That would be a 43rd RecceReptile Regiment member. (Yes..they are reptiles not amphibians, as a by the by..)

[43rdRecceReg]

and here's the amphibious Sturmgeschutz Turtle version..

Sturmgeschutz Turretless Turtle

Strumgeschutz Turtle.jpg (56.99 KiB) Viewed 3914 times

[capt midnight]

And the infantry for support.

Army-turtle.jpg (21.83 KiB) Viewed 3902 times

Bill

[43rdRecceReg]

[wibblywobbly]

The drawback being, of course, that they only carried one shell.

[43rdRecceReg]

Yes, But what a shell..! This one has Chompham-Lettuce ceramic armour..

Schnapping Turtle Tank Hybrid Mk 1..with guillotine beak weapon