British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

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43rdRecceReg
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

jarndice wrote:I see your 13 and proffer my slightly dodgy 14,
Little Willy, Matilda1, Matilda 2, Whippet, Valentine, Independent, Excelsior, Valiant, Tortoise, Black Prince, Avenger, Tetrarch, Scorpion, Saladin. :haha:
I read the article and noted the comments that offered alternative reasons.
Naughty boy!.
The Saladin was an armoured car, not a tank. Little Willy was WW1 vintage, and therefore before the 'C' preference system began..as per the Grauniad article. Black Prince was a Churchill, and never went into production.
The Tortoise never got beyond prototype trials. Had it gone into production it would probably have been called 'Colossus', or 'Crikey!!" (That's Massive one !!:O ).
So...after dropping the dodgy, that's back to 10, Shaun :lolno: :D
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
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jarndice
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by jarndice »

I was toying with mentioning the Saracen and the Humber Pig :{ but I guess I shall just concede the point but the amount of non "C" Proper production Tanks did surprise me.
Post War Armoured vehicles including Armoured Cars were all classed as "A" vehicles as opposed to Soft Skin "B" vehicles.
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by 971wright »

jarndice wrote:Oh come on Pete, Tetrarch, Ruler of a province, or Black Prince, regal and knightly. although Tortoise is a bit questionable :haha:
Black prince is an upgraded Churchill isnt it .

regards pete
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by jarndice »

And as 43RR (Roy) said the Black Prince never went into production nor by the way Roy did the Charioteer :lolno: (12)
Last edited by jarndice on Tue Oct 29, 2019 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Max-U52
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by Max-U52 »

You guys still haven't figured this out, eh? It's pretty simple really. When they told the guy who names tanks that he was going to be the guy naming tanks he had to figure out how to come up with their names so he fell back on his school days when he went to school in America and had to take all those multiple-choice tests, and he remembered quite clearly, When in doubt, Charlie out. @) 8) :haha:
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by jarndice »

I have never understood the American education system and you just made it even more of a puzzle, Thanks :crazy:
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Max-U52
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by Max-U52 »

When you're taking a multiple choice test and you get to a question where you have absolutely no idea what the answer is, choose answer "C" (charlie) and you'll be right about 70% of the time. So, when in doubt, Charlie out.
When FDR coined the phrase "The Arsenal of Democracy", he was talking about Detroit. Proud to live in the 2nd most violent city in America!!
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by jarndice »

I think I understand that But I have no idea where in the scheme of things "High School" fits,
I used to think it was the next stage after what we call "Primary"/Junior school but it seems that children have to pass tests to go to "High school" whereas in this country after Primary comes Secondary education upto the age of 16/17 which is compulsory,
Only then do tests decide whether you can continue within the education system ie University.
And because we enjoy confusing Johnnie Foreigner our Public Schools are Private fee paying Schools such as Harrow and Eton and Welbeck although many State Schools are not too far behind some public schools and in many cases much better than others.
My Father put my name down for my college place 2 hours after the midwife confirmed it was a boy such is the competition for a place in a decent college. :haha:
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by General Jumbo01 »

Ah, but you wouldn't want to go to private school in the UK because you could end up becoming a lying, cheating, miserable two faced self interested politician.

Now, in the good old days we had primary for the up to 7s, then junior for the up to 11 yr olds when they then took the 11+ exams and the very few bright ones who passed then went to grammer schools where they studied to pass lots of O & A level GCEs while the dross were sent to secondary schools to learn how to claim benefits. Far simpler then :crazy:

Multiple choice questions appeared in the new CSE exams introduced for the secondary schools in the late 60s. In those days it was normal for the teachers to do nothing for months on end and then tell the pupils what the CSE questions would be so that thick kids could recognise them in the multiple choice questions, eg What European country started the 2nd world war? A) Britain, B) USA or C) **Hitler's filthy Nazis**?

How things have changed....
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43rdRecceReg
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Re: British tank names always seem to begin with 'C'.Why?

Post by 43rdRecceReg »

jarndice wrote:And as 43RR (Roy) said the Black Prince never went into production nor by the way Roy did the Charioteer :lolno: (12)
Loath as I am to quote from Wikipedia, Shaun, (for quick ref.), and, still less, to indulge in oneupmanship- or even oneuptankmanship- :D , it behoves me to point out that, in fact, 442 Charioteers were built :thumbup: :haha: Ahem (13)
"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"- Mark Twain.
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