Haunted Armor

[PainlessWolf]

Tankers,
Years ago at Bovington, back when they had just lifted the Tiger 1 turret and where about to begin the restoration, I visited from the States and spent a day wandering around the site. I was in Armor heaven, running across nearly every vehicle I had modeled as a child in North Carolina. I loved the Tiger and King Tiger and even got to rap my knuckles on the hollow sounding armor of one of the Mock Ups used in 'Saving Private Ryan'. There was such a difference in feel between the armored Mountain that was the Tiger and the casemate built over the T-34 to simulate one. The Museum was quiet that day, not a lot of visitors since it was in the middle of the week. (I understand that Bovington is a much busier place now) I took a lot of photos using a film camera. Once home and developed, several of these photos had inexplicable light blobs or blurs across them. A German Halftrack ( A Hanomag as I remember) and the Tiger turret on it's stand were the worst. No cold spots or other weirdities, just a lot of ruined pictures. Tanks and other AFVs, being what they are and are designed to do, have incredibly violent histories at times. It makes me wonder what has attached itself to these steel monsters over the years. Anyone else out there had weird or eerily odd occurrences around old Armor? It's a great source of mystery and fit for discussion on this quiet Thursday afternoon.
regards,
Painless

and here is the cause for this post, a neat old book I am re reading titled 'Panzer Spirit' by Tom Townsend. An amazingly good read, perfect for Tankers like us.

http://www.tomtownsend-toyland.com/book ... spirit.htm

[X82d Pathfinder]

Painless:
I volunteered and flew ferry flights for the Chino Air Museum in Chino, California. We had a B-17 G, Piccadilly Lilly II. The aircraft was used extensively in the 12 O'clock high series. They taxied it around until they burnt the motors up. It's been a static display for some time. At any rate, I returned from the Museum's secondary location and storage facility about 0030 hours. As I came through the hanger and was making my way to my vehicle in the parking lot I glanced over and saw a face in the waist gunner's position on the starboard side. It was clear as day. Knowing there shouldn't be anyone inside the facility at that hour I went over and checked the aircraft. It was empty... The next morning when I came in to turn in the log book and the fuel invoice I was leary about asking if the curator had any experiences with anything strange. His head popped up and he looked at me and asked if it had to do with the Lilly. I said, yes, why? He said they had reports from employees, airport security and indivuals that had drove by at night seeing a head and upper torso in the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft was slated for restoration and is now under way. Now that I have relocated to Texas I no longer volunteer. However, I may have to make a query as to what has transpired now that the lady is being restored.

[X82d Pathfinder]

Painless:
I volunteered and flew ferry flights for the Chino Air Museum in Chino, California. We had a B-17 G, Piccadilly Lilly II. The aircraft was used extensively in the 12 O'clock high series. They taxied it around until they burnt the motors up. It's been a static display for some time. At any rate, I returned from the Museum's secondary location and storage facility about 0030 hours. As I came through the hanger and was making my way to my vehicle in the parking lot I glanced over and saw a face in the waist gunner's position on the starboard side. It was clear as day. Knowing there shouldn't be anyone inside the facility at that hour I went over and checked the aircraft. It was empty... The next morning when I came in to turn in the log book and the fuel invoice I was leary about asking if the curator had any experiences with anything strange. His head popped up and he looked at me and asked if it had to do with the Lilly. I said, yes, why? He said they had reports from employees, airport security and indivuals that had drove by at night seeing a head and upper torso in the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft was slated for restoration and is now under way. Now that I have relocated to Texas I no longer volunteer. However, I may have to make a query as to what has transpired now that the lady is being restored.

[tanks_for_the_memory]

My wife is an architect and recently took a load of pictures in a creepy London house where someone had just died - ivy growing through the walls, that sort of thing.

When she got home and looked at the photos (we're talking digital here) there were a lot of strange light streaks up and down the stairs. I am told by experienced photographers that it's just a trick of the light in the lens, but I told her it was probably ectoplasm and it completely freaked her out! She doesn't like horror films either...

Interesting you should mention the Bovington sdkfz 251: it was an ambulance in North Africa and must have witnessed some pretty tragic events.

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
Thanks for the replies and experiences. I'm very glad that I got some replies on this thread. ;o) I'm sitting here looking around my office which has Armor displayed everywhere and wonder how much we as Hobbyists and Enthusiasts perpetuate by remembrance and Belief Structure. Steel is pretty dense material but I have no doubt that psychic echoes and what-not can settle into it over time and service. The human mind is one of the greatest standing probability wave generators ever. Mass belief = reality somewhere or somewhen. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[X82d Pathfinder]

Painless:
In all honesty I have a different take on ghost. I know many believe that the spirit remains. I personally don't believe that's the case. Being we are energy, we know energy doesn't cease to exist, which in my humble opinion makes me think that we simply leave an imprint on the environment. Not that we remain. I spent a couple nights in a castle in Colorado Springs that sounded like a cart went up and down the hall all night. The strange thing is several from other rooms would get up and look in the hall for the sound. You would hear it coming and it would go right past you, but you never saw anything.