British Tanks (WW2 vintage)
Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 9:28 pm
Here's an interesting video- well, slide show with 'moral-fibre' boosting martial music, really.
Nonetheless, there are some interesting photos of many of cruiser tank variants, Tank killers, and more, I'd not seen before. The title/theme is: "British and Commonwealth tanks of World War 2". At only 8 mins or so, it's worth a quick peek...even if you've seen it before.
A nice wee refresher course in British armour... so woefully underrepresented in the world of plastic
Also, I can recommend a 2015 DVD on Amazon (UK): 'British Tanks of the Second World War'. It's over three hours long and comprises official training films from the Imperial War Museum, as well as five short films from the period. 'Birth of a Tank' (1942) is one, and shows the manufacture and roll-out of a Valentine. Fascinating stuff.Another novel vignette, is the propaganda tinged 'Tank Patrol' (1942) centred around the antics of Crusader tank in the desert (Think it was actually a beach in Dorset, as the 'Germans' were eating toffee apples, and wearing knotted hankies on their heads
)
Apart from the interior shots of the tanks, and it's performance in sand dunes (all very impressive), the film is notable for the driver, as he's none other than a fresh-faced Bill Owen (Unwashed and grimy Tyke in 'Last of the Summer Wine'...probably unfamiliar to our Yankee compatriots
..but still. Here he's listed as 'William Rowbotham'. In reality, he served in the R.O.A.C. during the war.
The DVD is from 'Strike Force Entertainment'. The Tank films from Cromwell/Pegusus Entertainment on Amazon ('Killer tanks' for example) are a bit of a disappointment by comparison, as they only run to around fifty minutes, and the first ten mins repeat the same potted history of the tank on each, and every DVD.




Also, I can recommend a 2015 DVD on Amazon (UK): 'British Tanks of the Second World War'. It's over three hours long and comprises official training films from the Imperial War Museum, as well as five short films from the period. 'Birth of a Tank' (1942) is one, and shows the manufacture and roll-out of a Valentine. Fascinating stuff.Another novel vignette, is the propaganda tinged 'Tank Patrol' (1942) centred around the antics of Crusader tank in the desert (Think it was actually a beach in Dorset, as the 'Germans' were eating toffee apples, and wearing knotted hankies on their heads

Apart from the interior shots of the tanks, and it's performance in sand dunes (all very impressive), the film is notable for the driver, as he's none other than a fresh-faced Bill Owen (Unwashed and grimy Tyke in 'Last of the Summer Wine'...probably unfamiliar to our Yankee compatriots

The DVD is from 'Strike Force Entertainment'. The Tank films from Cromwell/Pegusus Entertainment on Amazon ('Killer tanks' for example) are a bit of a disappointment by comparison, as they only run to around fifty minutes, and the first ten mins repeat the same potted history of the tank on each, and every DVD.