$3.

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January 1995

Museum

Ordnance

The Magazine for the

U.S. Army Ordnance Museum

Promoting the preservation and collection of information and artifacts of military ordnance from around the world.

The leader in defense, aerospace and transportation information.

Jane's products include Jane's Fighting Ships, Jane's All The World's
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Tel: (703) 683-3700 Fax: (703) 836-0029

'

Dr. 'Jack' Atwater

Museum Ordnance

The

Curator's
Features
ColulDD

I have been asked by several people to

write a column on the origin and his
tory of the uniform worn by military
and naval personnel. The use of some
form of uniform dress for fighting men
on land and sea is common to all civi
lized nations. Military necessity, con
venience, economic necessity, and sen
timent have all played a part in its
development.
The Romans wore a common uni
form. This fact is one of the earliest
recorded instances of the wearing of a
common garb. Likewise, the galley
slaves of Rome, the "motive power" of
that day, were all clothed in a costume
of common cut and color bearing the
number of the galley in which they
served.
As time went on, leaders in com
mand of land forces perceived the need
for some mark or badge to designate
the members of their own force and
that of the enemy. This resulted in
distinctive badges, such as plumes of a
certain color, numbers, initials, a coat
of arms or other devices which were
worn on the helmet, shoulder, or breast,
a custom which still prevails today.
The General given the credit for the
"uniforming" ofan army, similar to that
which we know today, is Gustavus
Adolphus. His great contribution was
the wearing of a colored sash and the
introduction of a large, wide brimmed,
felt "slouch" hat. It survives to this day
in somewhat modified form. The tri
corn hat, common in the American
Revolution is nothing more than
Gustavus' hat pinned up in three places
With a rosette of the colors of the gov
(Continued on Page 24)

Museum Ordnance

Volume 5, Number 1

January 1995

Jeffrey D. McKaughan
Editor
Adam Geibel
Associate Editor

January 1995

Grizzly Bear
By Jeffrey McKaughan

Sweden's Own! -Tank

By Alessandro Demaria

German Tank Flag Signals

By Adam Geibel

11

'The One That Got Away..." A British Export Success

By Peter Brown

12

Military Vehicle Enthusiasts in Russia

Photos by Sergey Kosenkow

16

1994 Editorial Index

18

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Armored Vehicles

By David R. Haugh
Photos by Masahiko Saito

19

Department
Curator's Column

Book Reviews
RAGGED WAR
The Story of Unconventional and Counter-Revolutionary Warfare
ROMMEL'S NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN
SEPTEMBER 1940 - NOVEMBER 1942

15
The Ordnance Museum Foundation

26

Miniature Ordnance:
Ckrman SdKfz 251/9 in 1/35: Two Variants
By Joe P. Morgan

28

Classified Ads

31

Museum Ordnance is published six-times per year by Darlington Productions, Inc., P.O. Box 5884, Darlington,
MD 21034. (410) 457-5400. All rights are reserved. Copyright 1995. No part of this publication may be copied or
reproduced without the expressed written permission of the publisher.
This publication serves the interests and needs of the U.S. Army Ordnance Musewn at Aberdeen Proving Ground,
Aberdeen, MD. A donation is made to the Museum for each copy of this magazine sold either by subscription or as a single
copy.
Subscriptions: One-year (six issues) is $17.00 (Maryland residents add 5% sales tax). All foreign subscriptions:
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Museum Ordnance is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, artwork or photos sent to the office. Material
will be returned to the author only if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions and views expressed
by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum, the publisher or the editor..

Building on its "tradition" of non-tur

reted, limited-traverse assault guns,
the Gennans designed a wide array of
variants, llsingmostof its tank chassis
for some form of heavy weapon carrier.
A favorite gun for some of this purpose
was the sIG 150mm cannon, a variant
of the towed field piece.
The Brummbffi" (Grizzly Bear) was
the combination of the 150mm gun on
the PZKpfw IV chassis (models F, G, H,
and J were converted). Automotively,
the BrummbAr was very similar to the
standard tank chassis. Power was
provided by a Maybach HL 120 TRM
twelve-cylinder gasoline engine. At
3,OOOrpm, the engine produced 300 hp
and gave a possible road speed ofabout
25mph. With a full tank of fuel. the
Brummbffi" had a radius of about 124
(road) or 78 (cross-country) miles.
The superstructure of the assault
gun was basically a box configuration
over the fighting compartment. The
sIG 150mmgunwascentrally-mounted
in the front plate in a hemispheric
mantlet with a tube housing attached.

by Jeffrey McKaughan

Not much oJthe zimmeritleJtin 1994 in this viewoJtheJrontplate anddTivers superstructure.

The bore of the sIG 150mmStu.H. 43 is

58" long and its rifling has 44 lands
(right hand twist). The gun is twelve
calibers long with six and one-half
inches hollowed out at the end to act as

a flash hider. This accounts for the

tapered look at the end of the barrel.
The American 75mm pack howitzer
utilizes the same effect but is not ta
pered externally.

...-;::.:rl'

The Aberdeen Bn.unmbar, photo taken in late 1946. Capturea in Italy, this mid'production version still has a rather complete coating oj
zimmerit. The side plate has 24 vertical columns oj zimmerit while the angledJront plate appears to have eight. Note the pattern changes
on the zimmerit behind the running gear.

Museum Ordnance

To compensate for the weight ofthe

gun (and mantiet) forward of the trun
nions, a overly-large breechrlng was
utilized. There are two recoil cylinders
which during recoil at its highest eleva
tion barely keep the breech offthe floor.
Maximum recoil was 22.5" (compared
to 48" on the Infantry version of the
sIG).
Intemal stowage was for 38 rounds.
The sIG could fire at targets up t04,675
yards with an 83 .8Ib. projectile. Muzzle
velocity was 790 ft/sec. Elevation was
between -8 and +30 degrees with a
traverse of 20 degrees.
There were three series of
Brummbars built, each being easily
distinguishable from the others by look
ing at the driver's vision blocks and the
surrounding area. The first production
versions can be identified If the driver's
vision block is a sliding shutter type
(like that used on the Tiger I). The
second series had a smaIl boxed com
partment with a periscope on top for
driver's vision. The third is the series
had a Similar box but also had a ball
machlnegun mount overhead near the
top of the fron t plate. This last version
also had a re-arranged front plate as
sembly.
American evaluation of the
Brummbar found it to be worthy of
study for its mounting of the main gun
in such a balanced and compact de
sign. Also ofnote for incorporation into
the study was the compact recoil ar
rangement and its applications to
American artillery pieces.

January 1995

Although not certain. I believe the side skirt

supports should have the small angle brace
angling down and awayJrom the vehicle, not
towards it as the two in the Joreground.

Looking down into the slot Jor the drivers

periscope.

Spare road wheel rack on the back deck.

./

~
' -

The radio ante nna mount on the right re ar oj

the superstructure.

Museum Ordnance

-'

...........

~ ---

\.1___
, _, "---~
I'

l'

The Brummbar utilized a basically unmodi

fred chassis of the Pz.Kpfw N, using new
Ausj. a's, along with rebuiltE and F vehicles.

January 1995

Museum Ordnance's Bookshelf Book Reviews

RAGGED WAR
The Story of Unconventional and
Counter-Revolutionary Warfare

should motivate you to do more re

search if it is that important.
All in all this book would be re
quired reading for Counter-Insurgency
101. The book describes the concepts,
strategies. and tactics used by forces
on both sides of a confliCt. Without
placing his own value of right or wrong.
Thompson discusses the key elements
in fighting and countering low-inten
sity conflicts. The book does not detail
each fire fight down to each fact. but
enough information is provided so that
you can understand the discussion in
its proper context.
An index is prOvided. but not a
bibliography which would have been
useful for further reading and research
since this topic is not covered in too
many places.

By Leroy Thompson
192 pages, 64 photos
1994
Published by: Arms & Armour
Distributed by: Sterling Publishing
387 Park Ave, South
ered. it is an insight into what the
New York, NY 10016
country has and the value it does (or
$24.95
doesnt) place on detering insurgen
Leroy Thompson has established a cies.
reputation for writing excellent works
In certain areas the book makes
dealing with low-intensity conflicts. An assumptions thatyou have some knowl
earlier work of his, Dirty Wars. was edge or background. For instance. it
reviewed in the July' 1993 issue of mentions General Dozier's kidnapping.
Musewn Ordnance.
without telling you anything else about
Laying a brief groundwork for the it. This is not a big issue and if anything
pre-Twentieth Century, the real focus
of the book begins just after WWI with ROMMEL'S NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN
the works of Mao. While Mao was not
September 1940 - November 1942
the first to put pen to paper and de
By
Jack Greene and Alessandro Massignani
scribe the precepts of unconventional
Rommel's
272
pages. 50+photos. 18 maps
warfare. he is credited with doing so in
North Africa

Campaign

a modern context. Thompson utilizes 1994 ISBN 0-938289-34-9

these concepts throughout the book. Published by Combined Books. Inc.
illustrating their validity today.
Distributed by Stackpole Books. Inc.
Thompson approaches this work 5067 Ritter Road
with a realistic format in that he de Mechanicsburg. PA 17055
scribes conflicts by region when neces $22.95
sary (I.e. Africa, Vietnam. or the Middle
717-796-0411
East) but also describes events by coun
try (I.e .. Brittan-Kenya. Malaya. Brunei. Reviewed by. Adam Geibel
Aden. and France-Vietnam. Algeria).
This allows for the reader to follow a Contrary to popular history. the Afrika account of the campaign. there are
consistent trend without thumbing Korps did not fight the North African eighteen sidebars that explain tangen
back pages to pick up a story.
campaign Single-handedly - German tial subjects in depth and the photo
After covering the more well-known involvement was initially an effort to graphs are. for most readers. fresh
conflicts. Thompson moves to a broad keep the Italian Army from being over images.
analysis of various strategies and tac whelmed after the disaster at Beda
One of the most valuable parts of
tics that have proven successful-to Fomm. While Rommel's cult ofperson this text are the Orders of Battle for
varying degrees. Of these two chap ality turned a sideshow delaying action both sides. dated 17 November 1941.
ters. one each looks at the conflict from into a major theater for the Allies. the 24 May and 23 October 1942. which in
the side of the insurgents and from the Italian Army did not disappear. Greene special cases go as low as battalion and
view of the counter-insurgents. The and Massignanl illustrate Rommel's company-level. These alone should be
similarities and differences are very interaction with his Italian and Ger of interest to tacticians. DAK-focused
interesting.
man superiors and contemporaries. as historians. and wargamers.
Towards the end there is a "crystal well as the strong and weak points of
Rommel's North African Campai2n
ball" chapter which trys to least sug both AxIs armies.
is part of Combined Books' Great Cam
gest. possible problem areas and re
However. this Is not just another paign series, which has the stated in
gions in the future. However. more homily to Rommel. Greene. author of tent of trying to bridge the gap between
than pronosticating. Thompson estab Mare Nostrum: The War In the Mediter dry professional perspective and the
lishes criteria that helps establish where raneanand Massignani. a noted writer more readable overview for the layper
and how insurgencies may occur.
on the Italian millitary. detail many of son. In this offering. the objective is
Finally. there is a chapter which the small engagements that are ig achieved. An excellent addition to the
lists 63 countries with a brief descrip nored or glossed over in previous texts bookshelves ofanyone interested in the
tion of their counter-insurgent force. -most of them involving Italian units.
Italian Army. the North African cam
While each country is only briefly cov
In addition to the chronological paign or desert fighting in general.
1

,,"

<.cp"m\...-,!9'Q '\".uh,l),l

..

Museum Ordnance

--=

hangs the front sprocket. The nose

plate and glacis meet and form sharp
angles that would deflect front-on shots.
Centrally located and close together
are the two travel locks on the very
front ofthe glacis. Both hull sides slope
inwards a few inches above the track
level. The back plate has two rather
large c?sings that have been mistaken
for fuel cells. Berge kindly Informed me
that they were watertight stowage bins
for crew gear, lubricants, etc.
On top of the flat roofwhich barely
scratches 95 inches, little can be found.
A squashed commander's cupola is on
the right, to the left is a large squarish
hatch that the gunner and radio opera
tor share. Two batteries of four smoke
dischargers, two Lyran grenade launch
ers, and a pintle-mounted Ksp 58
machinegun complete the roof layout.
Inside the fighting compartment is
tight and functional. The commander
and the gunnerjdriver, seated to his
left, can each select the ammo, aim the
and fire the main gun. The commander

Sweden's Own!
....=

ca
I

en

A pair of S-1 03B's crossing a stream.

The kingdom of Sweden may mean

different things to different people
Drakkar-Ioads of ax packing Vikings,
the chefon The Muppets, or red Wooden
houses. But readers of Museum Ord
nance know Sweden for the S-Tank,
otherwise known as the Stridsvagn 103
or Strv 103. The designation means
"combat vehicle" with a 10.5cm gun
(10) and the third model in service (3).
During the 1950's and the Cold
War (not talking temperature here!)
thinking and fears, Sweden kept to her
traditions and worked on their own
designs for combat tanks. What they
came up with was a 40-ton vehicle
called "Emil" or Kranvagnjointlydevel
oped by Bofors Landsverk and Volvo,
with an autoload system, a six-inch
caliber main gun, extra wide tracks,
four road wheels per side , and a cast
prow a'la a Joseph Stalin III.
Enter Sven Berge. He took the lead
role in conceptualizing the parameters
of the new tank and can rightfully lay
claim to the design of the S-Tank. He
studied a number ofdeSigns, including
the French AMX-13, which although
suffering from a number disadvantages,
Berge liked the concept of the oscillat
ing turret and the autoload system for

the main gun. Tests were conducted

using a llght-"leight Ikv-103 and for
::1eavier demonstrations a Sherman to
test proof-of-concepts. The vehicle was
type classed in 1966 and production
continued up until 1971.
'Nell over half of the 23 foot long
hull is dominated by a breathtakingly
sloped glacis plate which vastly over-

BELOW: The rather simplistic, but appar

ently very effective, use of harden steel bars
as a disruptive screen against head-on pro
jectiles has been a well kept secret in Swe
den. The bars are attached by inserting a
tapered end of the bar into a tapered hole in
the hull- easy in, easy ouU According to a
report in Jane's International Defense Re
view (3/93) this vehicle was subjected to the
folloWing tests: three I 05mm APDS (Armor
Piercing Discarding Sabot), three 105mm
HEAT (High ExplosiveAntiTank), three 90mm
HEAT, two 84mm HEAT, one 7.5kgpressure
mine, three 1Okg pressure mines,jive 500kg
napalm bombs, andfive shock waves simu
lating that of a 5kt nuclear e.xplosion at
5oom. Although the vehicle suffered some
"external" damage, it remainedfuUy opera
tionaL

by

Alessandro Demaria

January 1995

has agyrostabWzed aiming station while

the gunner has a Bofors aeronautics
OPS 1 biocular sight. The gun is tra
versed by "aiming" the entire vehicle;
elevation is controlled by adjusting the
hydroneumatlc suspensions which
automatically lock upon firing. The
elevation envelope is from -10 to + 12
degrees. Since 1969 a YAG ND laser
rangefinderand night sights have been
standardized.
The third crewman is a radio op
erator/rear driver. His station is be
hind the gunner/driver.
The S-Tank's firepower is provided
by a lengthened British 105mm L7 gun
designated the L74, The gun no muzzle
brake or thermal sleeve, but does have
a fume evacuator. The weapon is fed
via an autoload system which holds 50
rounds in ten five-round magazines.
Normal stocks include 25APFSDS, ten
HE, and five smoke rounds. The sys
tem is crew-friendly being located low
on the floor in the rear with a rear
reloading hatch and nearby ejection
port.

Behind and above the left-hand

light flXture is an armored casement
which houses two Ksp 58 .30 cal.
machineguns with 2750 belted rounds
of ammunition. Once the ammunition
has been expended, the guns must be
reloaded from outside the vehicle via a
forward-hinged roof on the casement.
A similar casement on the right was
originally to house a .50 cal. heavy
machinegun but ultimately became a
less-warlike stowage bin for camo net
ting and pioneer tools.
The get-up-and-go of the S-Tank is
provided by a 240 hp Rolls Royce K60
diesel (since 1969, a 290 hp Detroit
diesel6V 53T) and one Boeing 553 (490
hpj gas turbine laagered together with
the final drive, gearbox, air intakes,
and exhausts. For routine mobility
only the diesel is utilized, the gas tur
bine being fired up for extra power
when the tactical situation demands.
Top road speed is about 50 km/h. The
950 gallons of fuel are stored in a main
wedge-shaped main tankup front and

two smaller cells along the fighting

compartment.
The S-Tank utilizes four main
roadwheels, front drive sprocket, rear
idler, and two return rollers. Double
pin, 670mm wide Diehl tracks with 122
rubber shoes and end connectors re
placed early all-steel Swedish tracks.
The front sprocket design helps re
duced the chances of throwing a track
on rutty, forested ground or on side
slopes.
A Swedish version of stand-off ar
mor
called
"Gallerska.rm P<i
Frontpansaret," or stockade screen, on
the glacis plate was deSigned and kept
secret in the 1960's. These 32 hefty
bars interlock and cause the prema
ture detonation ofshaped charges. They
are rock solid, low cost, and soldier
proon
The S-Vagn chassis has been fitted
with two 40mm cannons (this proto
type was called the "Veak.") The only
variant to become active is a 155mm
self-propelled gun on a modified S
Tank chassis.
Although to be phased out in the
near future, the S-Tank proved a num
ber of concepts and was a tank Sweden
could call its own. The current version
of the S-Tank is the Strv 103e and can
be easily identified by the fuel cans
acting as side skirts.
References
Armenyit, 5/87 & 4/92 (Swedish Army
Review)
Pansarmuseet Axvall, Swedish Tank
Museum Guidebook
Pansartrupperna 50 Ar 1942-1992
Svensk Pansarhistorisk Foenlng (SPHF)
Thanks to Per Svensson, Putte Hallberg,
Arne Gustavson, and a special thanks
to Sven Berge.

This is the

10

"e" version of the S- Tank.

Museum Ordnance

GERMAN TANK SIGNAL

FLAGS

< MEANS>

Yellow>

EXTEND

Red>

ACTION

TAKE POST

RIGHT WHEEL

Yellow
over >
Blue

TURRET DOWN

OUT OF ACTION

LEADER HERE

While working through the Ordnance

Museum's files, I found the following
notes on 'German Tank Data Signals
Code'. drawn and colored by hand.

FLAG WAVED IN AN ARC

FLAG HELD ERECT

CONFORM

by Adam Geibel

BlackC....,
on
>
Yellow Field

B
B

UNEAHEAD

< Blue

ARROW HI;AD

ENEMY TANKS
Yellow
over
Red

<

BROAD
ARROWHEAD

LEFT WHEEL
Blue
< over

TANKS ABOUT

?ec!

[9

S.O.S.

OWN TANKS

Black Ball on Red Field

Before the time when radios were fitted

to all tanks, a set of signal flags were
issued to each tanks and used to com
municate basic movements or tactical
concepts, much like Nelson's pennants
at Trafalgar - but with far fewer mes
sage options.
As radios became more commonplace

the use of flags dwindled, since they

required sticking an extremity outside
of the protective armor. Effective use of
flags also required that someone in the
other tanks crew was paying attention.
To be seen, the tank commander would
have to stand high in his cupola and
hold the flag shaft over his head. In
reality, probably only his arm poked
out of the turret long enough to try and
catch anyone's eye.
The notes did not mention the size of
the flags, nor the length of the flag
staffs.
Signal flags are still issued and used
today, but nowhere near as frequently.
Readers are cautioned that since the
notes that this article was based on are
not an original German document, this
interpretation may be subject to cor
rections. As such, readers with addi
tional information (on these or other
nationalities flags')are invited to con
tact the editorial offices of this publica
tion.

Tech Intell

track, Tiger II, Panther disguised as an M-10, Sd.Kfz 251 with a flatbed
cargo deck, Bergepanther, Shlrmgeschutz disguised as U.s., Pz.Kfw IV
observation tank, German radio vehicle on a French half-track, Flak
During World War II, the United States Army deployed small teams of towers on railway cars, Panther pillbox, "new" German full-tracked
ordnance personnel throughout the European and Pacific theaters of carrier, Jagdtiger, Sd.Kfz 251 with PaK 40 75mm, Sd.Kfz 140/1,
operation. The task of these teams was to report on each type of enemy Flakdrilling on U.s. M8 armored car, an RSO with PaK 4D 75mm,
ordnance and equipment as they would encounter it in the field.
"German Automotive" material, Tiger B transport trailer, among others.
Their reports and summaries were sometimes the first information
available on a vehicle, gun, tank, or other system. Each report was usuall y
Title
Total
Qty Each
accompanied by several photographs and a description of the subject.
These reports were not compiled in a rear area motor pool but right on the Tech Intell Volume 1
$13.95
front lines.
Darlington Productions has put together a selection of these reports in
Volume 1 of TECH INTELL. This soft-cover book is 132 pages long with
141 photographs. Formatted with the look of the original reports, these
reports have not been altered or edited and appear as they did in 1944 /
45.
Included in Volume 1 are reports on the Maultier armored half-

January 1995

Shipping & handling:

$1.75 U.s., $3.50 foreign.

SubTotal
Shipping & handling

Darlington Productions Tax (MD residents add 5%)

Total
P.O. Box 5884
Darlington, MD 21034
(U.s. funds only)

11

"The One That Got Away... "

A British Export Success
Throughout the 1920's and 1930's,
many designs for armored vehicles were
produced. Some of these were in re
sponse to official army requirements,
some were private ventures, some were
adopted, some sold, while many ap
peared briefly and then faded from the
scene.
One ofthe more successful designs
was the Vickers SlxTon Tank. Vickers
Armstrong Ltd, now known as Vickers
Defence Systems. were a well estab
lished British armaments company,
indeed many of the vehicles bought by
the British Army in the inter-war pe
riod were designed and built by them.
In addition to these, a number of ve
hicles were designed for sales abroad.
The Six Ton Tank was one of this
export series. Earlier designs had in
cluded what Vickers termed the Marks
A. B, C. and D. A and B were not built,
while one each of the C and the very
similar D were sold to Japan and the
Irish Republic. The new Six Ton design
became the Mark E, designed and avail
able for sale from 1928.
Here. there is some discrepancy as
to designation. The Six Ton was pro
duced in two variations, one with two
small turrets mounting machine guns.
and the other with a single large turret
carrying a cannon and a coaxial mg.
There were known respectively as Al
ternative A for the twin turreted and
Alternative B for the single turret. This
has confused some authors, and led to
the erroneous names of "Models A and
B" or "Types A and B" being used.
The two variations shared a com
mon chassis and hull. Vickers' own
contemporary sales literature describes
the suspension as being of a patented
type consisting of two sets of double
bogies on each side. These were pivoted
on axles passing through the hull. and
fitted with leaf springs supporting two
sets of two small. rubber covered road
wheels per unit. The short pitch 10.25"
wide manganese steel track was also
covered by a Vickers patent.
Construction of the hull used an
angle iron frame with the bullet proof
plates riveted to It. Layout was conven
tional, with engine at the rear sepa
rated from the fighting chamber by a
bulkhead. Drive from the engine passed

by Peter Brown

12

through this area to the final drive unit

in the nose of the vehicle. This. accord
ing the ad men. balanced the vehicle.
keeping the centrally mounted turret
as level as possible during cross coun
try movement. The driver sat at the
righ t fron t ofthe fighting compartment,
with good forward vision and access
through large fiaps in front of him. with
a toughened glass vision block for use
when closed down. He steered the tank
with the usual two levers.
The remainder of the raised centre
fighting area was occupied by the two
other crew members. In the Alternative
A version each man had his own turret
which rotated independently, and while
theoretically capable of all-round
traverse each turret got in its
neighbours' way, allowing at best 240
degrees rotation. Early descriptions of
this machine suggest that fitting two
machine guns per turret was an option.
although photos and later accounts
show that only one was ever fitted.
Operating two mgs In a turret with only
34" diameter would have been less
than easy.
On the Alternative B type. the tur
ret had a larger 51" diameter ring offset
to the left hand side of the hull. mount
ing a 47mm cannon in what was termed
a duplex mounting with a machine
gun. Interestingly, the use of the main
gun was stated as being for dealing
with "hostile tanks, or other similar
targets, requiring an Armor Piercing or
High Explosive shell for their destruc
tion" . So the tank was envisaged as an
anti-tank weapon in its own light.
As the tank was intended for sale
commerCially. Vickers allowed much
leeway In the final specification. Armor
thickness varied from 5mm in areas
not greatly exposed to attack, up to
13mmoreven 17mm as required. Simi
larly. the type of machine gun carried
would depend on the buyer's own re
qUirements. Vickers could supply t.:1eir
own Maxim derived one, fit the same or
similar type to that already in use in the
purchaser's inventory. or deliver un
armed for fitting weapons as requested .
Oddly. all the tanks were olTered
with the same 80bhp four cylinder
Armstrong Siddeley petrol engine. This
operated through a gearbox giving an
emergency low ratio as well as four
normal speeds and reverse.

Sales were fairly good. in all I have

uncovered details of some 99 sold be
tween 1930 and 1938 with variations
in design features and weaponry. In
addition, the same chassis was olTered
as a tractor for artillery pieces and
various civilian uses, and also as a
mounting for a self propelled 40mm
anti aircraft gun for Siam (now Thai
land). an advanced idea for 1933.
As well as buying vehicles. both the
Soviet and Polish governments took
out production licences. The Soviets
called their vehicles T-26. and devel
oped a series of tanks using both twin
and single turrets. The Polish Army
also bought twin turret types, although
they later purchased additional single
turrets before first improving the de
sign with a new engine and developing
their own 7fP series vehicles. Both
designs saw action during WW2.
Actual Six Ton tanks saw action.
with one actually changing hands in
the Chaco War between Bolivia and
Paraguay in 1933-34. Ofuers were
used in China and Finland. Oddly, the
tank itself was not adopted by Britain,
although some gun tractors were pur
chased.
Vickers continually reviewed the
design. From 1936 only the single
turret version was olTered for sale with
a new design gun of 40mm caliber also
available. The final development was
an up-armored vehicle fitted with a
larger Rolls-Royce engine mounted at
the left hand side of the hull and the
turret moved to the right , behind the
driver. This Mark F was not , it seems,
sold. a s its introduc tion coincided with
the outbreak of the World War. Indeed,
some unsold Six Tonners which seem
to have been of a hybrid type with F
pattern hull and E type power pack
were commandeered by the British
Governmen t and used for training in
fue LX
Th e American Connection
As well as actual sales. one tank was
leased to the US Government for trials.

For some time. I have been seeking

Information on this project, my re
searches h ampered by my bein g on the
wrong side of the Atlantic. One item I
was paracularly interested in was the
report prepared on the ~rials. but de
spite letters to various organizations I
was unable to track down this doc u
ment. At one stage I even advertised in
Museum Ordnc!nce, and although I did
not find the trials report I did gain a
valuable ally 'In country' in the form of

Museum Ordnance

Adam Giebel. Another ally was closer

to home, as Phil Dyer had also been
seeking data on the tank. With help
from these two added to my own re
searches over a period of time, I was
able to reconstruct the following sce
nario.
In March 193 '., the Vickers factory
in Chertsey reported that a machine
was ready to go to the USA. A US War
Department report of 25 April 1931
stated that "in order to secure a test of
a representative modern British mili
tary vehicle a contract had been nego
tiated with Vickers-Armstrongs. Ltd..
fora thirty day test ofVickers-Armstrong
6-Ton Tank". This tank duly travelled
the Atlantic and was tested. The Balti
more Sun carried a photo of the tank
taken on July 6 1931, stating that it
had been "through a fortnight's severe
trials with complete success". While it
was under test, a series of photos was
taken. Copies of some of these are at
the Tank Museum in Bovington. En
gland, and I asked Adam for any more
from the series. I was surprised and
pleased to actually receive microfilm
copies from Phil Dyer. from which I was
able to produce prints showing many
details of the tank.
Equally valuable were the captions
contained in each negative. These tell
me that the tank was photographed on
15and 22June as well as 6 July. which
would agree with the two week trial
period. A further report via Phil origi
nating from the Office of the Chief of
Ordnance of23 November 1931 refers
to the trials, and tantaliSingly men
tions OCM Items 7948 which seems to
be the trials report, and Item 8905
which is a series of remarks and con
cerning the report. I have a copy of the
notes, but not the report!
The November document also re
fers to 00451.25/3852 of 11 August
1931 from the Chief of Infantry 'enu
merating the desirable characteristics'
of the tank, and recommending that
two be procured for comparison with
the T5 Medium Tank, and also
00451.25/3879 of9 September recom
mending that five be purchased to use
in a test comparison with a platoon of
1'3 Medium Tanks. However, things
were not all good. To quote the report
verbatim
"While the study of the test report
by Aberdeen Proving Ground of the
Vickers-Armstrongs Light Tank Mark
E and the requests of the Chief of
Infantry and the Chief of Cavalry that a
number of these tanks be procured at

January 1995

once for tactical tests at Fort Benning

and in the Mechanized Cavalry Regi
ment respectively. indicate that this
tank is one of the best. ifnot the best,
track-laying tank (sic) now known. the
lack of available funds at this time or in
the near future makes it !trupracticable
to purchase five tanks for engineering
studies by the Ordnance Department
and a tactical test by the Infantry. The
sub-committee recommends that ne
gotiations for the procurement of
VickerS-Armstrong Light Tank Mark E
be discontinued until funds become
available unless in the meantime an
other tank be found more desirable."
So. the tank was thought good and
worthyoffurtherpurchaseandnodoubt
development. but then as before and
after there were no funds available for
the project. All was not lost. The tank
itself no doubt went back to the U.K.
What happened to it there I cannot say.
I suspect it may well have been recon

ditioned and sold to another customer.

but without knowing its serial number
I cannot say.
Back in the US, the suspension
principles were used in Tl E4light tank,
rebuilt as the TIE6 light tank of 1932,
giving it an appearance not unlike a
single turret SixTon - indeed, one ofthe
1931 series of photos appeared in the
"TIE6 (Vickers-Armstrong Suspen
sion)" file where Adam Giebel located it.
The same suspension featured on the
T2 light tank of 1934. Tests showed
that vertical volute suspension gave a
better ride. and this was used on US
light tanks until 1944.
The twin turret concept also had
its day. The T5 Combat Car and M2A1.
M2A2 and M2A3 Light Tanks used
them from 1935 thru 1938. and the
'Mae Wests' were used to train a gen
eration of tankers. Thereafter a return
was made to single turrets.
Oddly. the part played by the Mark

Vickers-Annstrong light tank at AberdeeTL

The U.S. UghtTank T1E6 in a photo taken December 7. 1932.

13

E in later US tank development is little

recorded. Even RP Hunnicutt's master
work "Stuart - A History of the Ameri
can Light Tank~ hardly mentions the
trials although records the use of the
suspension on the TI series vehicles,
However. I am sure that somewhere is
a dusty archive the original document
still survives. Should you be the one to
find it. pause a while to recall this

article, and ifyou can sent me a photo

copy of it. Thank youl

Fuel capacity 40 gallons, giving a radius of

action of 150-160 miles or seven hours
operations
Data - typical for the series, taken various
Maximum road speed, maximum slope 45
degrees, can cross 8' trench and 2'6" vertical
reports and sales literature

obstacle
Length 15'

Weight 6 tons 17cwt or 15,344lbs (Alt A), 6

Width Til"

tons 19cwt or 15,5681bs (Alt B)

Height 6'1" (Alt A) or 7'2" (Alt B)

Armor 5mm to 13mm (l7mrn as an option)

Engine Armstrong Siddeley 4-cylinder hori

zontal, air cooled petrol. developing 80bhp

Armament two machine guns with 6,000
rounds (less if fitted with radio) (All A)
at 2,000 rpm

One 47mm with 50 rounds and one co-axial

mg with 4,000 rounds (Alt B)
Published sources
Mechanised Force - British Tanks between
the Wars by David Fletcher. published by
HMSO London 1991 covers all British offi
cial and commercial designs of the 1920's
and 1930's
Stuart - A History of the American Light
Tank Volume 1 by RP Hunnicutt, published
by Presidio Press In 1992 details US light
tank development up to 1945
The Vickers Tanks from Landshlp to Chal
lenger by C F Foss and P McKenzie, pub
lished Patrick Stephens Ltd 1988 covers all
Vickers deSigns, but has little to say on the
Six Ton Tank and much of that conflicts
with other sources .

The VickersArmstrong 6ton tank outside the headquarters ojthe 3rd Corps Area. Baltimore,
Maryland on July 6, 1931.

Thanks and Acknowledgements - In alpha

betical order Phil Dyer, for sharing his find
Ings on the Mark E with me David Fletcher
of the Tank Museum. Bovlngton for help
with finding material In the museum archive,
and also for his comments
Adam Giebel for his efforts In seeking
the Mark E report, and for fOIWarding vari
ous related Items In all cases, I hope the co
operation between us has been mutually
beneficial.

NOW/AU, WE .\

~AVE. To Do IS

MAKE IT fl~E. I

10,((0 ~Uu)5
PER MI~UrE. !

,.,.. t .M:hr ;11 U N{AR L!NKLESS Ammvm riq" /i_till..., r K""OIOV'l

1~51 Alilfih#t A..."v..
C, 91" '" (lI /I} 8530560

I,.,i".,

14

Museum Ordnance

Well- hopefully you have all noticed

that Museum Ordnance Is a bit longer
this issue. I hope that it will still meet
with everyone's approval. I do not
foresee the publication growing any
larger in the near future, I think that
32 pages will give me the space I need
(and can fill) on a routine basis, I will
try to avoid splitting articles into two
parts from now on. However, if I do
receive a good article that is too long
and would require dedicating too much
space to a single subject in one issue, I
may feel it necessary to split an article.
As many niche magazines do from
time to time, I take a small amount of
space and remind everyone that I am
always interested in receiving articles
on armor and artillery subjects that
you find interesting. Most likely, ifyou
like the subject matter, most of MO
readers will as well.
I apprecIate all of the comments I
have received in the past (both good
and not so good) and would encourage
you to let me kpow what's on your
mind . On the back of your renewal
notice is always a good place (or a
phone call).

According to a recent interview with the

president of General Dynamics Land
Systems (GDLS) there are four differ
ences between MIA2s delivered to the
US Army and those destined for the
Saudi forces. They are: 1) a Jaguar
radIo, 2) an external auxilIary power
unit (a 2 kW system by Tiernay Tur

bines mounted in the left rear turret

bustle), 3) an advanced IVIS (a dIgital
InterVehicular Information System), 4
and 4) a mine clearing capability,
Recently about 100 "obsolete" M-60s
were dumped from barges off the coast
ofAlabama between June and October
of this year. The project. codenamed
REEFEX94.
Citing the training benefits (?) and
the environmental advantages, the
January 1995

tanks will fonn artlftcal reefs that will

promote marine development. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
set the standards of preparation for the
tanks so that all harmful materials and
products would be removed before the
dumping.
A number of vehicles from the Ab
erdeen Proving Ground (NOT the mu
seum) are being prepared for dumping
off Ocean City, MD for thIs same pur
pose,
Any scuba divers in the Gulf area
been down to see them yet?

February/March 1995,
Those that
have bought Volume One will receive a
pre-publication notice and offer in the
mail.

For those that might be interested, Vol

ume 2 ofTech Intell is being worked on
and I hope to release It sometime In

'PUBIS! UB!fBlI UB uo suollBIIBlSU! 's'n

lB sdHsSIUI [llldAdS Pd.lij BAqn 'JIodJ.l.L
uo SP!B.l 's'n dlH .ldlJB '9961 uI 'Arell

Many thanks to everyone that wrote

and called with information about the
Czech homebuilt armored car in the
last issue. As they all noted, the vehicle
was built around the running gear of
the WWII Beobactungspanzer RR 7
(Sd,Kfz 254). The original vehIcle was
designed by Sauer of Austria and put
into limited service with the Germans
(most photographs show It in North
Africa, The article stated that it was
guestion: Which NATO country is the built from a discarded British armored
only one targeted by ballistic missiles car, This information came from sev
since 1945? Answer at the end of this eral newspaper articles written about
the incident. Perhaps they meant that
column.
the steel body was built from the ar
Phil Dyer took me to task for "highly mored car? Or who knows-they might
recommendIng" a book entitled Steel not have known what they were talking
Wheeled Christie in the September 1994 about!
One reader, who I still hope to hear
issue. He included a great deal of
from believes that this man (with some
material to support a contention that sort ofan armored vehicle) was killed in
the author (Edward Christie) did not a shootout In California. He was going
present a fair, complete, and honest to look through his files and if he could
(my words, not Mr. Dyer's) on the sub
find anything, would send it along to
ject. This book was reviewed in ARMOR MO.
magazine and AFV NEWS in January
1986, with follow on letters In the July The museum recently gained a new
issue of ARMOR and in the May and U.S. MI09A3 self-propelled howitzer.
September issues of AFV NEWS. Mr. It Is on display behind the museum
Dyer also provided a list of errors and a building.
comparison ofexcerpts from the Christie
book to previously published articles Peter Cooke has sent along a list of
photos that are available through him
on the same subject that appeared in
from the New Zealand Archives. He can
the book rather "similar."
provide 6x8 ($NZ15) or 8xlO ($NZ25)
After reviewing the information pro
plus a fee for postage. The photos are
vided by Mr. Dyer and reviewing the mainly from WWII with a fair number
articles in the mentioned magazines, from the Malayan Emergency and a few
the "highly recommended" remark is Post-war New Zealand vehicles. The
not warranted. However, iftaken in the list he sent has several hundred photos
context, with (and only with) the infor
described and he says that this list
mation provided by Mr. Dyer, the book represents only about half of those
would silll be useful in some ways, available.
Peter is the publisher ofTank 1V, a
though not as a balanced document of
newsletter
on AFV's, For more infor
the life and work of Christie. The work
that Walter Christie did was important mation on his photo service contact
him directly at Box 9724, Wellington,
to the development of tanks in the U.S.
New Zealand.
and elsewhere regardless ofhis person
ality and the writing skills, style, and In the last issue we reported that the
ethics of his son.
unarmored version of the M26 Dragon
Mr. Dyer also noted that the photo Wagon tractor was back on display
on page 4, upper right is a Model 1931 along the Mile of Tanks.
NOT a Model 1931,
Due to its poor condition, it has
My thanks to Phil Dyer for his com since been relocated "behind the fence"
until It can have some work done on It.
ments and I encourage others that ei
ther take exception to, disagree with, or
have coments to add to articles, please
send them In. They will enl1ghten us all.

15

Military Vehicle

Enthusiasts in

Russia

Several years ago. Museum Ordnance

ran a short article on the ISKATEL club
is Russia. This adventerous group is
involved in a number of projects. but
their favortte is searching and discov
ertng WWII relics.
When we first ran an article on
them it was regarding their trip to the
Kurile Islands. This trtp. taken in
1991. found numerous Japanese tanks
(Type 95s) and field guns and emplace
ments. They remain today virtually as
they were in the 1940s.
Recen tly. Serge Kosenkow sent sev
eral photos of a projeclthat resulted in
a restored artifact and the discovery of
several more.
As the photos will show. in the
early 1990s they found a T-20 in the
Smolensk region that was almost com
pletely submerged in a bog. Through
their efforts. and obviously with some
help from friends In high places (a
helicopter for Instance), they reclaimed
the T-20 and have since restored it. I
have used several of the photos to
illustrate their work (and also to show
the T-20 since there Is a kit for Russia
on the T-20 due out soon in the US).

This photo. taken in May 1990. shows what ISKATEL started with. The T20 was almost
completely under withjust the top superstructure showing.

Part of the ISKATEL Club on of their work.

After the discovery. the group began making

plans to recovery the diminutive Soviet artil
lery tractor. They retumed to the site inJune.
1991 and began the task ofexr:avating the T
20 the oldfashioned way-by hand!

16

RIGHT: The plates in the foreground are

anchored to act as a basefor the block and
tackle system'that was used to pull the T' 20
from the mud.

Museum Ordnance

The T-20 Komsomolets beJore. ..

... and aJter

With some air support, the T-20 was lifted out oj the bog and sent to
await restoration.

The two photos above illustrate a German

PaK 38 that has been recovered. I am not
sure what (if any) work has been done to
restore this artifact. Other photos show the
trails, a closeup oj the breech mechanism,
and a limber oj some sortJound at the site.
Serge tells Museum Ordnance that he would
be interested in selling the Gennan antitank
gun. He did not indicate a price oj what the
regulations might be on shipping.

January 1995

The remains oj an upside down and submerged T-34/76 300kmJrom Moscow.

The Iskatel Club, and Serge Kosenkow, can be rea ched at P.O. Box 99-1, Smolensk
Region, Desnogorsk, 216532, Russia. They are offering tours and the opportunity to
join them on their expeditions {Including the recovery of the T-34J . They seem
Interested In tailoring a tour of Russia's military history to your tastes. They have also
indicated that they are offering a photo service for about 6O/85e per photo. Contact
them for more Infonnatlon.

17

1994

E DITORIAL I NDEX

FEATURES

1993 Editorial Index

Azhzarit (Israeli T-55-based APC)
Canadian Universal with a Punch
Czech-Built Homemade Armored Car to Freedom
Egypt vs. Libya, The Border Conflict of July 1977
Future Main Battle Tank
Future U.S. Tank Demonstrator
German B.Bcm Pak 43/3 Ammunition Ready Rack
German Infra-Red Panther
Grab On To That MI0 (MI0 turret grabhandles)
Heavy Recon: The Sd.Kfz. 243/3
Japanese Type 97 Flamethrower
Lineage of the Challenger Tank Program
LSV: Desert Storm Uncovers New Solutions to Old Challenge
Marmon-Herrington Light Tanks
Marmon-Herrington Tanks in Australia
Medium T.3 Christie, The
Merkava: Evolution of a Battle Tank
Mighty Beast: Jagdtiger, The
M24 Chaffee Light Tank, The
MP44: Forerunner of the Modern Assault Gun
Nahverteidigungswaffe
Practice Pillbox
Self-Propelled Artillery: Soviet Style (SU -76)
Sherman That Never Was, The
South African Olifant (Part 1)
South African Olifant (Part 2)
Soviet Tanks: Cant Tell the Players Without a Scorecard
Tracking the Independent 605. Panzerj<1ger-Abteilung
with Rommel in North Africa

Jeffrey McKaughan
Jeffrey McKaughan
Jeff McKaughan
Dr. John Turner
Dr. Asher Sharoni and
Lawrence Bacon
J~ffrey McKaughan
photos by Bill Miley
Jeffrey McKaughan

Greg Patterson
Gregory Fetter
Dr. Max Johnson
Jeffrey McKaughan
Paul Handel
Jeffrey McKaughan
Alessandro Demaria
David Kimbrell
Carl Pietro
Jean Morganthal
from reports by Armin Sohms
Jeffrey McKaughan
Stephen 'Cookie' Sewell
photos by Jeffrey McKaughan
Frank De Sisto
Helmoed-R6mer Heitman
Helmoed-R6mer Heitman
Stephen 'Cookie' Sewell
George Bradford

Jan 94
Sept 94
Mar 94
Nov 94
Nov 94
May 94
Mar 94
Jul94
Jul94
May 94
Nov 94
Jul94
Mar 94
Jan 94
Jan 94
Nov 94
Sept 94
Jan 94
Jan 94
Jul94
Mar 94
May 94
Jul94
May 94
May 94
Jul94
Sept 94
Mar 94
Sept 94

BOOK REVIEWS

100 Miles From Baghdad

1813-1993 - The Watervliet Arsenal
Beacons in the Night
Cannoneers, The
Key to the South, The
King Tiger Heavy Tank 1942-1945
Michelin Battlefield Maps, Normandy, Provence, Alsace
New Recruit (Video)
Shadow War
T-72 MBT, 1974-1993
Tank and AFV Buyer's Guide
Taming the Landmine
World War II Remnants

Adam Geibel

Mar 94
Sept 94
May 94
Nov 94
Sept 94
Jan 94
May 94
Jan 94
May 94
Jul94
Mar 94
Nov 94

Ed Gilbert
James Welch
James Welch
Adam Geibel
James Welch

May 94
Mar 94
Jul94
Jan 94
Nov 94

Peter Brown

Sept 94

William Auerbach
Frank De Sisto
Alessandro Demaria
Peter Brown

MINIATURE ORDNANCE

Building the Zvezda T-60 in 1/35

Moditying and Detailing the Tamiya Ford GPA
Refurbishing Those Older, Built-up Kits
Soviet M1943 57mm Antitank Gun Conversion
Variations on a Theme: Variations and Paint Schemes
for the ZIS 3/M42 Divisional Field Gun
Vickers Six Ton Tank Conversion

18

Museum Ordnance

./

Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Armored Vehicles

Type 61 Main Battle Tank (MB1) manuJactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and entered
seroice with Japanese GroundSelf-DeJense Force (JGSDF) in 1962. Approximately 400 are
still in seroice. Even though it is slowly being phased out oj seroice, some improvements are
still being made, tanks have been equipped with infrared driving and searchlights and/ or six
smoke dischargers similar to those on the newer Type 74 MBT. The size and weight oj the
Type 61 were dictated by the limits that would permit being carried on Japanese railcars and
through narrow tunnels.

Background
.
With the defeat ofJapan in 1945, one of
the primary Allied war aims was that,
"Japan is not to have an Army, Navy,
Air Force, Secret Police organization or
ciVil aviation" said General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Com
mander Allied Powers (SCAP). For five
years these orders were carried out
with a vengeance; plants that were
earmarked for reparations to the Allies
included 314 aircraft factories, 25 weap
ons and air research centers, 119 steel
mills, 19 machine-tool manufacturing
plants, 18 shipyards, 6 synthetic rub
ber factories and 131 military arsenals.
This determination to demilitarize
Japan, also extended to the civilian
sector, with Japan's post-war Consti
tution of 3 May 1947 (as approved by
Allied occupation authorities) rejecting
war or the threat or use of armed force
as an instrument of national policy.
Only three years later, the desire
by the U.S. to limit Japan's production
of military eqUipment and supplies
changed, with the beginning of the
Korean War. Alarm ofhaving to provide
security for Japan, and fight a war on

By David R. Haugh
Photos by Masahiko Saito

January 1995

the Korean peninsula led to the en

couragement of the Japanese govern
ment to provide some of their own
security. Not only was a military estab
lishment requested but much of the
eqUipment and factories slated forrepa
rations were returned to their Japa
nese owners.
In July 1950 the establishment of
a Self-Defense Force (called the Na
tional Police Reserve) was accomplished

along with the increase of Japanese

logistical support for the Korean War at
an ever quickening pace. By the begin
ning of 1951 almost three-quarters of
Japanese industry was directly engaged
in what was known as "defense produc
tion". To help kick-start the Japanese
Self-Defense Force the U.S. provided
nearly $900 million in military aid in
the early 1950s. Along with encourag
ing the Japanese government to estab
lish a National Police Reserve of75,OOO
men (equipped with light infantryweap
ons). on 8 September 1951 a formal
peace treaty was finally signed with
Japan. Seven months later the Na
tional Police Reserve was renamed the
National Safety Force and expanded to
100,000 men. In 1954 the organization
was renamed again and expanded as
the Self-Defense Agencywhich included
the Ground, Maritime and Air Self
Defense Force. In May 1957 the Japa
nese government adopted 'Basic Policy
for National Defense' along with the
First Defense Build-up Plan. This plan
was continually expanded and improved
until July 1979 when a new three year
planning cycle was put in place.
Organization
Size of the Self-Defense Force is limited
to a percentage of Gross National Prod
uct (1 %), which still allows for a good
size budget proVided the Japanese gov
ernment doesn't spend below the maxi
mum allowed. Members of the Self
Defense Force are considered to be civil
servants like police officers, and enlist-I

Rear view oj the Type 61.

19

Type 74MBT.

Type 74 MBT. Vehicle shown is an e arly Type 74 manuJactured by Mitsubishi Heavy

Industries. The Type 74 uses a hydropneumatic suspension which can raise to a maximum
oj 65cm or lower to 20cm. In seroice wlthJGSDF since 1973 (approximately. 800 in se roice).
Fire control includes a laser range j'mder and integrated ballistic computer. Prototypes oj the
Type 74 had an automatic loader and aremotecontrol.50 caliberonthecommander's s tation.
Both were droppedJrom the production models. In the late 1980's the Japanese started a
modernizationprogramJor the Type 74 including a thennal sleeveJor the maingun. additional
armor on top andJront oJ the turret and the addition oj passive night vision equipment.

ment is voluntary. with more volun

teers than vacancies. This semi-mili
tary/ civil servant role has lead to some
confusion outside of Japan as to the
role and performance of the Japanese
military establishment. The primary
mission of the Self-Defense Force (as
seen by the Japanese government) is to
repulse small-scale foreign attack on
the Japanese homeland. not act as a
projection of Japanese power and po
litical will. This has lead to some

misunderstanding of goals. respons i

bilities and capabilities. as in the Per
sian Gulf crisiS in 1990; when the
international community wanted Ja
pan to contribute more to the resolu
tion of the crisis. Seeing as 70 percent
of Japan's imported oil came from the
region it was felt that a Japanese pres
ence was logical. A suggestion to pro
Vide Japanese military personnel as
well as money was raised. but never
acted on before the end of the GulfWar.

Type 60 Self-propelled Tank Destroyer manuJactured by Komatsu. Slightly over 200 vehicles
oj this type were completed by 1979. The two J06mm recoilless rifles can be elevated
hydraulically Jor a bette r angle ojj'lre.

20

A small contingent of Japanese mili

tary personnel were active in Cambo
dia with the UN mission during 1993,
but even this use raised questions
among the Japanese government and
people . The UN Cambodian operation
was the first projection of a Japanese
military presence overseas since the
end of World War II. Japan Itself is
organized into four Army areas: North
ern Army in Hokkaido, which has the
larges t concen tration offorces because
it was the most likely area of invasion
(Situated opp osite the Soviet Sakkalin
Island and the Kurile islands). North
Ea stern Army in central Honshu and
Tokyo. Central Army in Southern
Honshu and on Shikoku and Western
Army in Kyushu. As of 1990 the
JGSDF h a d an authorized strength of
180, 0 00 plus 40,000 :-eserves. but

Type 6 0 SU APC m anuJactured by MitsubishL

Develop ment beg an in 1956 with the j'lJ'st
p roto types completed in 1957, production
s tarted 1959 . The Type SU 60 was theftrst
Jap a.ru:se des igned armored vehicle to enter
JuU service after WWTI. Annament: (1) M2.50
caliber HMG and (1) 7.62mm LMG on the
i:x.Jw.

Museum Ordnance

Type 75 155mm Self-propelled. Howitzer

manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Indus
tries. NilwnSeikoJyo and Japan Iron Works.
Development started in. 1969 two prototypes
completed in. 1971-72. Entered service in.
1978. replacing the U.S. supplied M44 155mm
SPH. approximately 200 vehicles are in. ser
vice. Outwardly theType 75 looks very much
like the U.S. M 109AL

Type 74 105mm SP Howitzer manufactured by Komatsu/Japan Steel Works . Based on the

Type 73 APC chassis. Entered service in. 1975. and was to replace the U.S . supplied M52
105mm SPH. Only 20 Type 74s were buUt. the decision being made to concentrate effort on
the 155mm Type 75.

was only manned at approximately 85

percent. The Ground forces consist of
12 infantry divisions (lst. 2nd. 3rd.
4th. 5th. 6th. 8th. 9th. lOth. 11 tho
12th. 13th - each with one tank battal
ion of four companies). one armored
division (the 7th stationed on Hokkaido
with three tank battalions). two com
posite brigades. one airborne brigade.
one artillery brigade and two artillery
groups. one helicopter brigade (with 24
squadrons). five engineer brigades. one

signal brigade. two air defense bri

gades. and one training brigade. Present
eqUipment includes: Tanks; Type 61,
Type 74 and Type 90 as well as a few
M24 light tanks. Reconnaissance ve
hicles; Type 82 and Type 87 (6x6 ar
mored vehicles). APCs; Type SU 60 and
Type 73 (a Type 88 MICV is under
development). Anti-tank: 106mm RR
in tracked and wheeled mounts. Artil
lery; MI0l l05mm. M2 155mm. and
M115 203mm howltzers as well as Type

Type 75 Multiple Rocket Launcher (130mm 30-round) manufactured by Komatsu/Nissan.

The Type 75 entered service 1975. engine. suspension and tracks are the same as the Type
73 APe. approximately 75 vehicles were produced.

January 1995

74 I05mm. Type 75 155mm and MIlO

203mm SP Howitzers. Rocket launch
ers; Type 67 MLRS (on a 6x6 Nissan
truck chassis) and Type 75 130mm
MLRS (tracked). Anti-aircraft; 35mm.
37mm. 40mm and 75mm guns and
Hawk. Type 81 and Stinger misslles.
Other vehicles; Type 67 Armored Ve
hicle Launched Bridge (based on the
Type 61 MBT chassis). Type 67 Ar
mored Engineer Vehicle. Type 70 Ar
mored Recovery Vehicle and Type 78
Armored Recovery Vehicle (based on
Type 74 chassis) as well as various
specialized wheeled and tracked engi-

Type 82 Command and Communications

Vehicle manLifactured by Komatsu Seisaku
Jyo and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. A 6x6
wheeled armored vehicle. development ofthe
Type 82 began in. 1974 to a JGSDF require
ment of 250 vehicles. For ease of mainte
nance and logistics. the Type 82 is eighty
percent compatible with the Type 87 Recon
naissance and Patrol Vehicle. It is armed
with (1) M2.50 caliber HMG; (1) 7.62mm
LMG.

21

neer and support vehicles.

Type 82 command and communications vehicle.

Design Rationw
When the JGSDF was fonned its first
vehicles and annorwere suppled by the
U.S., mostly from left over and recondi
tioned World War II stocks. The M4
Sherman and M24 Chaffee made up
the bulk of the armor, with various
half-tracks, 1/4-ton Jeeps and 3/4
ton and 2 1 /2-ton trucks filling in the
force. Small arms for the most part
were U.S. weapons. The drawback to
this eqUipment was that it was in many
cases too large for the average Japa
nese to use with comfort, and the very
size of the vehicles made them difficult
to use in Japan, as well as in the
defensive tactics that were being devel
oped. As an example, Japanese rail
cars and tunnels were too small and
narrow to fit most of the American
suppled vehicles.
In response to the requirement for
a tailored force with equipment that fit
their tactics, a design program was
started In the late 1950s. One advan
tage the Japanese designers still have
is that they don't have to consider the
possibility of exporting their annored
vehicles, so designs can center on what
best suits Self-Defense Force require
ments and Japanese industrial capa
bility.
Equipment Notes
Being a small military organization, the
JGSDF has been very frugal with their
vehicles and systems. Vehicles that
were originally to be replaced, have
instead been supplemented by newer
designs. Several Japanese vehicle types
are still in service after 30 plus years.

ABOVE and RIGHT: Type 87 Reconnais

sance and Patrol Vehicle manufactured by
Komatsu Seisaku-Jyo and Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries. Another 6x6 wheeled amwred
vehicle, the Type 87 has an all steel hull and
turret The driver sits on the vehicle right,
with the radio operator to his left. A vehicle
commander and gunner are carried in the
turret Annament (l) 25mm cannon; (1)
coaxial 7.62mm LMG.

22

Museum Ordnancf.

Type 78 Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV)

manufactured by MitsubishL Based on the
Type 74 MBT chassis, the prototype Type 78
ARV was completed in 1974 and standard
ized in 1978. Armament (1) M2.S0 caliber
HMG.

David Haugh is the editor oj Annored

Car, a bi-nwnthly newsletter dedicated
to the study ojwheeled military vehicles
throughout history. For nwre inJorma
tion write to: Armored Car, 556 N. Third
Street, Woodburn, OR 97071.

References
Japanese Ground Self-Defense
Force Armored Vehicles
Aoki, Tsutomu, Japan's Defence Indus
tl)', Military Technology, Vol 9 #7, Monch
Pub. Grp., Bonn, Germany, 1986.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's Armour and

Artillery 1981-82,Jane'sPublishing, Lon
don, G.B., 1982.

Koku-Fan, World Tank Annual '71,

Bunrin-Do Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan,
1971.

Bonsignore, Editor, Dr. Ezio, The Mili

tary Balance 1985/86, Military Technol
ogy, Vol 9 # 13, Monch Pub. Grp., Bonn,
Germany, 1986.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's Armoured

Personnel Carriers, Jane's Pub., Co., Lon
don, G.B. 1985.

Miller, David, Modem Tanks & Fighting

Vehicles, Smithmark Pub., Inc., New
York, NY, 1992.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's Light Tanks

and Armoured Cars, Jane's Pub. Inc.,
New York, NY, 1984.

Messenger, Charles, Tanks & Other

Armoured Vehicles, Frederick Warne
Ltd., London. G.B., 1984.

Chant, Christopher, Land Forces of the

World, Crescent Books, New York, NY,
1990.

Foss, Christopher and Terry J. Gander,

Jane's Military Vehicles and Logistics
1991-92, Jane's Information Group,
Coulson, G .B., 1991.

Pretty, RT. and D.H.R Archer, Jane's

Weapon Systems 1972-73, McGraw
Hill Book Co .. New York, NY, 1972.

Doi, Hiroshi, Likelihood of a Resurgence

ofJapanese Militarism, Military Technol
ogy, Vol 9 #7, Monch Pub. Grp., Bonn,
Germany, 1986.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's Pocket Book

of Modem Tanks and Armoured Fighting
Vehicles, Collier Books, New York, NY,
1974.

Dupuy, Col. T.N., The Almanac of World

Military Power, Stackpole Books, Harris
burg, PA, 1970.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's Pocket Book

of Modem Tanks and Armoured Fighting
Vehicles, Revised Edition, Jane's Pub
lishing Co., Ltd. , London. G.B., 1981.

Bishop, Chris and Ian Drul)', Encyclope

dia of World Military Weapons, Aero
space Pub., Ltd., London, G.B., 1988.

Foss, Christopher F., Jane's AFV Recog

nition Handbook, Jane's Publishing Co.,
Ltd., London, G.B., 1987.

January 1995

Summers Jr., Col. HMJY G., The Reluc

tant Samurat Defense & Diplomacy Vol
9 #2, Defense & Diplomacy Inc., Mclean,
VA, 1991.
Von Senger und Etterlin, F.M.,
Taschenbuch der Panzer 1969, J.F.
Lehmanns, Munchen, Germany, 1969.
Westhorp. Chris, The World's Armies,
Milital)' Press, New York. NY. 1991.

Foss, Christopher F . Jane's World

Armoured Fighting Vehicles, St Martin's
Press, Inc., New York. NY. 1976.

23

Afte:r the war some changes

Curator's Column
France.
are made to make the troops more
(ContinuedJrom Page 3)

ernment of the date (a cockade) result

ing in a "cocked" hat. The Vietnam
"boonie" hat is nothing more than the
original Swedish hat in a more modern
form.
The wide brimmed hat was not
suitable to wear at sea as it "carried too
much sail in a gale." Naval officers
fastened it up against the crown on
both sides and crushed the crown to
gether in a "fore and aft" Hne. In this
form the erstwhile "slouch hat" still
appears in some navies around the
world as a dress cover.
Cords of various colors were worn
around the base of the crown of the
"slouch hat." and for ornamentation
these cords had tasseis at the ends.
while the color of hat cord indicated the
regiment. corps. or service ofthe wearer.
The uniforms of the US Army and
MarL71e Cor ps have resulted from an
2.doption of the styles of the older na
tions with such mod1flcations as were
[rom time to time dictated by local
conditions or national sentiment. Dur
ing our Revolutionary War. we adopted
a very "French" style uniform. This was
only natural as we had an alliance with

comfortable. The uniform remains very

French through 1870. In that year. the
Prussians beat the French in the
Franco-Prussian War and the United
States adopts the German style of uni
form .
The Marines still retain. in their
dress uniform. a relic of the past. The
Marine "Dress Blue" uniform has a
close-fitting standing collar which is a
holdover from the days when soldiers
and sailors wore a "stock." The original
idea of the stock was to make the
soldier or sailor hold their head upright
and stand stiffly erect. It dates from
"The Age of Reason" when soldiers and
sailors were drilled with mathematical
precision into every motion they per
formed. Marines retained a leather
stock long afterihe navy abandoned it
giving
ri se~o t he expression
"leatherneck. "
Military !1ecessity has ofte n dic
tated th e color of the clotiling worn by
troops in the field. Confederate t~-oops
wore "butternu t" b ecause of a lac':. of
gray dye. Going fu r ther back in A:neri
can history we find the Royal American
Regimer.t adopting Green over Red be
cause of the necessity to fight India ns
in a "bushwhacking" form of warfare

rather than in the more formalized line

and column.
Today the US Army and Marine
Corps wear a "battle dress" uniform.
The first such instance of such a uni
form was the adoption of the "khaki"
color for British troops in India. Khaki
is an East Indian world meaning "dust
colored" and replaced the traditional
red uniforms ofthe British. By the First
World War, most cou ntries had adopted
a subdued color for their "field" uni
form, and v.re had replaced the "Ger
man pattern" 'Nith a "British pattern"
uniform.
The uniforms of both officer and
enlis ted men in the US Navy follow
rather closely in style, color, and cut
mose 'Hom in the Britisb Royal Navy.
Some of the interesting traditions ofthe
la tter s en-ice m ay -x seen even in our
n aval se rvice. For instance. the black
neckerchief worn alike ~y British and
American sailors was made black after
Trafalgar a s an emblem of mourning
fo r the Great Lord Nelson, anci the three
white s t ripes around the collar were so
placed to commemor8.te Nelso::t's L'1ree
grea t victories ; Copenhagen, the Nile,
and Trafalgar.
Come and visit us at the Ordnance
Museum!

SCALE DRAWINGS1:35
BY GEORGE R. BRADFORD

This is an attempt to carry on where Bellona Military Prints left off, but

with 1:35 scale plans. For those working in other scales I can easily

output as 1:48, 1:72 or 1:76 on request. The subject matter is

random, with an emphasis on vehicles that have never been properly
covered to date. Each shows a minimum of 4 views, others 5 or 6.
Drawings are computer generated at 600dpi for extreme detail.

N eubaulahrzeU\J l K rI

Presently available drawings:

GERMAN

POLISH

CANADIAN

G1
G2
G3
G4
G5
G6
G7
GB
G9

P1 C7P Arty Tra ctor

P2 7TP Light Tank

C1 Skink AA Ta nk
C2 Lynx C&R Carrier
C3 Leopard Cl
C4 Ram II (late)
C5 Ram Kangaroo
C6 Ram Badger
C7 Ram II O/P
CB Otter NCar
C9 C-15 AfTruck
C10 Grizzly I (WW2)

Neubaufahrzeug
PzKpfw I Ausf F (VK 1801)
Jagdtiger (SdKfz 186)
SPzSpWg (SdKfz 231)
SPzSpWg (SdKfz 233) (75mm)
SdKfz 252 (munitions carrier)
SdKfz 253 (ob servation post)
Pak 40 auf RSO (sf)
Jagdpanther (SdKfz 173)

ITALIAN
11 Semovente da 90/53, SPG

BRITISH
B1 Stuart I (early Honey)
B2 Indian Pattern Carrier Mk.lIA

FRENCH
F1 Char Renault D 1
F2 Char Renault D 2

AMERICAN
A1 T-28 (T95) superhvy
A2 M12 155mm GMC

JAPANESE
J1
J2
J3
J4

HoRo SPG
Ho-Ni I SPG
Ho-Ni II SPG
Ho-Ni III TO

Suggestions for future scale drawings in this series are welcomed.

Available at $2.00 each, with a minimum order of 5 items to merit postage and handling costs.
Single items will be sold at $3.00 each, plus $1 .00 postage.
Order from: GEORGE R. BRADFORD, R.R.32, CAMBRIDGE, ONTARIO, CANADA N3H 4R7.

24

Museum Ordnance

MUSEUM ORDNANCE

BACK ISSUES
Miss an issue? Get them while
you can.
September 1991
November 1991
January 1992
March 1992
May 1992
July 1992
September 1992
November 1992
January 1993
March 1993

May 1993
July 1993
Sept. 1993 SO
November 1993
January 1994
March 1994
M~ 1994 SO
Jttl) 1994 SO
Sef't. 1994 SO
November 1994

Museum Ordnance Specials

Museum Ordnance announces a series ofpublications using the 24-page magazine fonnat. Each
publication in the series will feature either a particular vehicle, a series ofvehicles, or a conflict!
engagement.

Museum Ordnance Special #1

M88Al Armored Recovery

Vehicle

Museum Ordnance Special #2

Iron Coffins: Italian Medium

Tanks - M13 and M14

An indepth photo study of the U.S.

Army's primary ARV. More than 80
photos and line drawings detail the
exterior and interior of this vehicle.

More than 60 photos, illustrations. and

drawings depict these WWII tanks.

NEW!!

r Museum Ordnance Special #3

M26 Pershing (Available Dec. IS)

50- indicates this issue is sold out

- - indicates that there are 10 or
less copies remaining

\..

The interior and exterior of this U.S. tank is

detailed with more than 60 photos and line
drawings detail the exterior and interior of
this vehicle.

$3.00 each U.S. (25 postage.

Maryland residents add 5% sales .
tax). foreign $4.25. U.S. funds
only.

r Museum Ordnance Special #4

Museum Ordnance. POB 5884.

Darlington. MD 21034

German Elefant (Available Jan .

This study includes text by Tom Jentz, 20+

unpublished interior photos of the APG
Elefant, and 40+ additional photos

Large 48 page catalog - $3

or free with an order

Phone (201) 579-5781

Recommended phone time

9amEST
BOOKS
POSTERS

MANUALS
LUBE CHARTS

First Annual

AMPS Show

May 4, 5, 6, 1995

Aberdeen, Maryland

For this promises to be the show for armor and

military modelers. Displays. vendors. semi
nars. and tours will inake this an event not to
miss.
Make your plans now to attend!!
(Interested vendors may contact AMPS at the
address to the right for more information)

January 1995

"
1)
~

\..

PORTRAYAL PRESS

P.O. Box 1190

Andover. NJ 07821

"

II

$7.95 each

II

Postage:
u.s.: $1.00 for the f1rst, +4S for each after.

Foreign: $2.00 for first, +4S for each after. (surface)

$3.00 for first. +4S for each after. (airmail)

u.s. funds only.

Maryland residents add S% tax .

._..

"

Darlington Productions
P.O. Box 5884
D~rlington, MD
21034

Armor Modeling an~ Preservation Society...

... or AMPS, is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to "associate interested
individ uals and organizations in both sharing an interest in the history of armored
vehicles and in cultivating interest in armored vehicles and related subjects via the
hobby of modeling.....
Boresight the Society's publication, is issued six-times per year and is full of
articles, reviews, and other information useful to the military modeler.
A one-year membership is $20.00 (U.s.), Canada $25.00,AlI Others: $25.00 surface
and $35 airmail. All payments must be in U.s. funds, no credit cards.

AMPS
P.O. Box331

Darlington, MD 21034

25

The Ordnance Museum Foundation

P.O. Box 688

Aberdeen Proving Ground. MD

Executive Director's Corner

Brigadier General
Lloyd J . Faul (Ret.)

Fellow Members:
There isn't much information to pass to you in this column. It
seems like the holiday season has hit a little early this year. We are
however, moving along with some of our long term projects.

The Foundation would like to

publically recognize Brigadier
General Lloyd J Faul (Ret.) for his
generous donation to The Ord
nance Museum Foundation of
$1 ,025 .00. Charitable acts such
as thes will help the Foundation
realize its goal and preserve the
history of the Ordnance Corps, its
arti..:acts and its significance to
the Cnited States.

The Museum Guide is coming, albeit slowly. There are only three
of us working on this, and to save money we are preparing the
"bluellnes" ourselves. We estimate that our savings from doing this
work internally to be between $3,000 and $4,000. We expect all of
the preproduction work to be done in about two weeks, and the
printer to take an additional 10-14 days, then we will have about a
10 day shipping time before we have the first books available. All
of this will follow our final proofing and technical checks on the
material.
One area of particularly good news is that we have received our
first $1,000 donation. This is from Faul Associates, founded by
Brigadier General (Ret.) Lloyd T. Fau!. We all thank him for his
generous gift, and hope that his lead will be followed by other
alumni of the Ordnance Corps.

The fo:lovling Foundation mem

bers have Joined the Company
Commande r's List

Captain Steven Oluic, one of our Board of Advisors, supplied us at

our November meeting with the plot plans and other draWings and
specifications that we need to proceed with detailed designs and
cost estimates for the artifact display building. We hope to be able
to tie the building foundation work in with a new environmental
project at the museum site and possibly save a great deal of
money. The plans were turned over to an architectural and build
ing firm for preliminary work.
The most important thing that will take place over the holidays is
the election of Trustees. This election will be held December 3,
1994 at the museum at 10 a .m. Please try to attend. We will hold
our December meeting at that time, and all attendees will be
allowed to ask questions and more importantly, to offer advice.
We look forward to seeing many of you at the December meeting
and hope that you all enjoy the holidays.

2\pn Lefiman

21005

:'1erle Cole
Rich ard Cox
Donald El:is
Daniel O' Jme
Will iam PTinn
J ohn Puskarik
Gordon Russell

Join The Board

Over he pas t s everal months several
Board o ~ Trustee members have relo
cated and / or ch anged jobs. and as a
res ul t tl:ey have resigned from the
Board.
Thi S! S an open call to any Founda
tion membe r livi ng within reasonable
d ri\iJ1 i:! ciistance to the museum who
wouldl ';-ce ojoin the Board and take an
ac ti\'e pa :rt in t:,e projects that we have
u nde r;vay, \ e m eet once a month and
i you can donate as much time as your
, sched u .e \\i H allow.
\Ve really are in need of members
I to h elp a.."1d any time that you can give
will be grea tly a pprecia ted.

Join The Ordnance Museum Foundation, Inc.

Regular Membership
$25.00

Ordnance Company Commander Membership

$100.00

Ordnance Battalion Commander Membership

$250.00

~------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~/

26

Museum Ordnance

COMMAND
Books and Videos on Modern Warfare &
the roles of Armor, the Divisions that used
it and the Men Who Commanded them.
Books on Ancient Warfare and the earliest
armored warriors - the Cavalry & Knights
of the Near East and Old Europe. All other
conflicts, both American and Foreign, may
be found in our FREE CATALOG.

MASTERCARD
&
VISA

POST>

Grenadiers
The Autobiography of the Commanding General
of the 12 SS Panzer Division HitIerjugend.
by Kurt Meyer
($40.00)

History of the 12 SS
Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
A complete histOiY of this famous Panzer unit by
its Chief of Staff
($85.00)
by Hubert Meyer

(Both ofthese histories on the 12 SS

Panzer Division and its Commander
are yours for $109.95)

Panzer Aces
Chronicles the military careers of Six of Germany's
leading tank aces.
by Franz Kurowski
($56.00)

Knights Cross
The Life of Field Marshall Erwin Rommel

HOURS:
M - F 9:30 - 5:30

SAT 10:00 - 4:00

An examination of the life and legend of the

Desert Fox.
by David Fraser
($30 .00)

Command Missions
by Lt. General L.K. Truscott, Jr.
Long out of print, this memoir of one of America's
greatest military leaders is a frank record of the
General's reactions to and impressions of other
WW II leaders with whom he served.
($24.95)

To Obtain A

FREE

(Please include $3 for Shipping and Handling.)

Catalog:

""i_w,_'_it_e_O_'_c_a_l_l

_.....,>

Command Post
P. O. Box 141
Convent Station, NJ
07961 - 0141

(800) 722 - 7344

January 1995

27

MINIATlJllU OIlJ)NAN(~I~

G ERMAN

SnKFZ 251/9

IN

1/35: Two

VARIANTS

By Joe P. Morgan
Tamiya makes the early model of the
Sd.Kfz.251/9, but if you want the late
model, a conversion is the only answer.
EnterAirwaves "vith an all photo-etched
brass set to do the job. This wasn't as
easy as It sounds, though.
The problem here is that the gun
mount is much different on the two
marks, and the plans furnished with
the conversion are little to no help at
all. I'd have been dead in the water on
this one if I didn't have an !taleri
Sd.Kfz.234/3, which also uses the later
gun mount. Since itwas unbuilt, I drug
it out from under the pile of other
unbuilt kits, and put the gun mount
together so I'd have something to go by
while moditying the Tamlya one.
First cut the angle off the gun
mantlet (part CI6); the later one is
squared off. If you try to cut the gun
barrel off C 15 it'll be too short. Dave
Haugh supplied me with one ofMichael
Dobiesz's beautiful turned brass bar
rels so I had one to use (does this mean
that you knew about all this, Dave, and
didn't warn me?). I made a new end to
the mantlet out of .035 Plastruct, and
drilled it for the new barrel. I also
added Grandt Line bolts to the new
part. Don't glue this on until you put
on brass part B8! At the rear of C 16
there's a couple of flanges and the pins
for the trunnions. All this has to go; I

In the rear is the early model (Twniya kit). painted in Panzer gray. The Ainvaves conversion
is in the foreground and the differences between the two mounts are obvious.

roughed it with my Dremel and fin

ished with knife and emery boards.
Don't clean It completely; you can use
the faint lines left to line up the metal
part (B8) that replaces it. This part also
gets four Grandt Line bolts.
Now the gun can be assembled.
Cut the top rail off part C 18, after you
glue C17, CI8, and CI9 on. Shorten
the telescopic sight by cutting right
below the top and above the collar

At the top is the uncut Tamiya part and below it is the part with the surgery done. I added
. a piece of Plastruct to beef it up. At the bottom is Ainvaves part CI. which covers the hole.

28

that's halfway down. Sand both ends

flat and glue back together. Cut the
mounting pin off the back and the
wheel and mount off the bottom. The
sight gets glued onto the side of Cl7.
All the mount parts (C21, C I, C22) and
the seat aren't used. The elevation and
traverse wheels are mounted on the
bottom of the gun; I wasn't sure where,
so Ijust picked a spot. It's barely visible
anyway.
At this point, I took a break from
the gun and mount and built the Tamlya
parts. Do steps one throu~ four; most
of the time involved here is painting all
the wheels. Step five takes some maJOI
surgery. The raised area that holds the
gun on part C6 has to be removed. I
used a cutting wheel in my Dremel tc
roughly cut it away. Use the area lefl
(the strip behind the driver's seat) as c
guide, and leave material on the righ'
side or your part will be too flimsy. N
it was, I added a strip of Plastruct or
the bottom for reinforcing. Now adc
Airwaves part Cl. I don't know wh~
they didn't make this thing wide enougl
to cover the floor: the non-skid patten
Is not the same, making it obvlousl:
added on no matter how nice a job yOl
do mating the two parts.
Now proceed through steps flv
and six, skip the gun stuff, and on to

Museum Ordnanc,

Front view of the mod!fted gun mount. No

less than twelve Grandt Line bolts went on;
the holes were d.rilledfor them in the brass.

ten. To get the right droop on the

tracks, you'll have to super glue them
to the road wheels or ,tie them with
some black thread, whichever method
you prefer. Now do eleven and twelve,
leaving off the front plate (part C20).
Back to the brass. Part B2 replaces
C20, so you might as well do it next. I
did the best I could bending it but it
wasn't near as clean and crisp as I
wanted. Airwaves did not half-etch the
folding line like most aftermarket brass
makers do, so the only way to get a
crisp line is with a brake. Micro-Mark
sells a couple of little ones for less than
fifty bucks, and I ordered one after
going through this thing. Add the
Tamiya visors on both sides if you
want, as some vehicles had them, or do
as Airwaves says and use the driver's

The right side oj the Tam iy a gun, modified into the late model. Note the top rail of the recoil
guard cut away, the new mantletfront madefrom Plastruct. and the brass barreL

and their brass plate B3. Now super

glue this to the hull.
Now we can return to the gun
mount. Join A5 to 86 and B7. The
spots where they go are half-etched.
However, when you get ready to glue
these to A4, there's no half-etching.
Since putting these three parts together
would be like gluing a razor blade to a
piece of glass, I used some Plastruct
angle to give me a glue surface. Use the
holes in A4 to line up your angle, and
once the glue sets up, drill right through
the angle to add the Grandt Line bolts
(four more; I seriously depleted my
supply on this baby). Now you can put

The Airwaves replacement partjor the huUJront. Hent with two metal rulers, it was not as
crisp as it should be. At the top of the photo barely visible is the runnerfrom one of the brass
jrets that TTU.LSt be glued to the huU top to avoid a gap.

January 1995

on B6/ A5 and B7 / A5 with some expec

tation that they'll stay together. Now
you need to add a floor to this part;
again, nothing mentioned about this in
the Airwaves plans. I used Plastruct
sheet. 22mm by Ilmm. If you want
traverse, add something to fit the hole
on B2. Make up a couple of small
blocks to be trunnions; these are glued
right at the back of Tamiya part CI6.
By cutting the bottom of these at an
angle, you can get some elevation or
depression on the gun. Glue the whole
thing to the Plastruct mount floor. The
gun mount Is now (finally) done.
Next were the two extensions for
the hull sides. I tried to glue these
parts, AI and A2 to A3, but like the stuff
above, it was too much for me. Back to
the Plastruct angle so the pieces would
take Just the minimum of handling.
Now to the next problem; I'm sure when
you glued B2 to the hull, you noticed
that the top fits on top ofthe hull sides.
Ifyou glue on the hull extensions as is,
you get a gap the width of the brass.
Again, not a word said about this from
Airwaves, but don't fret. In the middle
of each of the brass frets is a fine bit of
brass runner, and it's the perfect size,
about 53mm long and half a millimeter
wide, to glue along the top of the hull
sides to fill that dratted gap.
Once this is all on, I added the gun;
A3 fits in between A4 and A5 on the
mount. Then I finished step 13 of the
Tamlya Instructions and painted with
Pactra acrylics in the late war three
color scheme. Airwaves furnished quite
a few more doo-dads, like stowage hooks
and spare track clamps, but the photos

29

I had didn't show any of that stuff so I

didn't use them.
So is it worth it? Depends on how
much you want a late model vehicle, I
guess. VerHnden makes a conversion
that goes for $32, versus this one's $18
plus $5 for the gun barrel. I've never
seen the Verlinden one, so I don't know
how it compares. As to the Tamiya kit.
the fit and finish were excellent. I built
the early one first, and it only took
about ten hours, and I'm not a real fast
modeler. Not so easy on the conver
sion, though; it took me a good twenty
four hours or so, not counting all the
time trying to figure out that damned
gun mount. The finished product,
though exasperating in spots, looks
good enough to go in my display case.
Front view of the vehicle. I wonder what the
crews thought when they replaced their old
vehicles with something that had a higher
profile.

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A free service to subscr1bere of Museum Ordn.anre. AI

subscribers are entitled to one free, thlrty word c1asBfHec
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The Publfsher reserves the nght to approve and edit aI
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For ads with more than thirty words or ads for non
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SALE/OFFERS

PllUII!f Magazine Early issues 112 thru 1146 (9n5 thru 4f79
complete. 45 Issues lor $200.00 plus shiWlng. Also.' AM~
Review" 1111 thru 1125 (Ilnal Issues) In pristine condition 10
$60.00. IPMSJournaIVc:J. 111 thru2l6Ior$25.00. Jon Randoph
18425 Boone Rd, Cc:J.umbia Station, OH 44028. &'95

thinning my Collection 01 over 1000 kits. Arroor1I35. Airera!

ln2 and 1148. Send $1.00 lor lists (state which one).
Bil
Whitley, 311 Bundy Ave.. Endlcon, NY 13760. (607) 748-7922

HO 1187th scale models. WWII resin cast. Now: M3Al Whit.

scout car; Soon: M5Al Stuart. Send requests to Paul Heise
Models, P.O. Box 6187. Lakewood. CA 90714-6187.

Study U.S. Coast Artillery Corps. artillery. harbor delense, an.

lortillcationsl Trips and publications. Write: Coast Delen ..
Study Group. 731 Baltiroore Pike. Bel Air, MD 21014. &'95

Technical t,1anual. for sale. Photocopies 01 over 75OO@es c

AFV's and military vehicles technical manuals. Language'
mainly in English, plus sorna others. Send spec~lc enquiry t,
TankMuseum. 3 Pare Cinquantenaire. 1040 Brussels, Belgiurr

Turrets for WWlI Display Moclels. 37mm gun car, 75mm gUI
car. T15 armored car. Stuarts. Shermans, Matlldas, Cruisers
plus several Japanese. Write to Britton, 8122 Brookside Dr.
Olmstead Falls. OH 44138. (216) 235-2719.

WANTED

Books Wanted on Atomic cannon and a book called "Encyclo

pedia 01 German Armor: Arthur F. Sintel. 111.4 Johnson Ave
East Moriches. NY 11940. (516) 878-8410. 2/95

Back Issue. of AFV News wanted. Colin Knapp. 35 Meaday

Field. Stokes ley North Yorkshire. 759 5EL. England.
Re.... archer seeks out-olprint issues 01 Mildary Journal maga
zine. also looking lor quality out-olprint books on arroor. weap
ons. & alc. TomLaemein. 61 Harvard St.. Rochester. NY 1460'
1/95.

Wanted Data and inlormation on railway armor. Will exchang'

or buy. John Loop 12445 Pomerado PI.. San Diego. CA 92121
(619) 4878698.

The left side oftheftnished mode~ airbrushed in the laie war three color scheme. Decalsfrom
Tamiya's new German markings sheet. Is the gun barrel a little bit too long? Maybe, but I
didn't want to cut it. it was such a little work of art

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30

Researcher seeks originalphotos. award documents, paybook

01 German WWII armortroops. Send photocopy/prlce. Frederk
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Wanted copies in good condition 01 Ballantine Books: r:.:;
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37757. 1/95

Wanted: Collector will buyltrade WWI-1i U.S. Army Tank Co,!,

and German Panzer Corps unfforms. memoribilia, etc. Di
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Ordnance Serge.nl. wanted complete January 1942 issu

Photocopy acceptable, if you don't wish to sell. Will Ross. 64!
Woodley Ave.. Van Nuys, CA 91406. 1/95
Latin AmerIcan AFV.. Research underway lor a plblicatlon ,
AFVs serving in the Caribbean. Central, and South America. V
are looking for inlormation, material. and photographs to h,
trace the history of armor In these countries. "you would like
contribule contact e;ther Jeff McKaughaniMuseum Ordnan<
P.O. Box 5884. Darlington. MD 21034; or Paul Walsh. 2
Sunnybrook Ad .. Springlield. PA 19064. All contributions,
be acknowledged and greatly appreciated.
AFV~2: LOOking lor issues 01 this magazine. Scon FoIin,
6530 Adams St.. Uncc:J.n, NE 68507 2195

Wonted: Pershing book by R.P. Hunnicun; A Hislory 01 I

Medium Tank 120 Series: Will Pay. Frunze Y. Tsui, 241 Hel
St.. Apt. 4B. New York. NY 10002. (5195)

Museum Ordnaru

Frederick

J. Tyson

proudly announces these collector models:

FMc/USMC LVTP 7A 1 Amtrac

(1/24th wood/L:i3")
@ $259.95 + $30.00 S/H

GMC/USMC D.U.K.W.
(1/24th wood/L:16")
@ $199.95 + $30.00 S/H

U.S.ARMY M4A3/76mm SHERMAN

(1I24th wood/L:12.5")
@ $259.95 + $30.00 S/H

FMC/ US Army M3A 1 Brad ley

(1/ 24th wood/L:ll.25")

@$259.95 + 30.00 S/ H

FREDERICK

J. TYSON

PROVIDER OF THE VERY BEST IN DISPLAY MODELS

Ca ll or write for our free 36 -p age Produ ct Catalog. We are a
"Mai l-O rder On ly" Company - no store.

US Army/USMC M60

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(1/2 4th wood/L:16")

@$259 .95 + 30.00 S/ H

NO CREDIT CARDS
70 1 West Beaver Avenu e, DEPT.MOA-95-01
State College, PA 1680 1-392 1 U.S .A.

1-814-2 38-195 1
Hours : 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM E.S.T.

COMRADES
IN ARMS

DML's new Hetzer updates one of the most popular vehicles of WWlI.
All new tooling includes accurate road wheels and individual track links.
DML forms the anchor for our numerous lines of models and accessories .
We have great resin kits, conversions and figures from Kirin, Jaguar,
Ironside, Cromwell and Tank Workshop. Add in the amazing plastic kits
from AFV Club and you have no need to look elsewhere. These lines are
perfect complements to each other, filling gaps and expanding to new
horizons .

CROMWELL CK44

KIRIN 28520

HETZER /I

ZSU-23 INTERIOR

AFV CLUB 3509

MARCO POLO
IMPORT

M-59 LONG TOM

NEW RELEASES
02565
513 2 1
51325
51401
51641
11024
24061
25065
25066
25107
25108
06261
062 62
07063
08102
09115
09120
T02
T03
T04

HASEGAWA
1172 Ki84 Frank
1172 P-51 K Mustang
1172 FM-I Wildcat
117 2 Saab J35 Draken
1/48 Fiat G.50 Speci al Marking
1/200 C-47 Skytrain
1/24 Hond a Civic Sedan 1.6ETi
1124 Impreza '94 NZ Rally
1124 Lancer GSR '94 Monte
1/2 4 JTCC JACCS Civic Sedan
1/24 JTCC Castro I Civic
1/48 Gates Learjet 35/36
1/48 Falcon 10
1/48 Blue Angels F-18
1132 F- 16C Thunderbirds
1/48 Ju87R-2 Stuka
1/48 SBD-4 Dauntless
113 2 Mercedes 300SL
1/32 Jaguar SS 100
1/32 Porsche Speedster Racing

160 1
2513
3814
5019
6029
6030
6033
6801
6803

DML
I I I 6 German Unteroffizier
1172 Jian Ji 5
1/35 HVSS Sus pension
1172 P-38M Night Lightning
1/35 Sturmartill erie Crew
1/3 5 Early Hetzer
1/3 5 Stug IIIF
1/3 5 M-26 Pershing
1/35 Ch inese JSU-I 52

CA78
CK20
CK44
CK45
CK46
CM04
A08
All
G43
GI9

CROMWELL
1135 TWin 5.5 Flakzwilli ng
1135 T-28 Med ium Tank
1/3 5 E- I 0 Hetzer II
1/35 Panzer IF
1/35 Panzer IIJ
1176 SAS Land rover
1176 AEC 6x6 A.C V
1176 76mm Sherman
1176 SdKfz 2510 Halftrack
1176 ADGZ 12 W heel N C

63501
63502
63503
63001

1/3:'
1/35
1/35
1/35

3509

AFV CLUB
1/35 M-59 Long Tom

JAGUAR
JS-2 Interior
Panther A Zim merit
Ru ssian I 22mm Ammo
Walking Wounde d

WOLF
British Tan kman
German Tank Officer
Dejected Ge rman Soldier
Trumpeter, Lancers of Berg
Union Officer 186 1-65
Union Sgt Helping
Wounded Trooper
WBUSO I 119 American Para Bust

WAWI 0 I 135
WAWIII/35
WAW171135
WNF02 1132
WUS04 1/32
WUS05 1132