±Recent Visitors

Recent Visitors to Com-Central!

±User Info-big


Welcome Anonymous

Nickname
Password

Membership:
Latest: HighestAce
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 6648

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 182
Total: 182
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Member Screenshots
02: Home
03: Home
04: Community Forums
05: Member Screenshots
06: Home
07: Member Screenshots
08: Home
09: Home
10: Statistics
11: Home
12: Home
13: Statistics
14: Home
15: Home
16: Member Screenshots
17: Member Screenshots
18: Photo Gallery
19: Community Forums
20: Community Forums
21: Statistics
22: Statistics
23: Community Forums
24: Member Screenshots
25: Home
26: Community Forums
27: Home
28: Community Forums
29: Home
30: Home
31: Community Forums
32: Home
33: News
34: Home
35: Home
36: Home
37: Home
38: Community Forums
39: Community Forums
40: Community Forums
41: Home
42: Home
43: Member Screenshots
44: Member Screenshots
45: Downloads
46: Community Forums
47: Community Forums
48: Home
49: Home
50: Community Forums
51: Downloads
52: Member Screenshots
53: Home
54: News
55: Home
56: Community Forums
57: Home
58: Home
59: Home
60: Member Screenshots
61: Member Screenshots
62: Downloads
63: Member Screenshots
64: Home
65: Community Forums
66: Home
67: Home
68: Community Forums
69: Community Forums
70: Member Screenshots
71: Statistics
72: Downloads
73: Statistics
74: Community Forums
75: Community Forums
76: Member Screenshots
77: Community Forums
78: Statistics
79: Community Forums
80: Home
81: Statistics
82: Community Forums
83: Community Forums
84: Home
85: Statistics
86: Statistics
87: Statistics
88: Member Screenshots
89: Home
90: Home
91: Statistics
92: Statistics
93: Statistics
94: Photo Gallery
95: Home
96: Statistics
97: Home
98: Statistics
99: Home
100: Statistics
101: Member Screenshots
102: Statistics
103: Downloads
104: Statistics
105: Community Forums
106: Community Forums
107: Home
108: Community Forums
109: Home
110: Member Screenshots
111: Home
112: Community Forums
113: Member Screenshots
114: Home
115: Home
116: Community Forums
117: Community Forums
118: Community Forums
119: Member Screenshots
120: Home
121: Home
122: Home
123: Community Forums
124: Home
125: Home
126: Downloads
127: Home
128: Downloads
129: Home
130: Downloads
131: Member Screenshots
132: Member Screenshots
133: Home
134: Home
135: Community Forums
136: Home
137: Downloads
138: Home
139: Community Forums
140: Community Forums
141: Community Forums
142: Photo Gallery
143: Community Forums
144: Home
145: Member Screenshots
146: Downloads
147: Home
148: Photo Gallery
149: Community Forums
150: Community Forums
151: Home
152: Member Screenshots
153: Home
154: News
155: Home
156: Home
157: Downloads
158: Statistics
159: Community Forums
160: Community Forums
161: Home
162: Home
163: Community Forums
164: Member Screenshots
165: Member Screenshots
166: Community Forums
167: Community Forums
168: Member Screenshots
169: Home
170: Statistics
171: Home
172: Downloads
173: Home
174: Community Forums
175: Member Screenshots
176: Community Forums
177: Home
178: Home
179: Photo Gallery
180: Community Forums
181: Community Forums
182: Community Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!
The AFV ASSOCIATION was formed in 1964 to support the thoughts and research of all those interested in Armored Fighting Vehicles and related topics, such as AFV drawings. The emphasis has always been on sharing information and communicating with other members of similar interests; e.g. German armor, Japanese AFVs, or whatever.
Post new topic    Reply to topic    Printer Friendly Page     Forum Index ›  AFV News Discussion Board

View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:20 pm
Post subject: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Found these while 'digging around'....





This is way too cool...!!!



More to follow....
Regards
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Fri Feb 25, 2011 10:23 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Ever wonder what an M551 Looks like after it gets air dropped.....? Without any 'chutes'....!?









Regards
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Doug_Kibbey
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 23, 2006
Posts: 4678
Location: The Great Satan
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 3:36 am
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Good stuff, Don. I think I'll pass those along to Vic Pitts, another Armor Board alumni and on the early M551 tests. He might actually have been there for that last incident.
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
Buq-Buq
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Mar 04, 2006
Posts: 86

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:46 am
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Gosh, I wonder if anyone got in trouble for that air-drop incident?

Don, that third photo from your first set of three is very similar to one used on the cover of an Armor Center publication called “Armor/Cavalry Orientation”. I was looking at it just a couple of weeks ago, digging through a foot locker, looking for manuals. The picture on the cover of the magazine is very similar, but not exactly the same. The vehicle* and camera positions look the same, as do the trees in the background. I imagine that they would want a number of attempts to get a shot like that just right. Major General William Desobry, the then-current commander of the Armor Center, gives the address at the beginning of the magazine, so that should give a sense of the time-frame of the magazine. I would imagine that would have been the early- to mid-1970s. I wouldn’t have had a clue who he was at the time (and wouldn’t have recognized his name until I was years out of the army).

Great pictures. Do you know any background to the air-drop accident?




Mark




* The bumper number is visible in the “Armor/Cavalry Orientation” version of the picture: it is “T179” (without the quotes). Also, some text appears to be centered on the front lower hull; although partially obscured, it looks like it says “Test Operation” (again, without the quotes). I can’t make out any unit code due to the muzzle blast obscuration.
Back to top
View user's profile
Doug_Kibbey
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 23, 2006
Posts: 4678
Location: The Great Satan
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 6:10 am
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

- Buq-Buq
Gosh, I wonder if anyone got in trouble for that air-drop incident?

Don, that third photo from your first set of three is very similar to one used on the cover of an Armor Center publication called “Armor/Cavalry Orientation”. I was looking at it just a couple of weeks ago, digging through a foot locker, looking for manuals. The picture on the cover of the magazine is very similar, but not exactly the same. The vehicle* and camera positions look the same, as do the trees in the background. I imagine that they would want a number of attempts to get a shot like that just right. Major General William Desobry, the then-current commander of the Armor Center, gives the address at the beginning of the magazine, so that should give a sense of the time-frame of the magazine. I would imagine that would have been the early- to mid-1970s. I wouldn’t have had a clue who he was at the time (and wouldn’t have recognized his name until I was years out of the army).

Great pictures. Do you know any background to the air-drop accident?




Mark




* The bumper number is visible in the “Armor/Cavalry Orientation” version of the picture: it is “T179” (without the quotes). Also, some text appears to be centered on the front lower hull; although partially obscured, it looks like it says “Test Operation” (again, without the quotes). I can’t make out any unit code due to the muzzle blast obscuration.


Mark,

Vic Pitts, referenced above and a friend of mine and Mark Hollway's was a witness to that incident as he preceded me at the Armor Board by about five years and has provided us with many interesting Board pictures from that time. He did not have pics of that incident in his collection, however, all of which I have scanned. I have seen the film of the incident, as it was very popular viewing in the Armor Board Photo and Graphics Branch. Laughing
I do have copies of Vic's pics of a successful Sheridan drop.

The drop was witnessed by numerous dignitaries and there was live loudspeaker announcement describing the demonstration. When no chutes opened, there was a protracted silence, followed by the announcer saying something to the effect of "scratch one M551", according to Vic. The microphone was apparently switched off at that point.

BTW, the markings are likely "test operation" (all our vehicles were so marked) and probably "TEC *triangle* EBD for "Test and Evaluation Command, Engineer Board", the short form for USAARENBD or "United States Army Armor and Engineer Board".

Speaking of MG Desobry (a tough customer who had been in some deep kim-chi at Bastogne, having had an eye popped out of it's socket by a German tank shell in a house in which he'd taken cover behind an armoire, which he replaced into it's socket prior to being taken prisoner, IIRC), he was the Ft. Knox installation CO in the early '70's up until he retired and Donn Starry succeeded him in late '73. Desobry and some BG named "Patton" were the principle signatories to my M60A2 IPT course training certificate.

Do you think you could scan and send me the relevant portions of that magazine?

Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
MarkHolloway
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Apr 08, 2006
Posts: 2054
Location: Beatty, Nevada
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:13 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

FROM VIC PITTS:

This is Pilot #12 of the XM551 'Sheridan' tank after airdrop tests in 1965 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
"From left to right, SP/5 Andy Grizzle, some LTC from Ft. Bragg, myself SP/5 Vic Pitts, Pilot of C130 that dropped the XM551,LTC Fitzpatrick our project officer, SP/ 5"Red" Sowalsky, and SSG Dan Cisco. This picture was taken at Rolling Forks Tank Range at Knox, and where all air drops were done. The drops were done from 1500 feet and it was also on this range the first air drop failure happened with one of the first 5 production confirmatory test vehicles. When the vehicle rolled out of the C130, the 8 drop chutes just rolled off of the vehicle and she hit the ground engine first and the back half of the vehicle was in the ground, She had ammo on board as all were had, and she burned for about 2 or 3 days and it wasn't safe until EOD said so becauxe of the ammo." ~Vic Pitts

_________________
"TUMBLEWEED"
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Photo Gallery
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:36 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Cool stuff

There are many more images of the 'splashed' M551. Included is a shot of a number of main gun rounds that seemed to have been removed from the crater.

Talk about a 'lawn dart'...!?

Regards
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Buq-Buq
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Mar 04, 2006
Posts: 86

PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:23 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Doug:

I sent you a PM.




Mark
Back to top
View user's profile
MarkHolloway
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Apr 08, 2006
Posts: 2054
Location: Beatty, Nevada
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 5:51 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

Don, Can I post these to my Flickr page with credit to you and/or the museum and Army? I have an M551 group at www.flickr.com/groups/m551/

_________________
"TUMBLEWEED"
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Photo Gallery
Dontos
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 24, 2006
Posts: 3436
Location: Vine Grove, KY
PostPosted: Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:30 pm
Post subject: Re: Doug: More M551 Stuff...!!

sure, no problem

Regards
Don
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    Reply to topic    Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index ›  AFV News Discussion Board
Page 1 of 1
All times are GMT - 6 Hours



Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You cannot download files in this forum