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JimWeb

- Doug_Kibbey

BTR 50, I think. What's the skinny on these? (I know it was PT-76 based, but was it any good? Me likey) I found this vehicle esthetically appealing.

Correct Doug but just to be pedantic its a BTR-50PU2.. quite which version (there are 8 of them at the last count) its not possible to establish without a look at the back decks.

Quite popular as a command vehicle withn the russians because of the spacious interior but a real pain to get into due to the climb... The OT-64Rversion was more popular because of its side doors.

Cool

JeffStringer · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 637

Thanks for the pics Doug! Those rail guns are quite impressive!

Jeff

Doug_Kibbey · Last edited by Doug_Kibbey on Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:29 pm; edited 1 time in total

- timroberts

Thank you very much for the photos!!
The T55, TR580 etc photos were very welcome, and wish there were thousands more!!!
All the other pictures are very interesting too, and i have saved the lot!!
keep safe

You're welcome, Tim....I had you in mind when I took those. I only wish they had a more "unobstructed" view and weren't so crowded, but they've got more cool stuff than space there.

BTR 50, I think. What's the skinny on these? (I know it was PT-76 based, but was it any good? Me likey) I found this vehicle esthetically appealing.

timroberts

Thank you very much for the photos!!
The T55, TR580 etc photos were very welcome, and wish there were thousands more!!!
All the other pictures are very interesting too, and i have saved the lot!!
keep safe

Doug_Kibbey

And now, the big stuff.

On a length of rail, they have two guns mounted on 5 (or possibly 6) cars. Both Skodas. The first one shown (at back of "display") is the 420mm, the 380 is the last one shown. Each consists of a main barrel assemby, a mount, and there is one car in the middle that is basically a crane/assembly device car (I surmized). There may be a separate breech assembly for one of the guns making up a sixth car (I don't recall for sure...do you remember, Jim?). The proximity of the big trees make it difficult to capture the whole thing in it's entirety.

(the thing after the 420mm plaque may be a breech or a loading device. I was running out of time here and didn't have time to study stuff closely. I took all the pics in this thread in about 45 minutes...I hate to rush, but we was "working")

Should make a nice scratch build project for Geoff Steer. Wink

Doug_Kibbey

Artillery time. I'll save the 380 and 420 Skoda rail gun arrays for a separate post, as it takes about 6 shots to get it all.

Here's a thing with tracks that goes "zoom":

Then, a (*gasp*) 107mm Recoiless AT gun from about 1953:

Pretty sure this bigun' is a Skoda:

Several semi-protected mounts...at least two of which were AA guns, to my surprize:

This is also an AA mount...one barrel, the two outriggers are the recoil system:

More about the 88 in a minute...or a separate post altogether...

Cloudy · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Mar 06, 2006 Posts: 75

- Doug_Kibbey

Do you know what's up with that red color that the two vehicles were painted in? Some kind of parade livery or what? It was obviously faded from exposure, but it's hideous.
This picture shows how awful.it.truely.is:

Lol, definitely not a normal color. It must either be a form of primer or they got a deal on paint which was too good to pass up...

I would sure like to see that FAMO in person Smile

Rikard_Hufschmied

- JeffStringer

Oh ... and by the way, it was the largest halftrack made in WWII. This thing even pulled disabled tanks too!

Jeff

Yup, to pull anything heavier than a Pz IV though they had to hook up 2 in tandem, many times 3.

3 FAMO's pulling a Tiger 1 (the rear of the lead vehicle is just barely visible):

An interesting link, in German only though:

www.zobten.de/Famo/Famo.htm

Best,
Rik

Doug_Kibbey

Wandering off in the support role for a moment, this is the vehicle which I believe the trailer behind the halftrack (but not connected to it, actually) really belongs to (the trailer contained a generator)...also, the wood on the trailer rather closely matches the wood sides on this vehicle. At first I thought this was some kind of paddy-wagon, but it's a mechanic support vehicle complete with tool cabinets and a nice drill-press in the back (I peeked through the cracks)...a wheeled version of our mechanic's M548 in Vietnam, sort of. That tank under the doors looks more like part of an oxy-acetylene rig than a fuel tank to me, but I didn't examine it closely.

Doug_Kibbey

- JeffStringer

Oh ... and by the way, it was the largest halftrack made in WWII. This thing even pulled disabled tanks too!

Jeff

It looks like it could well do it...the floor of the passenger compartment is at eye level when standing on the ground. It's seriously big.

JeffStringer · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 637

Oh ... and by the way, it was the largest halftrack made in WWII. This thing even pulled disabled tanks too!

Jeff

JeffStringer · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 637

Doug ... although very similar, I identify them by the road wheels. The 5t, 12t and 8t all use wheels that are easy to identify them from each other.

The 18t was produced by Famo Fahrezeugwerke und Motorwerke AG.

Jeff

Rikard_Hufschmied

- Doug_Kibbey

OK, Whatiz? Couldn't find any plates identifying as Hanomag or Skoda, or anybody else....who built these? Interleaved road wheels make me think German.

One thing not conveyed by the pics is the size. I mean, like M60A1 size (and maybe longer). This is a big vehicle. The trailer is not attached, but is displayed as part of this unit, (but I think more likely the one next to it...to follow). The trailer contained a generator.

Doug,

That halftrack is the Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t Sd.Kfz 9 recovery vehicle mostly known as the FAMO.

Built by FAMO (bulk of production), Tatra and Vomag between 1939 to 1945. About 2500 produced. Used for tank salvage and trailer towing.

Rik

Doug_Kibbey

- JeffStringer

That is the SdKfz 9 schwerer Zugkraftwagon 18t.

It carried 9 soldiers and towed heavy artillery.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff,
Who manufactured these? I could find no identifying marks on it.

Are you sure it's not the 5T vehicle. Some good stuff can be found here (but I don't know if it's correct):
www.geocities.com/athe...racks.html

JeffStringer · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 637

That is the SdKfz 9 schwerer Zugkraftwagon 18t.

It carried 9 soldiers and towed heavy artillery.

Jeff

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