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piney · Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject: A mystery maybe

came across this picture. no caption so I have no idea of date, area, or country of origin and no name or description of the vehicle. I am just speculating here but it appears to be a test of a vehicle to open gaps in barbed wire and it looks like the entire outside framework is articulated and works like an endless track. Maybe I've just been in the woods too long and it's a MK1 whatzzit that I don't know about but I haven't seen anything like it before

sorry for the small size but there was only the one picture

Piney

Maple_Leaf_Eh · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 517

You have a crappy picture of a British post WWI device to defeat barbed wire entanglements. Walk along trampling the wire, and the troops run along the breaches. The thing was a collossal failure in reality.

There was a story I read in a Royal Engineer journal about some strange equipment an officer had to sign for. It was parked over in the yard, no one knew anything about it except it wasn't bridging parts and no one was to do absolutely anything to it. Upon investigation he found he'd signed for a tracked trench digger. The thing was about 100' long, had tracks and augers. It buried itself up to the gunwales and was supposed to dig along merrily. It too was a collossal failure in reality.

Joe_D · Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:44 am Post subject: Re: A mystery maybe

This gives me an idea,

I wonder how many "Great Idea" creations soldiers had to endure until common sense proved they were useless, dangerous or a financial boondoggle. There are some training devices I've used that come to mind.

Would make a great list.