Com-Central.net

I have recently been working on writing up the Sexton at Armourgeddon:


Unique ID 1836: Armourgeddon Sexton




Since I understood it came from Portugal via the USA, I researched the primary US source of Sextons and wrote it up:


Location ID 60900: Southeastern Equipment Company (SECO), Augusta, GA

[img]http://preservedtanks.com/Albums/Locations/USA/60900-Southeastern%20Equipment%20Company%20%28SECO%29/Scan_Sextons_SECO_ForumDefesa_c.jpg[/img]

[As with other image links with spaces in them, this one doesn't work here anymore - it does work if pasted directly into a browser. Can an admin put things back how they were, please?]


I have also added a 'placeholder' location in Portugal to group these vehicles together:

Location ID 40990: Vehicles in Portuguese service




If anyone can help with information and photographs it would be much appreciated. Hanno, your Sherman Register website was a key source of information, but your SECO page is missing its photographs - I guess you don't have a copy of them somewhere else?

From a lot of Googling I have made a list of Sextons, M5 Stuarts and other vehicles that have passed through SECO and I will put them online in due course. What would be useful, however, is if anyone can indicate which vehicles already online are believed to have came from Portugal and/or SECO:

Preserved Sexton Self-Propelled Guns

Preserved Grizzly (and other M4A1) Tanks

Preserved M5 Stuart Light Tanks

Thanks!

To continue the background of the Sexton I have written up its factory:


Location ID 8390: Montreal Locomotive Works




I found a good source of photos which included one that showed a Valentine with the caption 'at the Angus Shops of the Montreal Locomotive Works'. From further research I found out, however, that the Angus Shops were part of the Canadian Pacific works, also in Montreal. CB built Valentines and MLW never did. At that point I decided I might as well write up CP as well, as background for Valentines in the database:


Location ID 8395: Angus Shops, Canadian Pacific




Sad to say that, like most of the tank factories I have so far featured in the US, UK and elsewhere, they are both now closed. MLW is mostly deserted ground, and what remains of CP has become shops.

The good photo link is here - the pictures are copyright-expired:

Library and Archive Canada

Perhaps I overlooked, however additional:

In the Netherlands
- a Grizzly located at Groesbeek called Robin Hood, in remembrance of the Notts Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. If I remember correct there is a topic about this Grizzly somewhere at the forum
- the Dutch army Museum has a Sexton in the collection


During the last Tanks in Town in Belgium, there was a M4A1 Grizzly with the yellow marking D-32 at the turret
i1015.photobucket.com/...017517.jpg

However I don't know where it came from, it could be a French vehicle

Michel

Thanks Michel - I don't suppose you know if any of those vehicles came from outside the Netherlands (e.g. Portugal or SECO)?

Trevor,

to my knowledge, the Sexton that belongs to the Dutch Army museum is a former Dutch Army vehicle.
The Dutch artillery used them from 1948 till (at least) 1951.

However about the Grizzly, this vehicle should be known to you.
It was exchanged against the RAM that is now part of the tank musuem

More about the Grizzly can be found here:
www.com-central.net/in...=groesbeek

Michel

Cheers, I'll follow it up.

- Michel_Krauss

to my knowledge, the Sexton that belongs to the Dutch Army museum is a former Dutch Army vehicle.
The Dutch artillery used them from 1948 till (at least) 1951.

Actually it came from the Portguese "cache". It was first restored in the UK and was later acquired by the Royal Netherlands Army historical collection.

Possibly the Sexton at Overloon was used by the Royal Netherlands Army after WW2, the museum should know for sure . . . .

HTH,
Hanno