VICKERS MK6B's resto

[Bob Carriere]

As an Army cadets we use to cram 4 teenagers in the turret of a Sherman plus the commander sticking out of the turret hatch...... we were skinny ....being tight in there we did not bounce around as much as we went over the rough field..... but the rides were short.

A few yeras ago I tried doing what I had done many times before as a teenager while visiting the Oshawa museum....... I crawled from the drivers seat through the narrow opening of the turret's basket,under the breech andout of the commander's hatch..... by then my shirt tail was out of my pants and was almost leaving my pants behind.

The only tank i have been in that was not confining and you coould crawl around inside was the Churchillbridgelayer at the war museum in Ottawa...... the turret basket had been removed for the firing mechanism of the bridge ramps and the sponsoon on each side are huge open areas when not loaded with gear......... mind you sittingreclining on your lower back and driving with some weird bicycle handle bars is really strange and vision like looking through a roll of toilet tube paper.

I have a lot of admiration for the tank crews and the courage to get into one of them contraptions.........crampeds, stinky, fuel smells, hot ......... and being shot at by every one.

Good luck with your basket case Colin.