Armour Dreams

[Jonathan Moore]

It can fit in two positions but personally, I wouldn't want to be in either, as it is so very cramped and how you would get out in an emergency is any ones guess.
I don't think that you can appreciate just how little room there is inside this tank until the upper hull and turret are in place, it must have been hell in the European theatre, I can't imagine what it was like in the heat of North Africa.



That's all for now.



Jon

[David Dunlop]

Hi Jon.

Wow! Snug! I guess if one crew member farted, they all said ‘excuse me’, just to be on the safe side.

Is the Wireless Operator located aft of the turret basket assembly? That would suggest either a rear deck access hatch, or access via the turret, which, as you noted, would be tricky in an emergency with injured crew. Also would not appear to leave much room for the wireless equipment.

David

[Jonathan Moore]

Evening David,

If you were sitting in the radio operators seat, facing forwards towards the driver, the radio equipment would be on a shelf to your left hand side (shown marked in blue on the attached picture). The shelf overhangs the tracks and is part of the track guard.

The picture of the tank interior shows how tight things were, the radio operators seat would be where the battery is situated in this picture.

There is an escape hatch that is situated above the red arrow but it is the other side of the small bulk head with the vision slit in.

[Jonathan Moore]

The escape hatch is marked in red. To access this hatch, the radiator baffle plate would first have to be folded forward and then the seat back rest laid flat. Then by ducking under the aforementioned bulkhead, you would have access to the escape hatch. The last picture is the underside of the hatch.

Jon