Operation Infatuate II: Sherman tanks at Westkapelle

[Jakko Westerbeke]

While I was there, I also visited the Bevrijdingsmuseum itself, as I had only been there once a few years ago, and that was when the current buildings were still under construction. First of all, I would say it’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the area and have an interest in military history and/or WWII equipment.

Second, Kees took me up to the offices and storeroom, as he had some photographs he thought might interest me. After a fair while looking for them in vain, it turned out they had already been sent to the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies for digitisation and to be entered into their collection (the originals will come back to the Bevrijdingsmuseum), so I didn’t get to see them yet. However, I did come across the following couple of pictures that I thought might be of interest here (quality is not great, as I took photos of them with my iPad and then had to push and pull them to straighten them out a bit).

Two wrecks of Weasels at (almost certainly) Westkapelle:

IMG_7969.jpg

Two Terrapins somewhere on Walcheren:

IMG_7970.jpg

LVTs on the Markt square in Middelburg, two of them carrying Weasels in the cargo bay:

IMG_7971.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks for the update Jakko! I am excited to learn about the marking scheme you have designed for this tank.


On a related note: another Infatuate relic was unearthed last week when a German bunker was rediscovered after digging for a new building had started. An LVT sprocket was one of the artefacts dug up, surprisingly. The other artefacts were all related to the bunker itself.

241666484_573638027014580_5453753327806486314_n.jpg 241637473_573639287014454_7077154286132049263_n.jpg
Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1032...21590037916682

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

I am excited to learn about the marking scheme you have designed for this tank.

Some months ago, I made the following instructions for them to use, as well as 1:1 size drawings of the markings:

Markeringen T148656 1.jpgMarkeringen T148656 2.png

Those 1:1 drawings went to a company that makes adhesive stencils, some of which I also saw yesterday and which seem to look good (as far as I could tell, with them still on the backing paper )

As for accuracy, there is, of course, a bit of a problem. The markings on the glacis are not those of T148656, as it had both the AoS and division markings on the front of the right flail jib, which is missing. However, they are correct most of the other 1 Lothians tanks, so I felt it would be best to copy those. The positions on the rear are as they appear in the few available photographs of the back of the tank.

The census number on the side is in the position it was in before T148656 was converted to a Crab. I chose this because else the one on the left would have been at the front while that on the right would be nearly at the back, and that will have some people wondering without being able to get an explanation. Using the pre-Crab position seemed better.

I debated over including the hand-painted CHERRY 6 on front and/or rear, as well as the 148-over-656 on the bow, and decided against them. The main reason is that this is a tank on public display, and text that appears hand-painted will look too much like graffiti — which invites more.

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

An LVT sprocket was one of the artefacts dug up, surprisingly.

I had read about the sprocket, yes. I know of at least two LVT wrecks in Vlissingen (of the twenty deployed there in all), but not near this bunker, so perhaps one was lost here too?

[MicS]

Originally Posted by Jakko Westerbeke

While I was there, I also visited the Bevrijdingsmuseum itself, as I had only been there once a few years ago, and that was when the current buildings were still under construction. First of all, I would say it’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the area and have an interest in military history and/or WWII equipment.

Second, Kees took me up to the offices and storeroom, as he had some photographs he thought might interest me. After a fair while looking for them in vain, it turned out they had already been sent to the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies for digitisation and to be entered into their collection (the originals will come back to the Bevrijdingsmuseum), so I didn’t get to see them yet. However, I did come across the following couple of pictures that I thought might be of interest here (quality is not great, as I took photos of them with my iPad and then had to push and pull them to straighten them out a bit).

Two wrecks of Weasels at (almost certainly) Westkapelle:

Attachment 124609

Two Terrapins somewhere on Walcheren:

Attachment 124610

LVTs on the Markt square in Middelburg, two of them carrying Weasels in the cargo bay:

Attachment 124611

Nice finds Jakko.


First photo probably shows the same two Weasels as on this shot:

NL-HaNA_2.24.01.03_0_900-7400 - Overturned Weasels.jpg
Source


Last photo is the same as BBZ 66478, but less cropped on the left side (and more on the right):
LVT4 1B 'STOAT', 1C 'SABLE' USA{89xx36} - Middelburg 6 Nov 44 - FO066478.jpg
Source

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by MicS

First photo probably shows the same two Weasels as on this shot:

It does look like that, yes. Now to try and find the exact spot they were in …

Originally Posted by MicS

Last photo is the same as BBZ 66478, but less cropped on the left side (and more on the right):

This one was actually a postcard. Or maybe I should say, a photo printed on paper that has postcard markings (lines for the address etc.) printed on the back.

[Jakko Westerbeke]

… and it’s back!

IMG_8057.jpg IMG_8058.jpg IMG_8072A.jpg IMG_8072B.jpg IMG_8075.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Excellent Jakko! Great to see this project finished in good time.

See https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/...-weer-compleet for some more pics and videos.

2BF4E4E0-08F5-48D4-A728-ACEE997DA037.jpeg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

The freshly restored Sherman T-148656 back in situ at the WW2 memorial on the Westkapelle dyke. The grey sky backdrop makes for a fantastic photo.

D0286E4B-D181-4044-A90A-A45C4417739F.jpeg
Photo by Jan de Jonge - see https://www.facebook.com/10000867471...243584973/?d=n) and https://jandejongefotografie.nl/de-weke-op-wasschappel/

[Jakko Westerbeke]

I just keep thinking: “I wish I had a WRENCH, adjusting, idler,” though …

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

The freshly restored Sherman T-148656 back in situ at the WW2 memorial on the Westkapelle dyke. The grey sky backdrop makes for a fantastic photo.

Yesterday Storm Eunice raged over The Netherlands. I saw some footage of the Sherman on the dyke: it's feet got wet as water flooded over the crown of the dyke! That's what a combination of high tide and storm does - must have been some tense moments in the village of Westkapelle.

Attached picture shows the dyke looking in the other directiom, away from the Sherman:

images0.persgroep.net.jpg