I'm not sure i'd want to go to sea in one of them.
Good work though.
 

This is very good , phantastic idea .

Quote from: Rick Lowe on December 29, 2023, 01:24:38 AMAnd no computer modelling, so it was a case of building it first and then finding out whether or not it worked.

They didn't have computers, but of course they did do calculations — for something like this, of course, they would have worked out the size of floats needed before just giving it a go and sinking a bunch of tanks "Nope, still not big enough. Let's add another 10% volume and see if the next one stays afloat."

Quote from: Jakko on December 29, 2023, 02:34:01 AM

Quote from: Rick Lowe on December 29, 2023, 01:24:38 AMAnd no computer modelling, so it was a case of building it first and then finding out whether or not it worked.

They didn't have computers, but of course they did do calculations — for something like this, of course, they would have worked out the size of floats needed before just giving it a go and sinking a bunch of tanks "Nope, still not big enough. Let's add another 10% volume and see if the next one stays afloat."

Well, yes, true - too quick off the mark with my fingers outrunning thought...but it's still all theoretical until the hardware is in the water.
The same can be said for computer-aided design of course, but in that case there's more certainty over whether something will work or not.

Just 30 years later ,with advanced experience, unfortunately a lot of swimming tanks went down to the channel ground on D- Day ... 

Yeah, but not necessarily because the theory or hardware was faulty - more the sea conditions and being offloaded too far from shore.
And the incoming fire didn't help, of course...

Quote from: Rick Lowe on December 29, 2023, 04:48:01 AMYeah, but not necessarily because the theory or hardware was faulty - more the sea conditions and being offloaded too far from shore.
And the incoming fire didn't help, of course...

Nor did traffic control.  A few were rammed or swamped by landing craft.

Quote from: scooter on December 29, 2023, 04:53:44 AM

Quote from: Rick Lowe on December 29, 2023, 04:48:01 AMYeah, but not necessarily because the theory or hardware was faulty - more the sea conditions and being offloaded too far from shore.
And the incoming fire didn't help, of course...

Nor did traffic control.  A few were rammed or swamped by landing craft.

Hadn't heard that, but it doesn't surprise me - most of them would have been well out of the areas they were supposed and expected to be in.

Quote from: killnoizer on December 29, 2023, 04:07:39 AMJust 30 years later ,with advanced experience, unfortunately a lot of swimming tanks went down to the channel ground on D- Day ... 

Most of those sank because of a combination of factors, but it seems the primary one was being swept them off course by the current, forcing them to turn ever more towards the intended landing beach, and meant that eventually they were swimming too parallel to the shore — which resulted in waves coming over the sides and collapsing them, rather than hitting the stronger stern.

Sherman DDs could swim long distances just fine, under the right conditions. Not too far from where I live, a force of them swam some 11 km across a tidal river estuary in October 1944, for example.

Quote from: Jakko on December 30, 2023, 02:09:44 AMSherman DDs could swim long distances just fine, under the right conditions. Not too far from where I live, a force of them swam some 11 km across a tidal river estuary in October 1944, for example.

That's very interesting. I've an interest in the British 2nd Armies push into the Netherlands and Germany during WWII.  Where exactly please ?

Operation Vitality, part of the Battle of the Scheldt. In the night of 26–27 October 1944, an amphibious force of LVTs and Sherman DDs crossed the Western Scheldt (that's the sea arm that connects Antwerp to the North Sea) from Terneuzen to land near the village of Baarland on South Beveland:



(FYI, I live on Walcheren.)

Annoyingly, I came across some photos of DD tanks there last year or so, but I can't for the life of me find them online anymore I would really like to, though, as I've recently bought the Resicast Sherman V DD and want to build it as a tank used here.

Thank you very much for that 

I knew of the Special Service Brigades' assault on Walcheren, but not much else. Me thinks farther reading is necessary   

It's a very under-represented battle, especially given its importance to the Allied war effort. It's come more to the fore in recent years, largely due to a movie that, I've been assured by a prominent local military historian, is pretty crap of the kind of historical correctness you would expect from a mass-market movie so I haven't bothered watching it Still, even for most people who are interested in the Second World War, the battle is mostly unknown, yet it's the only place other than Normandy in which the Atlantic Wall was attacked and penetrated, and according to a lot of veterans, it was a much worse campaign than Normandy.

Found a couple of books    Just need to decide which to order from Waterstones. Mind you I'll check the store first.

Thanks again 

I like this - you took land stuff and made it watery.      

JoeCP