The Devil's Saw

[frank2056]

Shortly after WWII, France needed to control far off colonies, (Indochina) and unrest closer to home (Algeria). The Allies were unwilling to give France the military equipment it needed or sell it at a price France could afford, so France had to scrounge around for old but serviceable Japanese and German tanks, ships and aircraft.

Meanwhile, Czechoslovakia found itself both impoverished and overflowing with abandoned German war equipment and factories.
One tank factory had several prototypes for a light German tank, known as the E-10. The French were interested and bought the tooling as well as the prototypes. The French simplified the design by removing the ability to raise and lower the vehicle height, and were quickly able to field small numbers of the E-10 with the French version of the 7.5cm PAK 39 L/48.

In their successful campaign in Indochina, The French often paired the E-10 in a "hunter/killer" configuration, with either an E-10 and an M4 Sherman or the E-10 and a COIN/spotter plane (often an AT-6 trainer or a Storch). Ten E-10 tanks were modified in 1948 with a six barrel 20mm Gatling gun replacing the 7.5cm PAK. The lighter, more maneuverable tank was effective in eliminating enemy positions while reducing the damage to surrounding structures.

This feature became important during the Algerian Campaign of 1949-1951, when many rebels were hiding in French towns and villas in the desert. A handful of the Gatling equipped E-10 were sent to Algeria, where they formed an armed deep reconnaissance force operated by the French Foreign Legion. These E-10s were further modified with the addition of two 55 gallon/208 liter fuel tanks, a primitive (but effective) venturi air conditioning/fume extractor for the crew cabin and better radios and optics. The Gatling gun was also modified to allow a slower firing rate and HE ammo. An American supplied .50 cal machine gun was also added. Each tank had a crew of three and a 1 week endurance.

This particular tank, called "Le Scie du Diable" ("The Devil's Saw") was manned by French and former German soldiers.

The kit is the Trumpeter Entwicklungsfahrzeug (say that after a couple of beers!) E-10 in 1/35 scale.

This is the progress so far.

The Gatling needs some gun viagra:



The Gatling gun is scratch built. Most of the parts are just loose on the tank right now.





The tank is shown with the "late" drive sprocket; I may change it to the "early" style, though. I'm not sure if I'll use the rubber or plastic track links. The .50 cal is from Italeri, and isn't shown. I'm not sure if I'll use the PE skirts, either (or all of them).

Frank

[Sisko]

What a cool Idea.

I never would have thought of the concpet but it really looks the goods

[General Zod]

A very nice what if creation Great story to back it up with as well 

[Captain Canada]

Yes, that is cool ! Neat idea, for sure !

[jcf]

Interesting concept, what's your back story source for the Gatling?

Here are some historical real-world notes on the 20mm Gatling:
An electric motor was first attached to a Gatling gun in 1893, the modern phase began in 1945
with research by the U.S. Army Ordnance Research and Development Service, Small Arms Branch
under Col. Rene R. Studler.
The first test version was a modified Model 1883 Gatling with motor drive put together in 1945 by
Johnson Automatics, Inc. of Providence, Rhode Island.

General Electric was awarded the contract for 'Project Vulcan' in June of 1946.
Preliminary design requirement specs:
.60 caliber
5 to 10 barrels
60 inch barrel length
no longer than 80 inches overall length
weight was not to exceed 100lbs per barrel
minimum rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute per barrel.

The first .60 caliber T-45 test article was completed in April of 1949.
Further testing was done, starting December 1950, with guns in .60, 20mm and 27mm.
The 20mm version was chosen for further development.
The T-171 20MM test program began in 1952, the weapon was standardized and entered production as the M61 in 1956.

Any further details on your Algerian Campaign of 1949-1951? What sets off the violence five years before it started in our
timeline?

Jon

[cthulhu77]

Most cool!!!! Great scratchbuilding , should be a real looker.

[frank2056]

Here's an update, with the base paint applied and the basic hull finished.

An overview. The wavy pattern looks OK, but too "German". I may change it. The fuel tank cradles are scratchbuilt:



Here's a lower view. The guns are in gunmetal, but they look too black; I may redo them. The Gatling is scratchbuilt, the .50 cal is a resin kit from Legend. The dark camo on the wheels will have to be toned down. I may add a third color as well. The hatches are just taped in place from below; I may add a few figures:



Here's a view with the fuel tanks sitting in their cradles. The hole over the Gatling gun mantle will be for the fume extractor or some optics:



Here's a front view. It looks kinda mouse-y. I know! It's a Disneyland Crowd Control Tank!:



Next is yet more painting, touch-up, weathering and tracks. I figure that I'm a little less than 1/2 done.
Thanks for all the comments so far!

Frank

[Captain Canada]

She's really coming together, eh ? Awesome ! With the gun pointing down, it riminds of a fat old beatle rumaging around for something to eat.....

[frank2056]

Interesting concept, what's your back story source for the Gatling?

Jon, I asked about the Gatling in another thread, so now I know that the 1948-1951 time frame is a little early for a true Gatling... doh! But maybe the French saw or heard about the tests in 1945 or just came up with a multi-barrel 20mm gun on their own -  it isn't as fast as the American version, but it does provide a faster rate of fire than the typical 20mm cannon of the period, plus it can be used in single shot mode.

I want to keep it in the 1945 - 1955 time frame, because I don't think the French would have kept ex-german tanks for that long after WWII.

Any further details on your Algerian Campaign of 1949-1951? What sets off the violence five years before it started in our
timeline?

The Algerians saw France fumbling badly in Indochina in the late 40s. Thanks to encouragement by foreign Communist sympathizers they decided to make a bid for independence while France was weak and occupied elsewhere. Luckily, the French saw the errors in their battle tactics in Indochina, and by 1947-48 they were actively going after the Viet Minh. After the killing of Ho Chi Minh and Vo Nguyen Giap by French Foreign Legion snipers in late 1948, the rebellion quickly collapsed.

Energized by their victory in Indochina, France turned towards the renegade province of Algeria, where the battle tactics developed in Indochina were found to be even more effective in that terrain.

She's really coming together, eh ? Awesome ! With the gun pointing down, it riminds of a fat old beatle rumaging around for something to eat.....

yeah, I have to fix that - good way of damaging the main weapon!

Frank

[ysi_maniac]

Awesome concept, indeed. Just a point: wheels painted in two colours are too conspicuous when they turn.

Anyway, I love your model so far 

[frank2056]

Awesome concept, indeed. Just a point: wheels painted in two colours are too conspicuous when they turn.

Carlos,
You're right - when I was playing with... err, visualizing the tank in its environment last night, the two tone wheels stood out like the proverbial dog's testicles. I'll make them one color and tone them down.

I built the PE skirts and holder yesterday (I used the Gator Glue as intended) and the result may make the tank look even more German - but without the skirt, the hull area behind the wheels is obvious and featureless. I could clutter it up with mud, but I may paint it a darker color first.

Frank

[jcf]

Interesting concept, what's your back story source for the Gatling?

Jon, I asked about the Gatling in another thread, so now I know that the 1948-1951 time frame is a little early for a true Gatling... doh! But maybe the French saw or heard about the tests in 1945 or just came up with a multi-barrel 20mm gun on their own -  it isn't as fast as the American version, but it does provide a faster rate of fire than the typical 20mm cannon of the period, plus it can be used in single shot mode.

The French Army and Navy purchased and used Gatling guns from 1871 thru the 1890s, so they did have a history with the weapon. Hotchkiss built multi-barrel 'revolver-cannon' (37mm to 53mm) that resembled an oversize Gatling, the French also purchased these, so a French developed externally-powered multi-barrel cannon isn't really much of a stretch... but, it would probably have been in 25mm or something close as the French had used 25mm for light anti-tank guns, and it so happens that Gatling sold guns in 1" caliber (25.4mm).


Hotchkiss 1 pdr (37mm)

Jon

p.s. the 1" Gatlings were designed to use cannister rounds, each round contained 16 balls.

[frank2056]

The French Army and Navy purchased and used Gatling guns from 1871 thru the 1890s, so they did have a history with the weapon. Hotchkiss built multi-barrel 'revolver-cannon' (37mm to 53mm) that resembled an oversize Gatling, the French also purchased these, so a French developed externally-powered multi-barrel cannon isn't really much of a stretch... but, it would probably have been in 25mm or something close as the French had used 25mm for light anti-tank guns, and it so happens that Gatling sold guns in 1" caliber (25.4mm).

Thanks! That makes sense. I'll change the design docs to a 6 barrel, 25mm revolver cannon instead of 20mm.

Frank

[John Howling Mouse]

Remember, in the What If world, history is fluid and dynamic (i.e. subject to change).  Unless you like to be within bounds of written history, I wouldn't worry about becoming too limited by it.  Simply re-write it.
When I first came up with the concept of failed turbine/jet engines leading to further development of prop-engined a/c, I said it was because poor Mr. Whittle had met an untimely demise during a prototype jet engine run-up test.  The Nazis took this to heart and for all intents and purposes abandoned serious development of jets for the while.

On another point, you come up with a scratchbuilt Gatling Gun of this apparent quality but you don't show us how you got there?  As my 8-yr-old is prone to saying:  Awwwwww....  ;-)

[Eddie M.]

On another point, you come up with a scratchbuilt Gatling Gun of this apparent quality but you don't show us how you got there?  As my 8-yr-old is prone to saying:  Awwwwww....  ;-)

Very intriguing Gatling. I've do a few myself, but no where near this quality. The whole build is quite unique.
   Eddie