Wow! The pics and story are simply awesome. Can't think of a better way to spend a day than touring that museum. Thanks much for taking the time to share.
Wow! The pics and story are simply awesome. Can't think of a better way to spend a day than touring that museum. Thanks much for taking the time to share.
Mark,
Always liked the sarri can but had to ride in the No1 or 2 Pig for most of the time. A worse vehicle I cannot imagine, cold, wet and with inadequate armour.
It is however nice to know the other call signs actually appreciated Felix and not just being p#ssed off 'stagging' on a cordon.
R
....I should've said that Bovi did have a new addition (which i didn't snap)....a filthy dusty rusty Stug 3...it looked like it'd been dragged off the battle field last week...it's currently roped off, no info board etc. It looked great just as it was but perhaps it's destined for a restoration....who knows......
Yes the "whine" of the transmission could be heard long before the Sarri was ever seen and was indeed a comforting sound even if it did mean you might still be there for a while
The "Pig" aka the Humber 1 Ton (not won ton ) really was a pig by name and nature. For those not familiar it was a recycled 1950s vintage APC that was upgraded several times including extra armour ( not great as stated) but still with the original braking system (or not much better) so they were restricted to 20 mph. If being shot at you might actually run faster.
I should add that these were used in this incarnation in Northern Ireland!
Mind you even at 20 mph it was like being inside a base drum beaten by a Tasmanian Devil when it struck and took out a barricade
The one pictured here is a restored example, note the civilian age related number plate. The "Devil Dogs" here will note the motto painted on the bonnet!
Some informal names for variants that I recall were; Flying Pig (extending anti-riot barriers), Squirt Pig (water cannon), Felix Pig (ATO) and Turret Pig (with a turret mounted MG in S.Armagh) but I think there were more
Regards
Mark
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
...how many looked that good inside after say, 20 minutes?
Or smelled of fresh paint!!!!
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
Look forward to revisiting one day, last time was in 2004 !
Regards
Paul
I’ve been once a year, at least, for as long as I can remember....so I guess it’s like one of those Flick-Books for me...’cept with fewer pages every flick :-(
I used to be like that with IWM, mid 80s to the late 90s (before I had kids !), since they revamped it, 7-8 years ago....it's not the same....whole exhibition was 'descaled'...a shame.
Paul
Similar Threads
Bookmarks