Beltring War and Peace Show, 2005
Another vehicle for sale, this amphibious APC had rolled past me just half an hour before. Could be handy for parking if you live near the sea I suppose. In contrast, suited to a somewhat dryer part of the world, this German truck was painted in Afrika Korps colours.
I felt like hitching a ride on this German Half-track, but considering it was already full of fully-equipped troops, I didn’t think there would be room. I have to say though, I’m not sure why this Russian Tank was in the middle of the German encampment.
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And here’s a Tiger Tank. But don’t get too excited, although it looks pretty good, it’s not a real Tiger Tank. Readers of my previous pieces for ACG will recall that the only operational Tiger I in the world lives at Bovington Tank Museum, and this isn’t it. I believe that it’s actually a converted T-34, but I’m open to correction. Certainly the turret does sit too far forward for a real Tiger, and by peeking through the driver’s vision slit, one can see the original tank chassis beneath, with a large gap between it and the fake Tiger shell mounted on top. Having said all of this, it looks VERY impressive, and it’s the only way anyone’s ever going to get to see a Tiger Tank at a show like this.
A mock-up bunker sat not far from the Tiger, complete with "Dragon’s Teeth" AT defences and a crashed Jeep. This was a fine full-size diorama.
To round off this page, some German guns. Did I ever mention that I was interested in German equipment?
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