segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) (06/01/89)
From: segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) I just saw the latest Indiana Jones flick (Pretty Good) In one scene there was a tank. I was curious as to the name and type of tank. I know that it was of WWI vintage. It had a small turret with a forward gun, with some small guns on the sides . I could have sworn it was of English design. If someone has seen the movie, could they post the info on the tank? -Gargoyle -=- -Mike Segel segel@icarus.eng.ohio-state.edu (614) 294-3350 "These opinions are my own and in no way reflect those of the University or the E E Dept.(Although there are those who probably share them!)
military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (06/01/89)
From: military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) writes: > I just saw the latest Indiana Jones flick (Pretty Good) >In one scene there was a tank. I was curious as to the name and type >of tank. I know that it was of WWI vintage. It had a small turret with a >forward gun, with some small guns on the sides . I could have sworn it >was of English design. If someone has seen the movie, could they post >the info on the tank? It was a fabrication, albeit a pretty good one. The hullform is the fairly classic WWI British "lozenge" shape (i.e., a parallelogram with tracks running the perimeter), with one sponson on each side mounting armament. In a "male" tank, the sponsons carry cannon and machineguns; on "females", the cannon are replaced with additional machineguns. The lozenge tanks were produced in various Marks, up Mk IX. Most had rather symmetrical profiles (i.e., it really looked like a true parallelogram from the side), but the MkVIII had an enlarged, well-rounded "nose", with a longer, sharper tail, pretty much like Indy's tank; I would guess that they used the MkVIII as their model for the hull. It was definitely a "male" tank, and the guns looked to be about 57mm, consistent with the MkVIII's 6-pounders. Unfortunately, the MkVIII and, for that matter, all the lozenge tanks, carried no turret; instead, a boxlike superstructure was sited where the turret on Indy's tank was. I'd say they added the turret because, after all, tanks are supposed to have them. The lozenge tanks avoided turrets because such would interfere with the unditching beam, a railroad tie which was carried along and could be chained across both tracks, improving traction in mud or on steep slopes. The MkVIII was designed in Britain in 1917, and was to be produced in the US, a portion of those built to be retained for American use. With the end of the war, the original order for 1500 was cancelled, with only 100 being built; these remained in US service until 1932. They were stored until 1939, when some were given to Canada for training. The MkVIII, aka "Liberty", carried two 6-pounders, 7 machineguns, had a crew of 12, was armored from 6mm to 16mm, and weighed 37 tons. Overall, I give this movie a B+ for tank simulation. Nice work, but unnecessary sacrifices for cinematography 8-) I've only given one "A", and that went to, of all things, "Kelly's Heroes", where some heroic prop man went to great lengths to make three Soviet-built T-34's look like Tiger I's. he did an amazingly good job; only the extreme forward position of the turret gives the job away (at least, until one looks closely at the suspension.) I'm still amazed someone would go to such lengths for that sort of movie. Compare to "Patton", where the US Shermans were, in fact, M-24 Chaffee's, while the German Tigers were, ironically, Pattons. In "A Bridge Too Far", they did, at least, use German tanks; unfortunately, they were modern Leopards. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Bill Thacker moderator, sci.military military@att.att.com (614) 860-5294 "War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied." - Sun Tzu
huling@cs.odu.edu (Christopher Huling) (06/02/89)
From: huling@cs.odu.edu (Christopher Huling) In article <7028@cbnews.ATT.COM> segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) writes: > > >From: segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) > > > I just saw the latest Indiana Jones flick (Pretty Good) >In one scene there was a tank. I was curious as to the name and type >of tank. I know that it was of WWI vintage. It had a small turret with a >forward gun, with some small guns on the sides . I could have sworn it >was of English design. If someone has seen the movie, could they post >the info on the tank? > To me it looked like a modern replica of a vintage WW1 tank. I believe that WW1 tanks were under general design and really given nothing more than the title armored vehicle. One thing that bothered me was, I was always told that tanks couldn't be fired while they were moving, this one did however fire, also I know that the first tanks were extremly slow. This tank however hummmed right on down the road. Wayne [mod.note: It's not that they couldn't be fired; just that they weren't likely to be able to hit anything, with the gun pitching up and down. During WWII, the US introduced gyrostabilizers to control pitch, and they were partially successful; you still couldn't hit well on the move, but you could line up the target, then halt and fire after minor adjustments. Nowadays, it's claimed that modern MBT's can fire on the move with little or no detriment. I take that with a grain of salt. - Bill ]
bimmer@vax1.acs.udel.edu (Gerald T Hinkle) (06/08/89)
From: Gerald T Hinkle <bimmer@vax1.acs.udel.edu> In article <7028@cbnews.ATT.COM> segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) writes: > > >From: segel@muon.eng.ohio-state.edu (Gargoyle) > >was of English design. If someone has seen the movie, could they post >the info on the tank? I read in an article in 'Preview' magazine that the tank was custom made, reportedly so it could travel at 30 mph. The article was part of an interview with Steven Spielberg about the new movie and the hassles invovled with it. I believe it was the May issue, or at least last month's. BTW, this magazine is just what the title suggests, agood source of movie previews. I know that this comes a little late, but I just had to say something. A bad habit that gets me in trouble sometimes. - Gerry Hinkle: Terminal movie junkie and Mech engineering student