Thursday, July 24, 2008

In the UK - Diving for Tanks

An impressive find of D-Day tanks in the waters off of England:
Divers look to solve sunken tanks mystery

A diving club is set to find out whether Second World War tanks found on
the seabed are two of only four left in the world.

On Saturday Southsea Sub-Aqua Club will send divers down to take
pictures and video footage of what they think are Centaur CS IV tanks.

And during the dive they will also try to work out the mystery of how
they were lost, given there is no shipwreck nearby.

The tanks, assigned to the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group, lie
eight miles off East Wittering, West Sussex.

They were part of an 80-strong contingent bound for France on D-Day but
sank in mysterious circumstances.

. .. .
Alison Mayor, who is leading the diving team, said: 'It's a real puzzle
how the tanks and bulldozers came to rest so far off shore when there is
no shipwreck nearby.

'These war machines are of significant interest, and we hope to find
clues to solve the mystery of how and when they sank.'

. . .

The rusting tanks lie with two bulldozers and a field gun, but no ship.

The bulldozers are believed to be armoured Caterpillar bulldozers, used
by the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army - there are no known
surviving bulldozers of this type.

A very neat find indeed, and it goes to show how much of historical value yet lies beneath the waves waiting for a diver to find it.

The Centaur Tank was designed by the Royal Marines for close marine infantry support and mounted a 95mm howitzer.

Here's a pic of a Centaur:


An interesting and very rare find.

Hat Tip: The Drawn Cutlass.

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