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But
15 years ago, Garden Centre owner David Russell rescued the hull
of a Churchill tank from a scrapyard.
See
photos of the tank before and after >>
Although
it was in terrible shape, he's painstakingly restored it back to
its former glory and now stands proudly at Russells Nurseries and
Garden Centre in Warwickshire.
As
well as the main cannon and a machine gun, the MK VII Crocodile
version had a flame thrower, which ejected a stream of jellied gasoline
(napalm) from the tank by pressurized nitrogen gas.
If
needed, the five man crew could quickly remove the flame projector
from its mount and install the normal hull machine gun, although
usually there wasn't enough space inside the tank to carry the spare
gun as well.
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| David
Russell with the tank |
Powered
by 12-cylinder Vauxhall Bedford Twin-Six 350hp engine, it could
travel at around 12mph on the road, and 8mph cross country.
Although
most of the hull of the tank was intact when David got the machine,
just about everything that could rust or dissolve had done so.
Most
of the vehicle's wiring had to be completely replaced in case it
shorted out the electrical equipment and the entire engine had to
be rebuilt.
But
after countless hours of love and labour, the tank can now be driven,
and David claims it's easier to steer than a modern car.
In
August 1942, the allies carried out a raid on the French Port of
Dieppe. They wanted to find out what it would take to mount an invasion.
There were 27 Churchill tanks that made it to French soil, but the
attack was repelled by the Germans. Many soldiers were killed and
many taken prisoner.
But
the attack gave the allies valuable experience about landing on
French beaches and forced the Germans to waste time building up
defences in areas well away from where the eventual invasion would
be mounted.
Admiral
Lord Mountbatten said that 'for every soldier who died at Dieppe,
10 were saved on D-Day'.
In
September, David is planning to take his tank over to France to
remember the role the tanks played at Dieppe and in the final invasion
on D-Day.
He'll
be leading a convoy into Le Havre, which was heavily defended by
the Germans and was finally liberated by Crocodile tanks in September
1944.
See
photos of the tank before and after >>
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