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Forums - Site / Gallery |
Messages in this Gallery forum are automatically posted when new Gallery entries are added. Other modellers can then comment on them. |
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| Subject: | Re: [Gallery] 17 cm Schwerer Jagdpanzer E-100 |  |
| Date: | Aug 14, 2004 |
| From: | Al Crawford | |
A very nice model - if I had the cash I'd be tempted to buy the conversion for one of my E-100s, but I have to take issue with "Adlers E 100 Prototype was nearly complete".
It was a hull. Sure, the wheels were on, but it was lacking anything in the way of a powerplant or, for that matter, anything else inside the hull. The intended powerplant was some way off too - it was intended to use the same powerplant as the Tiger II for testing. It had no turret, and I've never encountered even a sketch of what the intended turret was to look like. Calling it nearly complete makes it sound like the thing was almost ready to roll into battle, when the best roll the E-100 might possibly manage would be if it was pushed down a steep hill.
As for what happened to the captured hull - it was examined then sold for scrap. Definitely a shame historically but isn't "fools!" a little harsh? If the British wanted a huge sluggish behemoth they already had the Tortoise under construction.
Besides, one bit of historical context that's missing and that perhaps people outside the UK are unaware of is that right after the war, good quality steel was worth *a lot*. In a lot of British streets and towns if you look at the low walls outside older houses you can still see the stumps where the metal railings were removed during WWII because the metal was needed for the war effort. If it was iron and it wasn't absolutely necessary, it was gone. The UK lived under a wartime economy for some time after the war ended, and in those circumstances a huge steel hull like that was just a curiosity. There was no huge engine inside it to examine for engineering developments, there was no huge gun on top to examine or test. Belleville washers were a known suspension technique. It was a big box with wheels on made of a lot of high-quality steel. The only reason *not* to sell it for scrap was "maybe in twenty or thirty years the historical significance of this tank will make it a good museum exhibit". At the time the scrap value of that steel was probably more of a priority than it's historical significance.
Al |
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