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-----Original Message-----
From: Lars-Uwe Rudek <Rudek@shh-hamburg.de>
To: Military Vehicles List <mil-veh@uller.skylee.com>
Date: 23 December 1999 09:38
Subject: [MV] Star (Occupational/M series)
>Richard and list / Lars
>
>...aiming help for the Jerries ? ?
>
>...Maybe, but considering the Allied overwelming airpower and superiority,
>with triggger happy hunters in Thunderbolts and P 51s etc. flying about, I
>would feel more safe as a GI in a vehicle with a prominent big white star,
>circled or not,
>
Apart from the intelligence gathering aspect of these two "MVs" the real danger
was apparently the 24pot, 37L, 4200 rpm, sleeve-valve Napier closely followed by
several thousand rivets and bolts in close formation, otherwise, a Typhoon.
>just to make sure the fellows in the air get the story, before dropping bombs,
>firing rockets or spitting .50 bullets...
>
There seems to have been a serious and real danger to both arms, notwithstanding
huge B&W wing stripes and hood painted stars, if it flies ground forces fire at
it, and if its on the ground, pilots fire at it.
>Surely one would encounter more allied aircraft than any Sd.Kfzs or
>Panzerschrecks...
>
Not exactly what the record shows, reference to the ultimate and huge reference
work on Sd.Kfz 186 by Andy Devey (vol 2 - operational history), two well
deployed vehicles could and did stop the allied advance but invariably broke the
transmission during manoeuvres or retreat and were self-destroyed. One only was
crippled by a bazooka strike necessitating destruction and many simply ran out
of fuel, the Maybach HL 230 P30 pushing 72 tons of metal (Henschel) is not
renown for good gas mileage.
>BTW: the German veterans I know did not need any aiming help anyway. There
>were so many allied vehicles about, that you would hit something where ever
>the barrel was
>pointed...provided you had some ammunition to spare !
>
"One of our tanks is worth ten of yours, but you always have eleven" (captured
Pz.Ofz.) was actually reasonably accurate.
Richard
(Southampton UK)
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