Scammell "Snow White."

God Bless Google Maps

 

Any ideas as to the type of trailer "Snow White" is mated with? It certainly isn't the 30 ton and it doesn't look like the 20 ton. Mind you I have only seen a photo of a model of a 20 ton. I'd like to model it but would need to know more about the trailer.
Any input welcome and received with thanks.

Cheers,

Neil

 

Neilie,
The trailer looks, to me anyway, like the original type that had the removable rear axles in order to load the tank.
I can`t off the top of my head think of it`s full correct title. I think someone scratched one on the ATF.
Hope this helps

Regards

Malcolm

 

Owen -
The Tank on the back of "Snow White" is truly an A9 - or as we called them - Covenantor - forerunner of the Crusader - both of which were fairly useless with their 2lb guns against the 50mm and 75mm. of the PzIII and IV's

Ten hulls of the crusaders per week were made at Nuffield Metal Products in Birmingham - I worked there just prior to call up - permanent nightshift for 3GBP per week - the drillers for the bogies would make the odd mistake - and fill the holes with aluminium plugs- real confidence builder !
Fun days - and nights - the radial driller would drill three turret rings before midnight - then sleep the rest of the night - real union man !
Cheers

Sorry Tom; the tank on the back of Snow White is an A13 Mk II (or Cruiser Mk IV like the caption says). The A9 had quite different suspension (like A10 and Valentine). I can't see whether it is a Mk IIA (coax Besa gun instead of the watercooled Vickers). The Covenanter was the Cruiser Mk V (aka A13 Mk III). It had the same suspension as the other A13s (one wheel less than the Crusader), but the same turret as Crusader, which was different from the A13 Mk II, which was higher and had different angles for the armour at the sides.

The 2 pounder (40mm) was really not too bad compared with the 37mm of the (few) Pz IIIs met with in France 1940, though I concede that it lost out when compared with the later 50 mm Pz IIIs and with the long barrelled Pz IVs.

Incidentally the trailer that Snow White is towing is reported by Vanderveen as a 1937 improved version of the original 1932 tank transporter trailer, though still with removable rear wheels for loading.

Chris

 

Neilie,
The trailer looks, to me anyway, like the original type that had the removable rear axles in order to load the tank.
I can`t off the top of my head think of it`s full correct title. I think someone scratched one on the ATF.
Hope this helps

Regards

Malcolm

Thanks, Bigmal and Chris.....it looks like the one that Dave (Zak) scratch-built to go with his 1929 Scammell TT but maybe a later version as Chris mentioned. I see that John Church has plans for it also.

Cheers,

Neil

 

Chris,

Do you know what the improvements were to the trailer? The wheels may have been different as they have the typical Scammell agressive tread tires like the tractor. Just guessing but would like to know as I want to scratch the trailer using the 1929 plans and add an A13.

Cheers,

Neil

 

Sorry Neil; I was only quoting what the late revered Bart Vanderveen wrote in his Fighting Vehicles Directory.

Incidentally, since the desert pic does indeed show an A9, you can see the difference of the suspension from the A13 on the earlier post.

Chris

 

Thanks, Chris...I will keep looking but definitely want to do this combination.

Cheers,

Neil

 

nt

 

Lovely pics, Owen. Adding nothing to the discussion, but just 'cos it's another nice pic, here's a variant on the Scammell R10(?) 6X4 tractor

Very nice picture Jim. I wonder if they deliberately put the front tires on backwards so that the tread pattern left in the dirt wouldn't give direction of travel away.

Dave

 

Shame we can't ID the unit.

 

Owen
............and the Tank it's carrying is the old Covenanter

the desert picture was the Valentine- another picture shows a Sherman so it did the rounds

Cheers

 

Lovely pics, Owen. Adding nothing to the discussion, but just 'cos it's another nice pic, here's a variant on the Scammell R10(?) 6X4 tractor

Hi, JIM. The Scammel picture you placed with your post showed the exact type that I saw my father's unit take to France with the 6" howitzers in Sept.1939. The covered rear section probably designed to carry troops and/or ammunition. Perhaps many of the other pictures sent in by way of reply (and thanks, everyone ), were of later modifications, developed as the needs of war changed ? Maybe they weren't suited to desert conditions?
Many thanks. Dennis.

 

Dennis

In a couple of minutes I uncovered two pics of Scammell R100 HATs in the desert. I can think of a few more, usually towing Matildas up some escarpment or other. So they certainly served in the desert as well as in most other theatres of war. The tank transporter versions (20 ton and 30 ton) and recovery vehicles (also two versions) were simply different bodywork built on basically the same chassis. The original tank transporter version dates from about 1930, so probably predates the HAT!

Sorry, just trying to transfer from my old computer to a new one, so no room for my scanner at present!

Chris

 

Caption for the Le Neuborg photo on the IWM index; A Cruiser Mk IV tank on the back of a Scammell tank transporter among a host of other military and civilian vehicles in Le Neubourg during the retreat of British forces, 9 (?) June 1940. The photo was taken by Captain Keating, who had taken the photographs of the aftermath of the disaster that was Huppy a couple of weeks earlier. In his article on the 1st Armoured Division (The White Rhino - Baptism of Fire - ) David Fletcher refers to the shortage of tank transporters to get tanks back to the repair depots and that of all the tanks in the division, "only 13 were recovered, the remainder, damaged or not, fell into German hands." Sergeant Ron Huggins told me a story which I believe was well documented that some of the cruiser tanks were found on a German firing range near the Elbe at the end of the war? Who knows if this Cruiser was one of the lucky ones.

I was under the impression that the Covenanter was never used in action? Lovely looking piece of design though.

 

My grandfather Henry (Harry) Miller was part of the crew who drove 'snow white' I have stumbled across this forum whilst trying to find pictures of his vehicle! Thanks to everyone for finding and uploading the pictures.
If anyone has any info on their unit etc I would love to read it. I never met my grandfather..

Many thanks

 

Welcome to the forum, Bim. Do you know which corps or regiment your Grandfather served with ? I don't believe that we've positively identified which unit supporting 1st Armoured Division actually operated 'Snow White'

Have you applied for your Grandfather's service records ?...There will be plenty to discover if you wish to look further.