![]() ![]() Early in the war this was the Thompson submachine gun, but from 1943 it was the M3 'Grease Gun' that became more common, and three poses in this set are holding this weapon. Although a crew would only emerge from a tank when they had to, tanks were equipped with personal weapons for self-defence. The top row shows figures that are handling personal weapons, so have presumably abandoned their vehicle for some reason and are escaping or taking the fight to the enemy. ![]() ![]() In this set we are presented with a range of poses covering various aspects of life around a tank, though obviously not actually handling the vehicle in combat, when most of the crew would be invisible and at most you might see the head of the commander at the hatch. Naturally given the limited space available in a tank the men carry no kit as such, though quite a few have acquired shoulder pistol holsters, which were popular but only officially issued to higher ranks. All the men wear the M1942 Rawlings tanker’s helmet, and most have goggles too, which is good to see. Others seem to wear either a shirt not tucked into the trousers, or more likely the popular HBT fatigues, but actually these figures could be taken to be wearing one of several items, though everything here looks authentic and is appropriate for the 'summer' label. For many of the poses this appears to mean the common one-piece coveralls, or else trousers and a shirt. Several sets of tank crewmen for this period have already been produced in this hobby, but this is the first to depict those of the US.Īs the box tells us, these men are in summer dress. Steps were immediately taken to create armoured forces and to provide modern tanks, and over the course of the war in Europe American M4 Shermans and others were the major element of the western allied armies, while they made a less prominent but still important contribution to the war in the Pacific. Some visionary officers still championed its cause, but it was only after the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, and especially the swift overrunning of France by German Panzer forces in 1940, that the US realised it would need a modern army well-equipped with the latest tanks. Although the tank was developed during the Great War, the armistice came too soon for the potential of the new weapon to be obvious, and the USA showed little interest in it. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |