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from the if-it's-silly-but-it-works,-it's-not-silly dept.
Here's a story of the interestingly designed tanks that helped the Allies win on the D-day beaches of Dieppe. Tanks designed by an unconventional thinker (but who wants to think conventionally?). This is the story of 'Hobart's Funnies'. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160603-the-strange-tanks-that-helped-win-d-day
On 19 August 1942, Allied armies put their plan for an invasion of Occupied Europe to the ultimate test – by landing troops on the beaches and trying to capture a French port [Dieppe].
The landings were a disaster.
In less than 10 hours, more than 60% of the 6,000 British, Canadian and American troops who landed on the beach were either killed, wounded or captured. All of of the 28 tanks which came ashore alongside them – essential if the troops were going to be able break through the German strongpoints – were knocked out. Many were stranded, unable to move on the loose shingle, and picked off by anti-tank guns.
The failure of the Dieppe landings provided many lessons. Trying to capture a heavily defended port was likely to fail, commanders realised. Troops would have to land on sandy beaches, and their tanks would have to be able to make their way across these beaches and punch holes through the seawalls or other concrete obstacles the Germans had built up.
One man, it turned out, had a solution. And two years later, his fleet of highly specialised – and often bizarre-looking tanks – would be one of the major reasons why the D-Day landings were a success.
My personal favourite: the Sherman DD swimming tank. Or as the Americans discovered, the Sherman submarine.
(Score: 3, Funny) by aristarchus on Wednesday June 08 2016, @09:00PM
Reminds me of a definition of "think tank": a place where people think about tanks.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anne Nonymous on Wednesday June 08 2016, @09:02PM
Apparently the Sherman DD was a sort of "sink tank".
(Score: 2) by butthurt on Wednesday June 08 2016, @09:15PM
TFA says it was "designed to resist waves as high as 30 cm." I would imagine that plopping a tank into the sea could generate a wave as high as that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 08 2016, @09:29PM
2m waves off Omaha; sent them in anyhow.
(Score: 2, Funny) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday June 08 2016, @11:14PM
A tank with bright headlights that they could turn on and off would be a "blink tank".
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 09 2016, @04:31AM
Ethanol farted in it: stink tank.
(Score: 3, Funny) by deimtee on Thursday June 09 2016, @02:15PM
A tank infested with small lizards would be a "skink tank"
No problem is insoluble, but at Ksp = 2.943×10−25 Mercury Sulphide comes close.