2 thoughts on “Inside the Chieftain’s Hatch : Char B1 bis, part 2”
If you\’re scratching your head about the point Chieftain makes about the ammo. Looks like there were racks/bins that were removed either by German forces or the museum when the tank arrived.
A bin of 75mm would be left of the driver, slightly behind. Under the false floor there should be about 10 rounds of 75mm stowed behind the gun and driver combined and another larger rack (removed) of 47mm behind Chieftain\’s right shoulder, a rack of ~4 75mm on top of the floor behind him (removed) and another 6-10 75mm in a rack (removed) hanging from the ceiling just inside the side hatch. There\’s a surprising amount of ammo storage in the engine compartment walkway floor and ceiling as well as about 10-12 rounds stored along the back section of the tank.
There\’s 2 full vertical racks of 47mm on either side of the fire wall as well. This should account for nearly all the ammo Chieftain called out. In the video, when he\’s looking at the Radioman\’s position there\’s a silver colored plate on the firewall, this is where a vertical rack of the 47mm would be with the other on the opposite side of the firewall.
If you\’re scratching your head about the point Chieftain makes about the ammo. Looks like there were racks/bins that were removed either by German forces or the museum when the tank arrived.
A bin of 75mm would be left of the driver, slightly behind. Under the false floor there should be about 10 rounds of 75mm stowed behind the gun and driver combined and another larger rack (removed) of 47mm behind Chieftain\’s right shoulder, a rack of ~4 75mm on top of the floor behind him (removed) and another 6-10 75mm in a rack (removed) hanging from the ceiling just inside the side hatch. There\’s a surprising amount of ammo storage in the engine compartment walkway floor and ceiling as well as about 10-12 rounds stored along the back section of the tank.
There\’s 2 full vertical racks of 47mm on either side of the fire wall as well. This should account for nearly all the ammo Chieftain called out. In the video, when he\’s looking at the Radioman\’s position there\’s a silver colored plate on the firewall, this is where a vertical rack of the 47mm would be with the other on the opposite side of the firewall.
Some nice info. Thanks 🙂