Sir John Valentine Carden Survives. Part 2.

[Peg Leg Pom]

On the attempt by its crew to destroy the broken down Matilda tank. Given time, which I do not believe they had, the Japanese could be left with a smoking shell. However ITTL, the crew were not given time, to undertake the task. I question however if the vehicle would have been given Jerrycans, which are a very new introduction to British forces, as apposed to the standard 2 gallon flimsy. And why given that the Matilda was equipped with a Diesel engine, puncturing a fuel can of the tank, as apposed to one from the carrier that was rescuing the crew, would be effective. Diesel is notoriously inflammable, being very difficult to set alight, if you want to touch the tank, far better to use a can of petrol off the carrier.

RR.

With any luck the Infantry have made up a few petrol bombs when they heard that the Japanese had tanks.

 

[Coulsdon Eagle]

Sir, your statement that using humans to move the stranded tank, ‘wouldn’t work’, is based on what, personally experience, an in depth analysis of the situation? I however am basing my statement on personal experience, not of moving a tank by human power, but rather a BAC Concorde twice, and a Boeing B747 200 once. Some years ago it was my privilege to captain the team of British Airways staff that took part in two charity events where pulling a Concorde 100 yards the quickest was the aim. Year one we came second, then in year two we were the winners. Subsequently it was decided to take part in a televised event in an attempt to raise money for various charities and gain a Guinness World record. I was both a technical consultant on the project, and Captain of the team, and lead the numerous training sessions we had. In the end live on a British National TV Network, we succeeded in pulling a B747 200, 100 meters in world record time, using 100 people of both sex’s. The all up weight of the aircraft on the day was 205 tons, so getting 100 people to move a 25 ton tank would not be impossible, especially with people who are used to hard physical labour, and not the mix of majority office workers I had to work with.

RR.

Did they leave the brakes on for you?

 

[Mike D]

How difficult and how long to drain the oil?

About thirty seconds. Pull the drain plug, it'll empty itself long before any Japanese soldier even considers whether to check it or not.

 

[Peg Leg Pom]

After

About thirty seconds. Pull the drain plug, it'll empty itself long before any Japanese soldier even considers whether to check it or not.

After you lift the armoured hatches over the engines, find the spanner and get to the sump plugs. All the while some unfriendly sod is taking pot shots at you.

 

[MarcH]

I think we are all getting caught up in the minor details of whether the Japanese can recover the Matilda II or not.

In the end it is immaterial. If they recover it or not can Japan produce a tank to match it in numbers? Can Japan design a good enough anti tank gun to take it out reliably and then produce it in sufficient quantity to make a difference? Can Japan realistically do anything both meaningful and realistic with the knowledge they gain from capturing the Matilda II?

 

[duckie]

I think we are all getting caught up in the minor details of whether the Japanese can recover the Matilda II or not.

In the end it is immaterial. If they recover it or not can Japan produce a tank to match it in numbers? Can Japan design a good enough anti tank gun to take it out reliably and then produce it in sufficient quantity to make a difference? Can Japan realistically do anything both meaningful and realistic with the knowledge they gain from capturing the Matilda II?

Well the Japanese solution to cracking heavy armored tanks was an `Hammer` ...... and an 250 pound bomb..

 

[Ramontxo]

They, the tankers, are veterans of North Africa battles. I am sure that they have long practised ways of making sure no one takes their tank. And anyway Japanese were highly motivated, very light infantry. If they win the battle maybe they will think of studying the British equipment. Until then they are not going to use that Matilda whatever its state is.

 

[MattII]

On the attempt by its crew to destroy the broken down Matilda tank. Given time, which I do not believe they had, the Japanese could be left with a smoking shell. However ITTL, the crew were not given time, to undertake the task. I question however if the vehicle would have been given Jerrycans, which are a very new introduction to British forces, as apposed to the standard 2 gallon flimsy. And why given that the Matilda was equipped with a Diesel engine, puncturing a fuel can of the tank, as apposed to one from the carrier that was rescuing the crew, would be effective. Diesel is notoriously inflammable, being very difficult to set alight, if you want to touch the tank, far better to use a can of petrol off the carrier.

Jerrycans have been in service for almost a year ITTL, and have been widely popular. An easier way on draining the oil I would have thought would be to lift the armoured housing and put a bullet (pistol or rifle down the the bottom of the reservoir. The same for the fuel tanks. Maybe a few through the radiator too.

 

[marathag]

I think we are all getting caught up in the minor details of whether the Japanese can recover the Matilda II or not.

In the end it is immaterial. If they recover it or not can Japan produce a tank to match it in numbers? Can Japan design a good enough anti tank gun to take it out reliably and then produce it in sufficient quantity to make a difference? Can Japan realistically do anything both meaningful and realistic with the knowledge they gain from capturing the Matilda II?

They know if they will keep fighting the British, that's the Armor they will need to deal with.
It's a shock to the system, like the Germans got in 1941 with the KV-1, where they threw out previous designs and super-sized them into the Tiger Tank

But Japan is limited in what they can actually build, so won't be large numbers of whatever they come up with, like the Type 3 Chi-Nu far sooner, and not lose out on the steel allocation for IJN warships ITTL

 

[MarcH]

They know if they will keep fighting the British, that's the Armor they will need to deal with.
It's a shock to the system, like the Germans got in 1941 with the KV-1, where they threw out previous designs and super-sized them into the Tiger Tank

But Japan is limited in what they can actually build, so won't be large numbers of whatever they come up with, like the Type 3 Chi-Nu far sooner, and not lose out on the steel allocation for IJN warships ITTL

Even if the Japanese manage to produce 15 times as many Type 3 Chi-Nu as OTL they have still made les than the OTL number of Matilda II's. That is before we get to the Valiant and it's Australian and Canadian derivatives that could appear in the SEA Theatre.

 

[Ramp-Rat]

Did they leave the brakes on for you?

No, though we did have to wait a short time with the B747 for the breaks to cool, as it was an arrival. Concorde however was a problem, it was a competition, with a number of teams taking part. Concorde didn’t have an APU, and so there was no way of recharging the break system in between runs. Thus after every two runs we had to hook it up to GPU, to provide enough power to charge the system, we used the system on the aircraft tug that pushed the kite back to its start position. As apposed to a mobile GPU or hooking it up to a FPU, which wasn’t available in the base area where we held the competition. Note while hooking the tug up is an easy job, hooking the power cable from the tug to the aircraft isn’t as easy.

RR.

 

[Sqdn19]

It's not vandalism, it's denying the enemy the use of the facilities. (Said the private as he machinegunned the railway station's W.C.)

Dare we go further off topic by asking if this is the best way to destroy a Malay W.C. to prevent it falling into the hands of the IJA?

 

[diestormlie]

Dare we go further off topic by asking if this is the best way to destroy a Malay W.C. to prevent it falling into the hands of the IJA?

I can't help but feel like the best way to deny a Railway Station WC to the enemy is to simply allow the Squaddies to use it.

 

[Salamander]

Logistics

what was the logistic train like for the Japanese in the invasion of Malaya? With all those bridges blown how will it effect it? The standard ammunition carry of light infantry will not last long without regular re-supply.

Shoestring. They really counted on looting British supply dumps on the way. The Aussies used their logistics problems against them during the Kokoda Campaign, by piercing cans of food in their own supply dumps as they retreated. The Japanese were so hungry from lack of their own rations they ate them, with predictable results.
ITTL the lost bridges, landslides, destroyed railways, roadblocks and more effective delaying tactics will really chew through supplies.

 

[vizzer]

Shoestring. They really counted on looting British supply dumps on the way. The Aussies used their logistics problems against them during the Kokoda Campaign, by piercing cans of food in their own supply dumps as they retreated. The Japanese were so hungry from lack of their own rations they ate them, with predictable results.
ITTL the lost bridges, landslides, destroyed railways, roadblocks and more effective delaying tactics will really chew through supplies.

Actually they could have just left jars of Vegemite out for the same effect.

 

[Finbarr the Fair]

Actually they could have just left jars of Vegemite out for the same effect.

I think that would qualify as a war crime.

 

[Salamander]

Actually they could have just left jars of Vegemite out for the same effect.

They did. Vegemite was part of Australian Army rations during WW2.

 

[yulzari1]

I think that would qualify as a war crime.

Inferior to real Marmite but it will only draw the Japanese on in a fanatical search for more Vegemite fixes if only they can seize bread to toast and generous supplies of butter to complete the delicious ensemble. British units and stores will be especially hard hit as the Japanese prioritise looting real Marmite once they can compare the options.

 

[Julius Vogel]

Inferior to real Marmite but it will only draw the Japanese on in a fanatical search for more Vegemite fixes if only they can seize bread to toast and generous supplies of butter to complete the delicious ensemble. British units and stores will be especially hard hit as the Japanese prioritise looting real Marmite once they can compare the options.

By real Marmite presumably you are referring to the New Zealand kind and not that savoury Nutella rip off the British/my wife profess to love?

 

[Salamander]

Inferior to real Marmite but it will only draw the Japanese on in a fanatical search for more Vegemite fixes if only they can seize bread to toast and generous supplies of butter to complete the delicious ensemble. British units and stores will be especially hard hit as the Japanese prioritise looting real Marmite once they can compare the options.

Only the weak dilute Marmite with toast and butter. True aficionados prefer New Zealand Marmite & eat it by the spoonful.