Barbecue July 27th, 10:00 am to 2 pm.
This is the second fabulous event everyone has been waiting for.
Rain or Shine 
KSM Club Boot Swap & Sell Location
Community Living Trent Highlands
Lower Level Meeting Room
205 McLaughlin Road, Lindsay
Location details: https://kawarthascalemodellers.com/
From original publications and source material:
“It is estimated that there are at present throughout the world about 1,250,000 kilometres of railway track for which approximately 3,000 million railway sleepers (cross-ties) are used, 95 percent of them made of wood. Since railway sleepers are heavy, bulky, and relatively cheap, they do not ordinarily comprise a large portion of the international trade in wood.
Types of railway sleepers – The term railway sleepers refers to the rectangular or approximately rectangular cross-section supports laid transversely on the railway roadbed to support the rails. Railway sleepers used in Europe are almost exclusively of wood and are manufactured either in sawmills or in the forest. Production at the felling site in the forest is gradually declining in importance as a result of the disappearance of skilled labour. Axe-hewn, squared railway sleepers, which are frequently used in the Americas and other parts of the world, are not produced in Europe.
Railway sleepers may be made of hardwoods or softwoods, these being used for different purposes and under different conditions. Hardwood railway sleepers are made chiefly from Oak, Beech, and Hornbeam; softwood railway sleepers are from Scots Pine, Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster), and Larch. In Spain, Eucalyptus is also used to make railway sleepers. Railway sleepers are usually cut from trees of 80 to 120 centimetres in circumference at a height of 1.30 meters from the ground, or from the tops and branches of large trees found in high forest or coppice with standards.
Standard gauge railway sleepers (1.46 meters) used in Europe may be classified into three different categories:
These figures apply to railway sleepers sawn on all four sides. However, a certain amount of latitude is allowed for wane and curvature, there being three or four specifications. There are also the so-called “Swedish” or “Saxon” sleepers, where the upper and lower surfaces are sawn but the sides follow the natural contour of the rough log.
Switch or crossing railway sleepers vary in length from 2.60 m. to 5 m. or more; industrial railway sleepers are 1.80 m. to 2 m., and crossings generally 1.30 m. to 2 m.
The useful life of a railway sleeper depends upon its resistance to fungi, insects, and mechanical pressure. Protection against decay is obtained by impregnating with chemicals. The most widely used impregnating material is creosote, but solutions of copper or zinc salts are also used. By impregnation, the useful life of a railway sleeper can be increased from 5-8 years to 25-30 years. Sleepers must have certain required mechanical properties. Damage to railway sleepers due to mechanical defects has become more frequent because both the weight of the loads carried and the speed of trains has increased. Such mechanical damage consists mainly of crushing, splitting, becoming embedded, etc. “
The railway sleeper market from 1918 to 1939.
Data on international trade in railway sleepers between World Wars I and II can be found in the yearbooks of the Comité International du Bois, published first at Vienna and later at Brussels; in the publications of the International Institute of Agriculture, and in Silvae Orbis, referred to in Tables below.
IMPORTS OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS
| Country | 1926-28 Average | 1931-33 Average | 1936-38 Average |
| 1000 m³ (s) | |||
| Belgium-Luxembourg | 67 | 38 | 84 |
| Czechoslovakia | 35 | 1 | 12 |
| Denmark | 24 | 15 | 6 |
| France | 16 | 76 | 8 |
| Germany | 411 | 17 | 69 |
| Greece | 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Hungary | 57 | 7 | 34 |
| Netherlands | 72 | 77 | 76 |
| Spain | 160 | 30 | … |
| Switzerland | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 346 | 337 | 540 |
| China | 41 | 135 | 105 |
| Canada | 51 | 24 | 20 |
| United States | 94 | 37 | 32 |
| TOTAL | 1,386 | 803 | 993 |
SOURCE: Walter Grottian, “Die Umsatzmengen im Weltholzhandel 1925-1938” Silvae Orbit, Berlin: C.I.S., 1942, pp. 140-141. Computed from yearly figures.
EXPORTS OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS
| Country | 1926-28 Average | 1931-33 Average | 1936-38 Average |
| 1000 m³ (s) | |||
| Austria | 87 | 3 | 13 |
| Czechoslovakia | 30 | … | 2 |
| Finland | 16 | 1 | 7 |
| France | 119 | 28 | 93 |
| Germany | 49 | 34 | 3 |
| Poland | 364 | 157 | 255 |
| Rumania | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| Sweden | 47 | 19 | 11 |
| Yugoslavia | 281 | 80 | 90 |
| Baltic States1 | 15 | 47 | 144 |
| U.S.S.R. | 96 | 282 | 186 |
| Canada | 115 | 67 | 92 |
| United States | 336 | 153 | 173 |
| Turkey | 9 | 1 | … |
| TOTAL | 1,567 | 874 | 1,096 |
SOURCE: Walter Grottian, “Die Umsatzmengen im Weltholzhandel 1925-1938,” Silvae Orbis, Berlin: C.I.S. 1942, pp. 140-141. Computed from yearly figures.
The principal exporting countries were Poland, Yugoslavia, the Baltic countries, Rumania, and Soviet Russia. The U.S.S.R. exported as much as 579,000 m³ (s) of railway sleepers in 1930. The United States of America exported large quantities to the European market. France had some exports but was a net importing country. Its exports of hardwood railway sleepers went mainly to Belgium, with lesser quantities to the Netherlands and the French colonies; softwood railway sleepers were shipped principally to the United Kingdom and in small quantities to Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
European imports attained a maximum figure of 1,653,000 m³ (s) in 1930 and decreased thereafter. This drop in trade corresponds to a general worldwide trend. Railway sleepers constituted 2.5 percent of all timber exports in 1929 but only 1.9 percent in 1937.
International Crosstie Market after World War II
During the War, most European countries were unable to carry out much track maintenance or lay new railway sleepers. Consequently, the railway sleeper market was quiet and countries attempted to supply their own needs from domestic production. Owing to shortages of chemical products, few impregnated sleepers were used.
After the end of World War 2, there was a great demand for railway sleepers, due not only to deferred maintenance requirements and the need for replacement of non-treated railway sleepers which had deteriorated rapidly but also to the vast amount of destruction caused in the last year of the war by military action. Such destruction particularly affected France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Soviet Russia, but there was also a considerable amount of damage in Africa, from Morocco to Egypt.
REQUIREMENTS OF WOODEN RAILWAY SLEEPERS AFTER THE 2ND WORLD WAR
| Country | Requirements | ||||
| Length of railway lines | Railway sleepers | Round wood | |||
| Requirements | km. | in thousands | 1000 m³ | ||
| Germany: French zone | 7,200 | 200 | 28 | ||
| Austria | 7,500 | 1,100 | 150 | ||
| Belgium | 8,000 | 1,500 | 1 215 | ||
| Denmark | 3,000 | 455 | 1 65 | ||
| France | 62,000 | 7,700 | 1,100 | ||
| Italy | 20,500 | ² 3,500 | 500 | ||
| Luxembourg | 500 | 41 | 6 | ||
| Norway | 5,000 | 450 | 1 65 | ||
| Netherlands | 5,000 | ³ 1,000 | 1 143 | ||
| Poland | 35,000 | 3,000 | 1 430 | ||
| Czechoslovakia | 14,900 | 1,700 | 240 | ||
| Subtotal | 168,600 | 20,646 | 2,942 | ||
| Average per km. | 122,5 | 16,3 | |||
| Requirements unknown | |||||
| Germany: | |||||
| Bizone | 36,000 | ||||
| Soviet zone | 15,700 | ||||
| Bulgaria | 3,400 | ||||
| Greece | 1,500 | ||||
| Hungary | 8,500 | ||||
| Rumania | 10,500 | ||||
| Sweden | 8,400 | ||||
| Switzerland | 4,300 | ||||
| Yugoslavia | 10,100 | ||||
| Subtotal | 98,400 | 4 1,600 | |||
| Total | 267,000 | 4,542 | |||
| United Kingdom | 59,100 | 5 4,000 | 570 | ||
| GRAND TOTAL | 326,100 | 5,112 | |||
EXPORTS OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS AFTER THE 2ND WORLD WAR
| Exporting country | 1946 | 1947 | Jan.-June 1948 | |
| 1000 m³ (s) | ||||
| Austria | – | – | – | |
| Czechoslovakia | – | 27 | 4,9 | |
| Finland | 2 | 13 | 1,0 | |
| France | 9 | 19 | 15,1 | |
| Germany: | ||||
| British zone | – | – | – | |
| French zone | … | … | … | |
| American zone | … | … | … | |
| Russian zone | … | … | … | |
| Norway | * | * | – | |
| Poland | – | – | 1- | |
| Portugal | … | … | – | |
| Sweden | 52 | ²36 | 12,7 | |
| Switzerland | * | … | … | |
| Yugoslavia | … | … | … | |
| Other European countries | +10 | … | … | |
| U.S.S.R. | … | … | … | |
| Canada | 113 | 222 | 188,5 | |
| U.S.A. | +63 | ³410 | 124,7 | |
| TOTAL | 249 | … | … | |
SOURCE: FAO/ECE, Timber Statistics for the Years 1946-1947, Geneva, March 1948, and Timber Statistics, Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 2, Geneva, October 1948.
IMPORTS OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS AFTER THE 2ND WORLD WAR
| Importing country | 1946 | 1947 | Jan.-June 1948 |
| 1000 m³ (s) | |||
| Belgium | 36 | 35 | 1,5 |
| Denmark | 12 | 9 | 7,0 |
| France | 21 | 82 | 22,3 |
| Greece | * | 1 | 0,7 |
| Hungary | 2 | 6 | 23,0 |
| Italy | – | – | 28,9 |
| Netherlands | 48 | 80 | 120,9 |
| Poland | – | 1 | … |
| Switzerland | * | 1 | 7,7 |
| United Kingdom | 84 | 297 | 120,1 |
| Other European countries | 3 | 14 | 16,0 |
| Egypt | +14 | … | 13,0 |
| Other Middle East countries | * | … | * |
| French North Africa | +6 | … | … |
| TOTAL | 226 | – | … |
SOURCE: FAO/ECE, Timber Statistics for the Years 1946-1947, Geneva, March 1948, and Timber Statistics, Quarterly Bulletin, Vol. I, No. 2, Geneva, October 1948.
United States exports started expanding in April 1947, particularly when non-treated railway sleepers were eliminated from the list of controlled export commodities and were placed on the list of commodities requiring only a license.
Treated railway sleepers remained on the controlled list, and in 1947 only one million treated sleepers were exported.
In the first quarter of 1948, United States exports of treated and non-treated railway sleepers amounted to 23.6 million board feet – a monthly average of approximately half of that for the year 1947.
UNITED STATES EXPORTS OF RAILWAY SLEEPERS – ANNUAL AVERAGE 1935-1939
| Country of destination | Quantity | Value | ||||
| Treated sleepers | Non-treated sleepers | Total | Treated sleepers | Non-treated sleepers | Total | |
| 1000 board feet | dollars | |||||
| China | * | 36,459 | 36,459 | * | 480,090 | 480,090 |
| Canada | 5,581 | 1,573 | 7,151 | 225,370 | 41,006 | 266,376 |
| Guatemala | 5,155 | * | 5,155 | 159,092 | * | 159,092 |
| Costa Rica | 3,767 | 2 | 3,769 | 129,223 | 39 | 129,268 |
| Peru | 107 | 3,535 | 3,642 | 1,942 | 104,146 | 106,088 |
| Honduras | 3,515 | 5 | 3,520 | 105,404 | 107 | 105,511 |
| Cuba | 2,216 | 15 | 2,231 | 83,377 | 374 | 83,761 |
| Mexico | 973 | 1,181 | 2,154 | 40,270 | 30,589 | 70,859 |
| Panama | 1,964 | 1 | 1,965 | 74,704 | 56 | 74,760 |
| Venezuela | 214 | 37 | 251 | 6,754 | 776 | 7,529 |
| Netherlands | * | 184 | 184 | * | 2,060 | 2,060 |
| United Kingdom | 99 | 37 | ||||
John (Barney) Hines
The extraordinary apocryphal tale of Private, No 2296, John (Barney) Hines, of the Australian Imperial Force, 45th Battalion.
Photo: September 27, 1917.
A great coffee read. 
The Story
‘Barney’ Hines was also a kleptomaniac who became known in the trenches as the “Souvenir King”. But he was one of the bravest soldiers at the front and would have been decorated many times had it not been for his lack of military discipline.
He earned his nickname because of his incurable habit of hijacking medals, badges, rifles, helmets, and watches from the bodies of the German dead – and, in some cases, of those he captured.
He brought the Kaiser’s wrath down upon his head when a photographer took a picture of him on September 27, 1917, showing him surrounded by some of his loot after the Third Battle of Ypres. Prints were circulated among the Diggers, and inevitably some fell into the hands of German soldiers – from whence they made their way to the infuriated Kaiser.
Born in Liverpool, England, in 1873, Barney Hines was always a rebel. Of Irish descent, he ran away to enlist in the army at the age of 14 but was
dragged home by his mother.
Two years later he joined the Royal Navy and saw action during the Boxer Rebellion when he served on a gunboat chasing pirates in the China Sea.
Discharged the following year, he went gold-seeking around the world and was in South Africa when the Boer War broke out. He served throughout it as a scout with various British units.
His lust for gold continued, and he searched for it in the US, South America and New Zealand. But he was working in a sawmill in Australia when World War I broke out in August 1914. Despite being in his early 40s, he immediately tried to enlist, but was turned down on medical grounds. Undeterred, he haunted recruiting centres until he was accepted to serve in France in 1916 as part of reinforcement for the 45th Battalion.
And, once in France, the legend of this huge, powerful man who never showed fear, began.
He generally disdained conventional weapons such as his .303 rifle, preferring to go into action with two sandbags packed with Mills bombs.
His commanding officer had a brain wave and gave him a Lewis gun, which was an immediate success. Hines was entranced by its spraying effect and announced in his broad Liverpudlian accent: “This thing’ll do me. You can hose the bastards down”.
Another nickname he earned was Wild Eyes and at a later date, the commanding officer was heard to say: “I always felt secure when Wild Eyes was about. He was a tower of strength in the line- I don’t think he knew what fear was, and he naturally inspired confidence in officers and men”. One of Hines’ pastimes was prowling around collecting prisoners and looting with enthusiasm.
On one occasion, annoyed at the sniper fire from a German pill-box, he ran straight at it, leapt on its roof and performed a war dance while taunting the Germans to come out. When they failed to comply, Hines lobbed a couple of Mills bombs through the gun port. A few minutes later, the 63 Germans who had survived staggered out with their hands above their heads.
Hines collected his “souvenirs” before herding his prisoners back to the Australian lines.
Another time he came across a battered German dressing station. Creeping in, he found the surgeon standing over the operating table and, on tapping him on the shoulder, Hines was amazed to watch him topple over – dead from a shell splinter in the heart. Only one man had survived – ironically a wounded Tommy who was on a stretcher on the floor out of the blast. Picking the man up as if he were an infant, Hines carried him towards safety, but he died before reaching the allied lines. Hines lowered him gently to the ground -then returned to the loot in the dressing room.
His booty wasn’t confined to portable keepsakes. At Villers-Bretonneux he liberated a piano, which he managed to keep for several days until he was persuaded to give it away.
On another occasion, he scored a grandfather clock, which he carried back to the trenches. But, after its hourly chimes were found to attract German fire, his mates blew it up with – what else? — a Mills bomb.
In Armentieres he came across a keg of Bass, which he started to roll towards the battalion. He was stopped by military police and told not to go any further with it. Unfazed, Hines left the keg and went ahead to round up fellow Diggers, who returned to drink it on the spot.
When the AIF reached Amiens they found the beautiful Cathedral City deserted. It was too much for Hines. He disappeared and was finally sprung by British military police in the vaults of the Bank of France, where he had already squirrelled away millions of francs, packed neatly in suitcases.
He was hauled off for questioning by the British, who, nonplussed on what to do with the reprobate, returned him to his unit. Later he was to boast that the escapade had cost him no more than 14 days’ pay and that he had been allowed to keep the banknotes he had stuffed into his pockets.
But for all his incorrigibility, he was outstanding, if an unpredictable soldier who managed to capture 10 German soldiers single-handed.
There were some near misses, too. At Passchendaele, he was the only survivor of a direct hit on the Lewis gun nest. Blasted 20 feet (ca. 6 m) and with the soles of his boots blown off, he crawled back, got the gun working and continued firing until he fainted from wounds in his legs.
Hines was also renowned for the party he held at Villers-Bretonneux after he found a cache of 1870 champagne and tinned delicacies. His mates were all decked out in top hats and dress suits, which he had also acquired. It was to be his last party for some time. Just after it ended he scored a bullet wound over his eye, another in his leg and a whiff of gas. Despite protests, he was hospitalized at Etaples, being almost blinded.
A few nights later the Germans bombed the hospital, causing 3000 casualties. Hines hauled himself out of bed, found a broom which he used as a crutch and spent all night carrying the wounded and dying to safety.
After that he was invalided home and, in the ensuing years, despite his wounds, he worked as a drover, shearer, prospector, and timber cutter. He volunteered for World War II and, when he was turned down – he was now in his 60s – he stowed away on a troopship. He was caught before the vessel got through the Heads and put ashore.
After a colourful life, Barney Hines died, penniless, in the Concord Repatriation Hospital, Sydney, on January 30, 1958, aged 84.
Author Unknown: Image Source Unknown: Colourized by Doug
Great colourization. Gotta luv the tracks. 
Moving out of harm’s way17 pdr. gun) of ‘B’ Squadron of the East Riding Yeomanry, 33rd Armoured Brigade, came to a halt at the Esso Petrol station on the ‘Wilhelmina-Square’, October, 1944, Den Bosch, Noord-Brabant Province, The Netherlands.
Mr. Jo Van der Sande, a native of Den Bosch (‘s Hertogenbosch) and his daughters Toos (4 y.o.) and Coletta (5 y.o.), take advantage of a lull in the fighting to flee their home in the fiercely fought-over ‘Lombok’ district with his family. They seek a safe haven in the now liberated city center via the ‘Wilhelminaplein’.
British army photographer Peter Handford later recalled that he was completely stunned when suddenly next to a Sherman tank the man (and his wife) appeared with two daughters under his arm. Handford made one of the most extraordinary photos of his career.Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Source: IWM
Photo: Peter Handford
The (unconfirmed) information I managed to find concerning this photo states that the smiling US soldier was from the 104th Infantry Division and his name was Private E. J. Johnson, a native of Muskegon, Michigan. He is being carried to the rear by German POW’s under armed escort.
Original: US Army
Supposedly, on February 23, 1945, the first day of Operation Grenade (the crossing of the Roer river by the US 9th Army), Johnson was wounded when, after crossing the river, a German mortar round exploded close to him, riddling his shoulder and arm with shrapnel. His helmet also took at least one hit; the entering and exit holes clearly visible.
The reason why Private Johnson survived the mortar round without a serious head wound had of course much to do with sheer luck, but the advanced design of the US Army’s M1 Steel Helmet also had an important role in the outcome.
Unlike the German steel helmet or other Allied helmets, which had a (mostly) leather inner-liner designed mainly with comfort and proper fitting in mind, the American M1 had a liner in the shape of the steel outer shell, made, in early batches, of resin-impregnated cotton canvas, and from November 1942 onward, of plastic. This liner worked as a second protective layer that, depending on the angle of entry, was able to deflect projectiles and protect the skull from injury.
It’s estimated that approximately 80% of the Russian male population born in 1923 perished in WWII. Noting how Soviet underreporting was rampant, the figure may be much higher.
Modelling is an interesting hobby because of varying interest levels. When sailors of old ventured beyond the charted world… here be dragons.
Some modellers are happy to assemble a favourite vehicle, aircraft, ship, submarine, historical or fantasy figure and paint it a generic service or theme-appropriate colour.
Many modellers like to explore the vast array of modelling products on the market. Painting vehicles using factory-supplied colour callouts, and following step-by-step instructions in HowTo books; modelling takes on a paint-by-number and talent in a bottle approach. To many modellers, this is an acceptable, preferred method.
Others study more advanced skillsets, plateauing at master levels, finding comfort and confidence in knowing what they know, repeating similar processes on each model. Once established, risk aversion is a powerful influencer to colour within the lines.
Modelling innovators who push hobby boundaries find themselves sailing beyond the charted world… here be dragons. Everything is new… always a beginner.
ICM offers the Panhard 178 designated as the Panzerspähwagen P 204(f) under German Service during WWII. This excellent German Armoured Railway Car appeals to military train and armoured train enthusiasts alike. A section of European Gauge railway tracks is included in the kit.
Panhard, Berliet, Latil and Renault had acted upon the request for proposals for an armoured car of 4 tons, an operational range of 400km with a maximum speed of 70km/h.
In October 1933 Panhard’s ‘Automitrailleuse de Découverte Panhard Modèle 1935’ (the official designation of the vehicle) was completed and by 1934 Panhard won the bid after trials.
The selected armoured car prototype, the ‘Panhard Voiture spéciale type 178’ or ‘Panhard 178’, weighed in at 8 tons, with an operating range of 300km.
The ‘Panhard 178’ was a 4×4 vehicle with a forward and backward-facing driver’s seat, a distinguishing feature at the time.
The captured Panhards were used as ‘Panzerspähwagen’, or reconnaissance vehicles attached to armoured divisions. In total 40 of all 190 captured vehicles were modified to receive railway wheels and classified as ‘Schienenpanzer’ or ‘Eisenbahnschutzfahrzeuge’. In total there were 729 units built, including 176 during the German occupation in 1940.
The Panzerspähwagen with the German Tube Communication Antenna was used extensively on the Eastern Front.
The most numerous and perfect WWII French armoured vehicle was the AMD-35. It was designed by Panhard Company as reconnaissance vehicle for cavalry.
It’s serial production was launched in 1934. It was named Panhard 178. Thоse vehicles had rear engines and all-wheel drive. Their main armament was the 25 mm anti-tank gun. There were produced 551 vehicles up to 1940.
As part of the French Army cavalry units, Panhard 178 took part in combats in the spring of 1940. More than 200 vehicles were captured by the German army and under the designation Pz.späh.204 (f) used in the Wehrmacht. 43 vehicles were converted to railcars for BP 42 armoured trains.
The turrets of the Panhard saw many modifications during production runs and batch orders and care must be taken with its design. The kit includes the late APX3 turret type with a rearview episcope in the rear hatch of the turret, other than simple vision slits as present in earlier turret versions, and two Gundlach periscopes on the roof, also typical for late production turrets.
The interior may be hidden or shown, as this vehicle has a lot of hatches and big doors, a lot can be visible of the interior. This leaves room for internal modifications and additions to all advanced modellers. This is especially true for the engine compartment.
WWII German Armoured Vehicle Panzerspähwagen P 204(f) Railway
ICM Instructions
This is the account of the experiences of TIGER 231 of the 503th Heavy Tank Battalion, 13rd Armored Regiment Company, part of a German counter-attack on a Collective Farm west of Ssemernikovo, on the outskirts of Rostov, Russia, February 11-12, 1943.
The tank received 252 hits from different Red Army caliber guns.
After the fight at Siemiernikowo, the damaged TIGER I managed to drive 60 km and returned to the unit.
The tank was returned to German for repairs.
After Action Report | February 11-12, 1943
On February 11-12, 1943, the Kampfgruppe Sander Tigers of the 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion took part in a German counterattack on a collective farm west of Ssemernikovo, on the outskirts of Rostov.
The Kolkhoz defences were well prepared, the Tigers spearheading the attack came under withering fire from well dug-in artillery, tank and self-propelled anti-tank gun positions.
One of the TIGER I tanks advancing on the farm was that of the acting platoon commander, Leutnant Zabel.
Leutnant Zabel… reported this attack near Ssemernikovo kolkhoz, on February 11-12, 1943:
The Tiger attacking as an advance platoon left the lighter tanks behind, and attracted all the enemy fire.
The tanks received hits on the front and to the right-hand side. The enemy, with tanks, AT guns and AT rifles opened fire at a great distance.
My Tiger received a 7.62cm hit in the front of the driver’s position. The spare track links fixed there with an iron rod were ripped off. In the tank we noticed a bang and a slight shaking. The nearer we came, the stronger the bangs and shaking from the 7.62cm hits became.
At the same time we noticed considerably high dust clouds from artillery ground impacts near the tank.
Further on, the crew noticed a somewhat lighter bang followed by a burst of yellow smoke, most likely a hit from an AT rifle.
A short time later we received a hit from a 4.5cm AT gun on the cupola.
The brackets of the bullet-proof glass were smashed. The glass vision block jammed and became opaque caused by heat from the explosion.
A further hit destroyed the brackets and the hatch fell into the turret interior. There was dense smoke in the fighting compartment and the area became very hot.
The loader’s hatch was jammed and stood slightly open and it received a number of hits from AT rifles demolishing the hinges and brackets.
After the battle two 4.5cm AT guns and 15 AT rifle hits were counted on the cupola.
On both days of the attack the enemy destroyed our machine guns. The smoke dischargers on the turret were also destroyed.
The smoke in the turret caused so much trouble that the Tiger was not ready for action for some time… …all crew members nerves were frayed, we lost our sense of time.
We felt neither hunger nor any other needs. Despite the fact that the attack lasted for more than six hours, all men in the tank felt the time had gone by in a flash.
After a further 7.62cm hit on the mantlet the gun mounting bolts sheared off.
The recoil brake lost its fluid and the gun barrel remained in rear (recoiled) position. Due to electric problems the breech block could not be shut.
Due to shocks inflicted by further hits the radio system failed and the steering levers were jammed.
When the exhaust cover was destroyed, the engine caught fire. This fire could be extinguished by the fire-fighting system.
Further hits loosened some turret ring screws. The turret traversing system failed temporarily…
We counted 227 hits by AT rifles, 14 hits by 5.7cm AT guns and 11 hits by 7.62cm AT guns.
The right suspension was heavily damaged by shelling. The connecting pieces for several running wheels were ruined, two torsion bars were broken. A rear idler wheel bearing was damaged.
In spite of this damage, the Tiger was able to be driven for further 60km.
The hits inflicted cracks to some weld seams. A fuel tank began leaking due to the heavy shocks.
We noticed a number of impacts in the track links, which however did not particularly impair mobility.
Subsequently, it can be said that the armour on the Tiger had come up to our expectations.
— Signed, Lt. Zabel
In 1943, Simmering-Graz-Pauker (SGP) in Vienna, Austria was tasked by the Heereswaffenamt (HWA, German Army Weapons Agency) to develop a new main tank engine for the Heer (German Army). The requested engine was an air-cooled diesel that would only require minor modifications to be interchangeable with the existing engine installed in various German tanks.
The existing engine was the liquid-cooled Maybach HL230 V-12 that produced 690 hp at 3,000 rpm and displaced 1,409 cu in (23.1 L). However, reliability issues with the HL230 limited the engine to 2,500 rpm and 600 hp (447 kW).
The demand for an air-cooled diesel was dictated by Adolf Hitler, and SGP was to work closely with Porsche GmbH to develop the new engine.
Front view of the basic Simmering-Graz-Pauker Sla 16 engine without the airbox, turbochargers, or cooling fans. The intake manifolds and some baffling can be seen in the 45-degee Vee formed by the cylinders. Note that the intake ports are on the top of the cylinders.
Led by Ferdinand Porsche, the Porsche design and consulting firm had experience with air-cooled engines and took on the brunt of the preliminary design work for the new engine. Ferdinand Porsche had been discussing tanks and diesel tank engines with Hitler since 1942.
Designed by Porsche’s Paul Netzker, the new engine was an X-16 (16 Cylinders) layout consisting of four banks of four cylinders. The cylinder banks were spaced 135 degrees apart on the top and bottom and 45 degrees apart on the sides. The engine was issued Porsche designation Type 203, SGP Sla 16.
The Simmering-Graz-Pauker Sla 16 was made of a sheet steel crankcase and used a single crankshaft with four master connecting rods. Three articulating connecting rods attached to each master rod. The cylinders were comprised of a substantially finned aluminum cylinder head screwed onto a finned, steel cylinder barrel. At the front of each cylinder bank was an injection pump that fed fuel to that bank’s cylinders. The fuel injector was positioned in the cylinder head and angled toward the 135-degree side of the cylinder. At the base of each cylinder bank was a camshaft positioned on the 135-degree side. The four camshafts were driven from the rear of the engine and operated the two valves per cylinder via pushrods and rockers. The intake and exhaust ports were located on the 45-degree side of the cylinders, with the intake port on the top of the cylinder.
Transverse cross section of the Sla 16 illustrates the engine’s X configuration and the drive for the cooling fans. Note the master and articulated connecting rods and the four exhaust manifolds in the left side of the drawing.
Induction air was drawn in through a large filter placed above the engine. The air then flowed through twin turbochargers located at the engine’s rear. Two separate intake manifolds branched out from each turbocharger, with one manifold supplying the upper cylinder bank and the other manifold supplying the lower cylinder bank. The exhaust from two cylinders was paired in a single manifold so that each side of the engine had four exhaust manifolds leading to the turbocharger. The turbochargers were made by Brown Boveri and spun at a maximum of 28,000 rpm. The boost from the turbochargers was conservative at 7.3 psi (.5 bar).
To cool the engine, a fan was placed above and outside each of the two upper cylinder banks. The fans extracted warm air out from between the tight, 45-degree cylinder bank sections, which were closely baffled. As a result, cool air was drawn in through the cylinders’ cooling fins and into the 45-degree Vee. Each fan was driven via a beveled gear shaft that extended from the cooling fan to the rear of the engine. Here, an enclosed drive shaft with two universal joints and beveled gears took power from the crankshaft at the extreme rear of the engine and powered the shafts that led to the fans. The cooling fans were developed by FKFS (Forschungsinstitut für Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart or Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart). The fans were 20.5 in (520 mm) in diameter and operated at 2.05 times crankshaft speed. Two oil coolers flanked each engine cooling fan.
Without all of the engine’s accessories, the drive for the cooling fans can be seen protruding from the back of the Sla 16 engine. The push rod tubes and fuel injectors are visible on the far cylinder bank. The four passageways in the rear baffle are for the exhaust manifolds.
Helical gears increased the speed of the Sla 16’s output shaft to 1.5 times crankshaft speed. The speed increase was needed because of the operating speed difference between the Sla 16 and the Maybach HL230. In order to be a direct replacement, the 2,000 rpm Sla 16 needed to have an output speed multiplier to match the 3,000 rpm HL230. Since the Sla 16’s crankshaft was in the middle of the engine’s X configuration, the step-up gears also lowered the output shaft to align with the existing transmission used with the V-12 HL230.
The Sla 16 had a 14.5 to 1 compression ratio, a 5.3 in (135 mm) bore, and a 6.3 in (160 mm) stroke. The engine’s total displacement was 2,236 cu in (36.6 L). The Sla 16 was forecasted to produce 750 hp (559 kW) at 2,000 rpm. With the cooling fans, the complete engine was approximately 5.5 ft (1.68 m) long, 8.2 ft (2.50 m) wide, and 3.8 ft (1.15 m) tall. The Sla 16 weighed 4,960 lb (2,250 kg).
By late 1943, a single-cylinder 140 cu in (2.3 L) test engine had been built and designated Type 192. The Type 192 engine passed a 48-hour test run on 6 November 1943. The single cylinder engine produced 47 hp (35 kW) at 2,100 rpm, which scaled to an output of 752 hp (561 kW) for the complete 16-cylinder engine. The listed output did not take into consideration the power needed to drive the cooling fans. With favorable results from the Type 192 tests, work moved forward on the full-size Sla 16 X-16 engine.
Rear view of the complete Sla 16. The airbox on the top of the engine fed air into the turbochargers via a bifurcated manifold. Note the oil coolers and cooling fans. The enclosed drive shafts for the cooling fans can been seen below the turbocharger exhaust outlets.
The first Sla 16 engine was tested in late 1944 and produced 770 hp (574 kW) at 2,200 rpm without the cooling fans. It took around 95 hp (71 kW) to drive the cooling fans, which reduced the engine’s output to 685 hp (511 kW). On 10 January 1945, two Sla 16 test engines had completed a combined 300 hours of test operation. Porsche’s involvement with the engine had essentially stopped by this time.
Plans were made for Sla 16 production to start in June 1945 at the Steyr-Daimler-Puch factory in Austria. Steyr-Daimler-Puch was producing Daimler-Benz DB 603 engines (although the factory built DB 605s from October 1942 to October 1943), and production of the DB 603 would give way for the Sla 16. Some changes were incorporated into the Sla 16 production engines, such as the use of two fuel injection pumps rather than the four pumps used on the prototype engines. It is possible that the production engines carried the Porsche Type 220 designation. However, the Sla 16 engine never entered production because of the German surrender in May 1945.
A Sla 16 engine was reportedly installed in the chassis of the experimental Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B (Tank Hunter Tiger Variant B or Jagdtiger, Hunting Tiger) and underwent some feasibility tests. Initially, the lower cylinder banks ran hot, but modifications to the cooling fans and air baffles resolved the issue. In addition, a Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B (Armored Fighting Vehicle Tiger Variant B), or Tiger II, was modified to accept a Sla 16 engine and waited for the engine’s installation. However, the installation was never completed. The engine was also proposed for the VK 45.02 P2 (Porsche Type 181C), which was never built. The majority of Sla 16 parts, tooling, and equipment were captured by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.
The left image (engine inverted) shows the camshaft drives at the rear of the engine. In the center image (engine upright), the engine’s output can be seen below the crankshaft. The right image (engine almost inverted) displays the cylinder’s valves. The exhaust ports on the side of the cylinders are easily seen, while the intake ports on the top of the cylinders have been covered.
In late 1943, FKFS contemplated using the 140 cu in (2.3 L) cylinder from the Sla 16 as the starting point for a new tank engine to power the proposed Panzerkampfwagen Panther II. The FKFS engine consisted of two V-12 engines mounted 90-degrees apart on a common crankcase. The 24-cylinder engine would have displaced 3,354 cu in (55.0 L) and produced 1,100 hp (820 kW). Four engine-driven, FKFS cooling fans would have been installed, with two above each V-12 engine section. The FKFS 24-cylinder engine project did not progress beyond the drawing board, and the Panther II was never built.
A larger version of the X-16 engine was investigated under the Porsche Type 212 designation. This engine had a 5.9 in (150 mm) bore and a 6.7 in (170 mm) stroke. Total displacement of the Type 212 was 2,933 cu in (48 L), and the engine was forecasted to produce 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) at 2,500 rpm. A 183 cu in (3.0 L), single-cylinder test engine was evaluated as the Type 213, but it does not appear that the tests were completed or that a complete Type 212 engine was built. The Type 212 was proposed to power the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus (Porsche Type 205), but the engine was rejected by Albert Speer, the Minister of Armaments.
The Sla 16 engine under test in late 1944 without cooling fans or turbochargers. However, the test equipment most likely provided forced induction.
Notes: Sources are split on the Porsche Type designation for the 750 hp (559 kW) Sla 16. Many refer to the engine as the Type 203, and just as many use Type 212. In addition, Type 180, 181, 192, and 220 are also used. Type 180 was a tank design (VK 45.02 P) that originally used Porsche’s Type 101 V-10 engine. Type 181 was the same tank reengined with the Sla 16 after the V-10 encountered problems. As mentioned in the article, Type 192 was a single-cylinder test engine for the Sla 16. Since Type 213 was a single-cylinder test engine for the larger X-16, it makes sense for the larger X-16 to be Type 212. This leaves Type 203 as the logical choice for the Sla 16. As stated in the article, Type 220 may have been the production version of the Sla 16.
Furthermore, a number of sources list the larger, 1,500 hp (1,119 kW) engine as an X-18. However, there can be no X-18 engine; to add up to a total of 18 cylinders, two banks would need to have five cylinders each, and two banks would need to have four cylinders each. Such an armament would be ill-advised. Most likely, “X-16” was either mistyped or misread as “X-18” on some scarce document captured at the end of World War II, and the misnomer stuck. However.
Lastly, the Porsche Type 181B (VK 45.02 P2) tank design was to be powered by two 16-cylinder engines. The 16-cylinder engine was an air-cooled diesel that produced 370 hp (276 kW) at 2,000 rpm. Reportedly, the design of this engine was a collaboration with Deutz. Some sources indicate the engine was a V-16, while others state it was an X-16. It is not clear whether the smaller 16-cylinder engine had anything in common with the Sla 16 or what its Type number was. The small 16-cylinder engine had a 4.3 in (110 mm) bore, a 5.1 in (130 mm) stroke, and a total displacement of 1,206 cu in (19.8 L). The small 16-cylinder engine was never built.
General arrangement drawing of the Sla 16 engine.
Sources:
Professor Porsche’s Wars by Karl Ludvigsen (2014)
Der Panzer-Kampfwagen Tiger und seine Abarten by Walter J. Spielberger (1998)
AFV Weapons Profile: Elefant and Maus (+ E-100) by Walter J. Spielberger and John Milsom (October 1973)
Wunibald I. E. Kamm – Wegbereiter der modernen Kraftfahrtechnik by Jurgen Potthoff and Ingobert C. Schmid (2012)
Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich by Neil Gregor (1998)
https://vk.com/page-39215368_53036748
http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/11/25/maus-engine-by-captiannemo/
http://www.alanhamby.com/maybach.shtml
