Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

Ok, this has me stumped. Possibly from a film, but it just seems too weird for that...

The turrets come from pre-war French designs (FT-17, and likely an early Char D1). Tracks look civilan bulldozer though, certainly not the kind of designs the French preferred in the early 30s, which aids the film idea.http://militarymodels.co.nz/wp-conte...s/0001bard.jpg

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

Haven't seen you around here in a while, welcome back :)

The turrets and tracks looks French, but the soldiers look Russian. Maybe some make-shift modification of an early French tank for river-crossing?

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

I am still looking. The tanks look to be French and the guy in front talking to the guy in the German helmet look to be wearing a French uniform.

The front tank looks almost like a WW1 St. Chamond with a Char B 2 turret on it. What looks like a track tensioner mechanism on the end of the side plate is similar ot a WW1 British Whippet tank but the mechanism is different.

Still looking.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

I looked at a number of civlian bulldozers and tracked agricultural vehicles and most have a very different design. The track tensioner mechanism which is the big bolt through the slot at end of side hull makes me think this is a legit military vehicle that has been modified.

Closest thing I can find suspension wise is

a St.Chamond Artillery tractor http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/f...IonFonosch.jpg

Possibly a modified St. Chamond model 1921 http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/france/image4FT.JPG

A CHAR FAMH light tank http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/f...HLightTank.jpg

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

The photograph itself looks like it has had some work done on it, its too high quality to be an unaltered contemporary photograph.

My guess would be its from a film. I don't know enough about the early development of tanks to give an informed opinion about that.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

Yeah, the film idea does seem most likely, there were some magnificent tanks in the early 1930s, but it just seems way too unrealistic to be a film - people know what tanks look like, and these look like nothing else.

The non-flat FT17 turret at the rear (and the bizarrely-high placement of the climbing tail) are also worth considering.

If it was to be historical, I'd say Saarland.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

It looks like some sort of experimental tank that was built with various pieces from other tanks. Where did the image come from?

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

The guy standing second from left on the front vehicle appears to be wearing a WW1 German field cap. That IMHO places this setting in WW1.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

What?

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

I'm saying that the tank looks like it was made using various pieces from other tanks. The turrets are from other French tanks while the hulls and treads are very strange looking.

It might be that these are fictional tanks of sorts used for movies back then?

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

But the German helmets don't have the protruding rivets of WW1 helmets, but are smoother, ie post-WW1. Secondly, the front tank turret was designed in the late 20s/early 30s in various sizes (but the same design).


The picture came from some Russian site with no info. It got reposted on a blog I read, with a request for info - and after a couple of days I turned to here.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

Looks like you were right with the movie prop theory:
UFA-Movie (1930) "Westfront 1918" by G.W. Pabst - Landships WW1 Forum

You can probably find clips of the movie on youtube.

THis seems to be the original source of the picture with a short description:
http://www.bild.bundesarchiv.de/arch...462402/?search

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

I didn't think that it could be a real tank. So it is a movie prop.

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

Well done Fancypants!

:don:

Re: Mystery tanks (for the keenest of tank-spotters)
 

It was not a real tank, but it looks to be possibly based on a military vehicle. I was looking for something like a prime mover or a artillery tractor.