Loading my Sherman M4A3 onto an LCT.

[Adrian Harris]

After nearly 15 years of owning an Armortek Sherman M4A3, I finally managed to get it on an LCT

OK, it's made of concrete, but it's close enough and they were made in 1943 to prepare for the D-Day landings, so it's their 80th birthday this year.

We were attending the VJ Weekend at Cobbaton Combat Collection, Umberleigh, and staying on a camp site just up the road at Braunton.

These LCTs are at Braunton Burrows.

Adrian.

[Adrian Harris]

This was the route taken - just over three quarters of a mile (1.2km) each way.

The 2 x 22Ah Yuasa batteries had been fully charged overnight. The voltage started out at around 24.8v once under way and was down to 23.8v by the time we got to the LCTs and 22.8v once we were back at the van.

The final 300m or so were the hardest, as it spat out one of the end connectors and, although we both searched, we couldn't find it anywhere, so I had to jerry rig the track back together using a track link as an end connector. Not pretty but got us back to the van under battery power and not human power!

Adrian.

[Chris Hall]

I think we’ve got some things like that near us. I’ll check and let you know.

Chris