Revealed: The astonishing D-Day tanks found at the bottom of the English Channel

Daily Mail ^ | 05th August 2008 | DEBRA KILLALEA

[DemonDeac]

"Scuba divers searching for hidden treasures at the bottom of the English Channel got more than they bargained for when they stumbled across two massive army tanks on the ocean floor."

"Divers found the massive vehicles were relatively well preserved with guns still intact even after more than 64 years under sea.

And by painstakingly checking minute details on the sunken vehicles against historical records, investigators managed to identify them as rare British Centaur CS IV tanks.

The historic weapons were destined for battle during the D-Day landings but never arrived.

Historians discovered the tanks fell overboard when a landing craft capsized on its way to the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944."

[DemonDeac]

Didn't see this posted. Pretty cool.

[Old Mountain man]

It is. I believe they should be allowed to remain on the bottom unless it can be proved that the crews got out.

[ken21]

would the crews ride in the tanks on the ships?

[Pontiac]

I believe they should be allowed to remain on the bottom unless it can be proved that the crews got out.

If the bodies could be recovered with the tanks the families of the honored dead may appreciate giving the heroes a long overdue funeral.

[DuncanWaring]

Considering they were in landing craft on the way to the beach, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suppose the crews were already in the tanks.

[DemonDeac]

The article says they were eight miles from the West Sussex Coast. I think it would be reasonable to assume that they might not have got in yet. West Sussex is a long way from where they landed.

[Pontiac]

Centaur C.S. MK.IV, British Cruiser Tank MK.VIII A27L 95mm Howitzer The Rolls Royce Meteor engine that the Cromwell was designed around wasn’t yet available so Liberty engines were installed and the tank became a Centaur. This engine was so poorly made that with any speed it shook itself apart so it was kept for training. Still not a Meteor but upgraded engines were placed in about 80 Centaurs and used very successfully by the Royal Marines Armored Support Group on D-Day. Their 95mm Howitzer was used to destroy beach obstacles and pillboxes.

Centaur C.S. MK.IV, British Cruiser Tank MK.VIII, A27L 95mm Howitzer On D-day while in landing craft the Royal Marines Armored Support Group 1st Armored Support Regiment, 2nd Battery, H Troop Centaurs fired at beach obstacles and bunkers and ashore provided infantry fire support. The white degree markings around the turret made it possible for shipboard spotters using binoculars to align the 95mm Howitzer with a target even if it was obscured by dense smoke. Disregarding orders to remain on the beaches the RMASG moved inland to support troops. Several weeks later with beaches secured the Centaurs were withdrawn to England.

Specifications

Vehicle Type: Centaur C.S. (Close Support) MK.IV, British Cruiser Tank MK.VIII, A27L 95mm Howitzer WD # T185363

Manufacturer: WD # : T185363 – T186510 Centaur C.S. MK.IV (CS tanks by John Fowler & Co.)

Production: English-Electric – 156 Harland & Wolff - 125 John Fowler & Co. – 529 with 80 being 95mm Leyland Motors – 643 LMS Railway Co. – 45 Morris Motors – 138 Nuffield M&A – 150 Ruston-Bucyrus – 35 Total 1821

Crew: 5

Weight: 28 tons

Length: 6.4 m / 21 ft

Width: 2.91 m / 9 ft 6 in

Height: 2.44 m / 8 ft

Armor: Turret – front 15 cm / 5.9 in, side 12 cm / 4.7 in, rear 12 cm / 4.7 in Hull – front 18 cm / 7 in, side 8 cm / 3.1 in, rear 6 cm / 2.36 in

Armament: 1 x 95mm Mark I Howitzer (51 rounds) 1 x 7.92mm Besa Mk.II Machine Guns (Besa Mk 2 coaxial) - 4,950 rounds

Powerplant: Nuffield Liberty 395 hp

Fuel: Gasoline – 530 liters / 140 US gal

[real saxophonist]

Cool story. My dad commanded an LCT (Landing Craft, Tank) on Utah Beach. He had bulldozers and TNT on his boat.

[ASA Vet]

The Close Support (CS) variant had a 3.7" Howitzer, no machineguns.
Weight 14.76 Long tons (LT = 2240 pounds)
Length 6 m
Width 2.5 m
Height 2.6 m
Crew 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)

[abb]

ping

[Old Mountain man]

Perhaps so, but it is a long tradition of the sea that shipwrecks on the bottom where crew went down are considered graves.

I suppose, though, these were army troops and army vehicles, so the tradition may well be different.

[6SJ7]

I never knew WWII landing craft were large enough to carry tanks.

[VeniVidiVici]

The divers, who were eight miles of the West Sussex Coast, were left baffled as to how the Second World War tanks came to be at the bottom of the Channel.

Couldn't have been THAT hard to figure out.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

The crews didn’t get out. They went down with their tanks.

[Blood of Tyrants]

No telling how many thousands of tons of armaments went to the bottom of the ocean during WWII.

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

The LCTs were-—Landing Craft (Tanks)

[SolidWood]

Couldn't have been THAT hard to figure out.

Who cares about Basic History 101?/s

[theDentist]

I expect that if they do retrieve the tanks, any remains found would be treated with the utmost respect, and laid to rest with their fellow countrymen.

[savedbygrace]

Centaur CS IV tank:

[mowowie]

Cool stuff!
If the crews went down with their tanks that is one crappy way to die though.