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  • WWII Question

    Bonjour Chaps,

    I have an odd question, but it has left me curious nontheless.

    I have seen many times before in documentaries etc a miniture tank employed by the Germans at the very end of the war.
    It was infact far too small for a person to even fit into (by my reckoning) so I was wondering what the blazes this little contraption is??

    If any of you know what it is I'd be delighted to have an explanation,... you can see it amoungst some volks-sturm armed with panzerfausts in the documentary "the World at War" several times.

    Tallo ho

  • #2
    If my memory serves me correct it was filled with explosives or mines, was remote controlled and they used to explode it amongst attacking troops.

    Here is an image of it:



    It was called the Goliath and "This German remote-controlled Goliath tank was filled with explosives and intended to be run up the landing ramps of the Higgins boats on the Normandy beaches."

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    • #3
      i seen somthing on discovery about a miniature tank filled with explosives that could be driven under or up tanks and detonated,which was done by remote control.if i see anything else ill post it soon.

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      • #4
        Are you referring to remote control vehicles? Both the Germans and the British developed remote controlled tracked vehicles to clear minefields and attack armoured vehicles. The idea was the vehicle would be driven up to the target and the on-board explosives would then be detonated. The Germans were the main proponents of this idea, building hundreds of these little kamakazes.

        In practice the vehicles didn't really work. They were too easily knocked out by infantry fire and the command wires used to control the vehicles were often severed by battlefield debris, rendering them useless. The allies found most of the German examples lying about unused at the end of the war.
        "The dolphins were monkeys that didn't like the land, walked back to the water, went back from the sand."

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        • #5
          yes.it looked cool though!i would like to have one filled with beer i.e.a stash!

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          • #6
            Thanks Lads

            Thanks Chaps, that answers that.

            A bit like what the Russians did with dogs,... they trained them to go under tanks with explosives attached to them,... was a failure also.
            There was the surprise element at first, but the Jerries soon copped on.

            There was hardly a dog left in poland at the end of the war.

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            • #7
              That.. and the fact that a dog couldn't tell the difference between a tank with a red star on it, and a tank with a cross on it.

              NTM
              Driver, tracks, troops.... Drive and adjust!!

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              • #8
                Well, it was not as bad as what the germans did to dogs,.... filthy perverts.....

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                • #9
                  Flash, those weren't minature tanks, they were just ... far away ...

                  Do I have to explain everything?

                  :D


                  Moving swiftly on, as far as I can remember, these little things had two control cables (one per track) and a big clunky control box.

                  Progenitor to EOD robots anyone? They were certainly the first battlefield UCV (Unmanned Combat Vehicle), something the US is showing a lot of interest in for recce and MOUT operations ...

                  Anyway, the most effective use for these was for destroying fixed positions; pillboxes etc. Not entirely important when fighting a defensive war though.

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                  • #10
                    Well you have to say one thing about the Huns, they were good at the whole warfare carry-on.
                    It was their forte.

                    Perhaps not too smart at picking allies, diplomacy, grand strategy or sence of humour,... but they were pretty handy at combat.
                    It always amazes me that films rarely reflect this,... there always seems to be hordes of germans cut down by a handful of yanks, wheras it was in reality frequently the other way round, where the allied numbers simply swamped fritz.

                    Interesting how many mad "super weapons" started to arrive on the scene at the end of the war.
                    It's also mad the way that after a year or so a tank was usually behind the technology curve, wheras without the pressure of war we tend to keep certain models in service for decades (with modifications and upgrades of course).

                    Oh well, theres my thought for the day.....

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                    • #11
                      Hang on, you get to have a thought EVERY day?

                      Bastard

                      Anyway

                      Have to agree with you on the German ingenuity thing. Even if you just look at infantry weapons. The Americans were so impressed by the MG42 that they tried to copy it with the M-60, and came up with something heavier, less reliable, more expensive and less well built.
                      And ended up adopting the FN MAG58, which is of course deigned around the BAR concept ...
                      And the AK designs are a direct copy of a German rifle ... (embarrassingly, can't remember its name cos too much Medal of Honour on the PS2 over Christmas has me confused- Gewehr 44?)

                      Also amazing to see how different countries reacted to the pressure of war ... the US, with its huge industrial capacity stayed producing under gunned and under armoured Shermans of various types right till the bitter end, the Germans were continually trying for a 'wonder weapon'. Did ok with the theory too.

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                      • #12
                        Its The SturmGewher (or STG) 44
                        Yes Widley used in the Later Stages of MOHAA (on the PC anway) the Russians coppied it to develop the AK 47.

                        The STG 44 also was the Weapon of Choice for the A-Team. (Lovley silver polished versions I might add)

                        Friends Come and Go, but Enemies accumulate!!

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                        • #13
                          I thought the A-Team used Ruger Mini 14s?

                          Y'know, M-14s in 5.56mm, all chromed up (as only the Americans can do)

                          Then again, I haven't seen the show in years.

                          (Actually, in one show they used Steyrs.)


                          Rushes off to find anorak ...

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                          • #14
                            I PITY THE FOOL WHO SAYS WE DON'T USE STG 44's

                            _____________________________

                            Sorry that was my best BA impression

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                            • #15


                              I think the M-14 was based on it aswell but the STG-44 was never really used by the Germans, And yes the A-team did have chromed up ones coz they're cool I mean the MP's were always looking for them but they had the same van EVERY week!!! adn you can all watch it again its on Netwrok 2 every saturday at 18:00 (Right after Airwolf yay 2 hours of 80's revisited a stealth supersonic helicopter who comes up with this shit)

                              Yes I have an Anorak!! Yes Its big and green and YES it has a hood!!!

                              Ready now...


                              In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team......

                              Duh du du deh duh duh de

                              Last edited by Bailer; 15 January 2003, 15:22.
                              Friends Come and Go, but Enemies accumulate!!

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