#LCT7074 now has her tanks on board so she's almost complete. Both tanks used to be outside @TheDDayStory: the Churchill has had it's original markings refreshed, but the Grizzly has been given the markings of a tank that 7074 actually carried to Normandy for D-Day. 1/10
So what do they mean? Top left is the red jerboa or desert rat indicating the tank was part of the famous 7th Armoured Division. Below it, the red and blue box indicates it's part of an artillery regiment, and the 76 shows it's the division's second field artillery regiment. 2/10
Over on the right, the blue box with the red quarter tells us the tank is part of the second battery in the regiment, and the X show's it's the battery commander's vehicle. Beneath is the unit serial – 16030 was the serial for 5th Royal Horse Artillery (RHA). 3/10
This ties together nicely – 5th RHA was the second field artillery regiment in 7th Armoured & the second battery was K battery. Then there's the confirmation it was on #LCT7074: 3517 was her Landing Table Index Number. The landing tables confirm this tank was in her load. 4/10
Finally at the bottom is the bridge rating – 33 means she could only use bridges of this or a higher category (because she weighs close to 33 tons). Centre bottom is the weights & measures sheet displaying crucial information for her loading onto #LCT7074 📷Bournemouth News. 5/10
Tank markings aren't my forte, so I'm extremely grateful to @RobertGlenniePT who fact checked all of these details before they went to the restoration team. Follow him for all your armoured needs! 6/10
So, how did we know this tank was on 7074? Sadly, except on rare occasions or where photos show them embarked, it's almost impossible to match specific tanks from an armoured unit to a specific LCT. The landing table above is usually the best information available. 7/10
In this instance, I found this specific tank by Googling 'tanks Normandy' or similar such phrases (for days) and looking for the number 3517 chalked onto the tank's hull (I'll have to explain LTINs in a separate thread). This one showed up as it's quite a famous tank... 8/10
It belonged to Major Dennis Wells, CO of K Battery, 5 RHA. It was his observation post tank & had been fitted with a dummy gun barrel to make more room in the turret for radios and maps. On 13 June '44 it was knocked out by German tank ace Michael Wittmann at Villers Bocage. 9/10
Wells' tank was a Sherman V and the one on 7074 is a Canadian built 'Grizzly' Sherman. But they're almost identical, so it makes perfect sense to further enhance #LCT7074's D-Day appearance in this way.

She makes an impressive sight when you go aboard over the bow ramp. 10/10
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