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Retrokit's 1/72 Gun Carrier Mk I | |
| On the Real Thing | |
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The Gun Carrier, Mark I, as it became designated, used the main mechanical components of Mk I Tank, including the steering tail wheels (which were later discarded). The purpose for which the Gun Carrier was designed, however, necessitated a changed arrangement and resulted in an entirely different appearance from the tank.
The layout comprised an open space
at the front in to which the artillery piece (usually a 60-pdr. gun or a 6inch
howitzer) could be winched up a ramp, and behind this space an armoured box
which contained a crew compartment and the engine and transmission. Overall tracks, as in the
heavy tanks, were not provided for in the Gun Carrier and the fact that the
tracks went through tunnels under the front crew cabs and the rear compartment
led to difficulties with mud collecting at these points. Forty-eight Gun Carriers were built (two similar machines were completed as Salvage Tanks), the majority of them by Kitson & Co at Leeds, by July 1917. In France, they were used far less for carrying artillery than ammunition. The vehicle was designed so that the 60-pdr. gun or the 6-inch howitzer could be fired from it, although from a practical point of view only the 6-inch howitzer could be used in this way.
These weapons were employed in
this fashion at night on a few occasions and achieved some tactical success, but
the Gun Carrier companies were eventually converted into supply companies and
carried other supplies as well as ammunition. When transporting a medium gun
or howitzer, sixty-four rounds of ammunition could be carried or, without the
weapon 130 rounds, or approximately seven tons of supplies. It was estimated
that six Gun Carriers with their combined crews of twenty-four men could carry a
load which would otherwise require no less than 1745 men - the only practicable alternative
form of cross-country transport.
For more info on the real SP Gun, click here! |
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| On the kit | |
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Click on the thumbnail to see
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Notice that the kits does NOT come with any artillery piece, so if you want to build it straight from the box, you are stuck with doing the Supply Carrier version. However, Retrokit do sell a very nice 60-pdr gun that can be used together with the kit. (The gun will reviewed here shortly.) Several makers also make the 6-inch howitzer that was also used with this vehicle, namely Matador and Trux. The 60-pdr can also be had from Matador and Trux. All hatches can be glued in a open position, and even the hatches on some hatches as well. Nice touch. It comes with a basic but quite sufficient interior: seats and steering gear for the two Drivers Cabs, and a Motor with Differential Gear and transmission for the big box-like compartment on the back. Purists will most likely want to add to this. (The problem is only, that as I know of no more detailed plan of the interior, this will be guesstimates, and then what is the point?) The kit goes together well, with a couple small problems, though. Firstly, there will be a big "step" once the big tray-like bottom part is glued to the tracks. However, once the loading sled is in place, this will not be noticed in any big way. Secondly, as it is now, the two Drivers Cabs will ride directly on the tracks, which look a bit weird. I for one raised them up just a tiny bit using plastic strips on both sides. Thirdly, there will ba another gap between the Armoured Superstructure "box" on the rear and the interior, and you will have to blank it off in some way. You can find a more detailed walk-through of the building of this kit by clicking here! You can buy this kit from 7th Company in Portugal or at Retrokit's own webpage.
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| Verdict | |
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