who owns the masters for the chieftain models Dodge Tanake ?

[lou passejaire]

it's a shame, we can see here and there some pics of this armoured car , but nobody still produce it !

can we dream ?

[former user]

You probably still find some for sale on ebay or so.
or make Your own on a diecast dodge, You are a skilled craftsman

[Beast of Bukhara]

 An excellent question a a great mystery it seems. An excellent model by Ian Crouch circa 2007 ish

Certainly I know a man who has one but when I asked Sloppy Jalopy and Warlord in August if they had taken on the moulds but said they had not.  As to Company B and JFTM I got no reply from them at the time as they were in the process of moving premises I believe.  :(You might try them ?

They vehicle was an improvised conversion by Vichy forces for defence of Syria /Lebanon June 1941. It was based on Dodge 4x2, 3 ton trucks purchased in Egypt. These trucks had 12mm armour plates, and pedestal mounted guns {either a 25mm or a 37mm gun, with an FM24/29 MG mounted next to the main armament, approximately 20 and 30 of these vehicles were built.

About 16 of which were captured and used by Free French forces (Foreign Legion) and used at Bir Hakeim in Libya, June of 1942. It was the Foreign Legion who nicknamed this vehicle "Tanake'", meaning jack of all trades. One of these vehicles still exists, at a museum in Damascus Syria (google Dodge "Tanaka".

RetroKit (1:72 kit) and Raventhorpe do a 20mm version. Certainly with all the interest in Syria 1941 a 28mm/ 1/56th scale of a the Dodge "Tanake" would be an interesting addition to a force.

If anyone wants them 3d printing blueprints are available

http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/tanks/tanks-d-/25613/view/dodge_armoured_car/

Put me down for a couple 

Bob Chance

[Poiter50]

Always loved the look of that and despite its limited service, would be high on my "to buy" list.

that would then require purchase of Perry's FFL desert boys. 

An excellent question a a great mystery it seems. An excellent model by Ian Crouch circa 2007 ish

Certainly I know a man who has one but when I asked Sloppy Jalopy and Warlord in August if they had taken on the moulds but said they had not.  As to Company B and JFTM I got no reply from them at the time as they were in the process of moving premises I believe.  :(You might try them ?

They vehicle was an improvised conversion by Vichy forces for defence of Syria /Lebanon June 1941. It was based on Dodge 4x2, 3 ton trucks purchased in Egypt. These trucks had 12mm armour plates, and pedestal mounted guns {either a 25mm or a 37mm gun, with an FM24/29 MG mounted next to the main armament, approximately 20 and 30 of these vehicles were built.

About 16 of which were captured and used by Free French forces (Foreign Legion) and used at Bir Hakeim in Libya, June of 1942. It was the Foreign Legion who nicknamed this vehicle "Tanake'", meaning jack of all trades. One of these vehicles still exists, at a museum in Damascus Syria (google Dodge "Tanaka".

RetroKit (1:72 kit) and Raventhorpe do a 20mm version. Certainly with all the interest in Syria 1941 a 28mm/ 1/56th scale of a the Dodge "Tanake" would be an interesting addition to a force.

If anyone wants them 3d printing blueprints are available

http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/tanks/tanks-d-/25613/view/dodge_armoured_car/

Put me down for a couple 

Bob Chance

[former user]

btw, I believe these were used by the Spahi units and not by the foreign legion. The known footage about the deployment contains at least partly actual combat

[lou passejaire]

btw, I believe these were used by the Spahi units and not by the foreign legion. The known footage about the deployment contains at least partly actual combat

they were used by the 1st Morrocan Spahi Regiment prior to the delivery of the Marmon Herringtons Mk3
A  party of morrocan spahis on Dodge tanake under Capitaine de Courcel was the reconaissance unit ( with some artillery, and some morrocan spahis in trucks, it's the Scot column ) of Général Koenig's 1st Free French Brigade , from december 1941 to May 1942 in the westen desert .

Later, Capitaine de Courcel was the  officer in command of the 3rd Squadron Morrocan Spahis ( Conus Gun unit ) and it seem's that some dodge tanake were used as close support for the conus Guns ...

[lou passejaire]

  As to Company B and JFTM I got no reply from them at the time as they were in the process of moving premises I believe.  :(You might try them ?

i asked them ... wait and wait 

[lou passejaire]

got an answer 

seem's to be "work in progress" 

i won't tell who is the manufacturer for some times 

[Poiter50]

Tease!! 

got an answer 

seem's to be "work in progress" 

i won't tell who is the manufacturer for some times 

[lou passejaire]

while i was searching for pics of the dodge tanake, and the Scot columns prior to Bir Hakeim , i have found some quite surprizing errors in french sources , such as a Morrocan spahi Marmon Herrington given to be part of Bir Hakeim fight ... the 1st morrocan spahi party who operated with the 1 Free French Brigade from late 1941 was back in Egypt in early may, before Bir hakeim, and only received the Marmon Herrington in July 1942 .

Even serious sources can make mistakes 

And if the Free French Dodge Tanake were manned by Morrocan Spahis , the Scot columns were ... Tease ?

[former user]

there is actual combat footage of Scot column Tanake in the Gazala context, so...
we need what troop type with Tanake?

[lou passejaire]

of the records and pics,
in the Scot columns, you can find :
Bataillon d'infanterie de marine du pacifique ( infantry on trucks , british helmet )
Bataillon de Fusiliers-Marins ( AA on trucks )
1st Artillery Regiment ( 2 25pdrs with Morris quad tractor - a lot of 75mm guns with morris or portee )
1st Company antichar ( 75mm guns portee , 25mm guns  and may be 47mm guns mainly portee)
Foreign Legion ( on trucks but mainly with bren carriers Mainly British Helmets, but some Kepi, why not  )
1st RMSM ( Dodge Tanake , french helmet infantry or motorized type and red forage cap )
22th North African Company ( on trucks, British helmet, colonial helmet, or some kind of turban )
and engineer company

every unit was issued french individual weapons, VB grenade launchers, FM24/29, Hotchkiss MG, + some Boys antitank rifles . a lot of mortars, 60mm and 81mm ,and an increased number of LMG/MG/AT guns .

A Groupe de Combat will have a NCO, 11 troopers, 1 or 2 VB grenade launchers and at least 2 FM24/29 LmG.
Each Bataillon will have at least 32 MG .
All the AT guns of each bataillon formed the 1st Company antichar ,
That's why you see some legionnaries manning Canon de 75 or other AT guns, with mixed crews, mixed headgears  



The Scot column was an "had hoc" unit . so you can have a lot of mix between units , such as legionnaries in dodge tanake  and a lot of unusual use of guns and vehicles ( 25mm AT gun on Carrier, Dodge truck used as a command vehicle with some kind of armour, etc )  .
Dodge Tanake, crewed by 4 Spahis, and have room for some more infantry (around 4 infantrymen  ) ... ( so it's natural to see some legionnaries on board )
Trucks were : Dodge and Chevrolet for the 75mm gun artillery and Morris 15cwt for the infantry ,
the 25mm and 47mm french AT gun were fixed on Morris 15 CWT transport, firing backward .

[former user]

this sounds like the more interesting type of unit.
I wonder how many italian vehicles were around... probably a lot.

Anyway, does any source say that they were "Scot Columning"  after Bir Hacheim or after El Alamein?

[lou passejaire]

Scot columns acted from late 1941 to Bir Hakeim .
later, its the free french flying column :
1st Morrocan Spahis :
3 marmon herrington squadrons
1 conus gun squadron
each squadron with some morrocan motorized infantry
and 1st Compagnie de Chars
Crusader II
and that's all

[former user]

THX

where could I read about this?