Interwar Tank Development blog with Vickers Armstrong Ltd photos

[Vintage Wargaming]

I recently came across two original works albums of photographs from Vickers Armstrong Ltd whiich are held by Beamish Museum. The photographs cover the period from 1915 to 1915. The photos are vey high quality and seem to be mainly unknown. Beamish have given me digital images and permission to use them online.

I am therefore glad to announce the launch of the Interwar Tank Development blog here:

http://tankdevelopment.blogspot.co.uk/

Although the albums and blog are titled "Tank Development" they also cover half tracked and wheeled vehicles. The coverage is pretty comprehensive, there are lots of prototypes, and both works photos and shots from exercises and tests including those at Wool in 1925 and 1927, the Dominion Premiers' demonstration at Camberlet in 1926, and trials at Okehampton. For example you can follow the contemporary interest in half tracked vehicles and exploring options for an MG carrier.

So far there are roughly 100 posts with the photographs and original captions from the first Vickers Armstrong Ltd Works album. I am intending to add text at a later date.

For the second album I need to go back to Beamish next Thursday to go through and record all the captions from it. There are a further 120 photos or so in the second album, this includes a number of WW2 ones including a fair number of Valentines.

If you look at the Pages tab on the home page you will see a page called media, which has a number of British Pathe and Movietone clips, and an interesting IWM archive audio interview.

I hope the blog will be of interest to some of you here - fantastic intersting photos, if you are interested in inter war or tank development. It should spark off a few ideas for the VBCW fans, too.

[tin shed gamer]

Great idea needs a little tweaking thought, The holt tractor is a Holt 75 15 ton gun tractor,and not a 10 ton and its a lot earlier than the caption,( I'm sick of see the damed things I've mastered both vehicles and there still in need of snagging before release ).
Mark.

[Arlequín]

Gosh you have been busy. 

Well done on starting this though, I'm sure it will be a popular 'go to' for many.

[jp1885]

Thanks for putting up those fantastic photos - your work is very much appreciated!

[Vintage Wargaming]

Following a second visit to Beamish today to copy all the captions from the second album, all the interwar photos from it (another hundred or so) have now been added to the blog. If you are interested in bridging techniques, or gaining an in depth knowledge of military trailers between 1925 and 1935, this could be the place for you.

Update on Vintage Wargaming
http://vintagewargaming.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/back-to-beamish.html

and posts on the new blog at
http://tankdevelopment.blogspot.co.uk/

[Happy Wanderer]

Awesome...that is great stuff.

It never ceases to amaze me how inventive Vickers were in this time period....it's one thing to think of a design, but they have runners to test them out the whackiest ideas....brilliant!

Definitely a go to source.

Great contribution.

Happy W