| From: | "Sean Q Marlow" <dmbtuxwaddle-at-gmail.com> |
| Subject: | RE: weekend battle, how was it? [TANKS] |
| Date: | Thu, 2 Nov 2006 18:26:41 -0500 |
| Reply-To: | tanks-at-rctankcombat.com |
Stopping the Russians… with a Russian Defense?
The Czech Hedgehog (named for its original use on the Czech-German border to prevent a German invasion before WWII, we all know how well that worked) was used extensively by the USSR (and many others) to stop tanks. And on Sunday, they were used to stop one Soviet tank in particular, the KV-1.
The idea for these came from Amir thinking about making tank traps or other structures to make the battlefield more interesting. Always up to a challenge, Marlow & Sons jumped and made several. The first were made of 2x6's which we ripped down to 2x3's. We then put them into a rough hedgehog shape and bolted them together with 2 bolts. Figuring they could hold up and nobody would really challenge them (PRETEND they are real) we sat them out on the battleground for a defense.
Apparently, Steve Tyng never pretended as a kid. Steve drove the Cromwell right through the traps without thinking twice. Actually, he used a trashcan to push them out of the way and then proceeded to drive the trash can around the battlefield for a bit (quite a sight to see). Never wanting to be out-done and always the resourceful engineers, Marlow & Sons changed their plans slightly.
The next hedgehogs were built from ripped down 2x4s, cut to 18" in length. Mark the midpoints -at- 9" and put all of the lines together at the center. We then put *3* ¼" bolts through to ensure that they weren't going to twist. Finally, a hole was drilled dead center through all of the midpoints to accept a 3/8" piece of rebar. Once on the battlefield, we drove a piece of rebar through the center of the hedgehog and well into the ground. In the future the rebar will be bent on one end, to facilitate removing the rebar, and also to hold the hedgehog from jumping off the rebar if struck by a tank.
Upon close inspection by Steve the next morning, he vowed to give much more respect on Sunday than he had on Saturday, and the Cromwell never approached the hedgehogs. The crazy Russian however was much bolder. As the first battle wore on, Paul thought to himself, "These things don't look so tough; I bet I can drive through them or spin them enough to break through." These are fatal thoughts.
As he attempted to break through the defenses, Crazy Ivan found itself trapped on the Czech Hedgehog, not able to go forwards, not able to reverse, an easy kill. The defenses worked perfectly. I believe they will be well respected by all in the future (until Steve Tyng really DOES try to jump over them).
-Sean "eventually we'll build a tank, but buildings and obstacles are just so much easier" Marlow