Operation Infatuate II: Sherman tanks at Westkapelle

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by MicS

AUTHE without the "I" doesn't make sense.

Well, other than referring to a village of 91 people instead of 1700 … But yes, in the other photo, the I is actually visible. Poor typography, though …

Originally Posted by MicS

What about a nlce Now photo Jakko?

IMG_9972.JPG

The ice-cream shop (with the striped awnings) is the house that Esquay was in front of; the street to the right of it is where the house was, that’s side-on to the main street in the 1944 photo, and the house to the right of that in that photo, is the one to the right of the street in the “now” picture.

I stood here to take that photo, looking northeast. The building that was behind me when I did, is now a small supermarket (and has been for as long as I can remember), but was the main village shop in 1944 — the man with the flat cap in the photo of Esquay was the shopkeeper.

Originally Posted by MicS

See you in 7 minutes then

You say that as a joke, but I looked at my watch when I left home (15:21) and when I came back from taking that photo (15:28)

[MicS]

Wow! This must be the fastest Now photo ever! Your time/distance estimate was spot on then. Did you have time to get an ice cream?


Thank you for the details too. It is not frequent that individuals, especially civilians, can be identified. And contrary to most people photographed in front of military vehicles, they had the politeness not to obscure any of the markings (the uncommon height of the LVT might have helped though ).

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Originally Posted by MicS

Did you have time to get an ice cream?

I count nine people in the queue there — I don’t think I would have been able to get an ice cream in the approximately one minute I was there

Originally Posted by MicS

Thank you for the details too. It is not frequent that individuals, especially civilians, can be identified.

I seem to remember you have a copy of my book … check page 49, it identifies all of them (With the errata here that Roos de Visser should be Koos de Visser — thank you, old-fashioned handwriting with a swirly K on a slip of paper with the original photo …)

Originally Posted by MicS

And contrary to most people photographed in front of military vehicles, they had the politeness not to obscure any of the markings (the uncommon height of the LVT might have helped though ).

You may already have these two photos, but one of them shows the markings better, the other, the people

LVT Zoutelande 2.jpgLVT Zoutelande 1.jpg

[Jakko Westerbeke]

I got sent this the other day, it was apparently posted to Facebook:

T148656 1950s.jpg

It’s obviously T148656, and because it’s on grass and missing the flail drive shaft, it was probably taken in the 1950s when the tank was outside the war museum north of Westkapelle village.

[MicS]

Not sure whether I have already mentioned this before, but No.20 RHODERICK DHU (bogged on the beach at Westkapelle) appears on a Canadian photo, shot on 6 Aug 44 by Ken Bell near Thaon, Normandy (MIKAN No.3224832, negative PA-160834):
No.20 Crab 1LBY - Army Numerical 37897-38623 - NWE - 77 of 110 - 1944 08 07-1944 08 14 - R112 42.jpg
No.20 Crab - comparison.jpg


When first seeing the photo shot at Westkapelle, I initially thought that the fading of the turret number outline had been caused by seawater erosion, but it looks like it thankfully occurred much earlier, thereby enabling us to identify No.20 as the tank on the Canadian photo.


Michel

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by MicS

When first seeing the photo shot at Westkapelle, I initially thought that the fading of the turret number outline had been caused by seawater erosion, but it looks like it thankfully occurred much earlier, thereby enabling us to identify No.20 as the tank on the Canadian photo.

Nice find Michel!

[Jakko Westerbeke]

Good find Also interesting to see it has the full-bicycle-type flail chains there, while in the Westkapelle photo the type with balls on the ends is in the rack on the side.