ORIGINAL: parusski
ORIGINAL: warspite1
ORIGINAL: parusski


I just read Chapter 15, of the 45th print edition(REVISED). I can forgive you since you MUST be reading the pre-revised edition, and an earlier printing, as Ambrose states "...and the steering wheel on the T-34 was made of leather and hemp. Earlier history made the common mistake of stating "This replaced the previous leather/hemp composite....". Ambrose cites "History of Tanks and Food during the Great Patriotic War" as the source for his correction.
Warspite1
Ah I see where you are going wrong. I have the 12-inch, purple vinyl, disco re-mix edition. Ambrose raps:
I must apologise to y'all for talking crap
I was wrong - I can take it; its a rap
The T-34's wheel never featured leather
No the Ruskies they were far too clever
This great tank was not put together with glue and spittle
The whole damn thing was made of peanut brittle





Warspite1
Steiner, following Orm's post re Peanut Brittle from the time of Roman Britain in the "Do You Have The Time" thread, I've been reading more on this T-34 connection. I must say it is a riveting story.
In his Swimsuit Edition of Peanut Brittle: The Great Patriotic War 1941-45, Ambrose tells the little known story of how the British-made PB was sent to the Soviet Union to allow construction of the T-34.
Apparently the initial load was put aboard HMS Royal Oak. The battleship did not sink courtesy of a U-boat attack as is commonly believed - that was a cover story - she infact sank after being over-loaded with too much re-inforced, case-hardened Roman British vintage Peanut Brittle.
After her loss, the problem then became how to transport this stuff to Uncle Joe? There was simply no ship strong enough to take this stuff, but fortunately - it appears that this version of the PB was able to float! Apparently, in one of the most secret operations of the war, the PB was fitted with outboard motors and sent to Russia crewed by volunteers. The Germans knew something major was afoot, but they never found out what it was, despite having their entire intelligence operation on the case. The fiendish code-name given to the operation by the British probably helped put them off the scent too.
Operation Transport PB to Russia began in early 1940 and was complete six months later, by which time enough PB had been transported to allow construction of a lot of T-34's. Amazing how Peanut Brittle played such a key role in the fate of the free world! - some would say its an unbelievable story.