Hi chaps,
I am nearly at the end of this build and wondered about a couple of things;
1.
What were the external tie-downs on the rear of the turret used for. I would like to put something there if possible.
2.
I have made some sleeping bags for the crew. I used the technique from this site using tissue paper. It works very well. However, where do the crew stow these items? Externally somewhere or just thrown in the insides of the vehicle.

Any help always appreciated.
Many thanks.
Tony,

It wouldn't surprise me to see all kinds of things hanging from the turret hooks. Theyre the same tie-downs as welded all over the place on the outer hull.

Those sleeping bags would be at home wrapped up, not to mention a tarpaulin for covering the tank. Any kind of bag which they could store their gear in could end up lashed to the tiedown.

Hi the Russians did not have sleeping bags for the crews , They slept in their greatcoat with a blanket if they were lucky enough to get one . the tie downs were for a rough form of tent made from any canvas they could find . The poles they cut from the forests as needed , cheers ian

Thanks guys,
Sleep in coats !! Must be freezing at times. Suppose I will have to make a 'tent' now then :-) And blankets..
Pinch some twigs from a tree..

Shame about the sleeping bags they look quite good.

Many thanks.#

Tony

Hi Tony,

So, who's to say those sleeping bags aren't rolled up greatcoats? The t-34 at Cobbaton has some gear stored in an interesting way. Take a look at the soft stuff along the right hand side of this photo...



...and in the bottom right of this one...



Those and other great shots here...
http://photos.kitmaker.net/showphoto.php/photo/27750/cat/12389/page/

Here's a Russian greatcoat...



More Russian uniforms here...
http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/uniform/uniform1.htm

Sleeping in the greatcoat wasn't very comfy, but neither was the life of Russian soldiers...

"Blankets, which were brown, (1) although issued in garrison environments, were not issued for field use. Soldiers were expected to make do with greatcoats. Here is an example: "On cold nights I shared a greatcoat with quite a few of my wartime comrades in the fighting lines. Many of them have since fallen.There is no brotherhood that binds people closer than the brotherhood that's born in the lines, and a shared greatcoat is one of its symbols. You feel warm and secure with a friend close by. Actually, there are two greatcoats for two. A shared greatcoat is just a figure of speech. So what happens to the second? Duffe! bags or lambskin mittens (with two fingers so it's easier to shoot) are used for pillows. The individual tents that double up as cloaks are used a mattress and He greatcoats are the blankets. The shabbier one covers the feet and legs and the newer one the upper part of the bodies. Both men settle down on the same side. If there is the blessed chance of taking off your boots, He feet are tucked into the sleeves of the greatcoat - a pair of feet to a sleeve. The upper greatcoat is pulled over the shoulders, the shoulder of one fit into the right sleeve, the shoulder of the other into the left. The result is a kind of sleeping bag, warm and cozy. If it gets inordinately cold, the greatcoat is pulled over the heads - one head in one sleeve, the other in the other. When one side goes numb and the other freezes stiff, both men turn over simultaneously and the fitful sleep of the soldier continues."

More here...
http://www.197thguard.com/the_frontovik.html

Hummm....it seems I remember a first-hand account of how important the tarp was to a Russian tanker...let's see...oh yes, here it is...
http://www.iremember.ru/tankers/aria/ariainter.htm

Here's the tarp part...
"We were transported from Krasnovodsk to the Caucasus through the Caspian Sea, on a ferry. Wind blew the tarpaulin off our tank on the way. I must mention that life in a tank without the tarpaulin was hard. It was essential -- we used it to cover ourselves when sleeping, ate on it, covered the tank with it when entraining, otherwise the tank would be filled with water inside. Those were tanks built during the time of war. There wasn't any kind of padding in the top hatch, and the driver's hatch had some kind of padding, but it couldn't keep the water out. So it was bad without the tarpaulin. And so I had to steal a sailcloth from a depot, but there's no reason to talk about it -- this isn't a combat episode, but rather one from the military criminal field."

I found a few wartime pics on the internet which show a tarp lashed to the backs of T-34-85s...







Also, in Robert Michulec's book, T-34 Mythical Weapon, the last half of the second volume is littered with pictures of T-34-85's with tarps strapped on the turret back.

The Cobbaton T-34 has a tarp on the back of the turret. Here it is in it's "movie makeup"....



http://www.cobbatoncombat.co.uk/sales/films.htm

It's also the tank used for the modern pictures of a T-34 on the Tamiya CD. Lot's of shots of the way they've portrayed a combat T-34.

Here's a nice T-34 at the Wisconsin Military History Museum...



http://www.colorado-artist.com/t34/poniatowski/index.html#10

The T-34-85 at Littlefield's doesn't have a tarp, but the T-34-76 does...



http://svsm.org/gallery/T-34-76_little?page=2

Best of luck with the project.

Many thanks Colo_artist. That was exactly !! what I was looking for but could not find. Those pics have given me some new ideas for my tank and you have some great links.
Thanks again.
Tony.