D-Day landing: The "Funny Tanks"
To break the German defences and assist advances on the beaches for the D-Day landing in Normandy, France, the Allied forces built a series of tanks specially adapted to the difficult terrain. VIDEOGRAPHIC
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00:00 To break the German defences and assist the advances on the beaches for the D-Day landings
00:10 in Normandy, France, the Allied forces built a series of tanks, especially adapted to the
00:16 difficult terrain.
00:17 They were designed in 1943 by adding modifications to the basic chassis of the British Churchill
00:23 and the American Sherman tanks.
00:26 Their unusual appearance earned them the name "The Funnies" for "Funny Tanks".
00:31 Among the main ones there were the Churchill AVRE tank, equipped with a mortar to demolish
00:37 bunkers and defensive structures in concrete and steel; the Bobbins, which carried a canvas
00:42 carpet that could be rolled out on the sand to assist the movement of troops; the Crab,
00:47 equipped with chains in front that dragged along the ground to set off landmines; the
00:52 Fascine, whose role included filling anti-tank ditches with bundles of wooden stakes; and
00:58 the Crocodile, which was equipped with a flamethrower; and the Bridge Layer tank, known as the "Small
01:04 Box Girder", which allowed tanks to cross trenches and streams.
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