- Contributed by听
- lawdyoftherings
- People in story:听
- Thomas William Leeson
- Location of story:听
- Westward Ho
- Article ID:听
- A2409932
- Contributed on:听
- 10 March 2004
It was reported that the enemy beaches were defended by an enormous bastion of re-enforced concrete which was 10ft high and 7ft thick. This would have to be knocked down or at least breched for the normandy landings to take place (for tanks and heavy equipment to pass through into France.)
Navy Lieutenant Norway (known nowdays as Neville Shute) designed a remarkable device consisting of two large steel wheels 10ft high and 1ft wide. The wheels were fastened together with a drum filled with over a ton of high explosive making the contraption over 5ft wide.
It would be propelled by slow burning cordites (AKA lots of fireworks) fitted to the wheels. The whole thing would be taken ashore by a landing craft.
When the ramp went down the rockets would be ignited and the monster would roll forward like a giant Catherine wheel. It was expected to reach speeds of up to 60mph when it got to the bastion a timer would set it to explode.
Lieutenant Norway christened the monster "PANJANDRUM"
On the day of the trials, the panjiandrum was loaded onto a barge just off Westward Ho beach. When it was realeased it rolled down off the barge, but when it go onto the beach, because the beach was too unevan, it tilted and fell over.
The "panjandrum" project was abandoned sometime later. It was decided that it was too dangerous for our troops who would have been working with it.
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