BRITISH WWII D-DAY AMPHIBIOUS TANK CREWS APPARATUS (ATEA)

A rare piece of equipment, first used on D-Day and issued to the tank crews of British, Canadian and American tanks, is the amphibious tank escape apparatus. The set is complete with the original canvas pack, hose and rubberised mouthpiece; original webbing straps remain with the item. Some cracking to the rubber mouthpiece and slight age staining to the canvas bag. The original sprung loaded nose piece with its attachment string is still in place. First used on the 6th June 1944, in many cases the Duplex drive tanks were successful, and in many cases not and many tank crews were lost, basically due to the heavy sea conditions on the morning of the invasion. Almost all the American Duplex drive tanks launched on Omaha Beach were lost. The apparatus itself is, in fact, a miniaturised version of the Royal Navy’s Davis submerged escape apparatus. It is thought that the apparatus was made by the famous diving company Siebe Gorman; any institution having a display of D-Day items has to have this item on display. The story of the Duplex drive on amphibious tanks on D-Day is well known.

Ref; 96719