2024 Tankevent Oeselgem (BE)
The Tankevent the 24th of August 2024 at Oeselgem (Belgium) was a small scale tank-meeting open for public. Participants arrived with their vehicles and tanks and could stay overnight in their own tent encampments. During the day the participants socialized among each other and drove around; a parade was scheduled and in between the Sherman Firefly and M7 Priest shot blanks!
Food and beverages were abundant and as always Belgian events are superb, enjoyable and very social!
A Sherman Vc Firefly was driving around shooting blanks with a lot of smoke and noise - realy cool!
Although not shooting blanks, this T34 definitely did cause as much smoke as the Firefly:
Several self-propelled artillery gun tanks were present - the differences between these types were easy to see this way. Especially since these sometimes are mixed up by identification. Two M7 Priests were driving around: a M7B1 and M7B2 - which have a big difference: The M7B2 had an elevated gun emplacement. This was a late type M7, during active service of the M7B1 it was clear that the gun elevation was too low, therefore the gun was placed on a higher setting. The third type is a (British) Sexton, which is all over different compared to a M7 Priest - although sometimes these types are still mixed up... The M7B2 was the second tank firing blanks besides the Firefly.
M7B1 Priest:
M7B2 Priest:
Sexton:
For comparison the M7B1 and M7B2 next to eachother - the elevated gun of the M7B2 clearly visible. Another photograph of the M7B1 and Sexton behind it - both have a 'lower' gun emplacement and could be mistakenly identified.
During the tankevent some modern tanks were also present. These, together with the M7B2 Priest, were all owned by Gunfire Brasschaat - officially registered by the Belgian Army. All vehicles are maintained by the Belgian army and (former army) civilian specialist/ volunteers.
A Flakpanzer Gepard was also driving around the fields - and with a very unique and quite strange passenger: a reenactment German general... making it a really ironic/ weird moment: a world war 2 'German General outfit' driving a modern German Flakpanzer under control by the Belgian Army. Not sure if any German veteran could have imagined this...
US Light Tanks/ Tank Destroyers: M10 Achilles, M18 Hellcat, M24 Chaffee, M36 Jackson:
SdKfz251/7 Ausfuhrung D Pionierwagen, complete with reenactment German outfitted crew:
More German equipment including a (replica) SdKfz222:
Some more allied tanks and vehicles, among these a GPA, DUKW, M5A1 Stuart, M4A1 Grizzly (Canadian Sherman) and M4 Sherman:
And last but not least some modern tanks of Gunfire Brasschaat: AIFV-B-C25, Leopard 1A5 and M108A2B:
