[烛光生存狂]-加拿大石龙子坦克

In planning the invasion of NW Europe, Allied high commanders had anticipated one major problem---the Luftwaffe. Several ideas to counter the aerial threat to the invasion armada were thought of, but one stood out as possibly the best mobile AA/infantry support tank of the war, the Canadian Skink. The vehicle was officially called "Tank AA, 20mm Quad, Skink", keeping up with the Canadian practice of naming vehicles after animals (ie: Ram, Kangaroo, Grizzly).

在计划对西北欧的进攻作战当中，盟军的最高统帅部不得不预计到一个主要问题——德国空军.其中有数个用于对抗攻击部队上空威胁的提案被被取消，但有一个坚持了下来——可能是二战中最好的防空/步兵支援坦克--加拿大的石龙子.这辆防空利器的官方名称为“20毫米四联装石龙子防空坦克”继承了加拿大用动物来为车辆命名的光荣传统（例如：公羊、袋鼠、灰熊）.

The Skink was based on the chassis a Grizzly I, the Canadian-built and used version of the American M4A1 Sherman II. Hispano-Suiza 20mm cannons were intended for the tank, but as these were in great demand for fighter aircraft, the armament was later changed to Polsten guns. Polstens were simplified versions of the Oerlikon 20mm cannon, and fired Oerlikon High Explosive Incendiary Tracer (HEIT) rounds. The turret traversed 360 degrees in either direction at speeds of up to 60 degrees per second---three times as fast as the M4A1 Sherman.

石龙子采用的是灰熊I型的底盘——加拿大生产和使用的美国M4A1谢尔曼II的一种型号。原计划安装希斯巴诺-苏莎（Hispano Suiza）型20mm加农炮，但是由于战斗机对该炮的需求量很大，武备改为Polsten炮，Polsten是厄立空（Oerlikon）20mm加农炮的简化版本，可以发射厄立空20毫米高爆燃烧曳光弹（High Explosive Incendiary Tracer (HEIT)）。炮塔能进行360度回转，回转速度为每秒60度——M4A1的三倍.

The Skink carried a crew of five, the driver and radio operator being stationed in the hull. There were four more seats in the turret basket, two of them for the commander (one was placed high and the other was lower). All of the men in the turret had a hatch with a rotating periscope fitted with armoured shields and rear-vision devices. When the hatches were closed, the gunner aimed his weapon using a periscope in his hatch. When the hatches were open, he used a US Navy Mk IX reflector gunsight.

石龙子共有5位乘员，驾驶员的和无线电操作员坐在车体前里，炮塔吊篮里有四个座.其中两个是给车长准备的（一个高一个低).在炮塔内的所有乘员都有一个安装了一个带装甲防盾的回转式潜望镜的一个后视镜。当舱盖关闭时，炮手用他舱盖上的潜望镜来瞄准他的武器. 舱盖打开时，他使用美国海军的马克九型反射式瞄准镜.

It took six months to build the first Skink prototype. The vehicle performed very well at the testing grounds and was recommended by the senior War Office staff. Full scale production started in January of 1944, but it soon became apparent that the Luftwaffe was being defeated by Allied fighters. In all, only three Skinks and eight turrets were completed before the project was cancelled.

石龙子原型车的制造花了六个月的时间，她在试验场上的表现非常令人满意，并得到了军放高层的一致好感。大规模的量产开始于1944年1月，但战况很快显现出德国空军被盟国战斗机所打败。总之，在计划被取消前只完成了三辆整车和八个炮塔。

Although the Skink's production run was brief, it did actually see action against the Germans. One of the three completed Skinks was sent to England, and from there to Europe, landing at Antwerp on January 24 1945. On the fourth of February, the Skink reached the Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade a few miles south of Nijmegen, Holland, and joined the Allied push on the Rhine.

虽然石龙子的生产只有很短一段时间，但这并不妨碍她们参与打击德国法西斯们的热情。三辆整车中的一辆被送往英格兰，与1945年1月24日在比利时安特卫普登陆。在2月份的第四个星期，她到了荷兰的奈梅亨（Nijmegen)南边几公里的加拿大第二装甲旅，加入了向莱茵河进发的大军。

The Skink first entered combat while supporting the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (CAR) north of Nijmegen bridge. From there, it moved south and east into Germany, joining the 22nd CAR at the epic battle at Hochwald Forest, finally halting a mile east of Udem, 5 miles from the Rhine. In battle, the Skink worked with a couple of Shermans and a platoon of infantry. The infanty moved out ahead of the tanks and dropped to the ground at the first sign of resistance. Then the tanks would move up and fire, the Skink joining them and firing about 30 HEIT rounds per second.

石龙子的初战是支援奈梅亨大桥以北的加拿大第六装甲团。从那里开始她自西向东进入德国，加入了加拿大第二十二装甲团，参加了在Hochwald森林的英勇战斗，最后到达了Udem东面一公里处，距离莱茵河约五公里。战斗中，石龙子伴随着一对谢尔曼和一个步兵排。步兵们在坦克前方行动并在遭到第一个抵抗时就地卧倒。接着坦克上前开火，石龙子也加入了他们，以每秒三十发的射速发射高爆燃烧曳光弹来支援战斗。

A First Canadian Army evaluation report on the Skink read "In a ground support role, the vehicle was an infantry mop-up weapon, advancing with the second wave of armour to clean out infantry positions bypassed by the first wave. Using HEIT ammunition, the Skink proved most valuable in setting fire to buildings, thus forcing the enemy out into the open." Other field reports described the effects of a burst of 20mm HEIT rounds directed at enemy-occupied buildings or hedgerows.

第一份加拿大陆军队对石龙子的评估报告显示“在地面支援任务中，她是一种步兵肃清武器，作为第二波的装甲部队前进以清除第一波步兵绕过的区域。由于使用了高爆燃烧曳光弹，石龙子在对建筑物进行射击时体现出了极高的价值，可以迫使敌军离开建筑去到开阔地域。”其他战场报告显示20mm高爆燃烧曳光弹的连射对敌军占领的建筑物或灌木树篱非常有效。

In one instance, the Skink attacked a building occupied by 50 enemy soldiers. Ten of them were wounded by HEIT fragments, the others surrendered in terror. Another time, the Skink commander was fired on by a sniper. Unhurt but furious, the commander directed the Skink's guns to fire in the direction of the sniper. The 20mm's blasted away everything in the surrounding area and in moments the shaken sniper emerged.

在一次战斗中,石龙子攻击了一个约有五十名敌军士兵占领的建筑，他们中的十人被弹片所伤，其他的在恐惧中投降了。在另一次战斗中，有一个敌军狙击手向石龙子的车长开火.车长没被打中，但他非常愤怒，立刻命令把石龙子的炮口指向了狙击手所在的方向。二十毫米炮弹摧毁了周围附近的全部东西，瞬间将被震撼了的狙击手显现出来。

Today, the only remnant of the mighty Skink is a forlorn turret at CFB Shilo in Manitoba, which is used for gunnery practice.

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