The Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-12-16, Page 8•
•
PAGE 8A—GODERJCH SIGNAL-STXti, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1976
Goderich's G. MacLeod
-Ross has just published a
most. definitive book "The
Business of Tanks."
-Sounds highly technical,
long and dull you say? Not at
all. It is a hefty volume, more
than -85,000- words as well as
photographs and diagrams,
and it does contain con-
siderable technical data.;
though most•of it is combined
to a series of three ap-..
.pendices so that it does not
detract from .the well paced
general content 'of the book.
This happy system makes the
effort excellent reading for
amature and professional,
alike. But, above all, it is not, ,.
The new book represents a
valuable contribution to the
material already written on
the Second World War and
-Britain's well known lackof
preparation for it. Probably
for the first time an ex-
planation of just how the
British military were ,caught
with their proverbial pants
More [obs
last at tench
Last week, the Bendix
Recreational Vehicle plant at
.Hensall laid off 204 of its 207
employees.
A spokesman for the firm
said that "a somewhat over-
optimistic planning had not
been borne out by market
conditions". ,
The firm is a main
producer of travel trailers
and motorized vehicles in
Canada. -
- "Disp.ersing of current
inventories would provide a
-recall of the laid:- off emi
ployees as early as January"
the ..company statement
added.
. Three weeks ago, 62 em-
ployees were laid off atthe
firm=s mobilehome plant in
Hensall. There has been no
indication when they may be.
recalled`.
-The company statement
this week•concluded by noting
that "concurrently the union
contract expired on October
31, 1976 and negotiations
regarding a new settlelr:nent'
are presently stalled due to
the inability . to reach. an
agreement."
Ruby event
On Saturday, December
4th, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron
Fisher of Clinton, celebrated
their 40th • wedding an-
• niversary with their family.
Mr. and Mrs. Jiin Fisher,
Mr. and Mrs. LarryFisher of
Beniniller, a friend,. Lillian
Thomas of Stratford, and the
anniversary :couple's six
grandchildren attended a
family dinner held at Vicki's
Country Steak House.
Asocial evening'followed'at
the couple's home, with
friends and relatives from
Stratford, Sea£orth,
Goderich, Walton and the
surroupdingn area calling hr.
to wish the Fishers. many
more years of happiness. A.
lunch waS then served by the
grandchildren. °".--
The couple were married
on December 4th, 1936 in the
home ofthe bride, the former.
Ruth Noble of Morris
Township. Following their
marriage, the Fishers far-
med in Colborne Township,
moving to Clinton in 1970.
JOHN BL'AIR
The company. 1 .represent
insures
one out of five,persons
in Canada and the U.S.
Don't you want
to do business
with' a Leader, too?.
John Blair:
9 Percival St., Clinton
48247703
Metropolitan
ufe
ra the future It snow
h
down. The new boa then goes
on to explain why the Ge"1'rnan
armor, led by the famous
Panthers, continued to enjoy.
an upper hand throughout the
war despite franticefforts by
both the Americans and the
British to match it. _ _......-
There have been many
efforts to explain why the
British had no tanks to speak
of in 1939. Most of .those have
confined themselves to 'ad=
ministrative reasons, G.
MacLeod Ross (while
examining this area as well)
takes it all a step further.
The first section of "The
Business of Tanks" opens
writer publis
with a review of the tactical
employment of the tank from
1916 to 1939 and describes how
the . imobile security. of the
early tanks changed to the
need for firepower from 1939
onward,
The second. -section --deals.
with the author's experience
fn the United. States, when he
was the: British Technical
liaison officer with the Tank
Automotive --Center at Detroit
from 1942 to 1945..
Ross then tells of the
decision to allot the British
the whele of the .Chrysler
Corporation output of M4
Sherman tanks, ' and
American mass production
methods are des in
some detail. Then ng
orders- from the Pres]
45,000 tanks in 194
"'author traces the failur of
Ordnance to 'produce a better
tank in•`t ime. for the invasions
of Europe.
The Normandy Landings
were successfully ac-
complished, but American
'armour took heavy casualties
in tanks and it is discovered
their estimates of battle
wastage were inadequate and
badlyin error.
Reports from newsmen and
letters home from the troops
rk
1
.I
es bo.�
underlined the need for a gun
superior to the German, while
the 75mm gun in the Sherman
was characterized as a "pea
shooter." , •
Both' Eisenhower and
Bradley were incensed when
the situation was disclosed
that the British were
Mounting their own -gun, a 17.
pounder, in the Sherman and
thus turning it -into a match
for the German Panther,.
'Tiger. General Bradley, who
had observed the effect of the
17 pounder at the Battle: of the
Bulge, then tried to. obtain
some for his armoured
troops. .
The.. author is the son, of
Arthur MacLeod Ross;
M.B.C.M. Edinljrgh,
F.R.C.S.. (Englapd) • was
educated at Liverpool College
and Liverpool •' University'
'where' he earned a Masters in
Engineering.
He served during -World
War One with the Royal
Engineers, was wounded. in
1918 and received the Military
Cross. He served in India,
China and the United States
between 1930 and 1945. hfe
was the Assistant. Director of
Design Tanks at Woolwich
Arsenal between 1933 and
1936 and Deputy Director bf
Design there in,1936 and 19,37.
MacLeod Ross served as.
Chairman of the Tank
Development Board of India
from 1940 to 1941 and was then
appointed Chief Technical
liason office,- to' the .United
States Army Ordnance which
took him ,to Detroit for the
,years 1942 to 1945. -.
He retired from, the
military in 1945 but continued
as Technical Consultant to
the United States Army
Ammunition , Command at
Joliet Illinois from 1951 to
1955 and served as . a
• Research Engineer with•the
Armour Research • Faun
• dation in Chicago, Illinois
from 1955 to 1956.
Perhaps what makes G.
MacLeod's Ross's book such
a clear cut. explanation of'the
business of .tanks. is the fact
-he was so • very closely
associated with the whole
question, from so many -
different
different perspectives farso
very long.
For anyone even remotely
interested' in the Allied war
effort during World War Two
"The Business of Tanks"
is both compulsory and en-
joyable reading.
10;;*
HIUSSER'S GREENHOUSE
.J. n
a . arr•
lik
Water o0
xeevs St.' Market
A GOOD SELECTION OF:
• POINSETTIA' • AZALEA
CYCLAMEN
And many, many more green plants
For the indoor gardener
• HANGING POTS • CERAMIC POTS
• JARDINIERES • ROPES
• FERTILIZERS a POTTING SOIL 'a`7
f
HIUSSER'S GREENHOUSE -
156 ELDON STREET .,
GODERICH' 524-9649
'1T OPEN.MON-SAT 10-8 p.m. "VISIT US ANYTIME" tA
Everyone wan
to reduce
new home caps
Here's a new report
that suggests how
it
can be done.
Ontario's present urban development standards
are among the highest in the world. However;
the standards set by our municipalities vary
considerably, a fact which in some instances adds
greatly to thecost of new housing.
Your Ontario Government believes that realistic
development standards throughout the province
would lead to continued high quality new housing,
but at a lower cost, This case is strongly presented
in a new report, "Urban Development Standards:
A Demonstration of the Potential for Reducing
Costs," issued by the Ontario Ministry of Housing.
The report points but how mare ,listic standards
could'significantly reduce homonortgage
payrrreats, and indicates that adoption of such
standards would in some areas lead to more
economical use of land, energy swings, reduced
pressure'on agricultural land, and greaterfeasibility
for public transit. •
If you would like a leaflet summarizing the main
features of the suggested new standards; write to:
Communications Branch
Ministry of Housing
56 Wellesley Street W., 2nd Floor
Toronto, Ontario M7A 2N5
Ministry of Housing
John Rhodes, William Davis,
Minister Premier
•
Province of Ontario
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16 Ontario Street,
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