Here are 3 photos of England  I got in a collection of 50 from a US soldier stationed at an American Air Base in England in WW2. The "tank busters" in one photo are interesting. How did they work?

Paul

Very interesting. These bombs remind me of "dam busters" used against dams and ships bouncing on the water surface (bouncing bombs).

They look to be solid concrete.  My guess would be that they are for anti-tank barriers.

 

 

"The simplest of the removable roadblocks consisted of concrete cylinders of various sizes but typically about 3 feet (0.91 m) high and 2 feet (61 cm) in diameter; these could be manhandled into position as required.[55] However, these would be insufficient to stop armoured vehicles. One common type of removable anti-tank roadblock comprised a pair of massive concrete buttresses permanently installed at the roadside; these buttresses had holes and/or slots to accept horizontal railway lines or rolled steel joists (RSJs). Similar blocks were placed across railway tracks[56] because tanks can move along railway lines almost as easily as they can along roads. These blocks would be placed strategically where it was difficult for a vehicle to go around—anti-tank obstacles and mines being positioned as required—and they could be opened or closed within a matter of minutes.[57]"

In the same article, do a word search for "cube".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_anti-invasion_preparations_of_the_Second_World_War

5 hours ago, gwb123 said:

They look to be solid concrete.  My guess would be that they are for anti-tank barriers.

 

Yes, makes much more sense. (And who would storage bombs or even the hulls this way in the center of a city?)

13 hours ago, Proud Kraut said:

Yes, makes much more sense. (And who would storage bombs or even the hulls this way in the center of a city?)

I was thinking the same thing.  But odd things happened during the war, so it was worth asking!

 

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Assuming these are "tank Buster" as the photo is labeled. And assuming the cylindrical forms are made of concrete, they would have to be buried partly in the ground standing on end (as gwb123 states) to be effective. Perhaps they are just being stored in this London open space to be moved and buried where and when necessary?

Paul

 

They might have been described to the US serviceman as "tank busters" by a local but they are concrete anti tank defences, used to block road, slowing down advancing enemy armour thus making them vulnerable to attack by tank hunting groups of soldiers. 

You placed them in the middle of a street
A tank stopped
Then you said
Bring up the pait


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On 7 May 2020 at 4:40 AM, kammo-man said:

You placed them in the middle of a street
A tank stopped
Then you said
Bring up the pait


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Would have been Molotov cocktails or sticky bombs, no Piat launchers about until 1942.

It’s a reference to a bridge to far
Lighten up


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Lol

Any indication of where the air raid shelter picture was taken?