Dave Arnold and his crew at the Isle of Wight Military History Museum are set for a real challenge. They’ve rescued a rare 1945 COMET Tank from an Army firing range. It’s been shot to hell and they only have 4 months to get it ready and running for the crowds at Tank Fest 2006.
We’ll see tons of action in the shop as they tear it apart; overhaul the engine; strip, sandblast, paint and put it back together again. Along the way, we’ll find clues in the form of serial numbers and markings that retrace the war-time mission of tank and crew behind enemy lines; from the crossing of the Rhine to confrontation with the deadly Panzerfaust, and the final race for Berlin.
We’ll meet modern tank commanders, and designers of the high-tech tanks of the future. They’ll show us –with live action and firepower- just how far the technology has come since the innovations built into this COMET.
Finally, we’ll go behind the scenes to see what collecting and restoring tanks is all about. The stakes are high as Dave and his crew struggle to get their COMET ready for judgement-day. It’s no easy crowd at Tank Fest. The experts will be out to scrutinize the work for historic accuracy and attention to detail; a ruthless preamble before getting down to what they all love best –to blast around in TANKS.
It’s just bit more extreme than your average car-show.