This generated several impacts in the metal directed back inside the forward compartment. In turn, this projectile hit the ground beneath Mephisto, sending shrapnel back up through the plating on the underside of the tank. The perfect impression of one of Mephisto’s own 57mm shells is blasted through the floor plating next to the main forward gun. It initiated a further explosion by igniting any munitions still within the tank. This blast created something of a chain reaction, and would have generated a temperature of between 3,000℃ and 4,000℃. Historical evidence has suggested that the German crew set off a charge to disable their vehicle, but the primary impact appears to have burst through the roof, the force bending the heavy steel support beams downward. Two different explosions were recorded in the twisted armour of the forward compartment of the tank. The destruction of the vehicle was revealed by QP bomb blast experts. Very close fighting was associated with the vehicle, and the battle damage reveals something of the terror that the defending English soldiers must have endured on the morning of April 24, 1918. Initial work by DSTG has reconstructed the angle the tank rested in when it finally became stuck when it ran into a shell crater. Queensland Museum, Gary Cranitch, Author providedįurther research is required to clarify the exact meaning of the use of this larger-calibre weapon. Large calibre impact strikes on Mephisto, possibly made by a French 35mm gun.
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