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Show British Ferret Out Axis Arms Secrets Never Caught by Surprise By Neiv Equipment. CAIRO, EGYPT. 'The accuracy with which British intelligence experts ex-perts have anticipated changes in designs of German military equipment equip-ment long before the innovations appear ap-pear on the battlefield has been an important factor in their strategy. The British knew all about the new Mark VI tank 18 months before the 60-ton monsters appeared on the front. This knowledge enabled Allied Al-lied commanders to reallocate their armor and anti-tank defenses so that when the test came the "tigers" achieved only nominal success. Of the hundreds of variations of battle equipment introduced by the enemy, Allied intelligence officers say, none has caught them by surprise. sur-prise. To get this information they have risked, and in some instances, lost their lives. An example of the lengths to which the British go to unriddle new armaments arma-ments secrets was provided just inside in-side the Egyptian frontier when the first Mark IV tank fell into Allied hands. The Germans, desperately trying to keep the British from examining ex-amining it, bombed the tank almost every foot of the way back to Cairo. The tank was taken to Suez and placed on the deck of a liner for shipment to England. That night the Germans bombed Suez shipping and hit the liner. By daylight the ship was listing badly and enveloped in flames. Port authorities were convinced the tank could not be saved, but a young British officer, Maj. Davis Evans, discovered a 30-ton 30-ton crane, assembled a volunteer crew and surmounted enormous difficulties dif-ficulties in engineering the crane to the ship side and lifting the tank onto a barge. It got to shore safely. |