and the strange-looking tanks it developed and operated were known as Hobart's Funnies. They included tanks that floated, could clear mines, destroy defences, carry and lay bridges, and roadways - anything that would enable the invasion force to get ashore and break through the German defences. The division landed in France in June 1944. The division was further used during the Battle for Brest, the battle for the Scheldt estuary (Operation Infatuate), the battle for the Roer Triangle (Operation Blackcock), the Rhine crossings (Operation Plunder) and the Elbe crossing. The 79th Armoured Division was disbanded on 20 August 1945. Hobart subsequently commanded the Specialized Armour Development Establishment (SADE), which was formed from elements of the 79th together with the Assault Training and Development Centre. Equipment The equipment included the following: The "Duplex Drive" tank was a Sherman tank converted for amphibious use with twin types of locomotion: tracks and propellers; the design was used by the Allies in the opening phases of the Normandy landings in 1944. The Sherman Crab was a mine flail tank designed to clear a safe path through a mine-field by deliberately detonating mines in front of the vehicle; the design was first used during the North African Campaign in 1942. The Churchill Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) was a heavily modified Churchill III or IV armed with a "Petard", a 230mm spigot mortar that fired a 40 pound (18 kg) "Flying dustbin" demolition bomb. The 'Bobbin' Carpet Layer was a Churchill AVRE fitted out with a roll of matting for laying on a beach or other soft surface. The Fascine Carrier was a Churchill AVRE which could carry and lay large bundles of sticks to repair holes in the ground. The Small Box Girder ('SBG') bridge layer was a Churchill AVRE fitted and lay a bridge large enough to cross a 30 foot gap. The Churchill Armoured Ramp Carrier ('ARK') was a turretless Churchill tank with ramps at either end which, when lowered, could form a mobile bridge. The "Buffalo" Landing Vehicle Tracked ('LVT') was a tracked vehicle intended to carry replenishments from ships ashore; the design was used at the Battle of the Scheldt during the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. The Kangaroo armoured personnel carrier was a self-propelled gun or other armoured vehicle, surplus to requirements which was converted by removal of the gun or turret into an infantry carrier. The Kangaroo