LeeEnfield

Did anyone else catch the TV prog on the Blitz, 'tother night. In the main, very well done, EXCEPT,...............why,oh why, did none of the directors/historians involved, pick up on the fact that vehicles should have had lights reduced by blackout masks,that torches were not waved about, and even they would have been screened. Also, a left hand drive taxi ??? Sounds like I'm nit-picking, but how many TVprog's/Films, have been shown, containing these faults, that,could and should, have been resolved before screening. (and I'm not even thinking of the so called 'action', drama's etc. Andy

1) DUKW, as my Dad was an instructor on then in WWII 2) GMC 352/353,- esp, if I could find evidence of use by the brit's 3)Churchill Crocodile flamer, as the guys who maned those, along with the 4) bren carrier wasp, to my mind had B*LLs, of courage,..........thats not dissing Any AFV crews,..or indeed, anyone who fought. 5)AEC Matador/ Scammell Pioneer. 6) Daimler Dingo. 7).....................................on,............ where do you stop,.................. I guess, with even one of my wishes, I would first need to buy somewhere large enough to store it/them. Still, nice to dream Andy

Jack, ref, the noise as, (if I read posting right,) road speed increases,...is it poss, that some of it COULD be put down to tyre whine ? (certainly, the bar/open tread type, DO howl, as speeds increase,.........personally, I love the sound............ :oops: ) Just an idea. Andy "The operation of GMC trucks is normally smooth and steady, with no loud rattling,knocking or unusual noises. A good driver will quickly become accustomed to driving a GMC truck and will get the feel of his vehicle regardless of his engineering knowledge" (( Extract from TM 10-1563 Maintenance Manual ))

Ashley, cheers for sharing the photo's; So you spend time at Bovington, as well, do you. Andy

Daren In oct & nov '01 military Machines International, did a saracen 'look at', thsn in jan '02 followed up with a buyers guide. Hope this helps, Andy

I think, and any long standing MVT members will, no doubt, put me right, there was an article in Windscreen, regarding gas conversion, on GMC's. If anyone has a copy, any chance of posting it, as its something I'd need to look at doing, when I (eventually) go the GMC route. (yes, another one !! :lol: ) Andy

I think one of the main reason's that, certainly in preservation, the lack of WWII era, softskins, is that, they were not produced in anything like the similar no's, compaired to what was being churned out by our american allies, in consequence, with the passage of time, and a market eager for vehicles,immediatly once the war was over, unfortunatly, (for potential buyers), there are not many left. Look to the steam rallies, up and down the country, where, Matadors, and the odd Scammell are still to be found; With the Matador, loads are still being used as timber tugs, and still going strong, after all these years. Surely a feat of the engineering qualities of AEC. Don't forget, loads were left at Dunkirk, thus giving the german army, a helping (if thats the right expression,) hand, bearing in mind, a lot of their transportation was still horse drawn. (no disrespect, to any vet's reading this, and yes, I also saw the stupid question on the BBC WW2 site) It does make me :roll: when I hear people at 'do's', think that we only used american vehicles, not helped by the fact, to those not 'in the know', that all vehicles of that period wore a white star. Me ? I like all soft-skin's. Andy

Threr was one running around with a transit lump in it, a while ago, around here. Not seen it for a long time now. Andy

Which one; ? Standard, Austin or Morris ?? Do you know its history ? Andy

Interesting comments, which I'd agree with; Im my opinion, the american film company's, are firstly 'selling' the films they produce, to americans; so, it wouldn't do, for then, to show, for example, that it was a british distroyer that captured the Enigma machine,-- or that, during the battle of the bulge, the british army was involved, - this point is also relivant in a lot of american penned books on the subject, and lastly, D-Day, while, there is a nod in the direction of other allied forces being involved, the focus is 99% american. For a British slice, its worth looking to the Imperial War Museum, who have been releasing dvd's of various theatres of war. While I'm nothing but a customer, of their's, I'd recomend DD Home Entertainment, who stock these titles, at a very reasonable price. I think this subject could run and run. Andy

Hi Karoshi, Cheers for that; Respects (belated, I know,) to his family, and friends. I Dunno, the spineless wimps that run this great country, isn't it about time to turn around and tell people, that if they are idiotic enough to climb over a tank/touch a steam engine/try drying their dog in a micro wave etc, and get hurt, IT'S THEIR OWN BL***Y STUPID FAULT : Too many events are being ruined by this 'compensation culture',- and I don't think we've seen the half of it - yet. If people cannot/willnot abide by a few simple rules, eg. Keep Off,- or Don't Touch. I don't know. It seems that in this era of clean- plastic throw-away living, common sense has gone out the window. Is their any way we, as a group,(military vehicle/re-enactors) can hope to change the powers that be, minds. By that, I mean, the whole 'scene', IMPS, MVT, and all the others. PHEW,...........Rant Over All the Best, Andy

Last wed's of month, Six Bells ph,Chiddingly, E.Sussex

Karoshi, do you have the isbn no ? and publisher ? Cheers Andy

Have just finished reading this book, by Ken Small, pub Bloomsbury. isbn 0-7475-7543-6. @5.99 What a well written, and gripping book, .........could'nt put it down once I had started, in my ('umble)opinion, well worth the price paid, and one of the most interesting books I 've read, for a while. Subject is Exercise Tiger, the story of one mans mission to get a fitting memorial to the 946 american servicemen who died off the devon coast on the night of 27 april '44. Anyone else read it ? Andy

Patrick Delaforce has written quite a few on historys and actions, of various Div's, well, British ones, anyway. All are well worth a read. Two Sides Of The Beach, by Edmund Blandford. a story of D-Day, as seen from british and german eyes. A well written and interesting book. There are so many good read's out there, and, seemingly, more being published every day, - and my book-shelfs are in danger of collapse; One place, I have started to use for books, that I may want to buy, in the future, is the public libary. Amazing what they hold on their shelves, and, for a modest fee, (75p), are able to order from other branches. I've had a few very hard to get publications this way, so well worth a go. Andy

Karoshi, Don't get him going on paint,................again. (was hoping to have confused maters with last posting; :lol: ) GMC books, I've got and read; GMC and DUKW, universal truck, by J.Boniface and, J.Jeudy. V.GOOD. GMC 2.5-ton 6x6, militaria no 166, mainly in polish, with english captions, good pic's though. There are others out there, esp written in french. Maybe a day trip and hit a good bookshop 'tother side of the water. Andy

oddball, that reply made me spill my tea,...............laugh, with tea in my lap, I DID wet myself.............. Nice one. Andy

Karoshi, well,....to confuse, even more,-Jack, stay awake, now............ Counter- Shading Priniples. 1)Top Surfaces darkened. 2)Darkening extended over edges to conceal the shape of these surfaces. 3)Shadow of truck on ground is extended up to the lower edges of the vehicle to break these edges and distort the shadow. 4)Unless catching the sun, windows stand out as black shapes which need to be broken up by the application of dark paint round the edges. As an aside, the glass area's were(still are??) a real problem, so differing idea's were tried. The germans tried tape, the americans tried a film of oil,- which attracted the dirt/dust etc, and they both employed the folding down of windscreens. Mind you, if you are going the british marking's way, what about the Mickey Mouse Ear pattern ???????? Just a few idea's, for you to mull over. I can't take the credit for the counter shading info, came from a book, D-Day to Berlin, by Terence Wise. Andy

Ah, but what shade of green, Jack :?: :?: :?: :lol: Andy

Must admit, I prefere trucks that have a bonnet,'out front',.........although having said that, the AEC Matador...................VERY NICE. Andy

I'll go along with Degsy's answer on that question,Dog107. I think that goes for ALL british softskin vehicles. GMC's are a lot of metal for the money. Cheers for your reply. Andy

Hi jack. No problem with the star, after all, it was used as the main recognition sign, I seem to remember reading somewhere. I know a driver training school up in wales had some,along with DUKW's, in '44, am in process of digging info regarding that . Cheers for reply. Andy

Howdo all, first of all, having just found this site, and starting as a Newby here, want to say, from what i've seen so far, looks good. A question ? GMC 352/353's, what British Army units used them during WWII. ? Reason for asking, I portray a tommy, and cannot find a british truck,as affordable as a jimmy. Also 6x6 drivability could come in useful, for other things. Any pointers, etc gratfully accepted. All the best; Andy