GoranWC51

We have all seen the M41 jacket that appeared in "Saving Private Ryan", "BROOKLYN N.Y. USA" But does anyone have pictures of period use of markings on jackets? I have, somewhere deep in the crevices of my photo collection, a photo of a G.I. lying down on a pile of rubble where there's clearly stuff written on the back. I haven't seen the images for ages, and would like to find out if someone else has one, or more, that they can share? Prefer G.I. M41 jackets, but anything's welcome =) Goran N

Here's a picture of what's supposed to be an original one: Goran N

I can understand your frustration. The quality of many of the replicas out there is truly appalling. Some built of out MDF board and still fetches a ton of money to buy. Best bet would be to get complete drawings, including CAD ones, so you can male your own. I have bought the complete plans for a number of machine guns used on WW2 vehicles, M1919 30 cal, Ma Deuce 50 cal, Vickers K, etc. and they're great! You will only need to have the drawings printed at a print shop, into A3, A2 and A1 sizes [few of us have printers at home that can handle those sizes =) ] The complete package, for each type of gun, costs only 9.99US$ (!). For that price it cannot be beat. Here's a link to the webpage: http://www.john-tom.com/ForSale/ForSale.html#Browning30Cal Good luck, and let us know how you're doing. (We love photo's here too) Goran N

I am interested in buying a Dodge D15/T222 as was used by the Popski's Private Army (see picture) among others. I might have a ex. Norwegian army, newly restored, frame off/factory fresh, (Febr 12, 1945) Dodge WC51 to trade with. Trade plus money, or straight trade depending of state of the D15. War&Peace would probably have been the perfect place to find one, but I couldn't make it there this year This ad was, wrongfully, placed in the "American vehicles" section. Goran N

It was kind of difficult to decide if the Dodge D15 was: A/ British vehicles Austin's, Bedfords, Scammells, Stalwarts, Land Rover etc, or B/ American vehicles GMCs. Jeeps, Diamond Ts, Dodges, etc. And since Canada is part of the North American continent, and the British didn't make any Dodge´s, I took the bold decision to put my want ad in the "American Vehicles" section. Perhaps the moderators and owners of this forum could change the heading from "British" to "Commonwealth" vehicles? That would be helpful. I'll post my ad in the "British Vehicles" section although it's neither an Austin, Bedford, Scammell, Stalwart nor a Land Rover. Wishing everyone a nice summer and for those of you who are going, a nice War and Peace weekend. I cannot go there myself, unfortunately, it would otherwise probably have been a perfect opportunity to find a Dodge D15/T222 for sale, or leads to where I could get one. Goran N

Thanks Adrian. I stand corrected. I had a look at the "Ersatz" Tiger at Arsenalen and there's quite a distance from the drivers seat down to where the Tiger's vision slot is. Must be over a meter! A bit like trying to drive a 50 ton tank sitting 1-1,5 meters away from the mailbox slot opening. You cannot see more than a thin sliver of whats ahead of you. Scary! Goran N

The Tiger was built, at great expense I'm sure, for a movie company that was making a WW2 movie and wanted a exact copy of a Tiger tank. The builders used a Kamaz truck engine (not 100% sure of the engine make, though) for propulsion. The copy Tiger is amazing in all its detail. I'm sure they could build more and sell in the west. One of these Tiger copies would look so much better than the T34/T55 based ones we've seen in pictures from "Kelly's Heroes" (T34 based) to "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers" (T55 based) This one was apparently used in Band of Brothers, is based on a T55, and was photographed at Arsenalen, the Swedish armor museum in Strängnäs, where it was exhibited. The private owner lives in Sweden Goran N

I know that the tank is a Valentine. I used the only photo of a Soviet/British tank that I happened to have, to make a point. The German's did use a large amount of captured equipment. One can only wonder how the managed to keep all these hundreds of different types of vehicles, from every single country they conquered, running and supplying them with spare parts. They did, of course, have access to plenty of wrecks that they could scrounge parts from, but still. Goran N

The Soviets received a good number of British tanks as Lend-Lease aid during WW2. It might very well be one of those. Goran N

I wonder if that's not the one that originates from Sweden. There was one damaged example in Axvall (former place of the Swedish armor museum) in Sweden, but it has been restored in Poland and it is on display at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. The TKS is indeed a rare bird. Today, parts of TKS's can seen in the Museum of Polish Armored Forces in Warsaw in Poland, while complete TK-3 (or TKF) can be seen in Kalemegdan Fortress in Belgrade, Serbia and TKS in the Museum of Armored Forces in Kubinka (near Moscow) in Russia. There is also an almost complete example in Norway. There has been active cooperation in the last few years between the Arsenalen, the Swedish armored museum, and museums in Poland, and some exchange of vehicles has taken place. Goran N

I am interested in purchasing a Dodge D15 T/222 in good, complete, and running condition, like the PPA (Popski's Private Army) one in the photo. Goran N

Where did you get hold of the sloping main brake cylinder? I know that Vintage PowerWagons in the US sell them (repro) for 169 USD:http://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/featured-parts-catalog.html Goran N

Nicely done cab transplant, I must say. Chevy 1½ ton cab is my guess. There are many of these "Bubbaized" mainly Dodge WC 51/52/62/63's outside old service/gas stations across France. Some better, and some worse. Many have had their gasoline/petrol engines replaced by diesel engines due to the high tax that historically was levied on gasoline engines in France. I'd love to get my hands on a nice clean, not too worn out, with the 230 c.i. engine, WC62, to build a replica Cinemobile of the American Red Cross. These were used, one Dodge Cinemobile, to eight GMC Clubmobiles, around the battlefields of Europe post D-day. Goran N

I didn't go to Normandy this year, but have been there on five occasions, 1984, 1989, 1994, 2004, and 2009. That will do for a while. 2015 is the celebrations of the end of World War 2 and I have set my plans: ITALY. The Italian theater of operations have been sadly neglected for years. They have a big celebration in April each year: Colonna della Libertá / Gotica Toscana http://www.goticatoscana.eu/IT/Eventi/La_Colonna_2014/colonna_della_liberta_2014.html - well worth going to. One downside of this celebration is that the weather can be fairly cold, and it can be rainy at times. We are a group planning on going in early June, or late May, starting in Stockholm, Sweden. We might take the way past Normandy and stay a few days before driving on to Italy. The Gothic Line is well worth visiting, and Monte Cassino is a must. Pros: Nicer weather, friendly people, lower prices for everything, beautiful landscape, etc. etc. Cons: Distance to drive Goran N

A number of people apparently bought several sets and put some aside for the future while prices were low. There must be new tracks available out there, but my guess is that the owners of these tracks hold on to them waiting for prices to go up even more. I know of a company in Argentina that manufactures tracks for the half tracks. There's still some in use by the Argentinian army, and some other South American countries. Venezuela used a good number of WW2 US Half tracks up until former president Chavez decided to replace all US made equipment with Soviet/Russia block equipment, tanks, APC's, helicopters, etc. etc. Someone in the US has tried contacting the Argentinian manufacturer to set up a purchase deal, but failed, for reasons unknown. A Chinese company manufactures new M48 Chevron tracks for Shermans, these are sold in Europe by Staman Trading in Holland. Price for a pair is 26.000€ (check for price quote, price might be out of date): http://www.staman.nl/index.php?item=armoured-vehicle-parts&action=page&group_id=14&lang=EN I think there's a growing interest for replacement tracks not only for half tracks but also for a good number of Studebaker M29 Weasel's. There's an all rubber replacement track for the M29 for sale but is, in my humble opinion, ugly as s**t. Then there's the considerable number of M3 Stuarts that have come out of Brazil in the last few years, thanks to Mike Stalwood, that eventually will need new tracks. Three more M3's ex Brazil appeared in Europe not too long ago. So that's 20+ M3's. Goran N

"All I know at minute is it was demobbed in France in 1946. To a civilian owner " - Who kept the original engine and didn't swap it out for a modern diesel! Congrats to a super vehicle. Looks VERY solid. Hope you can find a nice trailer combo for it too. Goran N

A group of Russian engineers and mechanics built a running replica of a German Tiger tank to be used in a motion picture a few years back. They built it from scratch and used a V12 diesel engine to power it. Here's a short video on Youtube: Here's another Youtube video, albeit only in Russian, and it's about this guy outside of the city of Novosibirsk in Siberia who builds tanks and armored vehicles out of scrap. He sometimes uses 1:35 plastic models as templates to build the copies (!). Goran N

I've heard that they used empty 105mm shells in place off the silencer/muffler in the field. Goran N

Fantastic project! THE place to go to see T-26's (plural) is, of course, the Parola Armor museum in Finland. They have several complete examples, some even in running condition. The Finnish army captured a good number tanks from the Soviets during the Winter War's. Their website: http://www.panssarimuseo.fi/kehys-e.html Good luck, Goran N

Swedish UN forces in Cyprus also used Ferret's. Goran N

I guess you could get a new front floor piece as made by MD Juan. Goran N

Are there no turrets left on ranges somewhere? I have heard stories over the years of people who have been visiting ranges "Off the record" and found loads of stuff no one knew about, Shermans, M10, Churchills, etc. etc. Making a turret is doable (not easy-but doable) compared to the effort and work it would take to build the rest of a tank.... =) Goran N

You and your father will have plenty to look at once you're there. There's a small museum in almost every little village in Normandy, it seems. The coastal area from east to west is not very long and driving around the invasion coast is not very time consuming (unless you go there around June 6). Lots of nice restaurants, small hotels, etc. There's tons of information found on the internet. Google "travelling in Normanide" and see what comes up. This for example: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/d-day-beaches (Googled: "traveling around d-day normandie") Go lycke med resan, Göran N

I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, I'm NOT jealous and I do NOT want my own Cromwell, .................... I've seen a few of the Charioteers and Comets that the Finnish armor museum have "behind the curtains", and I hope they'll release a few more to private collectors. We want to see more British armour running and being shown to the public. Fantastic work! Can't wait to see it running. Goran N

Here's one way of solving the problem (For the Jeep in this case): Shouldn't be too hard to do similar for the Dodge... Goran N