GoranWC51

"This was Gen Maxwell D Taylor personal command vehicle during the whole Normandy campaign. It arrived on D-Day."

Honest!

Goran N

Very nice, indeed. I also like the matte OD paint used...

Good luck with the project. Looking forward to seeing it out and about.

Goran N

A Swedish DC3/C47 was shot down by the Soviet union June 13 1952, while doing radio reconnaissance. The plane went down and it wasn't until June 2003 that the plane was found and it was raised, using a special platform, in 2004.

Today it is displayed, as found on the sea floor, at Flygvapenmuseum in Linköping. It's a chilling testament to what happened during the Cold War.

The Dornier can be displayed in many different ways. Restoring it and displaying in on its wheels is just one way.

I wish the team all the luck and hope that the Do 17 is in such good shape that it will come up more or less in one piece.

Goran N

Great looking vehicle, Steve!

I am so glad to you chose to equip your Dodge WC51, as you have as opposed to the all-too-frequent "Airborne" Dodge's.

I marked my own late model WC51 (just like yours), ex Norway (just like yours), as an ambulance of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, as it appeared in Italy late 1944, early 1945. It gets lots of attention at shows and rallies due to its unusual markings. I have had it parked at rallies beside several "Aaaiijjjbbbooouunnee" 101/506 & 82nd Jeeps and Dodge's, which didn't get the attention my Dodge got, even if some of the other vehicles were up to a standard my Dodge wasn't (I prefer to use my Dodge as it was intended to be used, and a few scratches doesn't give me sleepless nights)

Keep up your excellent work. And I look forward to seeing your Dodge, "in the flesh", none too soon.

Fellow WC51 owner-

Goran N

OMG! What a wonderful find. It's amazing what still can be found so many years after the end of WW2.

"I would put a tenner on this Jeep getting more attention if it were put next to a very rare 101st AB Jeep at any show or even an M201 which was on Omaha on 6-6-44."

The problem with all these "Aaaiijjbboouuunnee" 101/82 Jeeps (some state that there are more 101/82 marked Jeeps now than there ever was during the war....) standing row after row, is that you loose interest after looking at the first two. Then you start looking for anything that stands out of the "Airborne mass". My late model Dodge WC51 was kept in its original condition, as it came out of the Nato auction in Norway, where I bought it in 1994, and I exhibited at a car show, as is, and a journalist saw it and asked me if his magazine could make an article about it. It resulted in an article, 4 full pages.....

The reason he picked my Dodge before the 101/506 Airborne Jeeps (In perfect, as new, condition) was that mine looked authentic, which the Airborne Jeeps didn't......Go figure.

Please have these pictures coming.

Goran N

Hola Julian, su Inglés está muy bien. Todos somos muy afortunados de estas maravillosas herramientas a nuestra disposición, Goggle Translate, etc

He estado manteniendo conversaciones que con todos mis amigos en Brasil gracias a estos programas de traducción. Entiendo lo que escriben y entienden lo que escribo, ¿quién necesita más? =)

Gracias por el artículo que usted! Voy a traducirlo y leerlo más tarde esta noche.

Tengo una serie de nuevas fotos con los Jeeps Airborne Britsih (alrededor de 20 fotos en total) que cada uno me llevó 30-45 minutos para restaurar en Photoshop para una buena calidad. Hay un montón de primeros planos que ayudan enormemente si se desea modelar ellos, de 1:35 o 1:06 de la escala del dragón uno.

Estoy en medio de los preparativos para un diorama, en 01:35 escala que ofrecen dos de Dodge WC51 "bips" de Brasil y una tienda de campaña scratch "TENT, FIRE-RESISTANT, SQUAD, M-1942, OLIVE-DRAB, Stock No. 24-T-320-34" Estación de compensación médica. Usaré delgada de aluminio de latas de refresco Guaraná (en realidad) para construir las paredes y el techo de la tienda. He buscado por toda la Internet para un modelo de la tienda M9142 Squad, pero ni eso ni la M1934 carpa piramidal es actualmente producido por.

saludos

In English:

Hi Julian, Your English is just fine. We are all very lucky to these wonderful tools at our disposal, Goggle Translate, etc.

I have been keeping conversations going with all my friends in Brazil thanks to these translation programs. I understand what they write and they understand what I write, who needs more? =)

Thank you for the article! I will translate it and read it later tonight.

I have a series of new photos with Britsih Airborne Jeeps (around 20 pictures in all) that each took me 30-45 minutes to restore in Photoshop to a good quality. There are plenty of close ups that help tremendously if you want to model them, in 1:35 or even the Dragon scale 1:6 one.

I am in the middle of preparations for a diorama, in scale 1:35 featuring two Brazilian Dodge WC51 "Beeps" and a scratchbuilt "TENT, FIRE-RESISTANT, SQUAD, M-1942, OLIVE-DRAB, Stock No. 24-T-320-34" medical clearing station. I will use thin aluminium from soda cans (Guaraná actually) to build the walls and the roof of the tent. I have looked all over the internet for a model of the M9142 Squad tent, but neither that nor the M1934 Pyramidal Tent is presently being produced.

Greetings

This is the photo of the clearing station of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force that I will be building a diorama out of:

(Notice the three gasoline Jerrycans placed at the entrance. They were almost certainly used to fuel one of the two heaters usually used in the M1942 Squad Tent)

Saludos

Goran N

Bienvenido a ésta forum Julian,

Yo vivía en Buenos Aires durante unos 8 meses durante su crecimiento en América Latina. Pasé la mayor parte de mi tiempo viviendo en Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Entonces vivía en Colombia, Bogotá unos años después de BA y se trasladó de nuevo a Suecia con mi familia cuando tenía 11 años y medio de edad. Me enteré de la Fuerza Expedicionaria Brasileña, que luchó en Italia desde finales de 1944 hasta el final de la guerra en 1945, casi por casualidad. Yo estaba viendo un documental sobre la guerra en Italia Cuando el comentarista dijoque tropas brasileñas participaron en alguna batalla. He desde entonces me dediqué a difundir la palabra de que Brasil es un participante activo con más de 25.000 tropas comprometidas.

Hubo un importante número de pilotos Argentinia luchan en el bando aliado, pero no sé los números abouttheir mucho, y con qué unidades Lucharon.

Mi buen amigo Emil Bruce hielo actualidad la restauración de un británico Jeep Radio Airborne actual, un 1943 Ford GPW. Este Jeep llegó a Suecia en 1956 y se quedó con el mismo propietario, hasta hace un año, cuando Emil compró. Puedo enviar fotos de su vehículo, así como mi propia (12 de febrero 1945), Dodge WC51, marcado como una ambulancia de la Fuerza Expedicionaria Brasileña. goran_noren [A] yahoo [punto] com

Saludos cordiales

Goran Noren, Lidingo, Suécia

And in English:

I actually lived in Buenos Aires for about 8 months while growing up in Latin america. I spent most of my time living in Rio de janeiro, Brazil. I then lived in Colombia, Bogotá a few years after BA and moved back to Sweden with my family when I was 11½ years old. I found out about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, that fought in Italy from late 1944, until war's end in 1945, quite by chance. I was watching a documentary about the war in Italy when the commentator said that Brazilian troops were involved in some battle. I have since then dedicated myself to spreading the word that Brazil was an active participant with over 25.000 troops commited.

There was a significant number of Argentinia pilots fighting on the Allied side, but I do not know very much about their numbers, and with what units they fought.

My good friend Emil Bruce is presently restoring an actual British Airborne Radio Jeep, a 1943 Ford GPW. This Jeep came to Sweden in 1956 and stayed with the same owner up until one year ago when Emil bought it. I can send you pictures of his vehicle, as well as my own (February 12 1945) Dodge WC51, marked as an ambulance of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.

Best way is for you to take a few pic's of it and post it here.

Goran N

Aahhhh, memories. The old "Mud City" campground.

The Swedish group I was in were in Normandy for the 3rd time (1984, 1989, and 1994) and opted for a camping in the village of Creully, I've been told that it was the place for Montgomery's first HQ after the landings.

The camping in Creully is placed on a slope so all the rain that fell ended up at the bottom of the hill - where a group of Belgians had rented the flat area for an impromptu campground, which became drenched in water and soon turned into a muddy bog....

The area where "Mud City" was placed was rented from a local farmer. I heard that all grass etc. on the field was supposed to be left as it was, according to the agreement, but the farmer opted to harvest the grass (for his animals, or to sell?) the day/days before the camping was set up. This made the situation a lot worse when the rain came, and the ground was quickly churned to mud.

Goran N

I agree that the way WW2 is portrayed can be lopsided.

I saw a french documentary a number of years back on the Normandy invasion. If that story was true the landings were carried out by 90% french troops, intermingled with a few french speaking Americans, Canadians, and a few British (if I remember correctly). It was so biased that I had to laugh, but sat wondering how french school children watching the documentary reacted.... "Hey, that's sweet - we actually liberated ourselves from the Nazis..."

The Italian campaign has also been largely forgotten in books and documentaries. A very diverse group of soldiers from a large number of countries fought there: British, South African, Brazilian, Indian, Australian, Polish, New Zealand, and several more.

Goran N

Hello Supetrack,

Really nice video. Amazing that the tank was so complete inside. It seemed to have been parked where people got climb on it, and remove items....

The quality of these old Soviet era tanks is amazing. I have seen T34's that have spent 40 or 50 years under water being brought back to life in a very short time.

Good work,

Goran N

Hehe, David..

Good one =)

Goran N

Hi,

Just what I needed, thnkx

Goran N

Hi Peter,

Can you point to the website where you found these pictures? They are very, very, small and I need to try to find bigger ones...

Much appreciated,

Goran N

I read "5907 B"...

The steering wheel is bent in a way I have seen from wrecked vehicles where the driver behind the wheel has bent it backward. That crash must have been a messy one...

Goran N

I got a full set of paint stencils for my Dodge WC51-marked as an ambulance of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy 1944-45. They did a super job on the special "Cruzeiro do Sol" markings, which were used on the Brazilian vehicles in place of the regular allied star:

My Dodge WC51 has since undergone a full restoration and I will be ordering my new stencils of Axholme Designs. Without fail the best there are...

Goran N

Welcome to the forum. Perfect English is not required here, we will understand. I keep up contacts with forums in Portugese language (Brazil) with the help of Google Translate - it works!

Goran N

The early script Ford GPW had a floor that consisted mostly of a thick layer of Bondo. It also suffered from heavy rust damage in most areas of the body. Someone with really good metal skills could probably have re-built the body with 80%+ new steel, but the show had only three weeks into which to finish the project. I hope they sold the old body to some other script Ford GPW owner.

It was good to see the GPW restored. The old man had been "tinkering" with it, but his physical ability was somewhat lacking, so its very doubtful if that Jeep had ever come back on the road if not for the TV show.

Goran N

Hi Neil,

Welcome to the friendly forum. We all love photos of other peoples collections. Some pic's of your Lee Enfileds would be nice =)

Where in southern Florida do you live? I usually try to visit Orlando once a year.

Goran N

Hi Jay,

That sounds if you need to replace the speedo cable. They get worn and dry out which leaves the needle jumping up- and down.

Goran N

Välkommen hit, Cato.

Göran N

Hej Stian, och välkommen hit.

Göran N

Lidingö

Those pictures are great! But I still think the mystery ARC vehicle in the first picture is something else. Perhaps some house type trailer? There's a large covered area from the rear tire/tyre rearwards that the buses do not seem to have.

The should be other pictures showing the whole vehicle, or the whole setup, elsewhere... Just needs to get found.

Goran N

Does anyone have information, and additional photos, of this mystery ARC (American Red Cross) Clubmobile bus?

The text with the photo claims it was taken in Italy. ARC did convert a number of British buses for use in the UK prior to the D-Day invasion. None were brought over to the continent but were replaced with the GMC CCKW based vehicles so often seen in pictures.

Picture number 2 shows one of the buses used by the ARC.

Goran N

The Dingo sports crossed Kukris denoting it to belonging to a Gurkha regiment.

Goran N