Le Prof

Hi, @Rob T is right. There's a lot of information on these interesting multi purpose trailers here: https://atf40.1fr1.net/t2742-voiturettes-d-infanterie-modele-1937 For those who don't read french, the manuals lower down the thread are self explanatory. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, David, WNR = Werk Nummer, probably pore obvious to you than us Brits. It's probaably an overhaul number from a German or Austrian workshop. A lot of allied vehicles were overhauld, repaired or rebuilt as part of the war reparations, and posssibly on civilian contract after. I would think a very rare survival to see it still in place. Best Regards, Adrian

Creativity, there you go, a new French definition... (-: It's close to Déjà vu... Déjà bu (from French, meaning "almost drank") describes the inability to stop mid pint? Even when you know you have had too many. Chin-chin, Adrian

Hi, All, having a French keyboard (one of the things I had to get used to when I came, and now have problems with QWERTY boards instead), déjà vu n'est pas un problème. (-: With special characters in other languages, I just type into Google the version without accents, etc. and you will usually find a version with all the wibbly bits which you can copy and paste into the document. I never realised déjà vu is only one of a list of related terms: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Déjà_vu Jamais vu (from French, meaning "never seen") is any familiar situation which is not recognized by the observer. Déjà vécu (from French, meaning "already lived") is an intense, but false, feeling of having already lived through the present situation. Déjà rêvé (from French, meaning "already dreamed") is the feeling of having already dreamed something that is currently being experienced. Déjà entendu (literally "already heard") is the experience of feeling sure about having already heard something, even though the exact details are uncertain or were perhaps imagined. Presque vu (from French, meaning "almost seen") is the intense feeling of being on the very brink of a powerful epiphany, insight, or revelation, without actually achieving the revelation. Being a scientist, this last is horrifyingly familiar.... (-: Best Regards, Adrian

Hi All, as of yesterday, one Little Ship fewer. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/hampton-fire-lady-gay-owners-20520205 Best Regards, Adrian

Hi Jürgen, I copied the spare parts list into .pdf, and sent it to you this morning by private messaging here. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi All, It might already be known, but using the information on Jürgen's and my Keycards, plus other information, it is evident that, at least for this contract, SS Cars numbered their chassis in order, so adding 6200340 to the chassis number gives the X number (or taking it away from the X number gives the chassis number). Best Regards, Adrian

Hi Jürgen. Contract S 8055 was for trailers numbered X6210183 to X6225182. These were built in Coventry (Lockhurst Lane, I think), from 1944 onwards. The company making them was originally called Swallow Sidecars. They changed their name to SS Cars prewar, and this is the make on the dataplate. For obvious reasons, they changed their name again after the war to Jaguar, who are still making cars today. My SSCars trailer is from the same contract, and is X6217217. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi @Baerdus Jürgen. Bavaria I know a little, it's the other side of the Alps from me (-:. If the number 01YK60 is original to the trailer, it is probably WW2, though pictures would confirm it. After the war, with vehicles all over the world, some lost, destroyed, stolen and with fictitious numbers, and the British Forces reducing in size so selling or giving a lot of vehicles away, the registration system was a mess. So, around 1948, when things started to stabilise, the army started to issue a new registration system to find out what vehicles they still had. 01YK60 is a registrtion from that period, and would heve replaced the trailers wartime X registration number. The change in number was recorded on Keycards, like the one below. Wally Dugan was instrumental in rescuing these cards many years later. The amount of information for each trailer is variable, as you can see. All the trailers on this card are water trailers. Some have nearly no information, such as 90YK02, all we can tell is it was Struck Off (disposed of) by the Ministry of Supply at Ruddington in the UK on 16/11/53. Others, like 90YK10 was chassis number 1355, Contract T879, wartime number X4577402, and was Struck Off by the Britsh Army on the Rhine on 31/10/63. Rotten floors on these are quite common, but it is a flat sheet of steel with no complicated pressings, so fairly easy to replace. Here's some more interior photos on another site: http://mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17322 Tell me if you need a scan of the parts book. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi @Baerdus And welcome. (-: Where are you located? I have a British Airborne trailer (Trailer 1/2 ton, Cargo, Lightweight, 2-WH No1, number 02YK38 (SS Cars Chassis 16877, wartime number X6217217). I can't help with the pictures you have requested, but you may find these useful: If you do not have one, then you will find the Illustrated Spare Parts List for these trailers useful. It is WO Code 13464. If you cannot find it, tell me, and I will scan a copy and send it to you next week. If you would like more details on the trailer, such as who made it, it's chassis number, it's wartime X number, and possibly the unit that used it, then you can apply here using 01YK60: https://www.rlcarchive.org/Help/VehicleKeyCards Or it may be that @wally dugan can help. If you are doing a restoration, please start a new topic for it in the restoration section. People enjoy watching, and you will get a lot more help and advice if you have questions. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi All, They seem to have been popular. See the discussion here too. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi Phil. This is a common problem in bicycle collecting circles, 'girls' bikes are not as desireable as 'boys' bikes, and even really good examples get broken for parts. What it boils down to is this: If you want to keep it, then restore it. Don't worry about what happens next. If you don't want to restore it, then sell it on Ebay or somesuch site. Make your thoughts (and pictures) on parabike compatability obvious. Sell it as a complete item, and that way the new owner can decide whether to restore or break it. I have restored stripped bikes, and it's a frustrating thing, a lot of effort I will never get value on, but I accept the reality of that in the same way as many on here who perform miracles on basket cases. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, 20 years ago a friend (Peter Griffiths) bought cosmoline coated GMC CCKW piston rings from the Port en Bessin wreck museum, recovered from the sea bed after 50 years, and good enough to be used in his engine rebuild. (-: Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, @Milcyclist 3826, I've sent a PM for more details. Thanks, Best Regards, Adrian

Hi. @MILCYCLIST 3826 I did a similar thing for US G519 WW2 Columbia and Huffman bikes. It takes a lot of searching to get a decent sample size of frame numbers. I've located about 70 of each maker. Anyway, to help you on youe quest: T105245, and T70190 is a MkV*, by BSA I think. CABE Edit: Reading through, I think you've been there already (-: Good Luck, Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, @Morris C8 that's nice. (-: 502e régiment de chars de combat were named that in 1920, though the same unit fought in WW1, and existed through to WW2. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/502e_régiment_de_chars_de_combat Best Regards, Adrian

Hi All, @welbike thanks, this was a very informative picture, and proves that I was looking in the wrong direction, and @mtskull was correct.. I agree that the image below is about as close as you can get within the confines of Googlr Earth. Thanks for resolving it. The change is so great, that you get the impression the local town planners regretted that the Luftwaffe didn't do the job for them. (-: Best Regards, Adrian

Hi All, Excellent, thanks to all for your help. So the photo was taken about here on the junction of Church Road and Cheltenham Road, with The King's Head pub on the right: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.9476099,-2.0623714,3a,32.8y,177.99h,90.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPwnqHioH4DsRWKnHqrXSOg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 I thought it very possible the the memorial had been moved, and the road renumbered, but all the other changes in that time too are incredible. That's one I would have been very unlikely to find. Yes, the 1940 date on the same image on the link is not possible, since the style ofG519 bicycle that this was based on didn't come into production until September 1942. I did wonder if the bike still existed, propping up a barn roof in Gloucestershire somewhere. With the photo being taken on May 19th 1944 (A Friday, incidentally), I imagine that this was practically their last free time to go cycling. As Army Service Corps, they would very shortly be preparing for D-Day, if not actually taking part in the invasion themselves. You can see the bike being put to one side, not shipped to France or the US because it's too big to casually sneak into a corner of some transport. I'm slightly surprised they were allowed to cut up a bike to do this, the Army can be funny about that sort of thing, especially items with serial numbers, which imply you should keep track of them. Being ASC they would have been responsible for the delivery of bikes, perhaps it arrived damaged and was written off? Anyway, thanks again for solving this question for me. Best regards, Adrian

Hi All, Please could you give me a hand? Can you tell me where the WW2 photo below was taken? I've tried to locate it, mainly through looking at likely candidates on Google Earth, but I admit defeat. Detail from Getty Image: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detai...seater-cycle-news-photo/3432934?adppopup=true The photo was taken on 19th May 1944, the five servicemen are from the US Army Service Corps. They have cut up a 1942 or 43 US Army Military Bicycle (G519) to make the tandem. It is mainly a Columbia model (below) with a couple of parts from the Huffman manufactured version (dual supply like Willys and Ford jeeps). They have also used British style 1/2 inch chainrings and chain. I know the A435 is a road in the English Midlands, south of Birmingham, north of Evesham. I come from that way, and used to drive down it often, but don't recognise the village. I think it likely it's been by-passed, and/ or the distinctive war memorial moved in a traffic scheme. On reflection, the signpost surprises me a little, as most were taken down early in the war as part of the anti invasion measures. I guess by mid 1944 this was considered less of a problem? Here's another image of the same bike from a different source, but I think taken the same day, in the same area. Detail from Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detai...he-problem-news-photo/646314404?adppopup=true The original caption read: Americans at a West Country depot have solved the problem of after duty transport to the nearest town and country tours in the manner shown in the picture. The five seater cycle was made by two of the men in their spare time from an ordinary "G.I" cycle. The five seater is by no means a freak and handles extremely well on corners or in traffic, and owing to the high man power, has a remarkable performance on hills. Thanks for your help. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, Keith, I'm pretty sure it's the centre of Valenciennes. The buildings in the background of the third photo, with lots of chimneys on the roof appear to the Caserne Vincent, still there today but without chimneys. This is at one end of Rue de Lille. https://www.va-infos.fr/2019/10/29/retour-sur-lhistoire-de-la-caserne-vincent-a-valenciennes/ The photo was taken from a little further back from here. https://www.google.com/maps/@50.3604145,3.5237101,3a,75y,347.84h,88.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sP9LnbQ-lX8pFqiktHTR9aQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 I guess the others will be in the same area, but I've no time to look at the moment. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi @bobboat Nice model, and still seems well cared for. Do you know why your father hose this particular boat to build? I'm assuming it wasn't a kit, so he must have known it at some stage? Best Regards, Adrian

@67burwood You wouldn't believe what an emotive subject early jeep grooved steering wheels is with some people, which is why most are stopping out of it (try reading the G503 website to see how upset people can get!) Anyway, I'm pretty happy it's an early Black solid Sheller wheel, Mould Number 5, from a 1941 to early 1942 Willys MB, or an early 1942 GPW, after which they were revised to solid Sheller wheels made from green Tenite acetate until around mid 1942. Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, It's possibly this aspect, with the top chopped off. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cable+St,+Huddersfield+HD1+3LP,+UK/@53.6398002,-1.7899553,3a,75y,110.81h,93.64t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfAkEXVVOi-V_kXjN_MHIDg!2e0!3e11!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x487bdc77723a63b7:0x37b3b3738ea8f222!8m2!3d53.6403324!4d-1.7895047 Best Regards, Adrian

Hi, That would be Harry Pounds Scrapyard, Tipner, Portsmouth.. And it was an impressive site (and sight). https://www.strongisland.co/2010/05/25/submarine-graveyard/ And, of course, they had a wide range of land based things of interest too. Best Regards, Adrian

@Tony Cole Hi Tony, I was working just up the road from you at Lockhurst Lane, Courtaulds Research, and had some involvement in the polymer development of the helmet, mainly Quality Control analysis, and a little compounding.. I remember walking up to NP on several occasions for meetings there. I later worked across the road in Foleshill Road at the Beechtree Carbon Fibre laboratories, producing composites and prepreg for Dunlop sports, some aviation and sports car makers, and military applications. The plaque sounds interesting, but I'm living and working in France these days, so perhaps a bit far to send it. Best Regards, Adrian Hardgrave