M.Rimmer

I fully agree that restoring something to working order and then not running it at all seems pointless. I suppose if we lived in an ideal world there would be both a conserved original and a restored to full working order examply of each tank,aircraft,truck etc ever built-but as we don't I guess that's for a "fantasy museum" thread!.

IMO many military museums are rather behind others when it comes to how they deal with the conservation of vehicles of all types.

Thanks Gordon. In your pics it looks very like the DTB,I guess all models of Carter for the Chrysler flatheads were externally similar.

Will you be getting tracks made?.

Regards,

Matt.

Sorry Trustmeimamechanic but to some extent I disagree. A vehicle-be it an aircraft,tank,truck or ship is an object just like any other and while maintaining it in running order might be better mechanically it often does not help to preserve the rest of the object. Take the LRDG Chevrolet at IWM Lambeth or Corsair KD431 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum as examples of a truck and aircraft which if restored to working order would loose much of their originality and history in the process.

I do agree that having a vehicle in running order is often very evocative,but it is not the be all and end all of preserving a vehicle,a non-running truck or aircraft in original condition,perhaps still bearing the scars of war,can be just as evocative-if not more so.

To answer GWT's original question,Yes I would consider selling(or maybe donating)a vehicle to a museum but it would depend on the museum in question as some(in the case of aircraft museums)tend to see vehicles as "dressing" for their larger exhibits and not necessarily worthy of proper care and preservation.

So several are preserved in the UK. I wonder if Historic Scotland are aware of these?.

It's not the getting it out,it's the long term conservation and housing which is often the difficult part!. Are there any craft of this type preserved in a museum?.

is that a US navy gunnery helmet on the seat?

The helmet looks like a USAAF M3 Flak Helmet. It's a shame considering the amount of work which has obviously gone into the truck and collecting all the crap on it that more attention wasn't paid to getting the details right.

Hi Gordon,

Looks like a nice unusual project! what carb does it have? Carter DTB?

Regards,

Matt.

Go on Rob,take her down Porthmadog high street on Bank Holiday Sunday:D.

If used carefully Nail polish remover is good for lifting paint off dataplates which have been painted over(and no before anyone asks I don't wear nail polish:kiss:)

Matt.

Indeed! do you have the who and where?

Once it stops raining I will go and get some pics. I don't have a 20mm crate but have seen them in bare wood with the markings stencilled in black IIRC.

Do remember a lot of ammo was actually US produced,I just picked up a 1941 cardboard carton for RAF .303 ammo made by Winchester.

Matt.

Hi Rick,

Can you elaborate further on which boxes you are referring? do you mean the boxes the ammo for aircraft was delivered in?.

If you are looking for info on the boxes it was delivered in I can probably help as I have some examples of original WWII RAF ammo cartons and bomb fuse crates.

Matt.

Hi Pete,

The records previously held at Beverly are now at the RLC Museum Deepcut http://www.army.mod.uk/rlc/history/17719.aspx There is a £25 non-refundable search fee and I'm afraid for the earlier(pre 64) records it can be rather hit and miss.

Matt.

This has not been mentioned on here before AFAIK but many of the buildings at Sealand,including those dating from WW1 and the 1920's have been demolished.

http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org/community/showthread.php?568-Sealand

I find it rather sad that more was not done to legally protect the earlier buildings.

Here's one for Tony(NOS)..

This is an official photo and the original caption reads "U.S.Army transport plane refuels in Egypt. A four-motored U.S. Army transport plane,which carries men and materials of war to allied forces on the world's fighting fronts,refuels at an American airfield near Cairo,Egypt,before taking off on another leg of it's journey".

Unfortunately the picture is not dated but judging by the paint on the C-54 and the early hard cab Autocar I'm guessing 1943.

I priced up manufacturing a full Loyd set and it came to nearly £4000 and that was not taking the pattern costs into account!.

Lloyd owners don't know how easy you have it:D try pricing having Cletrac tracks made:shocked:

Interesting pic Tony,do you have any details of unit/location or date?. I do have doubts the background is blue,as R Cubed says it could be something to do with how the star and circle has been applied,though the star looks stenciled. I do wonder if he is applying the dark yellow gas warning paint?.

The Blue circle with White star is not specifically USAAF and would not usually be seen on AAF vehicles in the UK,however it was far more common on USAAF vehicles in Africa and Egypt. I can post some pics later.

My first MV memory is of the collection of restored vehicles owned by a family friend,I would be about three when I was sat in the cab of an RL. First I owned was a Land Rover Mk8 FFR "Toastrack" which I bought from a local farmer for £70 when I was 17 and sold a few months later for not much more than I paid for it. I bought the GMC when I was 19 and still have it,though it needs a rebuild due to being stored outside for a number of years.

I stand corrected,though as Adrian says the early D models didn't have the fin fillet(P-51D-5) and I thought that is what these were.

Frederic do you have any info.on the source of the photo?.

If enough people have a look at the DoB database and contact their county archaeologist with info on omitted sites which should be added to the SMR as Paul is doing it would be a big step towards ensuring the sites are recorded and protected.

The Centre for Battlefield Archaeology are reporting on their facebook page the sad news that Professor Richard Holmes has passed away.

I am sure many on here will have read his books or watched his series War Walks on TV.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13251220

I have yet to see a wartime photo of a military D2 in either British or American service.

I do know of a 1942 D4 which is ex military but it's in a sorry state,might see if I can talk to the owner this summer.

Yes the aircraft are P-51D's,probably a Ninth Air Force unit?

It's an interesting program,but couldn't they have found a better presenter?.