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Johnny

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    mtb boats

    in Naval section

    Posted · Edited by Johnny

    I'm pretty sure it would have been Brooke Marine. There might have been other small shipyards or the larger ones may have taken over other smaller buildings.

    Brooke went bust in 1992 having been sold on in 1987 and renamed as Brooke Yachts.

    The company was relaunched again in 2006 as Brooke Marine Yachts Ltd but had gone bust again by 2009.

     

    There is lots of info on the internet about them.

    One site lists their wartime production as " Launches for the Royal Navy; Fuel and Servicing Launches for Costal Command. Type ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘D’ MGB’s/MTB’s and Landing Craft under contract to the Fairmile Marine Co. and Airborne Lifeboats."

    One of the last craft built by the original company was Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Challenger 2.

     

    http://www.oceanpirate.co.uk/pgs/brooke.html

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Marine

    http://www.lowestoftmaritimemuseum.org.uk/brookemarine.htm

    wheres La noblette

    in Research Centre

    Posted

    There seems to be lots on Google about it, but not a specific location.

    This is the best I've found so far..http://www.scribd.com/doc/37880217/The-Lafayette-Escadrille

    On page 12 of the site is a map of France showing "L'Escadrille Americane" with La Noblette listed .

     

    Google maps shows "La Noblette France" as being here.. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=la+noblette&sll=49.353756,4.482422&sspn=1.94656,4.224243&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=La+Noblette&ll=49.061382,4.457359&spn=0.06119,0.197067&t=h&z=13

    There appears to be an unusually long straight field to the left of the "A" symbol, on the left side of the D977 road. Could that be the airfield?

    WW1 Tank Transporter?

    in Pre WW2 vehicles

    Posted

    I've just stumbled across this rather grainy photo on Flickr. WW1 Tank Transporter

    It's titled as a WW1 tank transporter. Is it? Don't think I've ever seen a pic of one before.

    I don't recognise the tank or the transporter, but the truck appears to be left hand drive; and possibly both a bit later than WW1?

    Could they be French, or German?

    Any ideas?

     

    This guys Flickr collection also has a few other nice WW1 pictures including a nice one of buses taking Australian troops to the front. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ww1&w=42428853%40N06

    Amphibious vehicles

    in Legislation, Licenses & Registration

    Posted

    It was an episode of Salvage Squad.

    The test was quite rigarous and I seem to remember that they had to change the fuel lines to an approved type and I think there was also a problem with the fuel tank.

    I didn't realise that it had sunk later though!

     

    They'd "restored" a Stolly in earlier episode, but ther didn't show any sort of MOT testing in that one!

     

    Just found an interesting message here... http://www.amphicar770.com/amphicarforum/general-amphicar-discussion/4634-salvage-squad.html .. from the owner of the Amphicar featured in the episode of Salvage Squad!

    Copied below........

     

    "Re Salvage Squad, yes, not the same quality as Top Gear but the Amphicar show was good. I must write up what really happened for the club newsletter but to answer a few questions.

     

    Yes the discovery was staged, car had been in barn for 20 minutes. It had already been part restored. The doors and hood / trunk had been done well and were removed for the "discover" photos and some rotten ones were fitted, that is why they change colour at one point in the show.

     

    They spent $25K on the restoration - but that all went in to body and paint. They did that very well. All joints were sealed with lead and no ripples when you look down the sides. The reason they did the quarters that way is I supplied them with repair panels from the German club. These have the correct profile at the bottom but are shorter than the ones available in the US. (Before anyone asks there are no more of those German repair panels available).

     

    After the bodywork the money had run out so everything mechanical was lashed up - the engine is my spare. The starter thing was staged, they wanted to replicate the Faulty Towers scene where John Cleese hits his Austin America with a branch when it won't start.

     

    The car had some serious leaks as the door seals were never fitted, the smoke I think was paint burning off the muffler but it could have been one of a number of things. It's pretty much undrivable because they fitted the driveshafts splines 90 degrees out - and the clutch is awful.

     

    Filming was 4 years ago. Car hasn't done much since it was finished, I pull it out of the garage and change the fluids and wax it etc at least once a year. I'm going to need to strip it and put it together properly but no big problem - I'm happy that the money went on the body and was done well. Only really annoying part is the guy they used for chrome destroyed the vent window frames - luckily I spotted it and stopped the rest of the chrome going there. I was involved throughout the restoration as they had a few problems - which is why I didn't look surprised at the end. Oh and of course it didn't drive back to me from London. It was never finished to the point where it was road legal.

     

    The show isn't on any more. The format didn't really work, TV people these days work to strict budgets and hate the unknown / unbudgeted. I had to tip at least $10K of my own cash in to the project to get it finished to the point the "reveal" could be filmed, some of the vehicles never got finished as their owners refused to do that.

     

    David C "

    Stolly sort of swimming, trouble getting out.

    in MV Chatter

    Posted · Edited by Johnny

    Surely the issue here is that recovery should never have been needed with a vehicle like the stolly.

    The problem was that it was a bad choice of entry and exit location.

    It was far too steep to launch from which means that it was always going to struggle to exit from the same spot.

    Recovery should only have been needed in case of a mechanical failure.

    If it had tried to exit from a suitable location then it should have been fine.

    I hate to use the phrase "risk assessment" but there doesn't seem to have been enough forward planning in this case.

     

    I don't know what would have happened if Stollys had ever had to cross the Rhine in anger?

    I assume that the engineers would have been tasked to prepare landing ramps for them on the other side?

    Rush Green Motors on fire

    in MV Chatter

    Posted

    We spoke to 1 of the guys working there, and he said the 100tonner is ok it was in another shed.

     

    That's excellent news.

    Lets hope someone will take it on who can look after it and maybe get it back on the road, or at least show it occasionally.

    I read somewhere that Rush Green had refused an offer of £50,000 for it as they think it's worth much more than that!! :nut:

    I fear it might be sitting there for a while!

    Stalwart HMLC Gallery

    in Transporters & Wreckers (All Nations)

    Posted

    yep a real waste, and slowly going to the knackers yard through neglect...real real shame..

     

    I think you'll find they're for sale, there are Stollies listed on his website.

    http://www.tanks-alot.co.uk/sales.htm

     

    I don't think he's a hoarder who won't let things go, just a collector/businessman with a good stock holding!

    I understand he has quite a bit of kit so probably can't manage to maintain/restore all of it, but they are arguably better being in storage with an enthusiast rather than a standard scrapyard where they would have probably been cut up long ago.

    Scammell Explorer Gallery

    in Transporters & Wreckers (All Nations)

    Posted

    Hi,

    can somebody help me with wis Scammell? What type is it?

    In the description is Pioneer 6x6

     

    Could it be a prototype that eventually evolved into the Explorer?

    The off road limitations of the 6x4 layout were aparrently highlighted during the war, so they looked at driving the front axle.

    No idea how many prototypes were built (or if a 6x6 Pioneer was ever officially released) but the Scammell register site (http://www.scammellregister.co.uk/history-of-scammell.html) seems to show two variations.

    An early looking one climbing the wall which seems to have the front axle in front of the engine, and the picture beside it which seems to have the front axle under the engine as in the explorer layout.

    Your picture seems to show a forward mounted axle, so this could be a variation of one of the earlier prototypes, or a later development of the same.

    Have any of these survived I wonder?

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