Great War truck

Thanks PM sent. Tim (too)

I am sure that this is a topic that has been covered before, but how do you research the WW2 military history of a relative? Many thanks Tim (too)

You are right.I wonder how i missed such an interesting story first time round. Ah well. Sorry. Tim (too)

I dont have any, but was wondering if any of our knowledgable USAAF enthusiasts might have some. Anybody? Tim (too)

So what are Sextons doing in the USA? Tim (too)

So whats the consensus? Is it a totally fake photo, or something that somebody made up for a bit of fun. You have seen the Toylander? It was discussed in another forum, but i cant remember what the consensus was. Tim (too)

Groan..................

Great place to store your lobster pots.

I received this today. Done some checks and apparently it is true, although a little embelished. Tim (too) Look carefully at the B-17 and note how shot up it is - one engine dead, tail, horizontal stabilizer and nose shot up. It was ready to fall out of the sky.. Then realize that there is a German ME-109 fighter flying next to it. Now read the story below. I think you'll be surprised..... Charlie Brown was a B-17 Flying Fortress pilot with the 379th Bomber Group at Kimbolton , England . His B-17 was called 'Ye Old Pub' and was in a terrible state, having been hit by flak and fighters. The compass was damaged and they were flying deeper over enemy territory instead of heading home to Kimbolton. After flying over an enemy airfield, a German pilot named Franz Steigler was ordered to take off and shoot down the B-17. When he got near the B-17, he could not believe his eyes. In his words, he 'had never seen a plane in such a bad state'. The tail and rear section was severely damaged, and the tail gunner wounded. The top gunner was all over the top of the fuselage. The nose was smashed and there were holes everywhere. Despite having ammunition, Franz flew to the side of the B-17 and looked at Charlie Brown, the pilot. Brown was scared and struggling to control his damaged and blood-stained plane. Aware that they had no idea where they were going, Franz waved at Charlie to turn 180 degrees. Franz escorted and guided the stricken plane to, and slightly over, the North Sea towards England. He then saluted Charlie Brown and turned away, ba ck to Europe. When Franz landed he told the CO that the plane had been shot down over the sea, and never told the truth to anybody. Charlie Brown and the remains of his crew told all at their briefing, but were ordered never to talk about it. More than 40 years later, Charlie Brown wanted to find the Luftwaffe pilot who saved the crew. After years of research, Franz was found. He had never talked about the incident, not even at post-war reunions They met in the USA at a 379th Bomber Group reunion, together with 25 people who are alive now - all because Franz never fired his guns that day.

I went. Didnt really intend to. I came back with a bottle of Sprite and a bacon roll. Met up with Jack. He showed me his new US Army folding tables. Really outstanding i thought. Tim (too)

Tony has been busy putting the brake pads on. As you can see they have been secured with nuts and bolts. I will be down in a few days to help him put copper rivets in. Tim (too)

This 1917 dated ex Imperial German Army Henschel arrived in the UK fairly recently. it is in good hands and will in time receive a full restoration.

I would agree with Alan on the Lancia. The tracked beast looks a bit Fiat like, but with a very unusual hull. Tim (too)

Which country is this in? Then i can think about recovery. Thanks Tim (too)

This is pretty bad news indeed. Some idiot has given ammunition to the Government to ban private ownership of armoured military vehicles. Dont doubt it. This is much the same as happened in France two years ago. Tim (too)

What? No photos of his WW1 FWD and Liberty B? Tim (too)

I have just finished todays task of going through them all. Some really amazing photos there. What a treat for sad gits like me. The images match up with some that i have seen at IWM and many others that i have seen for sale. Many thanks for the link. I think i will go through them again now. Tim (too)

Sorry chaps. it didnt work out. The seller had an attitude problem and there was a lot more rust on it than i first thought, so i have let this one go. Thanks for your input though. Tim (too)

Wonderful photos. I could spend all day looking at these. I would think that strapping full petrol cans to the front of an armoured car is not the best move, unless of course, you reverse into battle (which is what appears to have happened here). Many thanks for the link Tim (too)

A friend stopped by yesterday and told me about his Grand father who was in the LRDG. He still had his badges. My first thoughts are that these are very rare indeed. In fact i can not remember seeing any before. Has anybody else seen any? Sadly we dont know much about the man as he wouldnt talk about his experiences during the war. He did once say that he went on a trip to kill Rommel, which as we all know, was not succesful. Tim (too)

Well thats alright then. We (that is the North Oxfordshire & Cotswolds MVT) had another event last night. An auction of militaria, book sale and a raffle. This combined with donations collected by Don and Tony gave us a further £383.05. As an Area we are a few pounds short of having raised £800 which was the total we set ourselves, but next Month we should beat that figure. The auction went very well and i was amazed at the generosity of what some people had brought in. RAF escape map, chunks of Spitfires, US and British WW2 webbing and bags and lots of jerrycans. Many thanks to everyone who donated and all those who bought. It was a great evening and all for a cause that we think important. Tim (too)

Jack Whats the score with the NVA. Are they still looking for donations or have they received enough now from the Daily mail and the Government combined? Thanks. I just need to know where we are at. Tim (too)

I know of eleven in the UK and there are lots more in the USA. There also seems to be a suprising number in Canada and Australia. I think that you will also find many more in France. Its funny with these things. The more you look, the more you find.