Alex van de Wetering

Hanno, Only 3 Euros postage from Amazon? I would have brought it to your doorstep for 2,50:D Yes, Pete.....you definately need this book....some nice Retriever pics inside....and also Dodge WK60.. I bought my copy from "army-book.de", Poppybooks in the Netherlands also had it on stock last weekend. Alex

Excellent! This will make for a very nice combo! Alex

I just bought a copy of the May, June, July issue of "Normandie 1944 magazine" by Heimdal in France. Interestingly it has an article on the use of LVT's in Normandy. Unfortunately my French is not good enough to fully understand the text, but if comes with some interesting pictures, including the one Jack posted at the start of the thread. From what I understand they suggest it might have been taken at Ver-sur-Mer. The article also shows a pic of one on what seems to be Omaha beach and some stills of a US Coast Guard film with one in action, all of which I remember to have seen on Missing-lynx modelling forum a few years ago. Alex

I am not sure if this has been posted yet. But I just bought a copy of the new "Tankograd Publishing" book "British Military Trucks of World War 2", written by forum member Les Freathy. It's a real must-have for anyone interested in Commonwealth vehicles with hundreds of pictures, many previously unpublished. Alex p.s. I have no connections to the writer, publisher or seller http://www.tankograd.com/cms/website.php?id=/en/British-Military-Trucks-of-World-War-2.htm

John, Thanks for sharing these pictures, excellent material! That 8cwt......afwul crash. I am trying to see what 8cwt it is....Snipe or Ford WOC? Alex

Tom, Very nice to see the truck back on the forum. I have sent Ricks ad to a number of people hoping someone would bring the truck home. When it comes to engine conversions I would go with Ajmac......fit a V8 with LPG; indeed plenty of room to fit the gas tank(s)....and plenty of ways to camouflage it. I you can't find a cheap genuine engine, maybe a french V8 is an option(?) Alex

Congratulations! That looks like a very nice base for your project. Is this one without range damage to the upper surfaces? Not only a hull, but also some bogies, sprockets, hatches and maybe even transmission?? very nice. Alex

Very, very nice!

Very nice work Guy! I love following this thread. keep up the good work, Alex p.s. also like the roof over your workspace!

Oops....it's the same pic...and it was not Omaha. According to some sources Hanno's pic was taken on Slapton sands? The discussion about M4A4 in US service in NWE has also been discussed on missing-lynx before (yep...Hanno there as well). http://www.network54.com/Forum/47208/thread/1092227736/Colour+pics+from+Slapton+Sands http://www.network54.com/Forum/47208/message/1098125417/and+a+M4A4+in+US+use%2C+Normandy- http://www.archivesnormandie39-45.org/specificPhoto.php?ref=p011468 Alex

Ouch.....think about walking on the beach bare foot and tripping over a sharp piece of Sherman.... I think I have also seen a pic before of an M4A4 dozer on Omaha Beach; I will try to find it. And no....it was a period pic, not a pic of the M4A4T at the museum near Omaha. Alex

Sharky, David, Thanks for the responce on the Extinguishers. Looking forward to the new progress shots! Alex

There is a nose section resembling an LCA in the Arromanches museum, but it's too small to be the original nose of their LCA. The Utah Beach museum also had an LCA back in the 70's, which was replaced by an LCVP later on. Apart from some wrecks and some converted to houseboats, I don't know of any other LCA's in preservation. The LST at pounds was a British built LST, built late in 1944. There are at least two US LST's preserved in the US, along with an LCI and a number of US LCT's. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more LST's still around. There is a wreck of one on the North-West African coast and a chunk of one on one of the islands in the pacific. Apart from the LCVP's mentioned by Nigel, there is a very nicely restored example in France, that could be seen in ation during the D-day remembrance 2009. There is a webste on this boat, which I can't seem to find at the moment:embarrassed: When it comes to British built LCT's, it's just as sad as with LCA's. Apart from an LCT2 in Haifa Israel (Navy museum), there are no LCT's preserved as far as I know. Albania had an LCT3 (ex Italian navy) converted into a giant generator and I don't know if it still exists. ....Sad story is still LCT7074 if you ask me. The last I heard is that it sank and only the funnel can now be seen stcking from the water in the Liverpool docks. A true Normandy veteran and British built LCT left to rot. There is one commercial vessel still in service in Holland, which was converted from an LCT3....sadly it is hardly recognizable. The LCM in the blockhouse museum in Quistreham was one of the ships used on Saving private ryan. According to After the Battle magazine, both were in fact British built LCM's converted to look like US ones for the movie. Isn't the other one in display on a Roundabout in the UK? Alex p.s. Don't think the LCM in the other thread is wartime.

Excellent work guys, great to see this old Dutchy coming back to life. The only question I have is the colour of the "period" extinguishers. Aren't they "supposed" to be green in stead of red? Love to hear more on this subject from others, as the discussion on the colour of WW2 extinguishers seems to be coming back from time to time and I never heard a conclusive answer. Anyway, keep up the great work! Alex

Awesome....keep the updates coming! Alex

Also some M29 weasel suspension parts and Mack NO's. Probably the E9 suspension.....fillers placed between the hull and suspension, which would allow duckbills to be fitted on both sides. Sam Wyner motors has been discussed on the forum before, I reckon it was in this same sub forum. A forum member went there to take pics. Seems like a lovely place to have a look round.. Alex

Geoff, It looks exellent! Another unique piece of D-day equipment to justivy a trip to Normandy! Alex

Ian, It looks like the tank from a Bedford MWC....indeed placed on a later traler chassis. Alex

Nice work Maurice. Good to see you managed to find the proper tread plate for the basket. Alex

Arjan, Please at least save the wheels, hubs, drums and maybe some of the linkages. Indeed it appears to be a set of Morris 8cwt wheels with front wheels hubs....who knows how they ended up in Holland. I think the leafs on Morris springs are tapered toward the ends, so the leaf springs could be from something else. Alex

Last months issue of Vehicules Militaires magazine has a nice restoration story of a French Citroen Kegresse P17. Alex

Good catch Ian! congrats I think the clue might be early vs. late and/or British vs. Canadian. I have seen late 30's pictures which show trailers with the large narrow wheels (16inch???), and also used by BEF in 1940. Maybe later British trailers received the smaller 13inch wheels and simplified fenders(?). The Canadian trailers were very similar and initially were rated as 15cwt with fat 16inch wheels. Later on they were upgraded to 20cwt trailer, which can be recognized by narrow 20inch wheels in a design similar to US 1 ton Ben Hur trailers. Also check MLU for some interesting reading on the subject: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9482 http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1540&highlight=water Alex

Nice find Nigel! Indeed a lot lower than a Jeep is seems....not only has the hitch been moved to the underside of the drawbar, the drawbar itself seems to have been moved downwards as well. Normally the drawbar would be in the same level as the rest of the frame. Those triangular panels seem to be covering the old position. Also it seems to me that the bed has been lengthened by moving the headboard slightly forward ( I think only the Mortar trailers had the longer bed?) the two centre pillars of the headboard were deleted and new outer pillars were welded to the front corners of the frame. Remains of the old pillar can still be seen about 15cm backwards. Is that the remain of one of the support legs still in the drawbar? Good luck Nigel....looks like a nice late winter project. Alex

Wow, really nice! The canvas came out great, Barry. Alex

Very nice project Brett. By the way....does anyone know where to find NOS or good used Dunlop Track grips for the Ferret? Alex