mcspool

Up to a certain point, yes. I reckon the market is currently somewhere near a peak. Compare to the housing market, collectable cars, antiques, flower bulbs, etc., it goes up to the point the market will bear, and then drops.

Indeed. And in the hands of a capable driver, believe it or not, faster than a Hellcat! I know because I was on board of a Priest that was faster up a hill at Mons than the Hellcat next to it. But because of the beam across the hull carrying the gun, it will not accomodate large drivers.

Thank you Adrian. Of course I had the benefit of actually seeing you work on the conversion. You, my friend, are one of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Engineers. For those who do not yet know what Adrian and I are talking about, see this Youtube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mOoPM4RU7s. Like Maurice says, the tracks are the give away!

Whoa! That is one from an entirely different league, isn't it? The extraordinary Mk. IV! H.

Eivind, Thanks, sounds like a purposeful military spec. That is the beauty of LR's, customers being able to spec their own vehicles from the LR "Meccano box of parts". But not always a succes, as we have seen with Dutch Army Series 3 LR's. That camouflage scheme makes it look even more purposeful! Is it the same as the Swedish M90 scheme? Looking forward to the article! Hanno

Yes, Fokker built large numbers of F104's during 1962-1965 under licence. Later also F16's, but it won't happen with the F-35 as the aircraft assembly part of the company no longer exists, only components and services. That F104 at Otterburn was one of many to fall from the sky. . . H.

Rick, Post war civvy conversion, no doubt about it. Is it not this one, is it? http://ccmv.fotopic.net/p55648016.html We´ve seen it on here before. - Hanno

Yes, after being used by Recce units, the Dutch AMX-13's were used in an anti-tank role, first with artillery and then infantry units. They were not a succes in that role either. . . - H.

That is what they had to do in the end: select the smallest guys from the draftees. Could work for tank crews, but not for APCs as you would have to restrict entire infantry battalions in height. . . So it was get in, move over and shut up. H.

Funny isn't it?!?! And then the big guys asked the small guys to fit a bigger gun in their small tank - or should I say "tankette"? A typical case of trying to get the biggest bang for the guilder. . . In the early 1960s the AMX-13 replaced the M24 Chaffee in Cavalry Recce units. I can see why Recce units want a small tank, but why did they need an upgunned one? H.

Eivind, Welcome to this forum. Interesting to read about the Norwegian Army Land Rovers. I did not know they were so different. A quick Google search did not yield a lot of info - only one pic, see below. Can you tell us more about the specs? Do you have pictures? Thanks & regards, Hanno (from Holland)

Steve, Great input. Apart from the problems you mentioned the French and Dutch found out that upgunning at some point will also affect the turret structure. The Dutch Army requested their AMX-13's to be equipped with the 105mm gun, this variant was designated AMX-13/105 Modèle 58 by the French. Some time after being taken in service, the Dutch Army noticed cracks in the FL-12 turret's casting. At first it was thought this was due to bad casting or metallurgy, but later it turned out the 105mm guns' recoil force was causing the cracks. All sorts of modifications were carried out, the main one was restricting its use! Buying the AMX-13 fleet turned out to be a disaster. Apart from the above, how are you going to fit the largest people in the world in armoured vehicles designed for one of the world's smallest people?!?! Technically they were not very relaible either. Today, even as targets they do not very well as the armour is too thin. . . Rumour has it that the French were going to sell their Mirage fighter aircraft to the Dutch Air Force, but due to Royal intervention they bought the Lockheed Starfighter instead. Then the Dutch MoD decided to buy AFVs off the French to keep our relations stable. Oh well. - Hanno

Here´s one in action on the Alcan Highway in Alaska. Source:

Michel, I came across these pictures of M7 Priest of the Belgian Army, I thought they would be of interest to you. Regards, Hanno http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,74698851,var,belgisch-leger-armee-belge-90-SP-tank,language,D.html http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,74699380,var,armee-belge-belgisch-leger-self-propellers-tank,language,D.html

Thanks Gordon, Here's another photo of what looks like the same type of 16 ton trailer: Details deffirences due to being manufactured by another company? Or from another era? Hanno

Brilliant stuff, Adrian, thanks for sharing the pics with us. Great to see a Ram is being restored with great effort. H.

Jim, Thanks for the info. Of course you're right, the GMC can be fitted with electric trailer brakes only, isn't it? Your outfit will be quite a sight! Looking forward to see it out and about. Hanno

Thanks Adrian, Looks like they turned it into a useful tool. Those side rails look like the reinforce the bed and provide a useful stop for the tractor's tracks. "Gonna do 'er upper" but in reality to be sold as scrap a few years from now? Hanno

Very nice, keep up the good work! H.

Not if they would sell them for a realistic price to recoup the cost to ship them from abroad back to the UK. They would remain unsold, and scrapped in the end. And then some newspaper would get on the story and publish an article about the MoD wasting taxpayers money on shipping scrap steel half way across the globe! H.

No, I have the same problem, I have to login every time that I visit. Hanno

Just read that Henry Venetta's Museum is closed. Henry passed away and his collection was sold to a certain Reed Knight of Knights Armament. It has been moved to Florida. Hanno

Adrian, Thanks, I would like to see what that combination looks like, even though it indeed was a full trailer originally. Is the Bedford a wartime one? Thanks, Hanno

Thanks Jim, I guess the differences could be the result of different manufacturers making the same type of trailer, or possibly typical early vs late manufacture differences. Is the GMC CCKW-352 in the picture the regular tractor or do you use something heavier? Regards, Hanno

Jim, Thanks for doing all this research on this turret and sharing it with us. Hanno