schliesser92

Are any of the Fordson ambulances still lurking around?

The lamp was produced by Eisemann (see photo). Eisemann was taken over by Metallwarwenfabrik Gemmingen, Industriestrassec 1, D-75050 Gemmingen. They still produce generators and lamps under the Eisemann label.

Conversations with other colleagues proved the above point. They were not part of a vehicle CES, although the engineer versions of the Unimog S404B and Mercedes-Benz LG315 carried a substantial number. They were used carried or free standing and were not mounted on or stowed in a vehicle. They are not rare, a lot are in private hands, having been "liberated" from their former owners!

I've just got off the 'phone to an old ex-Bundeswehr (well civvy contractor actually) relation of mine who worked at the Panzer school in Munsterlager. He says the things were used a lot for guard duties (not unlike carrying a bardic lamp) in the "old days", eventually being replaced by proper torches, and now they use a security firm (with Maglites !)

I asked some of my colleagues who were in the Bundeswehr some time ago and here are the results: 1) a para - never saw them! 2) a tankie - remembers them, but can't seem to remember where they were used. He used to drive a Hotchkiss ambulance and had one stowed in the back. 3) a panzer-grenadier - remembers them too, had two stowed in his Marder. Consensus: it wasn't fixed on a vehicle, rather stowed to provide lighting when required, such as lighting up helipads. It was used free standing. I'm on duty with a different bunch tomorrow and will interrogate a couple of other ex-Bundeswehr guys. From what one guy said - it ties in with the "Munga Era" ie the initial series of Bundeswehr vehicles.

The "12" indicates that it was codified by the Germans. I'll ask a Bundeswehr friend of mine what he knows.

Dougy, it could be a mast-pump, but then again I only saw the older C50 versions. The mast is a lot thinner than the old Clark Mast. As for the weight , I remember that pre-Ptarmigan vehicles, loaded as per SOP7 (including rations, water, spare fuel ,weapons etc) came close to 21 tons! The Signals were renowned for overloading vehicles.

The WS88 was in limited use by the Regular Army as late as the early 1970s. Some were released from war reserve and were used on St Kilda (some 4 or 5 sets) to monitor personnel/cargo transfers from HMAV Mull to the jetty on the island.

The French used a lot of them, before replacing them with Acmats. There might be a few lurking around some French scrapyards. Might be worth taking a troll through the net.

One thing that I can't remember is how the SCAM masts were pumped up on the FV439s. In the airportable role we used a hand pump, on the Bedfords we used the air line. I can't for the life of me remember what we did for the FV439s! Important : when pumping them up, especially with an airline, do it one section at a time. We used to have some clever idiots who undid all the clamps and shot the air in. There were cases where the mast shot up, banged against the end stops and the antenna promptly fell about 40 feet to the ground. With the C50 antenna this was expensive - they cost about 1250 quid (icluding fibreglass "stringer"! In some cases the seals were blown. A mast used to cost (mid-1970s) about 1,000 quid. And they weigh a bit (about 1/4 ton!)

Britains guns had to fire matchsticks - the plastic rounds used to disappear quite quickly. As to "gunner's deafness" , my father started to wear a hearing aid not long after his retirement. I don't remember my Grandfather having one - but I was a nipper when he passed on.

Just had a look at the video. The two vehicles seem to be fitted with Triffid, so would be "Ptarmigan-related", ie the last batch produced. Another clue is the antenna stowed on top. NOT C50, which had a log-periodic antenna, which everyone knows is a "logarithmically-spaced series of transposed dipoles". The cable drums seem to fitted with cables - the outside ones should have "Quad" cable for connecting to the message centre (or access point), the inner ones coaxial-cable for the antennae.

The tractors for ALL equipment in a LtAD gun-sub was the Leyland Martian. Each battery also had a Radar Set No4 Mk7 towed by an AEC Militant. 22 LtAD Regt originally had AEC Matadors for the gun-tractor role in 1960 before moving to BAOR, where they received the Leylands. They first got the FCE7 when at Gutersloh (Mansergh Barracks) The nickname for the FCE7 Yellow Fever was "Noddy Box".

The US Army torch (right-angled) is basically the same as the British torch. The colour of the plastic is different. The British ones were mostly green (some appeared in olive). The Yanks only had olive ones.

The equipment you were referring to , and displayed at Duxford, is actually the Fire Control Equipment No 7 (FCE7) for the Bofors, known as YELLOW FEVER. It could control two guns. A typical "gun sub" in the 60s consisted of 3 Leyland Martian gun tractors , a 40mm L/70 Bofors, an FCE7 and a Meadows 27 KVA generator. there were 4 gun subs to the troop, and two troops to the battery. The LtAD regiment had 2 gun batteries. The FCE7 was introduced about 1960/61.

As to the use of the SMG - Signals technicians carried them as a personal weapons. We also had them in NI - but everyone, including technicians, preferred the relative comfort of an SLR.

It's obviously an early form of volley gun. Probably a prototype - I suspect that no one could handle it properly! And yes, the French were that bad - where do you think the word "Sabotage" came from?

Definately a trip-flare holder. Got caught a couple of times by those in training! Some that were surplus to requirements (ie "nicked") were often used as location markers , with suitable plates (or lamps) attached for aiding the movement of vehicles into location. I don't remember them having pointy ends , so it may have been modified as a Fork, toasting.

The Genes were not coupled up - each vehicle provided it's own power. One was opearting, the other standby. The Onan could just about cope cope with the radio-relay kit and lighting. The other one had to be started up to put the kettle on! I imagine it just about coped with the message centre kit. In the "softskin" role the Bedford equivqlent (TEV-A) usually towed a 1 ton trailer with two 6 kVA genes. As for the type of radio-relay kit - look at the Sankey communications trailer thread. I posted a couple of pics there - and it was the same equipment ie SR C50/R236 with RFA13 and BID200/10. (NOW you're really confused?)

They are still in use by Spain ,Italy, Germany and Argentina.The German ones are used by the Airborne, Mountain and AMF-L troops (some 65 weapons in service). I have downloaded some pics from MP.net-just check the Argentine Armed Forces thread. Shows a Pack How in the "mule pack" mode.

Re: the odd uniforms: The answer is quite simple - it was carnival time (German "Fastnacht") . A lot of these carnival organisations wear military uniforms from the Napoleonic era. Alternatively, a display of traditional uniforms worn by these regiments at some kind of show.

I used to be with the Signals unit attached to 1 Artillery Brigade, and I can't remember any Heavy regiments. Memory is fallible, though, and with so many defence white papers, one does tend to lose the overview. I remember heavy regiments in the 60s, but not the 70s, and I'm not absolutely sure when they changed the designations. Apart from that, my family was 5 generations artillery, until I defected to the Signals!

Field Regiments at the time of the introduction of the pack howitzer consisted of 3 batteries, 2 field and 1 medium. There was no seperate designation used to distinguish between towed and SP units.18 Regt RA in 1965/66 was a field regiment in Germany (part of 1 Division) with two batteries of 25 pdrs and 1 of 5.5" guns. With the move to Hong Kong in 1966 it became designated as a Light Regiment, having 2 batteries of 105mm pack howitzers and 1 of 5.5" guns. A Medium Regiment had 2 batteries of medium guns (say 6xM109) and 1 of heavy guns (4x M110). Heavy regiments disappeared, becoming missile regiments, with a battery of 8" Howitzers (towed), later M107 (or M110) and one of Honest John (later Lance)

The motorcycle , 3rd down on Morris C8's set has a civvie registration. Can't place it, as I#ve mislaid my list.v

After seeing that young lady with legs up to her armpits, who cares?