schliesser92

Solution - fit a foglamp to your trailer - and hope that it isn't foggy! You're right - French plods are a little finniky, but if they see a lamp (even if it's a dummy) they'll not bother you. Generally, not many traffic cops know all the laws, particularly in construction details. They're usually concerned with speeding and moving traffic violations. In the mean time, start combing through the tons of British and EU legislation. The rules, I have found, contradict themselves. Alternatively, make sure that the max width of your trailer is 1299mm! (probably TOO late)

The main difference, apart from frequency bands, between tank and aircraft radios, is that the ones fitted to tanks had the control panel on them, whilst aircrfat radios were usually fitted in an avionics bay (something to do with trim). The controls came up on a small control panel in the cockpit. Try fitting a 19 set in a Spitfire cockpit!

At a guess (relatively educated one) I would say that it was first sent to 5 Ordnance Battalion RAOC, then to 13 Ordnance Company RAOC, 4 th Division Transport Regiment RCT (Bielefeld), and then sent to Ashchurch for storage and eventual disposal (Withams). It would suggest that the vehicle was aquired "off the peg" and served in BAOR, until peace broke out in Europe, and we didn't need so much hardware in Germany (happened sometime after Gulf 1).

All the GS and radio-relay RLs I've seen had "9" on theitr bridge plates. The MKs had "10"

You'll be extremely lucky to find one now! They built some 1,600 of them in various versions between 1958-1967.The last versions in use were radar carriers (SPz91-2) , artillery OPs (SPz22-2) and ambulances (SPz2-2). The radar versions (70 examples equipped with AN/TPS33a) were removed from service in 1987. Of the 350 ambulances built, only 1 is in private hands (in Bavaria), and 2 retained by the Bundeswehr (1 in the Panzermuseum, Münster) According to a colleague of mine, who drove the ambulance version, they were noisy, horrible to drive and pigs to maintain.

That one in Japan was the MiG-25 FOXBAT, which was eventually taken apart, crated and then handed backto the Soviets (as they were then).

Does anyone know what happened to HMAV Mull ? It was a pre-WW2 Isles-class trawler, used for minesweeping duties during the war, and subsequently used by the Army as the "winter supply" vessel for the St Kilda Detachment, RAGW Range (Hebrides). I remember that the radio call-sign was GSQK. Many's the time I've hung over the side of her, and brought up my breakfast!

The Robur was a 4x4 1.5t truck made in the GDR. It came in several body types, the most common being GS. The were boxbodies in the CP and ambulance role. Most fire appliances were similar to ATVs - a GS with racks for the equipment. Some are still in service with (East) German Fire Brigades. There was also an unusual container (ambulance and CP role), with fold-out sides. There are still quite a few lurking around eastern Germany, preserved by die-hard commies! Quite a few ex-NVA vehicles were brought to Mainz-Kastel, refurbished and sent to Africa as part of the German Foreign-Aid program.

Iltis is a German word, and means "Martin" (as in the little beast flitting around in trees!). The plural, like sheep, is the same as in the singular.

The Mog with the double-cab was used for LAA gun crews , mainly with the Rheinmetall Rh202 20mm LAA guns.. After the Flak units were disbanded, the remaining vehicles were used for driver training duties.

First: the Mog! Unimog tractors in the SWB version were used as aircraft tractors which included the following: U34A (Steel cab) with metal plates fore and aft, in service from 1960-70 U900/406 (double steel cab) for towing aircraft up to 30t in serbvice from 1972 U1200/427 from 1994, used by the Luftwaffe and Heeresflieger Magirus Doka: known as the "Limolaster" (lemonade truck) , this vehicle was relatively unpopular with the troops. 35 DOKAs were aquired in 1988 as Iveco-Magirus 110-17 for driver training. They had a 5m long truckbed and a lengthened wheelbase (4.6m) Source: a very good book (in German) "Die Rad- Und Kettenfahrzeuge der Bundeswehr 1956 bis Heute" by Karl Anweiler and Rainer Blank (ISBN3-8289-5369-7), highly recommended!

The Taiwanese Army, has now moved on, producing a lot of it's own equipment, including improving US weapon systems/missiles. The US prescence is now virtually non-existence (apart from 7th Fleet manouvres in the area), and the only reason that Taiwan has not been "returned to the fold" is that the PRC didn't have much of an amphibious warfare capability. It was basicall a "Light Infantry" force - this situation has now changed drastically!

Yes, the Israeli Shermans were fitted with 105mm. They actually produced some very good modifications (including an ambulance) on the Sherman hull. Thereafter, they did similar things to their Centurions.

Although referred to as 2 1/2 tonners, they can carry a lot more. This is due to US Military Specifications (Milspecs). According to some veterans , an elephant is a Milspec mouse!

Oh, some German snuck in there - the Mog radio van! The date would be right as the US vehicles are in MERDC camoflague, and the Mog in Bundeswehr "Gelb-Oliv". It appears to be an engineer unit, as the first pic shows a dump truck, with the bumper-code suggesting that it belonged to the 70th Engineer Bn .

Certainly, a considerable number of vehicles were used in the ambulance/medical role, either "off the hanger" or converted. I remember seeing an article in a German modelling magazine about a cabin being mounted on a US Army 2 1/2t truck in 1944, and used in the aid-post role. In fact I made an HO model based on it. On the armoured front, the half-tracks were used by all the allies, and I believe Universal Carriers were in use by the New Zealanders in Italy.Other than that, there were limited numbers of M3 scout cars used in the ambulance role, and the Canadians had a couple of modified Chevrolerts (C15TA).The most types of armoured ambulances and ad-hoc conversions came from the Germans.

Dougy, it's me again! If you are confused by this main/step-up business - mit's quite simple really. Every command formation had two complete sets of equipment (both signals and commandposts). When "Main" was operational, then "step-up" was on the move - usually during the first phase of an exercise , legging it back towards the Rhine! When "step-up" was up and operating, the staffies would jump into their Landrovers, hotfoot it to Step-up and then take over business. Once they were up and running, "Main" closed down and then moved. And so forth !! This was happpening from Brigade all the way back to 1 Corps.Generally all movements were at night, with Brigade HQs moving their kit into location with a TOTAL blackout. At Division level we used convoy lights.

Basically all telephone/telegraph traffic out of brigade HQ back to divison. This could be sitreps, stores requisitions, orders, you know life, the universe and everything. Every unit had it's own telegraph address , so signals could be sent anywhere in the world over the system! There were, apart from the Bedfords with the radio-relay kit ,two special types of vehicle of which only 3 of each were built. But these were corps-level assets. One was the 200-line auto exchange, and the other was TARIF (Telegraph Automatic Routing In the Field) It was a complicated system to manage, and as a detachment technician with 3 Div and 1 Div Main HQ, my job was to keep my system runnning with the minimum of outage time. The criteria on how successful a CPX was , was basically a summary of outage times due to equipment failure etc The whole system had "step-up" capability so communications and control were actually 24/7, with at least a third of the kit and caboodle on the road at any one time.

It's interesting to note how many different makes/types of truck were in service at the same time. I remember at 1 Div HQ & Signals regt (Verden, BFPO32) we had : Bedford RL - primarily in the Radio-Relay and GS roles Bedford MK - Gs and with 4ton containers/cabins Commer Q4 - 1 only as a workshop vehicle (originally a radar-repair vehicle) Fordson - 1 only as an RAOC stores vehicle. A Bedford Rl with the C50 RR installation (3 bank -ie "double-anchor" or relay) , loaded out to SOP7 (+fuel,rations,water, personal baggage and weapons) tipped the scales at 13 Tons!

I don't think they were a "stopgap", it was more of an attempt to provide the grunts with a little more firepower. Didn't work too well. The only ones in service were with the School of Infantry (Warminster) and 29 (Infantry) Brigade (Berlin).

Was it the 1957 Defence White Paper ? - I thought that the TSR-2 debacle was under the Man With The Gannex - and he didn't come in as PM until 1964!

In my opinion, one of the worst is the army Medical services Museum in Keogh Barracks,Mytchett. Although the internal dsiplays are interesting, the external row of ambulances is rusting away. Additionally, because it's an "operational base", photography of the external exhibits, which also include the ambulance coach from the Berlin Military Train, is prohibited. (one must ask why - the place is just a military tech college !)

That Mog looks like the civil-defence version. Some were used by the Bundeswehr. It's in a sorry state. Are there plans to refurbish it, or is it just going to rot away?.

Firstly , from the table you'll see the same equipment in both the Mk1 and Mk2/1 vehicles - ie just a vehicle upgrade, the equipment was still BRUIN. the diagram below shows zhe interconnectivity between the three FV439s at Brigade HQ: the next shows how Bruin connected in the 1970s - within 1st Armoured Division Just add a couple of Divisions (2 & 4), Corps assets, Air Formation, logistics tail and 3 (Airportable) Div and the TA on BAOR reinforcement - and you'll soon work out that it was somewhat complicated to manage. In "metal" terms, each Div comcen had some 20-odd vehicles, Corps 30+. HQs generally had 3 vehicles,other users just 2 vehicles. Apply this to the "whole" 1 Corps picture, and you'll see that there was a lot of metal out there - and that's without the "steam radio" !! Roger

Not strictly vehicles, but the BEF in France in 1940 used WW1 60pdr guns and 6-inch howitzers (on pneumatic carriages). These were lost, of course, at Dunkirk.