Jessie The Jeep

This is a picture of the 100th Bomb Group jeep that my jeep scheme is based on. I have a couple of questions regarding the canvas on it. i) Do you think the mottled appearance of the roof canvas is just from rain, or do you know of any wartime jeep canvasses that had any kind of camo on them? ii) looking at the rear side screens, there is only one window in them, between the hood bows. The usually seen front window ( arrowed ) is just canvas. Has anyone seen any other jeeps with this style of single window side screens? Steve ps Also note the jeep in the background has the often seen, 'inverted' USAAF Bumperettes [attachment deleted by admin]

Do you really think the money saved would go to a good cause? What's happened to the £50mil a year that was being paid to the USA for WW2 debt? Does it cost much to operate them???? From the 'Reds' website..... "How much does the Team cost to operate? There is no meaningful answer to this question. The RAF already has the pilots and aircraft so they really cost nothing. The only real saving that could be made by not having the Red Arrows would be the cost of the fuel they use but that is insignificant when set against the advantages accruing from the Team's appearances. The additional costs of sending The Red Arrows on overseas tours such as the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia in the autumn of 1997 and 1999 and Canada in 2002 were entirely borne by British companies. The Ministry of Defence takes the view that British tax-payers should not bear the cost of these overseas tours. However it is happy for The Red Arrows to demonstrate the “Best of British” overseas when the companies that stand to benefit are willing to pay the bills." Steve

Here's some pics from four of the airfields on the visit list, just to tease you a little. Thorpe Abbotts http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/ta1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/ta2.jpg[/img] Eye http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/eye1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/eye2.jpg[/img] Hardwick http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hardwick1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hardwick2.jpg[/img] Metfield http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/metfield1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/metfield2.jpg[/img] Steve

I'm not a big fan of the Arrows myself, but they are a great symbol of the RAF and "great BRITAIN". They draw huge crowds to airshows all over the UK ( and the world ) and loosing them could also mean big gate losses at shows, possibly leading to fewer airshows, which in turn could mean less money for other vintage aircraft operators. I agree that cutting the 'Arrows' could be the start of further cuts, and all this while money is wasted on other projects. Since it is only large amounts of cash which keeps vintage aircraft in the air, many could end up being sold abroad or grounded. The new Cold War Hangar at Cosford springs to mind as an 'Arty' project that has swallowed up a huge amount of money. While it is great to see the aircraft under cover, the building itself cost a fortune and isn't practical to display the aircraft to their best. Because the aircraft are 'built in' to the odd shape of the building, in the event of a fire, it would be impractical to remove any aircraft. I'm sure a normal design hangar with overhead walkways would have giver better views and a safer environment for the planes. Keep the 'Reds' and save at least one symbol of pride for a once great nation. Steve

Are you sure you aren't getting into the territory of.........shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?? :roll: Let's face it, until the time comes that you can't swing your leg up into the Jimmy cab, you don't have to worry. Ooops, you aren't already at that stage are you Jack? :shake: Steve

You must be ££££££££'s lighter already!! Steve PS I'm at the peak of unfitness

What do you fly? Steve

I've moved my mid June holiday to the end of June now, so Lynne and I will be there with Jessie the jeep! Steve

Of course you can. Steve

That first picture is just too sad. I hope the museum can collect up the parts for possible future rebuild on the museum site. Steve

Had a chat with wifey, and she's gonna check her holiday chart. We were going to take the jeep to Norfolk/Suffolk earlier in June for a weeks holiday, but might see if we can change it to the week leading up to Bolero so we can stay in the area and do the tour. Steve

As my forum name suggests, my MV is called....."Jessie the Jeep". Named as a result of looking for a name with alliteration. Steve

I'm not sure of the make, but I think they were big petrol generators, I'm sure the museum at TA used to have one on display several years ago. It was removed to make space for other displays. I may even have a photo of it somewhere. I'll have a dig around and see what I can find. Steve

Also not far from Upper Billingford are these 350th BS concrete Barrack Huts. The museum tried to dismantle one of these to move to the museum site but the reinforced concrete buildings proved to hard to dismantle. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/350th1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/350th2.jpg[/img] Finally, an overall aerial of the airfield, taken in 1997. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/aerial.jpg[/img] That's all from me. I hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes tour. For further information about the 100th Bomb Group, see the 100th's own website http://www.100thbg.com/index.htm Steve

Across the field of dispersals next to the Control Tower, lies the Base Emergency Control Bunker. This is where base defence would be co-ordinated should the airfield be attacked. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/bunker.jpg[/img] Near to the village of Upper Billingford, is one of the barrack sites. This one was for the 351st bomb Squadron. While the barracks have gone, the ablution blocks remain, along with several brick/earth blast shelters. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/351st_ablutions.jpg[/img]

Drapers Farm, the location of the crash site of B-17 "Hang The Expense". The tail wheel steering lock broke on take off causing a vibration in the tail. Pilot Frank Valesh aborted the take off, but then couldn't hold the Fortress straight on the runway. It swung right and crashed through two oak trees ending up in the Farm Yard. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/drapers_farm.jpg[/img] Here is the other surviving dispersal, and the small hanger that was built on it. At one time it housed a light aircraft, but now seems to be the location of a scrap yard. In the bottom of the picture, you can still see the outline of the removed loop dispersals in the grass. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/dispersal_hangar2.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/dispersal_hangar1.jpg[/img]

On one foggy day, three B-17's collided on the end of the secondary runway in an incident that became known as the "Grand Slam". Amazingly, no body was hurt, though the three B-17's were 'Catagory E' write offs. The collision took place at the lower left of the picture. The thin concrete line heading towards the upper right corner is all that remains of the secondary runway. The Technical Site is in the wood to the left. The area of concrete upper right is the intersection between the two secondary runways. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/grand_slam2.jpg[/img] The view from the ground with the Tech Site wood in the background. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/grand_slam1.jpg[/img]

From the air, the outline of the main runway can still be seen, while the 351st BS perimeter track is intact. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/main_runway.jpg[/img] On the other side of the airfield, the poor topsoil shows the location of the main hangar base. The Technical Site was in the wood to the right. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hangar_base.jpg[/img]

Back in the Technical site, a concrete base can be found that was the mounting for the Motor Transport petrol pump. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/mv_pump.jpg[/img] Also in the Tech Site is the remains of the Maintenance Unit, now only a few layers of bricks http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/maintenance_unit.jpg[/img]

The Operations block was demolished in the early 1980's I believe, and the area is now completely overgrown. This picture overlays a watercolour painting I did onto the area where the Ops Block used to be. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/op_block.jpg[/img] Not far away, there is still a rusting Fire Hydrant sign, standing out of the undergrowth. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/hqfirehyd.jpg[/img]

Also on Communal Site 1 is one of the water pump houses, which survives today. Inside, you can still see the borehole which is approximately 150-200 feet down to the water table. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/pumphouse1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/pumphouse3.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/pumphouse2.jpg[/img]

Not far from the shower block is the Emergency Generator building. While this was frequently test run, it was never needed during the war. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/set_house.jpg[/img] A little further along the road is the Nissen hut that was used by the base Red Cross girls. This was used for domestic accomodation, along with many others, into the 1960's. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/red_cross_hut.jpg[/img]

On Communal Site 1, most of the sgts shower block is still there. The area behind the large tower has either fallen or been demolished, but the tiled floor can still be seen.

Near to Communal site 2 and the Base HQ is the Sewage Farm. The three overgrown sediment tanks can be seen centre right. The wooded area upper left was where the communal site and HQ was located. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/sewage.jpg[/img]

The Speech Centre and its blast walls are still there. It was from here that all base announcements were made. http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/speech1.jpg[/img] http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b304/vultee35/ta/speech2.jpg[/img]