Jessie The Jeep

Thanks for the comments guys. I'm not opposed to weapons, and a 50 cal and recoil mount from a plane would be great; but a little out of my pocket just now! A local guy stopped me at an event to say he had a throat microphone somewhere in his attic, would I like it. A couple of events later, I bumped into him again and he gave it to me! Need to get a better picture. To go with the mic, I recently got a SW-141-V Microphone switch, complete with leads and necklace. Purchased late in 2005 is this HB-7 Headset, with ANB-H-1 H Earphone Receivers, and the PL-354 Plug. The rubber ear piece cups are surprisingly good at blocking out exterior sound. Steve

I've just started watching 'The Longest Day', and about 10 minutes into the film, you see a jeep drive into shot. I'm sure it's a Hotchkiss M201 or ITM Jeep, but still in its post war French Army scheme, just with a star on the hood. I'm recording the film so will check back once it is finished. The jeep grill has the diagonal while/green finish, there is the white 'flaming granade' on the side from the 1950's/60's, and the French Tricolour just to the right of the left bumperette. Towards the end of the film, another M201 is seen, with metal loop screen rests & electric wipers powered by a single central motor. Steve

Just because it is listed doesn't mean it can't be destroyed. I recall seeing pictures of a listed aircraft hangar being knocked down by the car factory company that built on the airfield. They waited about 20 years after the site purchase, then claimed the building unsafe and demolished it. History never stands in the way of making money. Steve

Back to my items again, and the last of my kit to share ( until Ebay calls once more! ). A Magnifying Stereoscope. New for spring '06 is this mint condition target analysis Magnifying Stereoscope, manufactured by Fairchild. It took until August to find a stereo target photo. The picture is of Dusseldorf. With the two photos aligned correctly, the streets and buildings suddenly stand out in three dimensions making analysis of building construction much easier. This information was essential prior to a mission, as it dictated the correct type of fuse to be used against the target. Poor fusing choice could result in superficial damage to a factory without destroying the machinery contained inside. The three dimensional image was also invaluable in assessing the damage to the target after a raid. Well that's me done. Please start your own threads showing your own kit and equipment. Steve

AN5851-1 A-14 Sextant. Bought in January '06, this Sextant is almost perfect and fully functioning. A horizon prism permits its use as a marine sextant. It came complete with its original carrying case. While the operation is slightly different to a standard marine sextant, dad soon figured out how to operate it, and this was confirmed once a sextant manual and navigators information file were found in the USA.

This is an original air force navigators brief case. The cotton stitching was so old it turned to powder at the slightest tug. Its was carefully re-stitched to allow display without falling apart. The Navigators Information File is an in depth instruction manual to all aspects of the Navigators duties. This not only includes navigation information such as operation of a sextant, but also emergency bail out and ditching proceedures amongst other things.

Donated to us by Kim Roland of the 100th BG Foundation, these two flight calculators were used by his dad, John Henry Rowland, in the 418th BS, 100th Bomb Group, flying from Thorpe Abbotts in 1944 and completing 29 missions during which time he became a PFF crew AN/APS-15 Radar operator. The following is a brief history of J Rowland written by Kim, which is a nice piece of history to go along with the calculators. Dad enlisted in 1943, and was originally in the 82nd Airborne, training for the future invasion. They called him out of training because he had a Tech School degree. They told him he was an excellent candidate for officers training. So he took them up on it and went to Alabama and was trained as a Navigator in Selma. He arrived at Thorpe Abbots in 1944, and was assigned originally to the 418th Squadron. Shortly after that he was sent to Bovington to learn the new radar systems. He did 29 missions, but was never assigned to a specific crew. He was just a floater.......flying with whoever was the lead or PFF plane because he was an expert with the AN/APS-15 radar system. After the war he decided to stay in, but was reduced to enlisted status. He retired in 1964 as a Senior Master Sergeant and was teaching computers at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He went to some of the first schools in the Air Force in computers in the 1950's in upstate New York with IBM. After that, he traveled all over the world teaching computers to other Air Force personnel. In 1964, he was awarded the highest peace time award from the Air Force for writing the first computer programs that would handle all the payroll for the Air Force. He raised five children,....... four boys and a girl. One of the prominent memories I had growing up was Dad taking me and my three brothers to the base every two weeks for a haircut. He would drop us off at the barber shop, then go to the club for a few beers. Often times, (in the 1960's) on the way home, he would recite the same phrase: "I hate this chicken-**** Air Force!, It's just a bunch of **** college kids! I wish I was a real man back in the Airborne again!" So three of us went Airborne, and between four sons we did 6 tours in Vietnam. My older brother got a Distinguished Service Cross, and we got over six Purple Hearts between us. My little sister even did four years in the Navy. We were a military family.....all the way. During those Vietnam years, we were all caught up in our own turmoil, and we never realized that our Dad did more in war than we ever did.....we never knew what he did till many years later.

Now for some of Dads stuff. He got three original air maps from ebay. One particularly is quite fragile, with the paper map separating from the hessian/silk type backing. Colour copies were made for display purposes keeping the originals for further copies. Amiens Mons Lille Ghent Market Garden

This leather bound photo album contains reprints from the archives of the 100th Bomb Group at the Thorpe Abbotts Museum. The museum staff allowed me to spend a day scanning their archives which show every aspect of life on a Heavy Bomber base. The photos have been arranged with captions written in the present tense, as if written at the time of the bases operations. It has created much interest at events we have attended.

These are a type B-4 Life Preservers, specification 94-3135. One came complete with the CO2 bottles and Dye Marker pouch, still full. These close up pictures show the CO2 bottle/trigger and stencil data.

This medal display represents those awarded to members of the 100th Bomb Group. Only the Bronze Star was awarded for non-flying action, but as it came in a set with two of the others, it was included in the display. The medals are from top left to bottom right..... POW Medal, Silver Star, Europe-Africa-Middle East Medal, Distinguished Unit Citation, WW2 Victory Medal, Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross

Other accessories that came with the 'chute were several small service logs and a booklet for emergency uses of the 'chute for survival.

There were different styles of chest parachute and harness developed across the war. This is a later style A-4 Chest 'chute. Earlier versions had snap hooks that clipped to 'D' rings on the chest of the harness. The trouble with this design is that the wearer was left hanging tipped to the rear, once the 'chute had opened. This angle made safe landings difficult. The 'chute fixings were redesigned, along with the harness. This time the 'chute had the 'D' rings, and long straps on the harness hung from the shoulder position down the front to the chest position. This allowed the 'chute to be attached on the chest position but once deployed, the wearer was left hanging tilted slightly forwards enabling a safe landing to be made. The harness isn't completely original, but made from and original backpad and hardwear with new webbing. Since I'm not actually going to jump with it, I had neither the money or interest in paying £800+ for completely original 'harness ( perhaps when my numbers come up ) Incidentally, Lynne is wearing an A-2 flying jacket, and clothing to represent a Womens Airforce Service Pilot ( WASP ) which in actual fact didn't have any official uniform as it was not part of the services. Some women purchased uniforms out of their own pocket. Their flying clothing started out being mens small sizes, but developed into their own tailored kit being very similar to male kit, but with the female shape and sizes taken into consideration. WASP's had their origins in two different organisations employing female civilian pilots. The Women's Auxilary Ferrying Squadron ( WAFS ) was only open to fully qualified pilots with commercial licenses and at least 500 flying hours. They had to be US citizens between 21 and 35 and a high school graduate. They started ferrying training and liasion aircraft, but as they proved their ability, soon moved on to larger transports, fighters and bombers. The Women's Flying Training Program ( WFTP ) was established in September 1942 under the command of Miss Jacqueline Cochran to train female pilots for ferrying aircraft to free up men for combat duty. By mid 1943, the WAFS was merged with the WFTP and became known as the WASP's. In addition to ferrying duties, WASP's also towed targets for aerial gunnery practice, flew meterological flights, anti-aircraft and searchlight training, smoke laying and simulated bomb dropping for troop training. By mid 1944, male pilots were returning from tours and the need for the female pilots reduced. On 20th December 1944, the WASP's were disbanded abruptly, putting 916 WASP's out of work. 37 lost their lives while a further 36 were injured in air accidents.

The next items I have are two pairs of flyer trousers, one for me and one for Lynne. They are the A-11 intermediate trousers. Originally I was looking for the leather/fleece trousers, but they were expensive and not very flexible for leaping in and out of jeeps. The A-11's are Alpaca lined material, very warm and flexible. While still quite heavy, they allow much more movement than the heavy leather. One pair is missing its braces/suspenders, but their size is ok for Lynne without them. However, if anyone has the correct pair of suspenders, please let me know. As my kit started to pile up, I needed something to carry them in, and found this aircrew kit bag on Ebay. It is about 2 feet long, 1 foot wide and 18 inches high, and as I've yet to fill it full, it seems to be bottomless.

Following on from the 'some of what I have' thread, I felt inspired to share my ( and dads ) small collection of military equipment, and while there's not a gun amongst them, they were no less important in taking the war to the enemy all around the world. My small, but growing collection, is focused on the activities of the US Army Air Forces, particularly the 8th AF in Europe. Dad was in the Merchant Navy for 15 years, first sailing when he was just 17. He left to settle down at the rank of 1st officer, and due to this interest in navigation, his part of the collection is based around AAF Navigation Equipment. While not really equipment, an accessory that generally goes everywhere we display is my 48 Star US flag. While visiting many events, I have been surprised to see people with WW2 equipment flying a 50 star flag. The first two items are reproduction flying jackets. On the left is a Summer Issue A-2 Goatskin leather, mahogany finish jacket, made by Eastman Leather Clothing. While not official uniform, it was regularly worn off base and on leave. They are often seen with squadron and group patches sewn to the front, and the aircraft artwork often reproduced on the back. The mission markers on the back are for B-17 flights I have made. To the right is the Winter Issue B-3 fleece lined jacket. This was lined with 1 1/4 inch of fleece to help keep out the sub-zero temperatures of high altitude flight. This example is made by Aero Leather Clothing. The 'crusher' cap is from Garcia Aviation. 'Crushers' had the wire reinforcing band removed so the hat side would fold down while wearing headphones. This crushed look soon became the mark of the combat flyer. More shortly.....

Who will be going to Pickering ( or the other stations ) on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for the Wartime weekend on Friday 13th to Sunday 15th October? In the event newspaper, it is said that this years vehicle parade may be the last due to organising and marshalling problems when closing the town. The parade has also been limited in numbers. While the main theme of the event is Home Front, German troops will be stationed at Levisham Station which is changing its name to Le Visham for the weekend and will be in 'Occupied France'. I'll have a jeep full this year with Dad, Lynne and a friend, Alexandra with me. I'll be wandering around with my camera to record the weekend events, and intend to get to all the stations across the weekend. If you see me, run for your life or come and say hello! http://www.hmvf.co.uk/gallery?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2025&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=60ae57c5a442239a3d7dc3e2224e31f0[/img] Steve

Just added some pictures from the Muckleburgh Vehicle Collection and the 'Bloody' 100th Bomb Group Museum, Thorpe Abbotts. Steve

I think I did, at the time it all happened. Steve

If they could actually do their job correctly, there should be no need to go in person!

I think they could do the MOT early OK, but I would leave the log book alone until after the MOT. When I took the jeep back to be re-MOT'd after finding the error, it was only 2 months into the new MOT, so I don't see any problems ( fingers crossed ) in getting the test early. My original log book didn't have the engine number, and this wasn't an issue in the MOT. One of the main problems was caused because my jeep was an import, and wasn't registered until April 05. That's why the computer thought it needed three years free! The MOT tester then retried using the date of manufacture, and it allowed him to continue. Each time I tried to change the log book, it took six weeks to two months, and then it kept coming back wrong. They all appear dyslexic at the DVLA as each time the chassis number or engine number came back mixed up or with digits missing! Steve

It was my Jeep they messed up on. I mailed the story to Ken who was about to MOT his Champ as I thought it would give him a chuckle, and he asked to pass it on to the MVT mag! Steve PS it then took another 6 months and three other log books before the DVLA sent me one without mistakes!!!

Nice to have you on board. Have you got any pictures of your vehicles that you can share? Steve

You drive a Landrover yes? I could do 700 miles easily in a modern vehicle that will do 70mph, in the warmth, out of the wind, that has a large cargo space. Try cutting to top off, drive at 45 mph ( because you don't want to overstrain the 60 year old engine on a long journey ), take along a weeks camping gear, a weeks clothing for two people, fridge, chairs, food, stove, gas, computer, camera, a couple of books for the Mrs to read...... and you will soon find that it isn't so practical in a jeep. You might ask why we need all of that? We took the jeep, all of the above and more to the Cotswolds on holiday with us this year, just so we could go out and tour in the jeep. We drove the jeep 300 miles during the week touring the sites, so yes, we do use it to drive, but if we hadn't been able to tow it, we couldn't have gone on holiday with it and used it for fun, which is the reason it was purchased. Short distances are no problem in a jeep. I did a 110 mile road run on Sunday just gone, but it took 4 hours on the route we took. At that rate, War and Peace would take me approximately 16 hours solid motorway driving and cost a minumum of £120 in petrol. Of course, I wouldn't be driving at 45mph on a motorway, so that limits me to 'A' roads, which will also dramatically increase journey time. If I tow there, I could probably do it in less that 8 hours and for at least half the price. Of course, why waste a holiday sitting on a road for hours/days on end just getting to a location, when you can get there quickly, and then explore different places with the time saved? As for booking time off work, my wife is the office manager in a small financial services company. When she is off, there is nobody who can take over her job so she usually has to work overtime before and after a holiday, just so her work doesn't pile up ( assuming there are cases that can be left unattended for a week ). Her holidays are limited as to when she can take them and must be arranged around the holidays of the management. It isn't as easy as just booking time off. As with all things, it isn't so black and white as you try to make it appear. Driving a 'modern' vehicle at modern road speeds is a world away from Jeep driving. What's that saying about walking a mile in another mans shoes? or should it be driving 100mls, in another mans seat?? Steve

Because living in the North of England, driving to a show in Kent for example would take more days holiday than I or my wife can afford. Other than long distance shows, I probably drive my jeep more than most others, using it almost daily, and clocking up several thousand miles per year. When you drive your vehicle to a show in Newcastle or Durham, we can meet and maybe you can explain how you can afford the time and fuel to make a 600 to 700 mile round trip? Doesn't it seem obvious why people would use a trailer? Steve

I can't remember what it was last year, but it was about £0.52/ltr 10 years ago! Steve