jchinuk

I thought it might suit the M25 on a Friday? jch

I saw this on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Tucker-Sno-Cat-Custom-Armer-/380354878683?pt=Other_Vehicles_Everything_Else&hash=item588eeadcdb#ht_7610wt_828 Any ideas? It looks like film prop? Thanks in advance jch

Most informative programme, I found out that the Tiger Moth was used in WW1...:nut: jch

Since 1966, Iran National (now Iran Khodro) of Iran began to manufacture Hillman Hunters from CKD kits, the result being named the Paykan (Persian for arrow) saloon, pick-up and taxi models became known as Iran's national car. Full local production began in 1985, after the original British production lines were closed. The new owner in Britain, Peugeot, established a new contract whereby Iran Khodro would manufacture the Paykan with the same body panels but Peugeot 504 engines and suspension, for six more years. In 1991, Iran Khodro began manufacturing its own parts for the Paykan. In its ultimate incarnation, the Paykan was constructed from 98% locally-made parts. The Paykan saloon ceased production in May 2005, to be replaced by the Peugeot RD, based on the Peugeot 405 platform. The Bardo, the pick-up version of the Paykan is still in production (2011). The production rights for the Paykan have now been acquired by the government of Sudan, and production of the Paykan is expected to restart. I always thought the Hillman Hunter a capable, but rather boring car, however it is forever linked with some of the world's most unstable countries! jch (Shamelessly lifted from Wikipedia)

If you mean Iran, they still flying F-14s, which are more complicated than F-15s and Chinooks. They also use F-4, M113s and various US kit. Rumour has it that Israel sourced spares for US kit into Iran during the Iran/Iraq war, as Israel was more concerned with Iraq (hence the fact the IDF bombed the Iraqi nuclear plant). It must be remembered that Iran has a fairly well developed industry, they manufacturer / rebuild BMPs with M113 suspension for example, so 'reverse engineering' spares for vehicles and aircraft is certainly possible. jch

Part of the problem was that the British and French National strategies in the 30s was that the 'next' war would repeat the static trench warfare of WW1, hence the Maginot Line and the development of very heavy multi-turreted tanks 'breakthrough' and slow moving 'infantry' tanks. There was also a severe lack of funds in the UK, hence the attempts to develop cheaper tanks, which were so light as to be useless. The Germans went for the 'Blitzkreig' tactic, which integrated armour, infantry and close air support, though British theorists J.F.C. Fuller and Captain B. H. Liddell Hart have often been associated with the development of blitzkrieg, though this is a matter of controversy. jch

Yes, and most (all?) Lend Lease Shermans to Russia were M4A2 diesel engines. jch

I'm sure it's a good show, though I hate the artificial jeopardy in this series, but a Spitfire is hardly a "monster" move, you take the wings off and stick it in a container! Simples. jch

To answer my own question, yes I was, you need to scroll down 'The Book' page. jch

I can't see any reference to Volume 2 on the website, am I missing something? jch

That is easy to explain, the 'Holocaust' is part of the National Curriculum, therefore it's a box to tick for museum applying for funds as children get to visit. It also explains the number of school trips Auschwitz, which strikes me as distasteful in itself, the Holocaust should be remembered as a tragic event, but not as a "visitor attraction". Getting back to Japan, there are preserved (and running) WW2 tanks Japan. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Type_89_Yi-Go_at_Tsuchira.jpg jch

I agree it's a good day out at Chatham, there is even a Tardis on site, okay a real police box. The majority of the equipment in the photos is the 'large exhibits' and reserve collection of the nearby Royal Engineers Museum (also worth a visit as it's less than a mile away). It makes sense to use the spare room at the Dockyard, especially as it's under cover. I don't know if the RE Museum has any expansion plans, but there is not much room at their current site. jch

I can remember when the show alternated with the (now long gone) fire engine show, before the Land Warfare Hall and American Air Museum were built. I'd say turn out tends to be less that the "good old days", lots of LRs and Jeeps, though the odd gem in the crowd. The 'peace dividend' means that there is no USAF visitors these days. I thought the best recent one was the year they combined the event with a Rolls Royces Owners club show, and they dragged out a display of RR engined military vehicles. jch

While I understand the point, and it's an interesting idea, may I play devil's advocate? There would be a significant cost in actually just moving these tanks about, and what if the 'private' money came from the Middle East, Russia or a German Neo-Nazi, imagine the furore in the popular press if "our" Tiger was shipped out to Dubai or paraded covered in swastikas once a year? I know the British Museum loans items to museum's around the world, but there have been attempts to repossess such items in the past. Remember both the Americans and the Russians think they won the war without help, so both might think they "deserve" a running Tiger in their museums? The other problem with such a sponsorship deal, might be that companies might not wish to be associated with a 'Nazi' tank, which is not really accurate, but the perception of the general public. jch

Thanks for the info I have found out that the British tank is the Mark V in the TM to this day, though with a rather more adventurous paint job. jch

I found the attached photo in the dark recesses of the internet, The caption reads, "The crew of a German tank surrendering to the crew of a British tank in a scene from a British film shot in Dorset, England. (Photo by E. Bacon/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 14th December 1927" I think the A7V is a mock-up (if not, the caption suggests an A7V survived longer than I thought) and I assume the British tank is from the collection that became the tank museum at Bovington. I looked on Getty's site and there are no related photos. Does anyone have any idea of the name of the film? Thanks in advance. jch

'Singapore' was a Duxford for a while too, near one end of what was their railway, now defunct. One oddity about the "Duxford" Simplex was that it had been converted to standard gauge in it's post-war usage, but converted back as part of it's restoration. jch

Is this one of the abortive attempts to get more passengers onto tube trains? jch

Parts of Duxford, notably the Land Warfare Hall, were closed over winter. Before a long journey it might be safe to check it's reopened for 2011? jch

The failures pile after "air dropping" trials? jch

I thought only Americans had a trunk in their cars? jch

The CuF "Abrams" were quite different, one here, http://www.tomtownsend-toyland.com/toyland/persian_gulf_war_australian_centurion.htm The ones in Jerico (there is a set of photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/7634992@N04/510235148/in/photostream/) are similar. The obivous difference is that the CuF ones have a representation of the Abrams side skirts, whereas the Jerico tanks seem to have more original looking skirts. I guess the oil leak proves it's a Chieftain :blush: jch

I think there was a restoration of one in the old C4 series "Salvage Squad", though the programme was marred by artificial deadlines and staged incidents. jch

While I understand what is meant, it's slightly misleading, the Beetle was designed by Mr. Porsche, it was never a Porsche, though early Porsche (the brand did not emerge till the fifties) where based on the Beetle. If I may quote from Wikipedia, "Starting in 1931, Ferdinand Porsche and Zündapp developed the Porsche Type 12, or "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody). Porsche already preferred the flat-4 cylinder engine, and selected a swing axle rear suspension (invented by Edmund Rumpler), while Zündapp used a water-cooled 5-cylinder radial engine. In 1932, three prototypes were running. All of those cars were lost during the war, the last in a bombing raid in Stuttgart in 1945. The Zündapp prototypes were followed by the Porsche Type 32, designed in 1933 for NSU Motorenwerke AG, another motorcycle company. The Type 32 was similar in design to the Type 12, but had a flat-4 engine. NSU's exit from car manufacturing resulted in the Type 32 being abandoned at the prototype stage. In 1933, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a Volkswagen (literally, "people's car" in German). The epithet Volks- literally, "people's-" was also applied to other Nazi sponsored consumer goods such as the Volksempfänger ("people's radio"). Hitler required a basic vehicle capable of transporting two adults and three children at 100 km/h (62 mph). The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of the Third Reich through a savings scheme, or Sparkarte (savings booklet), at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle (an average income being around 32RM a week).[9] Erwin Komenda, Porsche's chief designer, was responsible for the design and style of the car. But production only became worthwhile when finance was backed by the Third Reich. War started before large-scale production of the Volkswagen started, and manufacturing shifted to producing military vehicles. Production of civilian VW automobiles did not start until post-war occupation." I'm not making a political point, but just consider that starting from the same situation and after the same time, West Germany had the VW Golf and East German had the Trabant... jch

Yes, it is coal, relatively common in late war vehicles in Germany, thanks to the USAF bombing the oil fields. I understand it was "soft" brown coal, nearer to peat than the coal under Yorkshire. jch