Dreadnought

Thats the one, thankyou very much, so they can still be found, I,ll keep an eye out. I think the one shown in the thread pics is one of the heavier weight ones. I suspect the guy who paid me so many D. Marks for mine way back then was impressed that mine was one of the lighter weight ones, same pattern, same colour just a lighter weight denim cloth, maybe a different maker, I was also issued with some very strange green trousers (the matching coverall trousers to the jacket)...except that they certainly didn,t match and were a much lighter pea green.....the RSM was not so happy about those and told me to exchange them for some in a sensible colour. I also remember having a bit of a fight with the RSM over the fact that I had Black leather soled shoes with no toe caps.....due to only being a size 7 small and they had none of the usual Bata shoes in my size, on the other hand a roomie had huge feet and had to be issued with 'Boots cobbly wobbly' ( adventure training boots) with screw on soles because he was an elephantine size in the foot.....a true Light Infantryman as I remember. Thanks for all the help and listening to my rambling.

No of course this wasn,t the correct name for it, but when I was a Junior Tradesman at JTR Rhyl, left in 1974, I was issued with a Lightweight unlined denim jacket that was very well cut and stylish (slightly heavier material than Lightweight trousers but it went well with them) slightly slashed flapped side pockets and an inner breast pocket. There were two types of cloth issued, the lighter weight ones like I had or the slightly heavier cloth but exactly the same style. At Rhyl we used to wear the jackets for weapon training and military lessons in lieu of combats, unless combats were specified for the lesson, it was also worn by the driver trademen whilst learning to drive. I was surprised on arriving at my first adult unit 22 Signal Regt at Churchill Barracks Lippstadt West Germany, that there were a couple of other guys in the Squadrons who wore these jackets sometimes in lieu of Pullovers and sometimes over the Pullover (mine was a nice snug fit so I wore without) I asked if we were allowed to wear this jacket which it seems wasn,t issued to many people and apparently the RSM was of the opinion that if it was issued then it could be worn. (was much tougher than a wooly pully and less likely to get torn) I wore mine for driver training when getting my HGV and for weapon training, gas mask training etc etc. Just what was that jacket called? by the 80s I never saw any more of them and I remember selling mine to some guy before leaving 22SR who offered me a price I just couldn,t refuse (silly money) Is that jacket rare (especially the nicer ones like I had) are there any to be had these days? I always considered that they were smarter than the wooly pully (unless like my pal Gerry you were built like an ape!! then they just didn,t fit right or look right, it was one piece of kit that definitely suited the slimmer soldier).

Sorry Guys, I have been busy, just moved here 4 mths ago and this place has been neglected for more than 5 years, I,ve got 2 houses and and a big barn/garage to restore, (before a harsh winter), the minute I have time, I will take pictures and you experts can help me confirm that it is what I think it is. It was a very hight tech piece of kit in it,s day, knock out axles, both bogies steer and not on turntables but 'ackerman' style, if it is parked in a place that it is difficult to get a prime mover to, you just bring the towing bar from the front to the rear, make a couple of adjustments and you tow it away...in effect the front becomes the rear and vice versa. It would look so good behind a big Deutz Jupiter or one of the Faun L912 trucks. I wonder if there are any Germans knocking around the forum who could tell us wether it is now a rare piece of military hardware? I promise I,ll be back when I get time to get pics, I drive past it once a week at least. If anyone needs to know anything about it in the meantime I am at cooper721@btinternet.com. Ha ha, that made me laugh, the end of the world is what the locals call it, but you have to admit I couldn,t go much further east without being able to smell Putin,s socks! shame Google earth can,t bring people in close enough to look at the trailer or I would just give co-ordinates.

Gentlemen, I live in a remote and small eastern Poland village and one of the above seems to be parked in a field in the village......or did the commies copy it? a giveway to it being of western origin are the well worn reflective plates. If anyone is interested I could get some close up pics for definite identification. (I have the 'Tankograd' publication 'Schwere Haubenzugmaschinen und Schwertransporter) This was a high tech trailer in it,s day, are there manystill knocking about.....I think I know why it is in the field....it,s just too big for these roads!!!!(My U1300L is too big for these roads!!!!) If it is worth it, I,m betting it would go cheap as chips, but we are a long way from civilisation.

Thanks for that pic of an old friend....the tin sunshade and PSA on the door certainly makes me think that was one of them. Of course in those days it had the ballast body and no 5th wheel. I suppose the old greek civilian driver those days has long gone to dust, God rest all their souls.

Radiomike7, there are some tractors (lots of really) but still so many horses that you see at least one horse and cart ('Vuz') every day, often loads up with several tons of wood. The tractors are mostly Ursus and mostly 2/3 cylinder diesels (all fitted for air braked trailers) There are some 4 cyl tractors but they are in the minority and if you have a 4 cyl you are like a Lord or a Duke or something!!!!! Yes the Karpaty are the bits of the carpathians that stick out into poland, it,s all nice and hilly round here....the laning and off roading (even logging trails if you are a sucker for deeeep! mud) are superb, this place is an undiscovered secret and long may it stay so! (I like having all these lanes to myself)

Then, my good fesm....I shall endeavour to help you, by drinking one bottle of every different kind of Polish beer...whilst sitting half in, half out of the 'sunroof' of my Pinz 710K...I shall report when I sober up a bit. (Itsh OK I,m on private land.....hic!!) (ps I can even get 'Grolsh' here!!!!!! - but sadly no 'Amstel')

Sorry Loggydriver, I was from just up the road at Lippstadt (22 Signal Regiment), but I used to hang around with the RCT drivers who were attached and we were always borrowing tennys from 10 regt, until they got their nice new Milly Mk3s then we got fobbed off with the old millys and the Albion Petrol Powered 10 Ton 3 way tipper!!! it was so slow 30MPH flat out, that it had to go free runner on exercise and start off a day before anybody else, plus half of its packed benz was for itself, I think it did about 2MPG! I knew a chap called Vince Rollock in Juniors who was an RCT Boxer...I met him again at 10 reg...he was polishing that nice 'silver' dustbin they kept in the guardroom!!!!. Ahhhhhh.....Mogmanner....now where do I know you from???...my Mog is going well..(now I,ve got Michelin Power CL,s on it - it was an embarrassment to be sat there on a track with diff locks in and all wheels churning and have a Polski Fiat 600 drive past me through the clay that was stopping me going anywhere!!!!)

Just on the theme of Russia not admitting that anyone else was involved in WW2 except them and the Germans, my American ex- brother in law who arrived with the US Airforce in the late 60,s was puzzled watching old war films on TV in UK!!! he was educated, but had no idea that the british fought for a long time before the Americans joined in. At school he was taught that WW2 began the day the Americans started to fight, likewise WW1 (History is written by the winning side! and the Americans always believed they won it! - cashed in on it more like!) And on to British/American equipment in 'Iron Curtain' films, in Poland there is a classic TV Series from either the 60,s or 70,s that follows the fortunes of a T34 Tank crew (and their dog - a German Shepherd called 'Szarik') in it you will see a sten gun being carried by a Polish resistance man and several Studebaker trucks and probably some more that I missed, it is very well done for the time, except for the fake tigers (not even as good as kelly Heroes Tigers) and the Russian 60,s armoured cars with German crosses! but all in all a fun thing to watch for any military enthusiast, (just remember that when they fire the gun, it is probably a real shell!!! they didn,t 'do' stunt men or 'health and safety in Poland back then! (they don,t where I live now!) It is called 'Sterej Pancerni e pies' (the tank was called 'RUDI')

Hello Robert, I have just joined the forum, My wife and I live in Pstragowa (podkarpacie) My Wife Dorota is Polish (she is from Myslowicze) I am from England. I do not know much about fire engines, I have driven a 'Green Goddess' Army fire engine. If you need any help with translations etc, we are always here. cooper721@btinternet.com

I haven,t read the whole thread yet and apologies if I am going over old ground, but does anyone know what happened to the two (I think their were two of them) Scammell Constructors that belonged to the PSA at the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus? (They were 'Tin back types as used by the RAF) I wangled a short drive in one of them in 1977. They used to visit us once a year to test our generators ( NATO Ace High Station JCGZ Cape Greco - long gone) they pulled a big dummy load trailer and I supposed they served other purposes. I did see one of them mentioned in an early issue of classic military vehicles.

Hello People, Firstly thanks for the welcome messages, I am retired early (54) and live in Poland, for the reason that the prices here are like UK in the 1960,s and my wife and I have bought a smallholding on a hill in similar country to the cotswolds with views similar to the Cotswolds, which would have cost £3/4 of a Million in the Cotswolds, I,m not going to tell you what it cost me, but last time it was sold 4 years ago it was less than one of those cheap japanese mini cars. I have two houses a barn and 6 Acres of field paddock and deciduous woods. It is a bit primitive here with men muck spreading by hand from the back of a horse drawn cart and it is common to see a man in 'harness' pulling a single furrow plough with his son guiding it!!!!! 1920,s or maybe earlier style! Their favourite food is pork but beef can be had in the supermarket, suffice to say that a piece of good quality meat costing £7/8 in UK costs £2 here....except I can,t get Lamb for love nor money and it,s my meat of choice!!! I was in the British Army from 1972 to 1987 and drove all sorts from Bedford RLs to Albion WD 10 Tonner (yep still had one at 10 Reg RCT in 1975 on loan to us) Commer Q4,s MK,s and Scammel Crusaders with a sprinkling of others in between, if we had it and I could get a drive of it, I tried. I even got a short go in the Scammel Contructor (which is how I found this forum - see my next post!) I have owned all sorts of Landrovers, but now own a Unimog 1300L and a Pinzgauer 710K neither British but both reknowned for their off road capabilities which I need around here, (this place is a 'Greenlaning' mecca) All the military vehicles I see around here are Polish Army 'Star' (now owned by MAN) trucks, usually with drawbar, a smattering of Gaz 66,s in private hands and the odd 'Tarpan Honker' (their Landrover) but I am way off the main roads and the military just don,t exercise around here. My dream Fleet would be: Tatra Kolos, AEC Militant Mk3 recovery, Foden FH70 Limber, Scammel Constructor (tin back as used by the RAF and PSA) Don,t want much do I. ( I,m an MVT member)