11th Armoured

I don't know any of the details here (& I suspect I'm not alone in this...), but playing 'devil's advocate' for a second, might I point out that the entire museums sector has taken a MASSIVE hit as a result of coronavirus & the resulting enforced closures, which has meant that for most of them their non-grant income has been reduced to zero or close to. If the privately-owned StuG came with any ongoing financial implications for the museum, either in rental charges, maintenance commitments or basic running/wear & tear costs, then I can see why management may have had to make unpopular decisions in these straitened times. Just my two penn'orth...

I've always liked the look of the Humber Scout Car & they're a fairly uncommon sight in my experience, so it's good to hear that a couple more may soon see the light of day 👍

Seconded!

I'm sure an owner will come along shortly with the definitive answer regarding turret rotation, although a fixed turret sounds just a bit inflexible, to be honest. This photo's not the clearest, but it's the best I've found thus far - going by what seems to be the MG slot and the position of the smoke mortar & bracket, I'd say this shows the turret rotated rearwards:

Some of the photos on here show the turret rotated (albeit slightly): https://www.militaryfactory.com/armor/detail.asp?armor_id=1176 Also, the first photo on here shows a chap in typical 'tank commander' pose with his upper body & arms out of the turret hatch: https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/gb/Morris_Light_Reconnaissance_Car.php Not sure if the hatch is standard or modified though. HTH, Kevin

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the standard you've achieved so far, that looks like a cracking result 👍

I'm astounded by the condition of some of the c. 100-year-old parts you have - bolt threads, nuts and even what seem to be relatively thin sheet metal sections still perfectly usable after all this time. Meanwhile, I have cars & vans that are only a tenth of that age with parts & fixings utterly disintegrated & fit only for scrap. 'Things ain't what they used to', certainly springs to mind!

Or could it even be a bit of macabre humour - 'bullseye' & all that?

It's on Facebook - a page called 'Colourised - PIECE of JAKE'. The caption for this one is: "An RAF sergeant shares an alfresco lunch with two Dutch women in traditional costumes at Nieuw- and St. Joosland, near Middelburg, soon after the town had been liberated by Allied forces, November 1944". HTH

So now you've been warned off by a 'higher-up' who doesn't want the truth revealing that the government dumped a load of surplus military equipment after the war? Probably best if you let the matter lie, then...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enfield_No._2

That's just to slow it down when descending a hill... 😉

There's one here, if you're interested 🙂 https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-NullResults-_-Results&an=Dienst&tn=&isbn=&kn=+civilian

Brake spring pliers I think, Richard - I keep meaning to buy a set, rather than resorting to screwdrivers, normal pliers & swear-words each time... 😄

I'm convinced that a trip to 'the stores' actually involves rubbing a lamp to summon a genie with access to a seemingly inexhaustible supply of obscure 100+ year old lorry parts... 😂

Apparently 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division was transferred to the recently reformed IX Corps in April 1941, but by November 1941 it had been sent to Northern Ireland. So, given the date the Valentine was introduced, I'd say the parade took place in either August, September or October 1941.

The majority of the other vehicles are from 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division, by the looks of things.

11th Armoured Division, so it's 1941 onwards. First tank is a Valentine I, I believe - 2-man turret, 2pdr, co-ax Besa & no long-range fuel tank.

The Graf Spees didn't have a hell of a lot of luck down in that neck of the woods in either world war...

'Desert Patrol Vehicle', I believe. Some info here (1985-2014 section): https://www.eliteukforces.info/special-air-service/mobility-troop/sas-land-rover/

Making a first visit to the show on Monday - really looking forward to it 👍

I'd hazard a guess that they're intended to hold a hub-cab in place - assuming that the wheel was originally designed to be used on a car. Kevin

Hi, I have a copy of an RAF Historical Society Journal that has a series of articles about RFC & RAF bomb development, and the Type A trolley is briefly mentioned therein, as follows: Ancillary equipment The introduction of bigger and heavier bombs sparked parallel developments in the context of ancillary equipment, such as the tractors and trolleys needed to transport them and the hoists that were needed in order to load them, all of which had to be done safely, of course. Prior to 1942 the Type A bomb trolley was in general use, although its maximum load was a mere 500lb. By that time, however, two additional models had already been produced: the Type B, which was capable of carrying four 500 pounders, and the Type D, which was particularly associated with the Wellington, Lancaster and Halifax and could handle a 4,000 lb HC bomb. With the increase in size and weight of bombs the Type C trolley was introduced with a maximum load of 6,000 lbs and the Type F which could deal with 8,000 lbs. The design and construction of these various trolleys was pretty much the same and they could all be used to carry virtually any types of bombs, so long as their weight limits were not exceeded. It's available online at: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/default/raf-historical-society-journals.aspx (Journal 45, page 34 has the reference) HTH, Kevin

Very 'Thunderbirds' - I like it!

Outstanding work!