N.O.S.

And I have an even rarer, dare I say uber rare, all steel welded body made post-war in Germany (becoming so rare because everyone has been throwing them away and replacing with wartime-bodies (not that you'd really know)) :-D

You do need to be careful out there among them English - One lead I followed up was to an urban street dictionary website, which gave the definition of 'Deuce-and-a-half' as a lady of around two hundred and fifty pounds in weight :coffee:

Well I did send an email to someone (:thumbsup:Degsy) - so who knows what will come of it. Meantime I'm still cleaning 20 years of crap out of the 400 amp Lincoln welder diesel tank so it won't happen today.... It would be fascinating to get an understanding of what a project like this might cost - the mind boggles!

:shocking:

Oh heck. Perhaps we should all try to save her. I'm sure Tootallmike would be up for the diesel conversion (presumably still the original Sterling petrol engine in her?). I'll start saving all my offcuts of 10mm plate :shocked:

I think what I really meant was I worry for you - oh you know what I mean Just don't go starting another Fund-Raidsing Appeal!

Sometimes, Jack, I worry about you. The rest of the time I just worry about you. But wouldn't it be fantastic - can I book a berth for my Jimmy now?

Checking through the book THE ROAD TO VICTORY, no mention of Jimmy or Deuce-and-a-half is made by the truckers themselves in their own words (the book is peppered with quotations). They only refer to them as TRUCKS or 2 1/2 TONNERS. Same goes for officers' mention of them in despatches. The author however refers to them constantly as JIMMY /JIMMIES, and states they were nicknamed as such by the drivers - also mentions the DEUCE-AND-A-HALF nickname. He must have interviewed many a driver. So no satisfactory proof either way from this book!

Thanks for the link - very imaginative, wish I was that creative. I can think of some WW2 UK Blitz scenes which would be great candidates for this technique. Or even imagine a WW1 trench warfare scenic shot with wheat fields and trees blending into the trenches and destruction...oh for more spare time :-(

UWAGA! (the only Polish word I know, but quite appropriate)

Thanks. I came across a description of Beugny as being an ammunition dump for the 1918 offensive - presumably in its capacity as a railhead, but can't find the earlier depot desription as yet! http://www.circlecity.co.uk/wartime/board/index.php?page=6 Interesting site that.

Can I suggest a cutting edge or even digger teeth mounted on the underside of the transfer box? You complete nutters! Great bit of driving, and a great bit of engineering!

One thought here, Jim - when the USAAF planes based in England changed from O.D. to bright aluminium, the stocks of semi-gloss O.D. held locally could well have been utilised for vehicle repaint jobs where the lustreless finish was not so essential (not being front line).

As per the photo in post 41

Great pictures, Richard. Makes me more convinced that my press could have been a tyre press from new.

He was with B Company, 1st Battalion Norfolk Regt. Look in thread 'A Sad Ending?' around pages 7 - 14 for Regt. Diary info. Some outline info is also to be found in the New Zealand Regt records also, for the final taking of Beugny on 2nd Sep 1918 in which they participated with the Norfolks.

Roy - I found it described as a major (or significant) supply depot / railhead whilst researching Private Jackson's movements in 1917/18. Give me a day or two and I'll see if I can track down the source of the description. The course of a couple of narrow gauge line earthworks can be seen radiating from the path of the standard gauge railway there on Google satmaps. Any info on Beugny would be very much appreciated - it seems to have escaped wartime publicity despite being one of those villages/towns which was taken, lost and retaken during this period as the front moved back and forward

So was the AAF VEHICLE O.D. the same shade as AIRCRAFT O.D.?

Thanks for the information, Jim. What amazes me is that many USAAF vehicles in wartime UK photos look like they've been in use for 10 years or more - their paint is appalling, their condition best described as 'rough', coupled with tyres worn down to the canvas....and all this in only a year or so. I guess the original matt paint lasted only an odd season or two over here, given our wet / dry / hot / cold weather. So repaints must have been a regular job. Could explain the use of what looks like non- matt paint on one of these ambulances? (mind you I know enough not to be misled by old colour photos :cool2:).

You trying to stir up an international "incident" here or what, Jim? :-D Not that we Brits would stoop so low as downright jealousy.....:banghead: :banghead: :nono: The truck and trailer look just wonderful - what fortune to drop onto these outfits in such condition!

Just had a very brief reccy inside - a lot of effort seems to have gone into this project. Even to the extent of Twitter pages for each fictional character! Hope it is succesful in attracting the target audience.

Hi Don, Welcome aboard. If you use the 'facilities' at the Clubhouse workshops, please check for any of those nasty spiders falling out of your dungarees - we don't want any left in there to cause incidents :cool2: The Diamnoid T you've been working on - not anything to do with a certain SON OF THE RED CENTRE by any chance, is it?

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::shocking:

Fair comment. The problem is that nowadays - with all our protective legislation etc - it is increasingly difficult to take the box of frogs 'what happens if I do this' approach! But hey it's down to individuals what they do. Guess I've done some pretty stupid things along the way too (and hopefully learned from them). If you let the more extreme comments/exchanges wash over you, the posts as a whole add up to a reasonably balanced thread. It should be borne in mind that not every critic is an armchair critic - if someone expresses alarm at something it's worth bearing in mind that it might just be because they have experienced or witnessed or understand just how dangerous certain incidents/situations can be. Sharing that view (ideally in a way that is likely to be accepted and not antagonistic) is only acting responsibly, and giving others an opportunity to broaden their understanding. GO FROGS, GO!

Being realistic I honestly cannot see it applying to pe 1960 vehicles - while the pre 1960 and other exemptions / benefits survive.