john_g_kearney

Many thanks for your replies. I have been looking at more photographs of the A13 in German service (the you-tube video was most useful in that regard), and the tanks seem to have had their twin smoke grenade tubes removed from the side of the turret very early on. As the burned out wreck in my photo still has its smoke grenade tubes, and no jerry can racks as the Germans fitted to some if not all of their A13s for Barbarossa, I reckon that the location is France. That would tie in with the French railway wagon (it is lettered PLM, ie Chemins de fer de Paris a Lyon et a la Mediterranee). It would seem then that the tank was serving with the BEF when it was knocked out. John.

I was lucky enough to obtain this German soldier's snapshot recently. The tank is obviously a British cruiser, but the location is a mystery. The church in the right background looks vaguely Russian to me, but the nearest railway wagon is French. It could be one of those re-gauged for the Soviet track gauge, of course, but using such a valuable wagon in the Soviet Union to shift rubble does not seem likely. So is the location France? I read an article in one of the mv magazines recently about British cruiser tanks captured and re-used by the German Army. But now I can't find it. Can anybody remind me please in which mag and which issue it was in please? John.

It's coming along very nicely, Jase. Re taking it abroad, as far as I am aware you will need an export licence even for a holiday trip as it is a military vehicle - even though it is only a trailer. As it is indeed only a trailer, I don't suppose getting one will be too much of a hassle. More problematic might be the trailer break-away cable - are you able to cobble one up that will operate the handbrake if your hitch fails? You could run into trouble with the French and Spanish Police without one, or so I would worry if it was mine... John.

Many thanks, Stuart - we'll come via the B roads. Looking forward to seeing (and hearing) all that armour (and the other vehicles too, of course...). John.

Looking forward very much to this year's show - we came on both Saturday and Sunday last year just to see the T34 running... Is the Tour de France going to give any grief re the approach roads to the site do you think? John.

We went on Sunday too in order to see the T34/85 running again... No pics of that, but here are two others including one of a Crossley that wasn't there on Saturday (or if it was, I didn't see it...) John.

Yes, a very good day on Saturday - our thanks to all concerned. At the end of the last of the day's battles the announcer sounded a bit apologetic saying that next year's show would be better and more vehicles would be present. The apologetic note was not warranted by the day's show though, which was excellent; I certainly did not feel short-changed on my entrance fee. So, what would we like to see for next year? The more vehicles promised will not be spurned by me of course, no matter how much I enjoyed Saturday's show... It would be grand also to see more vehicles drive round the battlefield - only a small proportion of the vehicles at the show were seen in motion. I appreciate, though, that time and organisational constraints do limit what can be done in a day. John.

A lovely bit of kit. Or it will be, when you have spruced it up a bit... My father bought one from a garage circa 1970 where it had been used for breakdown work. For some unknown reason, it was the devil to start. It would not take any choke at all, and had to be started with the choke fully in and then idled for about 10 minutes until it was warm enough to rev normally. I was only 18 at the time, so was not clued up enough to investigate the problem. I did get to drive it though, and much preferred it to the farm Land Rover (a Series II) that I also drove occasionally. John.

I hope that the half-track was repaired OK? John.

Yes, fascinating photographs. Many thanks, John.

I see that there is a Sankey trailer with a bid price so far of £17,500.00. That must be some trailer... http://www.mod-sales.com/auction/vehicle/related/53203/Sankey_34_Tonne_Trailer.htm John.

Ian, the inside of the lids appear to have two round holes cut into them. Is this indeed the case? And are the holes a clue as what specifically was originally put into the boxes? John.

The CET I saw at Barnbow was running round the test track. It therefore seems likely that the vehicle was built there, but I can't say for certain. Incidentally, I live about 5 miles away from Barnbow as the crow flies. When the wind was in the right direction though, and I was out in the garden, I could hear the distinctive noise of large AFVs running round the test track. John.

I am sure I saw a Combat Engineer Tractor on test at Barnbow, so you could try for one of those too. John.

See such as : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_Military_Symbols_for_Land_Based_Systems John.

I am trying to read the tac mark on your trailer's tailgate. A REME helicopter maintenance unit? 71st Company? John.

Glad to hear that last year's mud did not put you off this year, Stu. Or are you hoping for more of the same... John.

1937 Ford looks good to me; many thanks, mtskull. John.

I have just twigged that the slats on the radiator on the improvised armoured car are horizontal, whereas the Fords (my posts 6 and 7) have vertical slats. So is it not a Ford after all? John.

I suppose you could say that the first facelift was that which took it from looking like a proper Series II to a Series III. What you are doing is an anti-facelift, and the vehicle looks all the better for it. I don't think that the nasty plastic grille ever did the Series III any favours... John.

Re DesertBloom's post (No 71), this photo is the very devil to find on the Library of Congress website. The link you want is: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007675259/ Click on the upper of the 'Click for more images' box, then either study each individual photograph or use the 'view pageturner' to find the armoured car as image No 237. John.

From the Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/mpc2010003715/PP/resource/ Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, Palestine, 1936. John.

Are the RASC light trucks running back to back on the railway Ford Model TT? John.

I too was amused to see that the pickup trucks fitted with wheels for use on the railway have been fitted also with a suitable spare wheel. I suppose that if they were cast-iron, they might be liable to fracture. I presume that these trucks have come from the garrison in India? John.

Thanks for the tip, Degsy, I have done a search and found it in the Radio section (a section I have never looked at before...) A useful website for International photos is: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/feature/mccormick/trucks.asp I cannot find the exact same model as was used for the radio truck, but it appears to have been built in the mid to late 1920s. I wonder if it was built for the export market. US market Internationals appear to have had vertical louvres in the bonnet sides and two-piece wheels, but the radio truck in Palestine has horizontal louvres, plus louvres in the bonnet top, and one piece wheels. Does the cab of the radio truck appear to sag rearwards? I think the chassis is beginning to bend. John.