Maverick

He's the latest picture, its getting there, just a bit more work to do

Its getting there, Its certainly a lot better than it was. I'll try a post a pic next week when I'm back up there

Come on guys, the farmer only wants £150 for it, yes you heard me right £150, its got to be worth that ??? Spread the word to anyone who might be interested and hurry.

Guys here's the latest. The forum member who was interested in the bowser has decided not to take it on so its still available and needs saving ASAPand I mean ASAP. Dont let this get scrapped

Yes there is some light pitting in area's as well as stained metal work, I know Its never going to be perfect but just want to get it as good as I can

I have just been offered a breech brush which is great, so I'm still looking for the staffs / rods and barrel brush. Rob any luck with finding out what colour top Cilit Bang I should use ??? Thanks

Yes that's exactly what I need, something correct for the job and practical so a barrel cleaning set for the British 155mm FH70 is ideal, but I don't know where to get anything like that, Withams maybe ???? If you can keep a look our for a set that would be great. So Mr Muscle or Cillit Bang is recommend, does that mean when I use it, do I have to shout like Barry Scott in the adverts and wear my full rubber NBC suit, or am I getting carried away and just stick to the Marigolds ??? I did think about brick acid ??? Many thanks

Hi Guys, Can anyone advise me on how to polish and clean up the breech on my Howitzer, below is a picture taken in 2001 of the breech just after I spent 2 hours unjamming it and get the mechanism to work, since then it has cleaned up fairly well but the metal is stained in places and is very dull, Ive never been happy with it so can anyone recommend what tools etc to use to polish it up and remove the staining ??? I also want to do the same to the barrel so can anyone recommend where I can get any type of military barrel brush and rods to fit a 155mm dia barrel and what's the best way of cleaning it just with WD40 or something a bit more specialist ???

Hi Guys, Went and saw the bowser yesterday and also spoke to the farmer so here is the latest information. The Farmers father brought the bowser straight after WW2 in a auction and it has been used on the farm for refuelling the combines and tractors working in the fields rather then having to go back to the farm for fuel. They stopped using it around 5 years ago when it was parked up. The original pump is missing put the tanks is complete with no holes, he think its a 400 gallon tank, it has original WW2 tyres still on it, two torsion bars have been removed from it but he thinks he has some similar ones on the farm. The outer sides/ boxes need replacing but it is basically all there. There is a large shallow dent in the top of the tank but nothing serious. A HMVF member has contacted me when I first posted it so I will give him first refusal on it before I give out contact details. thanks

Hi Graham, Theres a M38 jeep, which is simular to a war time jeep, has bigger headlights and other small diffrences or there is a M38 A1 but that dosent look like a war time jeep at all? Can you get pictures of it ???

Hi Guy's, Can anyone tell me where I can get cleaning brushes for my 155mm Howitzer. I'm looking for brushes and the staffs / rods so I can use them for cleaning the barrel rather than original equipment for display (obviously if anyone does have orignal US artillery equipment I'm not going to turn it down) I was thinking about modern artillery brushes they use on the British 155 guns, do they come up for grabs or does anyone know where I can get them ???? Thanks

I will see if i can find out what is exactly written on the plate and whats is in the back, if anything. It may take a little while as I'm not local to the Bowser. Thanks

Hi Guys, Ive been told about a Fuel bowser trailer that needs saving from the scrap man. I belive its WW2 and was used by the RAF for refuling Spitfires and Hurricanes Its located Nr Basingstoke and needs rescuing as the farmer is having a grand clear out and tidy up PM me if interested and I will give you the guys details so you can deal direct. Please spread the word to anyone who may be interested Below are the pictures and the last one is of a simular bowser refuling during WW2

Dear all, Please visit the website below and give the guy as much support as possible, He is in the East Sussex area at the moment and I spoke to him yesterday Its a very worth while cause http://www.themonumentalwalk.co.uk Or visit Facebook and type monumental walk If you agree with it please pass it on to everyone you know

Antarmike Quote: “ So why not airbags in all military trucks, ABS braking retro fitted, redsign the front ends with crumple zones, fit bigger E marked mirrors, Change all the air valves for modern versions, fit circuit protection valves here there and everywhere, maybe reversing beepers, A rear camera would be a good idea (this would also help you to see if your trailer HAS fallen off), There is no end to how you can modify to gain a supposed benfit of extra safety.... Inclcuding painting them a more visible colour (maybe Dynarod red??) so that will be better seen in modern trafiic, or driving down a leafy, winding country lanes.... Instead of writng a lot of rubish like above with lots of sarcastic coments, you could of answered the question with a sensiable answer which is what you have now done. You could of done that 9 pages ago and then said I don’t use them etc etc and then we could have a discusion. Do not try and make members look less cleaver than you, it dosent work As a nameless member has just pointed out to me and I quote “What worries me is that soon people will think twice before starting threads like this, which would be a great pity”. Forum Members: Read the question first, answer it, then disscuss it that’s how a forum works dosent it ???

We arn't talking about articulated lorries at all, totaly diffrent set up. My truck and gun are designed to have break away chains hence my orignal posting I'm very relaxed about putting two chains on, I never made it a big deal, i asked a simple question which was "Hi Guys, I need some advice and information regarding using chains for the saftey / breakaway set up when I'm towing my howitzer. The gun weigh 5.5ton so in needs to be hefty. Below is a picture of British ferret recovery chains, I was thinking of using something simular but longer as the chains that are pictured are only 2 foot long.These chains are ideal (except length) as they have the large eyes at each end. 3 foot in length would be good? Anyone have ideas or options for me ??? All i got was dont use them etc etc and it has lasted 8 pages of the same sort of reply so really i havent made the big deal and like it says on you own signature "stop being so serious"!!!

Based on the what I have read, tomorrow I shall turn off all the airbags in my car as I have a seatbelt so they aren't needed and whilst at work I will only use the one safety catch on my Atlas crane legs and not use the other 2 safety features fitted in the factory and during my lunch break I will write to all the military powers to tell them to stop wasting money with fitting chains and chaining points on all the vehicles and trailers. I don't think so, thanks but I'll be sticking with my over complicated set up knowing that if the brown stuff ever hit the fan at least I had a back up plan in place rather than being so sure that a mistake would never happen and have no second option. While I wait for the law to turn up I could wait in my safe deck chair wrapped in bubble wrap. ???

Quote Just for the sake of clarity, where on a Matador are you suggesting attaching breakaway chains? You have identified were they go on your vehicle, but where should they be on a standard, unmodified Matador? And whilst we are thinking about it where on a standard Scammell Explorer do you think is the best place to attach break-away chains? I would never tell anyone where to place anything related to safety on there vehicle, its not my vehicle so I don't know the set up. its down to the individual. I would think safety chains could be fitted to any vehicle with some mods. Quote The pin will only go through the holes, if the lock is closed. This would have alerted the person to the problem. There was obviously no attempt to fit a pin. Any comment I have made about the very high reliability of the Nato hitch, is when it is used correctly, and this includes fitting the pin. Fitting the pin is confirmation that the lock bar is in place. This incident as described here realtes to misuse of a Nato hitch, not keeping mating parts clean, not fitting the safety pin provided, ready for use on a handy little chain. If you aren't prepared to use something in the way intended, then you may well come unstuck Some people obviously think the world is perfect and so is everyone on it. Anything to do with humans usually has a amount of human error attached to it. How many times has someone forgotten to do something or change or check something especially if your being distracted by something or someone ??? Quote My view is if something is safe, adding further safety devices does not make it safer, because it was safe already. The US Army have been fitting chains and fixing points on all there vehicles and trailers since WW2 clearly the believe this is worth doing to reduce accidents and does make it safer. Quote If it is safe to sit in a deck chair in my front garden, reading a good book, wrapping myself in bubble wrap and donning a crash helmet does not make me any safer. I don't think deck chairs do 45mph and weigh about 5.5 ton, I suppose you could get killed by one if it fell out the sky?? If this became a real regular possiabity then you would protect yourself against it ?

Yes thats the breakaway chain points, not sure on the rating hopfully other members can confirm this ??

You have sumed up my reason for fitting them perfectly but I'm sure the anti SAFETY chain police will tell me diffrent

You pictures show exactly what happened to the Dutch guy, add to the fact that the tow hitch on a M35 is tucked more under the rear of the body between the two bumperetts so its harder to see it clearly like in your photos and add to that it was either late Pm or Early Am when he left his home for W&P he admitted he should of checked it better. So at the end of the day the best hitch in the world is only as good as the person using it. We all make mistakes and as Gritineye says "I think sometimes the enthusiast wants a bit of belt and braces as the buck stops with him and he picks up the bill, unlike the person who fitted my hitch. It makes him feel safer, nothing wrong with that" Gritineye has it spot on, that's all I'm trying to do add a bit of security and safety. Thanks to everyone who has helped answer my question.

Thanks Graham, thats the sort of info I needed, I will look them up on the web. I will see what pictures I can sort out in the week.

Quote: I fail to understand how you think it is possible to close the catch, and the put in the separate sprung pin, entering it through the hole in the body, and seeing the far end of the pin coming out the other side of the body, without it going through the hole in the catch. If you were using a split cotter pin, yes you could make a mistake and the cotter pin could pass under the catch, but the design of the proper pin is such it would not spring open far enough to pass over the catch, unless the catch was seated. The Pin was the correct pin for the M Series style tow hitch and the jaw was closed but the pin passed under the locking mech and passed out the other side giving the look of a fully secured tow hitch. Clearly myself and the US military have it all wrong, I must tell them to stop wasting taxes payers money on putting break away chains on ALL there AIRBRAKED trailers as its not needed.???? (apparently) Quote: I am only saying what I do, because, being mechanically trained, I don't find putting a pin in a hole difficult! Well I don't need to be mechanically trained to put in a pin in a hole Anyway back to the original subject. Is there any British recovery chains suitable for the job ???

Hi Guys, I'm very surprised about peoples views on this. I don’t see the problem with extra security when towing the gun. ????? The gun was built in 1943 and I'm sure they didn’t worry about break away chains back then as they were a little bit busy chasing the enemy across Europe. The gun does have air brakes, they have been serviced and work great but your not telling me the will stop the gun in a instance if it came separated from the vehicle and I’m sure it would make a big mess if it happened on the M25 going across 3 lanes and the central crash barrier I totally agree with recymech66 "I would definitely prefer "the towed load catching me up" and ramming me up the rear and stopping rather than shooting off to one side and running over a Mother and her 3 kids while walking down the pavement" quote Antarmike "I never use breakaway chains because my towing jaws use lock pins. I personally cannot see why they are needed if all the safety features of the original hitch design are working why there is any possibility of a trailer or towed gun becoming disconnected. For instance with a Nato tow jaw there is already dual methods of preventing the jaw opening and letting the towed trailer go" I know of a Dutch guy who came over for W&P in his M35 and M105 trailer and he believed he had attached the trailer correctly using the NATO Hitch, he had used the locking pin but it hadn’t lined up properly but it looked as though it had. It was about 20 miles up the road when he felt a nudging feeling on the back of his truck. The trailer had become unhitch and because it had breakaway chains it stayed behind the truck and just kept hitting him up the rear, it also had air brakes. So there is always a human error in everything we do, the nato hitch may be great but only if its completely set up and used correctly. So when I tow a friends 105 trailer with Airbrakes do I not bother putting on the brake away chains as it will eventually stop because of the break in the airline ??? Would the law take a interest because the break away chains weren’t used ??? I think they would.

Thanks for the info. At the moment I'm using a 10 ton rated liffting strop / sling but I'm unhappy with this as its designed for lifting 10 ton in a controled manner rather than a short sharp shock action like the gun seperating from the tow vehicle. A pair of chains at 3 ft is the ideal length so the vehicle can turn corners etc without the chains fouling. The main reason for wanting them is added secruity and yes I agree the nato hitch is up to the job a lot more than the ball hitch type but also the truck and gun gets a lot of attention and if a bored official from the DOT or VOSA and or traffic police ever go past at least they can see I've made the effort