LarryH57

I can't believe that AA Land Rover is for real, as there is so sideways movement for the gun so its not going to track a low flying fast jet very well!

Absolutely marvellous to see these photos; the air filter circled is a Vokes Air Filter, which was as you suggest a filter to keep out dust and was used on Hurricanes and Spitfire in the Desert Air Force and elsewhere. Incidentally there is a guy on here called 'RAFMT' who works at the RAF Museum and I'm sure the RAFM would love copies of all your photos.

Paul, It would be interesting to know if those tires are OK once you get them fitted. Also any chance of seeing photos of your Albion BY5 ?

It's reassuring to know that many of you like to be clean, but for me I don't need shower blocks if I can sort myself out in my 9x9 with my bucket and bowl, which incidentally is a lot more than I got in the Army on a two week NATO exercise. We didn't even have a tent let alone a 9x9 to stand up in and I didn't get any of the previously mentioned illnesses. When we wanted to go we went in to the woods with our shovel, not that I recommend that for WPR.

Why not just do your ablutions at WPR like a British Soldier did in Normandy in June 1944; certainly not daily, nor weekly. Instead wash the bits that matter out of a bucket / helmet and if you need to go do so in to a suitable container until such time as its convenient to empty it! Plus its easy to buy a small portable toilet for your own use, especially if you have a 9x9 size tent. http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/freedom-trail-portable-flush-toilet-p342818?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnubLBRC_ARIsAASsNNnc0camG5IKehwsVM-ezNv97SXmQt1vKqQMYmwcdvQE_dfczi4tzRcaAkkqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Don't forget that if the Government does actually ban petrol & diesel cars, some of you own tracked vehicles so they can't ban those if you only 'play' with them off-road, though getting them to WPR on an electric powered low loaded might be difficult, as at this time I know of no one designing such a system for big HGVs!

In our current era of screaming headlines such 'Everything on the road is to be banned by the Government to stop global warming' or 'We are all going to die' - I think it's time divide the subject in to parts. Firstly, pollution; it is true that big cities suffer from pollution from Co2 and particles, especially at rush hour so it makes sense to try to reduce this, either with more trains,buses and electric vehicles. I still see cars with one occupant driving in to Central London daily. There is also the threat that older vehicles will face increased fees for entering certain areas as more towns adopt the London LEZ process. In most cases would not seriously affect our hobby if we don't use our MV for commuting or an exemption remains for 40 plus year old vehicles. Interestingly one J Clarkson suggested that when the bus drivers in London wereon strike, pollution went down! Still that might have been a few years back. Apart from newer buses I haven’t seen any electric heavy plant, skip lorries or juggernauts, or any used by white van man trying to earn a living, but I suppose someone is working on the idea. The cynic in me thinks that charging vehicles that don't meet Euro 6 or whatever is a bit of a money spinner and that once we all become electric or hydrogen powered we will get 'taxed' for some other reason, like parking! IMHO pollution is a local issue and should never be used as a reason to stop anyone driving in the countryside. Climate Change; Not to be confused with what should be described as 'man made climate change'. Normal Climate Change has of course been happening since the beginning of time, before humans,Greenpeace or Al Gore. The Museum of London holds records showing how the temperature has changed over the last 500,000 years or more and it seems there is a spike every 100,000 years and luckily we are on the upward slope rather than heading for an ice age. However much I drive my MV I'm not going to change anything. It’s the Sun (in the sky) that's to blame and even the IPCC doesn'tdeny this! Man-Made Climate Change; An interesting concept. It must be true as thousands of people who are paid totell us such things are true, are all telling us that it is true and so nowmillions of us know it is true; very much like a religion of sorts. If someone disagrees they will be considered as a heretic and may be subject to online abuse or death threats over their differing opinion. IMHO it should be called Person Climate Change as the ladies are possibly as much to blame as men! Global Warming; Another interesting concept which is either natural or all man-made. Luckily I live in England so I have not noticed a significant change in the weather though come to think of it the seasons are now drier / wetter / warmer / colder than I remember them as a child. Co2; This is a disgusting pollutant and should be banned from everything and removed from the periodic table in disgrace!

Interesting to know that there is a bus to the Hop Farm from Paddock Wood Station. As an MV owner I haven't needed to use it but as I cannot bring it along this year I may come as a day visitor. So where does the shuttle pick up from exactly and which bus firm does the service, or is it done by a coach company like when there is a rail replacement service on mainline trains? https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.1821664,0.3894625,3a,60y,241.16h,90.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJZYlwkrDYJkr387Q2zfpQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Why people get in to MVs at the age of 39 is due to the cycle of live being school, girls, university, girls, drink, marriage partner, then getting a first home and kids - then after 10 or more years having the savings to indulge in big boys toys, which you acquire just when the kids are old enough to ride with you in your ever so dangerous 'no safety features' MV without then falling out of the back! Hopefully you will have 'one of each' so you can have a bit of freedom with him and your wife can do something with 'her' unless you are married / living with a very rare breed of person, who shares your interest so the whole family can go along!

Is there any hope of getting parts from the US? Is there any compatibility with the Ford AA engines made in the USA or were the Soviet engines metric and the USA ones in imperial?

Lack of funds for such a vast collection might be the cause?

I agree with Jon; Not so long ago at a Military Open Day I let kids sit in the back and the front of my Lwt, with me close at hand but other members said I shouldn't as with most MVs there are sharp corners or places to trap small fingers, meaning I might be sued if they got injured. Gone are the days when dad said "It's your own bloody fault you hurt yourself"! As one member pointed out, what would happen if a youngster let off the hand brake and put the gears in neutral in your heavy weight MV and it rolled back on someone! Sadly H&S has meant we batten down every entry point, put up signs to say don't climb on the vehicle, in which case we don't attract new members.

That Bf109 is I'm fairly certain a Bf109F, which was fitted with rounded wing tips and used quite a lot in the desert from 1941, whereas the FW190 was a bit rarer and came later. As for this Bf109, it has a broken back which could have been bomb damage, as there is black on the rear fuselage. The tail wheel is facing backwards so it could be that the aircraft was unserviceable with engine cover off and pushed in to that position, only to be hit by a bomb or canon fire. Bf109s were often crashed by novice pilots but it more likely that the prop, undercarriage or wings would suffer the most! It has 9 as the tactical number and white wing tips and rudder. Interestingly the Swastika appears to be painted on a lighter colour.

Very interesting photos again! Post 24 - the old biplane transport is a Vickers Valentia, and not much more advanced that the Vickers Vimy and Victoria dating from those the cash strapped days after WW1. Essentially it was a bomber converted in to a transport with a new fuselage and used in Egypt, Iraq and India until 1944! This aircraft may have been with 216 Sqn based at Heliopolis in Egypt. Post 25 - The aircraft with a 'glass-house' shows a crashed Douglas DB-7 Boston, with early type of RAF roundel used up to 1942. Possibly it is from 12 Sqn South Africa AF as they used these in the desert from March 1942. Post 28 - The FW190 appears to be in delivery codes 'KM+EY' as apart from training units back in the Reich such codes don't match the tactical markings normally used a letter plus a number or vice versa. The aircraft behind is a rare Henschel Hs 129 armoured twin engine single seat ground attack aircraft some of which mounted a 7.5cm canon underneath, which was of greater calibre than may tanks used in the desert! Behind the Henschel is a Junkers Ju53/3m transport plane. I guess this photo was taken at a collection point for captured aircraft perhaps after the Axis surrender in Tunisia in 1943. Post 30 - This shows a Curtis Kittyhawk Mk III and if the serial is FL897 then this is a fighter from 250 Sqn, that was on the move to new landing grounds in the desert almost every week! The Sqn typically had LD as its Sqn Code. Post 32 - BN358 was a Hurricane Mk II and was used by 80 Sqn but was shot down by Messerschmitt Bf109s near El Alemein on 18th July 1942

There is another clue, in that the nose of the aircraft seen in your very first photo, with the Thorneycroft Amazon, looks very much like the nose of a Baltimore too, so it could be the same occasion. Also your Wellington photo shows a standard black tail fin. BTW - you mentioned Gainock in the diary; might this be Greenock, on the Clyde?

Sorry to say my old man flew Wellington's and it definitely isn't one on those. The tail in your photo has a curved profile up from the fuselage and a very curved out edge. The more I look at it I think it is a Martin Baltimore Mk IV or V and although on a late mark Baltimore, the top of the rudder swivels on top of the fin, the angle of the joint in your photo doesn't quite match but then the angle at which it was taken may be confusing the issue. However marks on the side of the rudder do match the ones in your photo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Baltimore#/media/File:Martin_A-30A.jpg Great photos BTW - Its amazing what is out their in old family albums, and shocking to think so many still get thrown away.

In Cheshire Steve's first post number 1 - second & third photo I thought it would be easy to identify the aircraft on the Queen Mary Trailer from the tail. At first I thought it was a Maryland or a Baltimore, but the fin and rudder joint is wrong. Its not any of the Curtis P-40 aircraft, nor a Blenheim of a Boston.

Hasn't any kind of DIY event these days been spoilt by the need for Public Liability Insurance? And forgetting PLI for a moment even a members only meeting would need some form of Health & Safety plan and a briefing for paricipents, plus some reasonable steps to stop owners of a tank (for example) driving over people sleeping in their tents. Then there is the issue of who would take the time off work to set up the area to be used which might take more than a few days and the same to clear up afterwards; would it be the same people year after year giving up their time for others. And thats before toilets and showers have been considered!

Did MG ever get to the bottom of the issue described in the initial post? I'd love to know.

I totally agree that it is a 2C1 steel rear body on a 13 Cab CMP. In the Western Desert the RAF had the same need for offroad vehicle types as the Army, as they operated in the same conditions, and units that went to Sicilly & Italy afterwards still used the same types. Here is another CMP in Tunisia, though it has an earlier type rear body https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Military_Pattern_truck#/media/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_the_Middle_East_and_North_Africa,_1939-1943._CM5067.jpg

Regarding ration packs, are you by chance looking for some that date from the age of your vehicle or display? I saw some 24 hour ration packs at Capel at the weekend that were not as expensive as your ebay ones, but strangely they were undated but by the look of them they were newish. At one time W&P used to be the place for some ration boxes dated 1980 to '90, so hopefully whoever has them in their stock now should remember to bring them to WPR in a few weeks! It's always the things that are in plentiful supply that you can't be bothered to buy a the time - that you have to hunt for forever after!

Well I was trying to be helpful in my post above!

It's so hard to tell if the holes are real or perhaps painted on or attachments for something that's been removed. The bit of white in one 'hole' looks as if you can see right through the vehicle but how could that be so if there is a rear plate? having searched for this type of vehicle online the same photo comes up and on one site it says Beobachtungspanzerwagen auf StuG III Fahrgestell (Observation Tank on Stug III G chassis) and on another it says Munitionspanzer auf Fahrgestell Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. G So take your pick!

I suppose it depends on how you arrive in the UK and what you have said in advance. If your Jeep comes on the train via the Euro Tunnel then I suggest you check with them in advance as they do not like 'surprises' even if you arrive with the correct documentation. If any of your weapons are replicas (fake) then you need to be able to dismantle them to show someone who has no appreciation of our hobby. Don't forget to carry the Deactivation Certificates with you for the deactivated (real) weapons you bring. Sadly the Eurostar / Euro Tunnel trains have often been evacuated or seriously delayed because a person carries a war relic on board such as a de-activated artillery shell. As for the ferry companies I have heard that they are a bit more accepting but would still need some advanced notice of what you propose so as not to have you and your Jeep left on the dockside.

Also asking on Maple Leaf Up forum might help as Chevs have a great following from members based in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. See their Softskin Page. http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5 NB - I had to explain Softskin to her in doors - she thought that term belonged to another kind of website!