question Nato Reserve Stock

[jerry.ice]

When you see vehicles advertised as ex NATO reserve stock, it raises a couple of questions in my head.

 

• Do they still hold a reserve stock, and if so what is held.
  
• What quantities used to be held during the cold war and of what.
  
• Where were all these vehicles kept and in what state of readyness.
  

When seeing WW2 vintage vehicles still classed as reserve stock in the 80's, would there still be sufficient spares and tech knoledge to keep them on the road?

 

If anyone has any info I would be interested to satisfy my curiosity.:coffee:

 

Jerry

[LarryH57]

In the days when things were a little less complicated many NATO armies held stocks of WW2 era GMCs, Dodges & Jeep type vehicles in case of mobilization but with the end of the cold war and their Armies being run like a business with everything put out to tender, it was no longer cost effective- so these vehicles had to go just like the Green Goddesses.

 

The only stocks we have now are vehicles that have either just been built or those returned to service after a major rebuild - like the Defenders being turned in to Wolfs or FV432's being rebuilt for Middle East / Afgan Ops.

 

Apart from the above the cupboard is bare - but rest assured that the Government knows best and knows for certain that there will never be a national emergency or climatic disaster that might require mobilization of TA & Reserves and Civil Defences (whatever is left of them).

[Enigma]

There IS a reserve stock, including drivers...

We and our vehicles......

[oily]

yeah!, well said, if they fix and replace my gearbox:sweat:, and pay for fuel, rations, decent wages, and probably an alternative paint-job, in desert stone,:cool2: ...I'll drive out there, in my Saracen:cool2:, and help bring our boys:-\ and girls:yay: back from danger!......

[Enigma]

In a real Deep dooodooo situation I'd see the Gov. pressing us and our vehicles into service...

[ruxy]

The last WW2 era reserve type stock that I know of were the WC54 Ex-Norway ambulances. A friend had one - he obtained it IIRC sometime between 1995 & Y2K.

ISTR there were also some CCKW's released , or were they early 1950's Deuce & Half's ?

 

There were Land Rovers , AFAIK out of reserve , returned to UK from Germany mid to late 1980's. Stored in RAF hangars and sold by invited tender only in batches of 30 qty.

[cpltomo]

Don't know if is still there but there use to be a huge storage area Just off the m5 by stroud. It had everything from push bikes to mbts all in full preserve. Plus every bit of kit a man could need including 2 warehouses full of patten 58 webbing and that was only a few years ago. But know most of the warehouse have been turned into industrail units. But think thay still keep a big war collection just incase.

[LarryH57]

Perhaps I'm showing my age but at one time the MOD used to store old rifles for future issue like .303 Lee Enfields and 7.62mm SLRs and since victorian times the Royal Navy used to remove the guns from all their old ships and store them somewhere (in underground caves?) which came in handy during the Falklands when 20mm Oerlikon LAA guns were fitted to modern ships - that the designers thought could do without such things - but you can old guess what has happened to them all now!

[mark m uk]

I remember the old usaaf airfield in our village was turned over to civil defence storage. In the late sixties the green goddess fire engines that were stored there had to be transported to greenwich in London for some reason - my mates dad used to drive them there and it was a great adventure to go with him.

 

Then a big day at primary school was when a fat unpopular kid brought in several ww2 steel helmets and gave them away - next day he promised more and much to our surprise they turned up !........Anyway, long story short, he agreed to show us his 'supply' after school - we all marched off to the local quarry and there befor our eyes were hundreds of tons of steel helmets, all ww2 vintage. Gas masks,gas capes, tents, sand bags, everything and anything you could imagine. All just tipped in heaps in the disused quarry.

 

We helped ourselves - our dads got really fed up of having their sheds stuffed with this ..........rubbish.

 

Then, it was gone. The top of the quarry was pushed over the lot. All buried..............be worth a small fortune now.

[ferretfixer]

Perhaps I'm showing my age but at one time the MOD used to store old rifles for future issue like .303 Lee Enfields and 7.62mm SLRs and since victorian times the Royal Navy used to remove the guns from all their old ships and store them somewhere (in underground caves?) which came in handy during the Falklands when 20mm Oerlikon LAA guns were fitted to modern ships - that the designers thought could do without such things - but you can old guess what has happened to them all now!

 

There is a 'Certain location' in London. Underneath a 'Particular Park', That I am NOT going to mention for security reasons!

That has a VERY large underground complex of tunnels.

in these tunnels, were kept the War Reserve stock of rifles for the London district area. There were hundreds of thousands of them, all kept 5 in a Box piled high on one side of the tunnels. i do not know if this is still the case, but i would imagine that it IS! :-\

As an aside, when the L85A1 came in to Service (SA80). thousands of L1A1 SLR Rifles were released onto the market.(Along with thier Bayonets) I have NEVER seen an Ex-British Army Sterling SMG (L2A3). All out there on the De-Act Circuit, are either Ex new Zealand. Or, Comercial versions sold to other Nations who have released them. The British version had a Modification which I can spot 15 feet away! NONE of ANY of the other versions in ANY other country had this Mod. I am FIRMLY of the opinion that MANY Ex Brit ones were refurbished & gone into preservation & War reserve stock. This is possibly why NONE have OFFICIALY been seen on the circuit for sale.

This would also explain the scarcity of the No.5 Bayonets on the Market, & the resulting HIGH prices that they fetch! :coffee:

MIKE.

Edited November 9, 2009 by ferretfixer

[Enigma]

I remember the old usaaf airfield in our village was turned over to civil defence storage. In the late sixties the green goddess fire engines that were stored there had to be transported to greenwich in London for some reason - my mates dad used to drive them there and it was a great adventure to go with him.

 

Then a big day at primary school was when a fat unpopular kid brought in several ww2 steel helmets and gave them away - next day he promised more and much to our surprise they turned up !........Anyway, long story short, he agreed to show us his 'supply' after school - we all marched off to the local quarry and there befor our eyes were hundreds of tons of steel helmets, all ww2 vintage. Gas masks,gas capes, tents, sand bags, everything and anything you could imagine. All just tipped in heaps in the disused quarry.

 

We helped ourselves - our dads got really fed up of having their sheds stuffed with this ..........rubbish.

 

Then, it was gone. The top of the quarry was pushed over the lot. All buried..............be worth a small fortune now.

 

Well, get your shovel and wheel barrow then....:coffee: