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al alamein military museum.


Guest jcpdw

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Guest jcpdw

the battle of al alamein is well known but I think not everybody knows the al alamein museum I think so thats why I want to show some pictures of this nice museum that shows the desert battle and its vehicles. i visited the museum when I was in alexandria for my work so after a visit to the pyramides it was time to go to the museum by taxi the driver took care of the ticket and showed me around and it was worth it. very nice display of itallian, german, egypte and british pictures and equipment. there was a big map of the whole battle tactics. outside there where lots of vehicles that came all outoff the desert.

there where 2 trucks that came oudoff the desert in 1999 and neaded only some oil, petrol and a new battery thay say and started right up .....:wow:

the whole place is run by the army and they do a great job. it is possible to do battle field tours by british operators, don't go in the desert on your own.

the commander told me that there are some mines out there, about the size of 60 ml by 3 ml.

so if you are in egypte try to go to this small but nice museum.

cheers jaap.

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Its good to know that a few of the different vehicles from that time and place have been saved for the future at least they will never rust away . They are more complete than many of the relics that have been posted from that region .

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Guest jcpdw

oke here are some more pictures I took at the museum.

and guy's don't go looking for parts in the desert it is to hot. :cry:

cheers jaap

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oke here are some more pictures I took at the museum.

and guy's don't go looking for parts in the desert it is to hot. :cry:

cheers jaap

 

Hi Jaap,

great pictures, Ive always been very interested in the desert war, my sadly passed Uncle fought at Alamein.

Just one point, second batch of photos, top photo, I have my doubts about it having been used in this form during WW2. It looks to me more like the sort of improvised armoured truck that the Israelis used in the 1948 and 1956 conflicts.

But keep the photos coming, loving it!

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Yes it is an improvised Israeli military truck from the 1948-49 era (not used in the 1956 war) remember the Eygptians moved into southern Israel territory around the Gaza strip during the fighting in 1948 and left behind several AFVs including MK6 and M22 light tanks, no doubt they captured Israeli equipment. The fighting ranged around various desert areas in the South and around the Mediterianan and Red Sea coast.

 

Eygptian museum are not that good regarding modern history- politics can get in the way!

 

Steve

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Tony B

ever seen a museum that admits your side lost? :cool2:

 

 

If it's British it will always have a PC swing on it:shocked:, however one mueum in Suez has a photo of a T34/85 captioned "tank abandoned by the retreating english":wow: and as far as I know the british never used T34s:undecided:

 

Steve

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  • 3 weeks later...

Egypt / El-Alamein Museum, the Discovery of the CMP Ford F60L

 

There are stories going around telling about the dicovery of the CMP Ford F60L which is displayed at the museum at el-Alamein. Here is the one which is explaining how it actually happened:

 

(Translated from German): “We found the truck in December 1993 but we kept the information about the location with us. Later on, it was provided to the Egyptian military by Mr. X.Y.. The Egyptin military went there then in the second half of 1996 to pick up the truck and to bring it to the museum of el-Alamein. The most important reason for the military to go there was that it was still loaded with explosives (i.e.) Dynamite. The 6 pages report which was published later on in an amry-magazine does not reflect the correct circumstances of the finding of the truck.

 

Once in the region, the military patrol paid a visit to the Gilf Kebir and to the Jebel Uweinat as well and “picked up” two Germans who had unfortunately decided to cross the border from Libya to Egypt without having the required permissions. After some days and following the procedures, these two men were handed back to Libya some days later at the official border crossing at Solloum.

 

But now back to the truck. A big part of the load consisted of originally packed Dynamite-sticks which were stapled in sealed wooden boxes. A dangerous load! The other part of the load consisted Flimsy-cans (the well known ones). All in all, they would have contained 1940 liters of fuel but they were empty. The question is, why empty Flimsy-cans were carried – normally, they were thrown away.

 

The truck was placed in a flat area and was easy visible from a distance of about 3 kms from all directions. Fact is further, that there was no obvious damage found on the vehicle so it seems that it simply run out of fuel and had to be abandoned then. The two cables to the battery were disconnected. One can guess that they had the idea to get the vehicle later on – but did not do so for unknown reasons.

 

The question, if the dead driver was still on his seat or not shall be answered as well: He was not. There were no remnants of human beings at all and a single sock was the only piece of cloth which could be found.

 

The finder of the truck confirms that the spare wheel was still inflated and he was told by the military that the other tires, which were flat, were pumped up again. Further he was told that after re-fuelling, they were able to start the engine again. However; the vintage-truck was not driven up to el-Alamein but loaded one of the military’s big PEGASO trucks.”(End of Translation)

 

 

The finder is a well renowned person in desert travelling in Egypt and in Libya. Please pay a visit to his website under http://www.dabuka.de/

 

I hope that above information is helpful. And if anybody would find something more about that truck are give a hint about who could have been its owner – please feel free to post it here or to drop me a message.

ALAMEIN%20%28124%29&.JPG

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Guest jcpdw
Hi Jaap,

great pictures, Ive always been very interested in the desert war, my sadly passed Uncle fought at Alamein.

Just one point, second batch of photos, top photo, I have my doubts about it having been used in this form during WW2. It looks to me more like the sort of improvised armoured truck that the Israelis used in the 1948 and 1956 conflicts.

But keep the photos coming, loving it!

 

 

I think it's a mattador armoured command vehicle converted by the british / canadians, but I am not 100 %

sure.

see this book tnGreggProfile1.jpg vol 1 by W.A. Gregg .

 

cheers jaap

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jcpdw

I think it's a mattador armoured command vehicle converted by the british / canadians, but I am not 100 %

sure.

 

 

It is a fairly standardised extermorised armoured truck used by the Israelis prior to and during the war of independance 1946-49. Often called sandwich truck due to the nature of the "armour" which was a thin sheet metal outer face with a inner face often of plywood with a stone(pebble -flint) filling in the cavity- hence the rather thick appearance. The one at this museum probably broke down and was abandoned during the UN sponsored cease fire in 1949- it is significant that the supossed first Israeli M4 sherman was also abandoned (demolished by crew) near Al Arish Airfield at the same time and was aledgedly still there in the late 1970s when the Israelis withdrew after the Israeli-Eygptian peace treaty.

 

Many of the these sandwich trucks were based on Ford F60s.

 

Steve

sandwich truck 2..jpg

sandwich truck 1..jpg

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