Comrad Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Although I'm relatively new to MV ownership, I have been going to Beltring for years. When I go I'm always amazed by how much US WWII kit there is ?, far more than any British or German. OK so the Germans lost the war, (no offence to any German members) so I can assume a lot of the kit was destoryed or became unservicable due to lack of parts. But why the lack of British kit were they run into the ground, or all just put on the ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest matt Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 The main reason there are so many preserved WW2 US vehicles is because the USA supplied most European countries with equipment following WW2 and much of this kit was still in service into the 90's,for instance Norway didn't release it's last GMC CCKW's until about twelve years ago. Another factor is our wonderful British weather which does nothing to help preserve a vehicle left outdoors for long. Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlangham Posted February 5, 2006 Share Posted February 5, 2006 Spares etc and quantity is a big issue as well, for example it's a lot easier to find spares for your Dodge WC51 than for a Fordson WOT2 etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Another reason is that there was a desperate shortage of vehicles in Britain after 6 years of war and only a very small no of new vehicles built for essential civi services. All the war surplus trucks were snapped up by hauliers, farmers etc and almost all garages had a surplus 4x4 very often with a crane mounted in the load bed to use as a breakdown. The majority of them were driven into the ground and then scrapped. You must also take into account the huge no's of vehicles manufactured in the USA, 800,000 2.5 Ton 6x6 trucks and nearly 650,000 jeeps as examples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazungumagic Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 The Lend Lease Act may also have had an effect on the quantity of vehicles/spares left in Europe after the War. As I understand it, very few vehicles made it back to the US after the War due to the intense lobbying of Uncle Sam, by the industrialists concerned about their future profit margins. So given the size of the US commitment to Europe, this meant vast quantities of vehicles and components were never repatriated. The same appears to be the case with Canadian Military Pattern vehicles in Canada. They are apparently quite rare there, but I've no idea if it's for the same reason. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazungumagic Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 The Lend Lease Act may also have had an effect on the quantity of vehicles/spares left in Europe after the War. As I understand it, very few vehicles made it back to the US after the War due to the intense lobbying of Uncle Sam, by the industrialists concerned about their future profit margins. So given the size of the US commitment to Europe, this meant vast quantities of vehicles and components were never repatriated. The same appears to be the case with Canadian Military Pattern vehicles in Canada. They are apparently quite rare there, but I've no idea if it's for the same reason. Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrad Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 WOW, well with hundreds of thousands of them being made, I suppose you can afford to loose a few along the way. Its also great to see the full spectrum of Jeeps upto MBT's are still around, I suppose I will just have to comfort myself that as they were lend lease that a lot of them would have been used buy British units as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlangham Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 Yeah, also to a lot of people the Yank stuff is a lot more glamorous than the Brit stuff, although personally i'd rather have an Austin Tilly than a Jeep anyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest matt Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 I think more collectors would look at WW2 British vehicles if there were more around and as already mentioned spares can be a problem for many British MV's and I think restoration costs put some people off. I prefer to work on US vehicles any day! Matt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 Comrad, Also with regard to the availability of US uniforms v British Army Battledress, after the war the US forces went home to a plentiful supply of civi clothes and their kit went back in store for future use whereas our Tommy's got one demob suit in exchange for their Battledress that not many other Armies wanted. Due to clothes being rationed many working men such as bricklayers and labourers bought army surplus Battledress trousers for work use, as they were hard wearing. When they wore out they were replaced with others. I have been told that this has contributed to the current shortage of WW2 Battledress trousers. The Battledress Blouse was no good for work but the leather jerkin was and even in the 1960's I remember the coal man had one for the autumn. No wonder I can't find any original WW2 ones either at normal prices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rlangham Posted February 14, 2006 Share Posted February 14, 2006 Yeah, my Grandad used to wear his leather jerkin until it literally fell to bits! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comrad Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 And they say we have a throw it away culture ?, wear it into the ground more like. Soldiers have always moaned about british army clothing. But other than being bloody itchy some times, its very good. Some TA Stores (always got the regular army hand me downs) quite often still add the 1970's combat smocks etc, bit tatty but still in good working order. You can't move for army surplus stores now days, stock up now & in 20 year time you can sell it on for a fortune ??. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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