NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 8 JUNE 2009
Hello again and welcome once more to the weekly posting of what is new on Miliblog this week.
A big hello to all our colleagues in Poland this week, the statistics tell me many of you have visited over the past week. I’ll have a look at through the photos waiting to be added and see if I can find some Star trucks.
Well how is everyone out there in military vehicle land ? Did those who went to Normandy enjoy themselves and make it back without any serious breakdowns ? Reading many of the MV magazines, some say that now the Normandy trip is over, they expect an increase in the number of vehicles being sold. It will be interesting to see and monitor over the next few months.
Well we’ve changed slightly the batch of photos added this week to Miliblog. They have mostly been photos of either preserved vehicles or those in current service. Well this week they are original WW2 photos of the vehicles in action or at the factory. You’ll find them under Original photos section and Vehicles of the British section. Below are some examples to whet your appetite. One other addition is a nice Dodge WC-63 6×6 Weapons Carrier which has been civilianised and owned by Panes or Ranes Garage. Looks like a Scammell Explorer behind it too. As far as I can make out, the sign post says the A404, which according to the map is near Marlow in Bucks. Can anyone out there help with more local information ?
Anyway, wish you all a good week and a sample of this week’s new stuff is below
Cheerio !
Simon
Dodge WC-63 Weapons Carrier 6x6 (330 UY)
White 920 18Ton 6x4 Tank Transporter (US)
Foden DG-6-12 10Ton 6x4 GS
Mack EXBX 18Ton 6x4 Tank Transporter (US)
White Ruxtall 922 18Ton 6x4 Tank Transporter (US)
Mack EXBX 18Ton 6x4 Tank Transporter (US)
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 1 JUNE 2009
Welcome to another exciting week here at Miliblog !
As we write our weekly post, it’s Sunday and the main D-Day events have come and gone. In the UK we had heavy rain all over the weekend, but I’m happy to report that Normandy was bathed in sunshine. The national newspapers have mentioned the commemoration events in Normandy, but not so much as for the 60th Anniversary in 2004. Many turned it into a political report that Prime Minister Gordon Brown looked tense and was agitated, while others couldn’t stop from saying that the Paras were played to by a German band as they marched along, since the MoD was too mean to send a British band. Any thoughts out there ?
Also for the first time as far as I can remember, a German Chencellor was invited to attend, with Angela Merkel taking part in the events. What do we think of this ? Here at Miliblog, we think it a good thing, that both sides from the war have come together to recognise the events that took place. Without wishing to offend any ex-Allied forces servicemen, both sides suffered a great loss of life, and we should all recognise that fact, whatever your nationality or political outlook.
Ok, that’s the serious side done. What has Miliblog been upto this week ? Well we attended the Wolverhampton West Park Show on June 6 and 7 which in the past has been a super little show for MV’s and indeed steam traction engines and classic cars. Previously blessed with sunny days, this year turned out have heavy rain that started Friday evening and as we write this on Sunday afternoon, is still continuing. Have a look at our Show Reports tab and have a look at the photos to see how wet it was !
From additions to the photos galleries, we now have a British WW2 motorcycle section, with some nice photos to see.
Have a great week and I hope that where ever you are in the world, the sun is shining for you !
Cheerio !
Simon
James ML Military Lightweight 125cc 1943 (RE 9889)
BSA M20 500cc 1943 (189 XUF)
Matchless G3 350cc 1939 (965 YRF)
A group of enthusiasts from the UK and New Zealand are planning to take a trip to the Sahara Desert with some WW2 vehicles and retrace and relive the experiences of the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group) in the Western Desert in 1941-1943. Led by Major Gary Wallace, the group is split into three troops. B Troop and H (Heavy) Troop are based in the UK while K Troop is based in New Zealand. H Troop includes a Light Repair Section, with so far a Bedford QLD and an Austin K5. The expedition will also have a crew of modern vehicles as chase cars along with a complete camera crew to record the event. Please visit their website at www.wdrg.org for more insight details and if you have some spare cash, please help them in their fund raising. Below are four videos so far from the New Zealand K Troop contingent, prior to them departing.
1. Promotional Video – Planning the Trip to The Sahara (31/05/09) (Click Here)
Really interesting video of K Troop planning the event and why they are going.
2. Driving in Convoy with a 1943 Willys Jeep (11/01/09) (Click Here)
Nice short video of a jeep driving at speed along an open gravel track in New Zealand
3. Exercise Erewhon, 1st Laager (11/01/09) (Click Here)
This is the first camp as a shakedown to try everything out
4. Getting the Chevy C8AX Going and Moving Around the Unit (16/06/09) (Click Here)
Nice short video of a Chevy, nice movement and a nice sound too !
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 25 MAY 2009
Welcome, bienvenue and G’day to our many new readers from Australia !
Well as we get closer to the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6th, the atmosphere amongst MV owners is full of excitement. Some Miliblog have spoken to, have been before and know what to expect while others are anxious that their old vehicles will get through without any breakdowns ! Whatever, we hope that the weather is glorious sunshine and not a repeat of the weather 65 years ago. Many say this will be the last official ceremony to commemorate the Normandy campaign and that the old soldiers won’t be able travel as they wouldn’t be up to it. At Miliblog, we don’t believe this at all !!!! Having met veterans recently and chatted to them, many are pretty sharp individuals and have got more about them than many teenagers we’ve met !!! So don’t be surprised to see an official ceremony for the 70th Anniversary in 2014.
New additions this week to Miliblog have been over 100 new photos to the galleries. We like to cover all nationalities and all eras where we can. As we’ve said before, the hobby of military items covers all sectors from model making, military historians, ex-service folk, vehicle collectors and military enthusiasts. Many of these 100 are Fodens in British Army service in the early 1980′s/1990′s, and it’s interesting to note, that some have camouflage and other don’t. Other photos are of Leyland Hippos that were late WW2 and then used in the early 1950′s. As we’ve said before, half the fun with these photos is not only to see the vehicle itself, but also what’s going on in the photograph. Below is a Hippo, which looks fine, but look at the load it carries and you will see a rare Humber Scout Car on the back. Wonder where it is now ?
So have a great week and we’ll see you soon !
Cheerio !
Simon
Leyland Hippo Mk2 10Ton GS (53 YY 10)
Foden 16Ton 8x4 Low Mobility Truck (17 GB 88)
Foden 16Ton 8x4 Low Mobility Truck (24 GJ 63)
Foden 16Ton 8x4 Low Mobility Tanker (52 GB 36)
Foden 8x6 IMMLC Drops (AF 19 AA)
The Wolverhampton Steam Fair and Transport Rally has taken place for a number of years now on the first weekend in June and includes a cavalcade of vehicles through the city centre on Saturday luchtime. Held in West Park in the centre of the city, it normally has a nice selection of military vehicles, steam engines and traction engines, classic cars and bikes etc. Last year had glorious sunshine with a huge turnout of people enjoying themselves. However, this year wasn’t so good, with a constant steady downpour of rain. This year, the show’s first day was on June 6th, the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy in World War, where many military vehicle owners and historians were ‘over there’ taking part in the many commemorations that were taking place to mark the event. Many of the public were put off attending the show as well, due the weather, which was a shame. Despite this, Miliblog donned their raincoat and cap and ventured out to seek out green machines.
First we met Davis Spruce who amongst other things, had two military motorcycles on display, a BSA M20 and a Matchless G3. Both in lovely condition, I know if they’d been mine I wouldn’t have wanted to get them wet ! Chatting to David, he mentioned his superb Austin K5 3 tonner was also on display. Last year I visited the show on both days just to look and drool over this lovely classic British wartime truck. It has a certain smell that captures the whole character of the era of British wartime stuff. It had originally been advertised on ebay, I remember seeing it at the time, and David and a colleague had bought it between them. David hinted he might know of another K5 to add to their collection soon !!!
Phil Palmer was also in attendance with his lovely Dodge WC-51 Waepons Carrier in US Navy colours along with his Hippo 10Ton looking superb as ever.
Also we chatted to Vince, who’d brought along his Willys MB Jeep for the first time and was enjoying the show. In nice condition, it was a genuine Willys that had been worked on by the French Army and had been upgraded to 24 volt, radial tyres and a dash starter button, rather than the usual will-it-won’t-it original 6 volt floor button. Vince was originally a long distance tanker lorry driver who went all over Europe. He asked me what did I think was the biggest challenge in driving a tanker ! The weight ? No.. the surge from the liquid in the tanks !!! You could pull up sharply to a halt, and the surge of the liquid could push your lorry forward another 2 meters !!!
Finally had a nice chat to the guy who owned the James 125cc motorcyle, who even started it up and gave me, as a very novice motorcyclist, a demonstration of where the clutch is on a bike and how you stop it. A lovely little machine and he even gave me some tips of how to tell the difference between a wartime and a postwar rebuild. Apparently, James based in Birmingham, bought up all the ex-army James bikes they could after the war and converted them for the civilian market.
So enjoy the pictures below……………
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