NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 28 JUNE 2010

Hi there and welcome to what’s new on miliblog this week. Well after three shows last week it was time once again to trawl through the collection of German WW2 photographs to add some more to our Eastern Front Collection. From our email-bag, these photos are very popular with you all, so I hope you will enjoy this week’s additions of which we feature five samples below.

We kick off with a column of German infantryman marching along a dusty road in the height of Summer. Following on is an unusual photo featuring two soldiers standing guard over a mermoral to their comrades lost in action.  Next we have some more marching soldiers, but this time Soviet prisoners of war and marching off the other way into captivity.

Next photo is a chiily one in the snow with a sergeant holding up a snow stick. And finally, we have an unusual one in the form of a crashed Soviet Polikarpov I-16 fighter plane, so neatly crashing without even knocking over any of the fences.

So we’ll return to the scanner and the phot box and see what we can bring you next week.

Cheerio !

Simon

Eastern Front Colection No 1341

Eastern Front Collection No 1345

Eastern Front Collection No 1348

Eastern Front Collection No 1352

Eastern Front Collection No 1359

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 21 JUNE 2010

Hi and welcome to this week’s what’s new on Miliblog. Well it’s been a busy week with three separate shows over the weekend. We started off with a nice drive out into the Worcestershire countryside for the Wartime in The Vale Show at Evesham on Saturday. We’ve a full report with over 150 photos under our Show Report section. However I couldn’t resist adding a before and after photo from our collection of a vehicle we saw at the show !!! Even the markings are the same on the front mudguard.

Austin K5 3Ton GS (KFF 980) in the 1990s

Austin K5 3Ton GS (KFF 980) Under Preservation 2010

The next day we scooted over to Halfpenny Green Airport, near Stourbridge for the 100 Years of Wolverhampton’s Airports Show. This was an event to celebrate the 100 years to the day since the first flight from a Wolverhampton Airport, which occurred on 27 June 1910. A show of military vehicles had been advertised, but by the time we arrived, they’d all left. Something to do with World Cup football match between England and Germany I believe, Still it was nice to have a walk around a wartime airfield complete with it’s original wartime control tower. Years ago, in the 1970’s, the airfield used to hold an annual air show that was a national event and featured the Falcons, the British Parachute Regiment display team, displays of Spitfires and Hurricanes and I believe the Red Arrows too in their Folland Gnat aircraft. Below is a photo of the control tower.

Halfpenny Green Airfield Control Tower

 Also at the event was a lovely percival Prentice Trainer, that I think was owned by Air Atlantique and based at Coventry Airport, which is pictured below.

Percival P40 Prentice T1 Trainer (VR-259)

 Finally after enjoying the sunshine we headed off to Himley Park near Dudley for the British Armed Forces Day. Here we saw a selection of familiar vehicles seen at other shows across the Midlands. Below is Tony Whitehead’s superb Austin 10hp Light Utility. Sorry Tony I think you were having a quick sleep as we went by and we didn’t like to disturb you for a chat !!! Perhaps next time.

Austin 10hp Light Utility (ORE 89)

 So it was back home for a well deserved cup of tea and check out the photos we’d taken over the weekend.

Have a great week and we’ll see you soon !

Cheerio !

Simon

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 14 JUNE 2010

Hi once again to you all. On Miliblog this week we feature some more photos loaded onto our Eastern Front Collection. We’ve received a number of emails from you saying how much you’re enjoying looking at the Collection, especially from visitors from Germany, so below are five more samples of photos added this week.

First we start with a cold looking infantryman on guard duty. Next illustrates that the German army wasn’t as fully mechanised as many think. These poor horses must have suffered in the apauling winter conditions, with one of collapsing under the strain. Another illustration of the conditions on the battlefield where the rain and the earth roads led to thick sticky mud that caused all sorts of problems. And here’s another photo of a horse drawn column of supply wagons, stuck down in the mud and having to be pushed out.

Finally we have a battleweary German soldier with what looks like a summer uniform. Maybe one of you out there that is more knowledgeable on uniforms can help. Is that a torch strapped onto their shoulder ?

So have a great week and we’ll be back soon with some more exciting items on Miliblog.

Cheerio !

Simon 

Eastern Front Collection No 1282

Eastern Front Collection No 1301

Eastern Front Collection No 1303

Eastern Front Collection No 1328

Eastern Front Collection No 1338

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 7 JUNE 2010

Hi and welcome to everyone across the world. What a fantastic month May has been for Miliblog, with over 10,250 visitors to our little website from all over the globe. Between you, we had over 730,000 hits looking at all the items we have on Miliblog. So all I can say is a big THANK YOU to you all.

We often are emailed from many of you asking if we know where you can find a certain vehicle or a spare part. Some have asked if they can feature their vehicle for sale. Well now you all can !

A new feature on miliblog is a classified section, where for free, no charge, you can upload a photo of your vehicle for sale and a brief discription of it as well. However for £5 you can place an advert and load upto 10 photosof your item that will be there for 3 months. 

If you’re organising an event, whether it a 1940’s event or military vehicle show, then please list your event for all similar minded enthusiasts to find. Again you can even load photos to go with the advert.

What about if you have a club or museum ? Well we can cater for you as well, with a special page dedicated to all different clubs and associations from all over the world.

Lastly, if you offer any type of service whatsoever to the military sectors from vehicles, uniforms, vehicle parts and renovations to models and books on military items, then we’d love to feature you here on Miliblog.

So down to this week’s features, and so we’re featuring some more of our collection from our Eastern Front. It’s pretty hot here in  the UK, but just look how cold it is in some of the photos. We start with a nice photo of three Panzer crew members, very useful for our uniform collectors and modellers. Following on is a nice Stug 3 (Sturmgeschutz) Self Propelled Gun, based on a Panzer 2 chassis, here seen at speed on a well used snowy road.  Another snowy and cold photo next with some some shivering German infantrymen aboard what looks like a Panzer 3 tank, judging by the height of the vehicle.

Next we have a pair of Panzer 2 tanks in a more warmer time on the battlefield, with a nice little Mercedes light truck parked up or probably getting out of the way of these speeding tanks. Finally we have a German infantryman ready to defend his post with his Kar 98k rifle and some ‘potato masher’ grenades.

So we say have a good week and continue enjoying visiting and looking at all the different items we have for you on Miliblog. And don’t forget, if you want to sell your military vehicle, why not pop it onto our classifieds section, after all it won’t cost you a penny or a cent !

Cheerio !

Simon

Eastern Front Collection No 1231

Eastern Front Collection No 1260

Eastern Front Collection No 1272

Eastern Front Collection No 1277

Eastern Front Collection No 1280

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 31 MAY 2010

Welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week in what’s a very historical week in military history. Seventy yeras ago this week in 1940, the little boats were heading across the English Channel to pick the remnants of the British and French armies from the beaches of Dunkirk. This week I would like to dedicate this week’s newsletter to my dear Uncle Bob, Private Robert Nourse. A lovely chap, he joined up into the Royal Worcesters and soon found himself digging trenches in Northern France. After a long retreat to the beaches he was eventually picked of the beaches by one of the little boats and managed to get back to England. He died a couple of years ago, but would never speak of his experiences, saying that he lost many good friends.

Also this week, June 6, is the 66th Anniversary of the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy.

As much as we would have liked to be over in Normandy visiting the various museums and famous sights, we instead went a few miles down the road to the West Park in Wolverhampton for the annual Wolverhampton Steam Fair and Transport Rally. For a full report visit our Show Reports tab, with lots of pictures of vehicles from the event. However below are five sample photos to tempt you to have a look further at all our show reports.

Firstly we have a lovely Austin Champ. These old British soldiers from the 1950’s are so full of character, you can just see the National Serviceman is his khaki uniform and beret driving it down the roads of Western Germany. The small and patina of these vehicles have grown on me over the years and if I had the room to store one, I’d certainly be out there looking. Next is a lovely Landie, but a pretty rare one too, a S3 Shorland Armoured Car. The owner told us all about it’s history, which is also in the Show Report. Flying an Ulster Defence Force flag, is a clue.

Next photo is another unusual vehicle spotted in the commercial section. It’s a Dodge Commando RG13 Coach, previously serving with the RAF as a coach/ambulance. Following on is a Scammell Explorer that we haven’t seen before, which is another nice 1950’s British Army vehicle.

Finally, we have a photo of Phil Palmer’s Leyland Hippo 10 Tonner. Although we’ve seen this beast many times before, it never fails to impress with it’s size.

So have a great week ahead wherever you are in the world.

Cheerio !

Simon

Austin Champ (HMJ 951 F)

Land Rover S3 Shorland Armoured Car (HNP 853 J)(12 FL 02)

Dodge Commando RG13 Coach (A 135 YOX)(18 KA 92)

Scammell Explorer 10Ton Recovery Tractor (YSY 250)

Leyland Hippo Mk2 10Ton GS (JSK 164)

 

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 24 MAY 2010

Hi and welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week. Well after getting our feet wet last week, it’s back onto firm ground again as we head East once more for some more photos in our Eastern Front Collcetion. I can never understand why there are so many photos around of German forces in WW2 taken by the servicemen themselves. Is it because German cameras in the 1930’s were noted as being the best in the World, and cheaper and more available or what ? It’s always very hard to find photos taken by British or Commonwealth troops or indeed US servicemen while serving abroad.

So for starters this week, we have two knocked out Soviet tanks, with one providing valuable information for our modelling friends who are into super-detailing their models. Following on is a good shot of some German infantry marching past another knocked out Soviet tank. Looking at their dress, I think this is in mid-Summer and makes a contrast to many of our photos which show Winter scenes. Just look though at all the equipment they are loaded up with.

Next we have another group of German infantrymen marching along in the Summer, with one shouldering an MG34 machine gun. Following on we have a complete opposite of the previous two photos with a nice shot of Winter camouflage oversmocks in a Christmassy scene !!! Lastly we have an enlarged photo from a small snap of a German infantryman. Useful for a close up on the uniform and the rubber bands on his helmet, used for attaching camouflage, usually items found in the field such as tree branhes, twigs or leaves.

So next week, we’re off to Wolverhampton West Park Show, where weather permitting, we’ll have a good turnout of military vehicles to bring to you.

Cheerio !

Simon    

Eastern Front Collection No 1159

Eastern Front Collection No 1171

Eastern Front Collection No 1188

Eastern Front Collection No 1206

Eastern Front Collection No 1218

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 17 MAY 2010

Welcome to this week’s newsletter with something a bit different. Miliblog started off with lots of photographs of military vehicles and badges. Then we were asked by some model makers if we had any more photos of Jet Provost aircraft by any chance, having seen our museum report of the Boulton and Paul Museum. So we added to our aircraft collection.

Not to be outdone, the senior service, the Royal Navy has come on the radar, with some further requests for any ship photos. So just for you, gentleman, this week is one for our naval enthusiasts. However there is also an aircraft connection with two of our samples below as you can see.  

We start with one of the largest ships afloat in the form of the American aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt. Just look at the size of it. Following on is another giant of the sea, the USS Ronald Reagan.

Our third photo shows HMS Southampton, a Type 42 Destroyer commissioned in 1981. Rather sadly, after being decommissioned in February 2009, she now lies off Whale Island in Portsmouth awaiting disposal.

Our next ship of the Royal Navy is HMS Enterprise, a Survey Vessel, Hydrographic Oceanographic and one of the Echo Class. Photographed in Dartmouth in Devon while we were on holiday, you probably recognise it from the Miliblog home page. Following on is HMS Brocklesby, one the Hunt Class of mine sweepers.

Lastly is the streamlined Danish Navy ship Esbern Snare, a Command and Support ship launched in 2005. Just looking at the lines of this ship, it just has to be a Scandinavian vessel.

So I hope you’ve enjoyed looking these sample photos and may at an area of the military that you may not have usually looked at before.

Have a great week !

Cheerio !

Simon

CVN-71 USS Theodore Roosevelt

CVN-76 USS Ronald Reagan

 

 

 

D90 HMS Southampton

H88 HMS Enterprise

M33 HMS Brocklesby

L17 Esbern Snare

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 10 MAY 2010

Hello and welcome to this week’s newsletter where this week we’re cranked up the old scanner and entered on some more photos of life on the Russian Front in our Eastern Front Collection. These photos have been added to over the years and now we have nearly 1,500 photos to share with you.

So as usual, we have five samples below to give you a taster of what is in the collection. We kick off with a Panzer III set in what looks like a damp and cold winters day. A real winters day is next with a German patrol marching off complete with skis and full winter camouflage. Our third sample shows a Soviet KV-2 Heavy Tank that’s had it’s turret redesigned. Image the force of explosion that shifted that amount of metal with one blow.

Our fourth sample shows quite a cheery looking chap out for some exercise and it makes you think what happened to him. Did he survive to go on to have lots of grandchildren or did he lose his life in one of the major battles ? Finally we have an early Soviet T-34/76 tank, with a 76mm gun. From this angle it hardly looks damaged. Maybe it just broke down with mechanical problems.

So I hope you are all still enjoying visiting Miliblog and with over 6,500 photos now on the website, there should be something new to find each visit.

Have a great week.

Cheerio !

Simon  

Eastern Front Collection No 1098

Eastern Front Collection No 1104

Eastern Front Collection No 1135

Eastern Front Collection No 1137

Eastern Front Collection No 1154

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 3 MAY 2010

Welcome to this week’s newsletter

Monday this week was a national holiday in the UK, like many European countries. In Moscow, the Soviets held their annual May Day parade, but this year it was a very different one indeed. For the first time, forces from foreign countries were invited to join the parade, and so there were soldiers from the USA, Poland, France and of course dear old GB. We saw on the news the Ist Battalion, the Welsh Guards parading in Red Square, which was a most unusual sight to see on television.

Earlier this year, a book was published all about our dear friend the AEC Matador gun tractor. Whether it be famous as an Aifix plastic kit when we were growing up, in wartime service, used as transport for various circuses or fun fairs and then as a forestry worker. On Miliblog we have nearly 150 photos of these wonderful lorries and this weeks newsletter is dedicated to them. So please enjoy the samples below showing the Matador in a number of guises. Look at the last photo if you want to see a modified Matador !!!To visit all our photos, the look under British WW2 Gun Tractors on the photo menus.

Have a great week and I’ll see you soon !

Cheerio !   

Simon

AEC 0853 Matador (002 NS)

AEC 0853 Matador (192 TT)

AEC 0853 Matador (511 AY)

AEC 0853 Matador (554 OR)

AEC 0853 Matador (MTG 491 E)

AEC 0853 Matador (SLT 154 F)

AEC 0853 Matador (XUO 718 K)

Comments(0)

NEW THIS WEEK - MONDAY 26 APRIL 2010

Hi and welcome everyone to this week’s newletter.

This week after a cool week, Miliblog ventured out to the town of Stafford, just 30 miles North of Birmingham to visit the new Ex-Mil show. Held at the Stafford County Showground, just North of the town and close to RAF Stafford, which is famous for it’s huge underground stores and famed as still holding stocks of wartime motorcycles and other wartime goodies.  Organised by Amanda and Graham Lycett of Jeeparts fame, who also are behind the successful Militaria Convention at Malvern. This was their first show at this location and we wanted to see how it was going. Initially it was disappointing from the number of people visiting the show and by lunchtime when we arrived, many of the stallholders were just chatting to themselves. However they were all most enthusiastic and agreed with us that it has the makings of a great show. For a full show visit and further photos, have a look at our show report under Show and Museum visits. I’ve just popped on a few samples below. It was interesting to see examples for sale of both the Soviet and German machine guns that are featured so much in our Eastern Front Collection. In fact it was quite spooky !

We did try and have a chat with Amanda herself to see how it was going, but I think we were seen as the Paperazzi, as she was surrounded by security guards !!! See the picture below !!!

Still we wish them both success for the next show and we ask our fellow military enthusiasts to visit the  show and support them. The stands were excellent and we could have spent a fortune on some rare and interesting militaria.

So have a good week and we’ll see you soon !

Cheerio ! 

Simon

Amanda being protected from the Paparazzi !

British WW2 Vickers Machine Gun For Sale

Pair of German WW2 MG34 Machine Guns For Sale

Soviet WW2 Machine Gun

Some Pocket Sized Ammunition

Comments(0)