NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 27 DECEMBER 2010
Hi there and welcome to what’s new this week. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were all good boys and girls and Santa Claus brought you all the presents you wished for. Whether it be an original Carter carburettor for your Willys MB Jeep, an original 37 Pattern webbing belt to complete your British uniform or the latest Airfix plastic model kit of the two Bedford QL’s. If you got this last one, then you must have been very good indeed as they are selling like hot cakes and almost impossible to get. Which is fantastic news for Airfix, having the faith to invest in completely new tooling and to launch a new military model, deserves all our support and congratulations.
So another week of nostalgia in line for you, bringing some more photos from areas of Miliblog that you may not have discovered yet. We start with a photo of Grenadier Guards on exercise in 1957 standing next to an Austin K9 truck. Not in brilliant focus, thanks to the cameras of the day, but even so a nice photo showing the outline of this classic National Service vehicle.
Grenadier Guards on Exercise, Germany, March 1957
Following the theme of British Army guys by their trucks, we follow on with a wartime photo of a Bedford OY 3 Tonner with a crowd of soldiers
Bedford OY & Troops
We now move onto a couple of German Army photos but following the same theme of soldiers with their vehicles. A whole column of Bussing 6×4 Wireless Trucks.
Convoy of Bussing NAG G31 6x4 Wireless Trucks
Another one of our early photos is of a vehicle park on the Easten Front. Don’t forget, click on it to enlarge it to see more details.
German Vehicle Park Russia
And lastly, a very interesting photo of British vehicles abandoned in France after Dunkirk, with German troops looking over them for spares. How many of these I wonder were rebuilt and then ended their days somewhere on the Eastern front. Maybe even now, a tiny village somewhere on the Russian Steppes still has an a ancient Morris or Bedford performing an important task for the villagers !
German Troops with BEF Trucks
So until next year, we wish you all a Very Happy New Year !
Cheerio !
Simon
Next is the lucky black cat of British post-war 17th Infantry Division.
British 17th Infantry Division (Printed)
Anyone out there have an Action Man toy when they were little ? If so you may recognise the next badge from Action Man’s white winter camouflage snowsuit and helmet !
US Alaskan Department
If anyone of you remember the old black and white television series ‘Bilko’ of the 1950′s & 1960′s, then this is the badge worn by Master Sergeant Ernest Bilko played by Phil Silvers. If you do, then how about Colonel Hall, or Dobbermann too ! Have a look at this You Tube link !…..but don’t forget to come back to us !!!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/pwiirT5355A
US 69th Infantry Division
And finally a European badge. The Belgian 1st Infantry Division. I hope you came back to us after the Bilko video on You Tube !
Belgian 1st Infantry Division
So have a great week with your Christmas shopping !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 13 DECEMBER 2010
Hi there and welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week but with a difference ! Some are as of Miliblog are very popular with you all while other areas are often overlooked. With so many photos on Miliblog, this can sometimes be the case ! So this week we thought we would bring you five sample photos from our original British Army sections, WW2 and Post-War. These are all original photos collected over the years from antique fairs and military vehicle and classic car shows. First we start with a nice photo of a Dorchester ACV, or Armoured Command Vehicle. This was based on an AEC Matador chassis and I would not like to think what the top speed was with all that extra armour plate on top. According to my reference books, only 416 were produced of these.
AEC Matador Dorchester Armoured Command VehicleNext we have a group of chaps standing by their Chevy 15cwt with the earlier No 11 Cab in the North African desert. This photo came from a collection of over 50 photos in similar setting with the same chaps. I'll soon be adding some more of these on to Miliblog.Desert Group with Chevrolet C15 15cwt Early Cab
Another brilliant photo showing a later CMP vehicle but a Ford 15cwt with the later No 13 Cab. Next to it is a British Ford WOT2 15cwt and on the right, the leading vehicle is a US Dodge 1/2 Ton panel van. A good mix of vehicles from around the world used by the British Army in the desert campaign.
Ford F15 and WOT2 15cwtsNext is a truly British 6 wheel truck. It's a Morris CDSW Bofors Gun Tractor and probably familiar to any us that know the plastic model kit that Airfix produce of it. Look closely at the photo and you will see that the back wheels have a kind of track round them, which was something used to get extra grip on soft surfaces, such as the beach the vehicle was driving onto from this early landing craft. Judging from the shape of the sides, I think this is an early British LCM1 landing craft. Morris CDSW Bofers Gun Tractor And finally, a photo of a Karrier K6 3 Ton lorry photographed in Germany in 1946. This and a number of other photos were lent to me by a colleague I used to work with called Norman Yeomans. He, like many other teenagers, did his National Service for Britain just after WW2 and ended up in a camp in Germany working on maintaining all sorts of vehicles. Norman Yeomans Karrier K6 3ton Germany 1946
So next week we hope to bring yopu some more samples from Miliblog that you may have missed. Until then……
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 6 DECEMBER 2010
Hi there everyone. I hope you are all well and have started the winter rebuild of your military vehicle ready for 2011. Something a little different this week with some original photos taken in WW2, Post-WW2 and our first WW1 photo.
I don’t know about you other enthusiasts, but I am finding it more difficult to find some new photos of British soldiers, sailors and airmen actually in uniform. Loads of German stuff, but not much Allied photos. So I was very happy to find recently a number of photos to share with you here on Miliblog.
The first is a studio photo taken in Southend-on-Sea, in South East England. It shows Bob nervously smiling for the camera in his Royal Artillery uniform. It’s quite timely as he’s wishing his Mum and Dad a Merry Christmas !
Royal Artillery Bob
Next we have Norman, another British soldier. I’ve had a look with a magnifying glass but I just can’t see what the regimental cap badge is.
Infantry Soldier Norman
Next we have a photo from the USA and shows a GI sitting in his Willys jeep. Click and zoom on the photo and behind is a Dodge 1/2 Ton with the rounded nose and a huge stack of Coca Cola bottles in their wooden crates. Sorry but no payments to Miliblog for product placement, or free advertising !
US GI with his jeep
Another interesting photo with a captured Horch staff car being used by British Forces in Germany. The markings on the bonnet read X173171, which is unusual, as an X suffix was normally allocated to trailers. I can’t make out the markings on the front wing either, SAAP or BAAP ? email me at info@miliblog.co.uk with your thoughts !
Horch Staff Car in British Ownership
And finally. we arrive at our first World War 1original military vehicle photo on Miliblog. I just couldn’t resist buying from one of my friends in Germany ! It’s a German ambulance, which of course you can see ! However look closer into the photo and you will see it is towing a number of small trailers, with bicycle wheels. They appear to hold 2 or more stretchers and would be towed at a very slow speed from the front line back to the casualty dressing stations. Must have a been a bit claustrophoebic inside one of the trailers. Also just look at the marvellous moustache on the chap on the right, a proper Kaiser Bill !
German Motor Ambulance with Stretcher Trailers
So After this week’s exciting additions, I need a good strong cup of tea ! See you soon !
Cheerio!
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2010
Hello once again and welcome to you all from all over the World ! Well I am sure you want to get on with the Christmas shopping now, so we will keep it short thsi week with only three sample photos for you. Last week we mentioned our good friend, local photographer John Peckmore and included some of the photos Miliblog had bought form him. So here we have some more to look at.
Our first is of a Leyland Daf DROPS thundering down the motorway with a Royal Logistics Corps container loaded on the back. DROPS stands for Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System and means that the back of the lorry lifts up at the front and allows the whole cargo area to be dropped onto the ground. Useful for taking fresh ammunition right upto the artillery positions or for small arms ammunition to be taken to a dispersal point.
Leyland Daf 8x8 Drops (76 KH 72)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
Next we have a Seddon Atkinson tractor and trailer. Judging from the propellor badge on the drivers uniform, then it must be a RAF vehicle. However I don’t think his sergeant would be too pleased to see him opening a bottle while driving.
Seddon Atkinson 1738tc Strato Tractor (NP 31 AA)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
And finally we have a mystery Dennis 6×4 Fuel Tanker, with RAF markings, but not sure of the exact model. Perhaps anyone could help ?
Dennis 6x4
So have another great week writing those Christmas cards !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2010
Hi there and welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week. “Can we have some more photos of modern British Army trucks ?” said the email, so here we are ! We have recently bought some photos from John Peckmore, an excellent local photographer and so for your delight I’ve added a few samples below.
To start with, here’s an old trooper and well known truck used by the British Army for many years. Here perhaps looking a little tired and unloved and ready for one of us enthusiasts to give it a good home. It’s towing an Arrows trailer with another trailer inside that.
Bedford MJ 4Ton Cargo (89 KD 07)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
The next three photos feature the Leyland Daf 4Ton British Army truck in three guises. First we have a standard Cargo with the canvas frame attached which then has the canvas hood over the top.
Leyland Daf 4Ton Cargo (AN 36 AA)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
Following is a similar truck but with the canvas and canvas hoops removed. Anyone making a model of the truck can see more detail of the drop sides and how high the back is above the sides.
Leyland Daf 4Ton Cargo (01 KL 37)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
The whole point of these Leyland Daf trucks were to be as flexible as possible. The cargo body sides could be removed to create a flat bed to which could be added a number of different items. Here we see one kitted out as a Rapier ground-to-air missile support vehicle, complete with camouflage paint and a tactical sign painted on the door.
Leyland Daf 4Ton Cargo (GL 82 AA)(Copyright of JE Peckmore)
In fact here’s a photo I took at the Nesscliffe Military Vehicle show a few years ago. The show was held in the middle of an army training ground and during the afternoon a small convoy of these Leyland Daf’s drove throug the middle of the showground on their way back to the barracks. I remember seeing the bemusement on the faces of the troops at seeing the wartiem vehicles all on display as if they had travelled back in time !!! This photo shows an actual Rapier launcher being towed, with presumeably the missiles on the truck. Actually I do remember now that there were some MV enthusiasts that had collected all the kit and equipment for a Rapier missile battery, including radar, launchers, missiles – dummy ones of course – and the support vehicles to go with it. That is what the serving soldiers could not believe !!!
Leyland Daf 4Ton Rapier Support (09 KL 88)
So have a great week and we’ll soon be back again !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2010
Hi there again and welcome to our newsletter of what’s new this week on Miliblog. Our Normandy Collection continues to be very popular with you all so here we have five more samples to show you. The first photo shows to destroyed German vehicles which would be worth a fortune now ! A VW Schwimmwagen and a Marder self-propelled gun.
Normandy Collection No 921
A nice convoy of GMC 6×6 trucks loaded with equipment ready for the 5th General Hospital being constructed at Carentan. Click and zoom on the photo and the equipment appears to be wooden tables and. Maybe the shelving we showed last week being stocked with medical supplies?
Normandy Collection No 922
Our next photo is of the Town Hall in Cherbourg and is labelled as US Troops awaiting the arrival of their General Lawton Collins.
Normandy Collection No 923
The next photo shows the effects of an artillery bombardment, on this occasion the railway station at Carentan.
Normandy Collection No 926
Our final sample shows a lovely GMC 353 Le Roi Compressor truck providing pneumatic power to some tools being used by some US engineers. They are repairing the quay in the port of L’Entrepot to enable Allied shipping to potentially land some supplies.
Normandy Collection No 939
So I hope you enjoy these photos once again and we will see you soon. Don’t forget we love to receive your emails with your news or comments on info@miliblog.co.uk
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2010
Hello again to you all and welcome to this week’s newsletter. Looking through the collection of photos from over the years, it is always good to come across some photos that you had forgotten about. As we have been adding to our Normandy Collection this has been the case which our first photo illustrates. It shows British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, on route to the Normandy beaches, post D-Day of course. ‘Winnie’ had wanted to go over on D-Day itself, but the King forbade it.
Normandy Collection No 901
Normandy Collection No 906
Re-enforcements coming a shore from Mulberry A, before it was destroyed by a great storm. They are walking on a pontoon which I believe was only used on Mulberry A. Mulberry B at Arromanches wasn’t close enough to the shore to use these pontoons. In the back of the photo, you will see the landing craft that brought the troops over from the UK.
Normandy Collection No 911
This next photo is labelled as a Barber-Greene trenching machine, made in Aurora, Illinois, USA, being used to build the 5th General Hospital at Carentan. Anyone out there come across this machine before ? I always thought that Thornycroft Nubian Trencher (see our photo of a couple using the search facility) was the first automatic trencher!
Normandy Collection No 913
Our final sample this week is of the same 5th General Hospital but at the final stages of being kitted out. Here we see medical supplies being set up in the medical stores ready for use.
Normandy Collection No 918
So I hope you enjoy looking at these photos and all the others in the collection. So until next time, have a great week !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2010
Hi there ! And what a month October was for visitors to Miliblog, our best yet with over 16,000 people visiting our little website, so a BIG thank you ! It makes it all worthwhile ! We love to read your emails with all sorts of queries on military vehicles and to let us know we have a photo of an old military vehicle you used to own. So please, keep them coming in to info@miliblog.co.uk
With our Normandy Collection being so popular, we’d though we would add some more for your pleasure. So as usual, I’ve brought some samples below for you to see. We start with a photo of General Dwight D Eisenhower giving a press conference to journalists. Quite an unusual photo as it show ‘Ike’ looking quite relaxed, so it must have been taken probably in August 1944 after the Breakout.
Normandy Collection No 880
After featuring Mulberry A at Omaha beach a couple of weeks ago before the great storm, here we have a photo after the storm, which shows just how much damage had been done and leading to it being abandoned.
Normandy Collection No 883
Labelled as the US 42nd Field Hospital at St Mere Eglise, here we can see how the wounded were cared for, whether Allied or Axis, with a German soldier with a head wound on a stretcher next to what appears to be US soldiers next to him.
Normandy Collection No 884
The next photo shows some US engineers investigating some german Goliath mini-tanks. These were small vehicles that were powered by an electic motor and remotely controlled by an operator at the end of a long cable. They would guide it to an enemy tank and then press the button and 110lbs (50kgs) of high-explosive would blow up the tank.
Normandy Collection No 892
Finally we have a GMC cargo truck hosing the road with water in an attempt to keep the dust down. Remember, in Normandy 1944, dust was a big problem as it not only caused mechanical problems by getting into engines and suspension units but also it gave away to the enemy the position of vehicles travelling along roads making them a target for the enemy artillery.
Normandy Collection No 898
So have a great week and enjoy visiting Miliblog when you have a coffee break or your lunch while in the office !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 25 2010
Hi there again ! Well the old scanner has been busy again this week and we’ve added a few more to our Normandy Collection, which is proving very popular with you all. So down to business with this week’s samples from the new additions.
We start with a Stuart M3A3 light tank of the Free French Forces liberating their fellow countryfolk. Just look at the joy on the faces of those being liberated.
Normandy Collection No 859
Normandy Collection No 863
A nice collection of Sherman tanks also of the Free French Forces. Just think of the value of all this equipment at today’s prices. Millions !!!
Normandy Collection No 865
And finally, we have a highly technical piece of telecomms equipment. We just had to include this photo of a communications centre complete with plug-ins.
Normandy Collection No 875
So have a great week and we will get back to the scanner for some more additions to the collection.
Cheerio !
Simon
