NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 18 OCTOBER 2010
Welcome to this week’s newsletter of what’s new on Miliblog. Well we have some more lovely additions to our Normandy Collection which feature original photos back in 1944. Don’t forget, if you click on any of the sample photos shown below, they will enlarge so you will be able to see all the detail.
Our first sample this week shows a US Technical Sergeant talking with two WAC’s under some trees.
Normandy Collection No 801
Next is a nice photo of aconvoy of jeeps passing a GMC truck. Click on the photo to enlarge and you will see that the jeeps have a metal upright pole attached to their front bumper. The enemy often used to string wire across the roads in Normandy and any jeep driver with the windscreens down on the jeeps had their heads chopped off. So these anti-decapitation devices were welded onto the front bumper. Crude, but very effective, often using pieces of metal from the anti-landing devices on the Normandy beaches.
Normandy Collection No 811
An unusual photo next, with either part of Mulberry or a Rhino ferry being used to load German POW’s onto a ship to take them to England and then probably onto the USA.
Normandy Collection No 823
Next we have some GI’s enjoying a beer at a French cafe.
Normandy Collection No 837
Finally we have some US engineer’s building a forward airbase for the USAAF, ready to take some P-47 Thunderbolts to provide aircover for the forward troops.
Normandy Collection No 845
So we hope you continue to enjoy all the photos we have on Miliblog. If you have any comments or have any photos to share with us all, then please email us on info@miliblog.co.uk
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 11 OCTOBER 2010
Hi there and welcome to this week’s new items. We’ve been delving into our photo collection again and bring you some more brilliant additions to our Normandy collection. These have proved really popular with you from the emails we’ve received, where they feature uniforms, vehicles or just the general atmospherics of the battlefront. As usual, we’ve brought some samples below for you to see.
We start with a nice photo of Omaha beach well past the landings date with a metalised sheet road laid to bring vehicles over the sand.
Normandy Collection No 782
Next is a rare photo of Mulberry Harbour A, just off Omaha beach. Looking into the photo, it’s still being built with cranes lifting the final pieces into place. Not long after the D-Day landings, the American artificial harbour was assembled but was destroyed beyond repair after a huge storm came up the English Channel.
Normandy Collection No 793
Another fine photo of Mulberry A, but this time after it has been completed. It features an M8 armoured car with a half-track following it, while on the right are a pair of COE GMC 2.5ton 6×6 trucks.
Normandy Collection No 795
A great photo of a group of US 82nd Airborne paratroopers just relaxing after the hard fighting in Normandy. Very useful for details of uniform and the kit that was used.
Normandy Collection No 796
Finally, we have a photo of some US nurses doing their washing up after ‘chow time’. Useful photo for our re-enactor friends who want to set up an authentic camp at War & Peace Show.
Normandy Collection No 792
So my friends, back to the scanner and let us see what next week brings !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 4 OCTOBER 2010
Welcome to a look of what’s new on Miliblog this week. Following on with our Normandy 1944 collection of photos from last week we have four more samples of new additions to the collection. Starting off with some more German POW’s but this time sunning themselves on the decks of the ships taking them into captivity.
Normandy Collection No 771
Staying with the POW theme, we next have a photo of what appears to be a group of Waffen SS troops being marched off, with their camouflage M43 jackets.
Normandy Collection No 776
Like a tin of sardines, these GI’s are on their bunks for the crossing across the Atlantic Ocean.
Normandy Collection No 779
And finally, these 4 US Navy sailors find a way of letting us all know what it’s like over on the beaches !
Normandy Collection No 780
So have a great week and we’ll be back soon !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2010
Hi and welcome to this weeks newsletter and after the cold or the dusty Eastern Front, it’s back to La Belle France for the next few weeks as we look at a few samples added to our Normandy 1944 Collection.
Briefly we have three nice samples for you this week, starting with a photo of some German POW’s boarding a boat back to England and then possibly onto USA.
Normandy Collection No 764
Once on board a US Navy vessel, they all look as if they are enjoying a good meal and perhaps relieved to be safe and away from the battlezone.
Normandy Collection No 765
Meanwhile going the other way into France as these GI’s. How does that record player with a wind-up handle compare to modern iPods, I wonder. Good photot of the US Army M-1941 combat jacket, which to many look like a militarised golfing jacket.
Normandy Collection No 770
Hi there once again and welcome to this week’s newsletter, which is long overdue. We had some naughty person trying to hack into our website and cause mischief. It took a while to sort the issue out but it came from one of the small plug-ins that we used. Now all hopefully sorted and ready to go again !
We’ve still been adding new photos to Miliblog over the past few weeks but not been able to tell you all about them. Our Eastern Front Collection is still proving very popular with all of you out there according to the mails we’ve received, so here’s a few more samples of what went on this week.
We start off with a nice photo of a group of German soldiers posing for the camera. I’m pretty sure the one in the middle is a Panzer, or tank crew member, judging from the design of his jacket.
Eastern Front Collection No 1547
Eastern Front Collection No 1557
For your delight we have a Panzer II tank ploughing down a muddy road. Nice diorama potential for our model makers. A 1/35th scale from Tamiya or an older 1/48 scale from Bandai.
Eastern Front Collection No 1566
Eastern Front Collection No 1584
And finally we have a pair of broken down Russian tanks. Not too sure what model of tank they are though. Perhaps one of you out there knows and can email us ?
Eastern Front Collection No 1588
So we will close this week’s newsletter by saying that if you like these samples, then theere are nearly 1600 original WW2 photos in our Eastern Front Collection. So whether you are an historian, a model-maker or a re-enactor, I’m sure you will find some photos there to interest you. Next week we’re back to the Atlantic Wall of Normandy !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2010
Hi there and welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week. As mentioned last week, our Eastern Front Collection is still very popular with you, my fellow enthusiasts. Over the years I’ve collection many of these wartime photos and I’ve found it’s always been easier to find photos of German troops rather than photos of Allied forces. Have any of you found the same ?
So we have five sample photos to share with you, starting with a brilliant photo of an Opel staff car being pushed out of the mud. Another example of the conditions endured.
Eastern Front Collection No 1510
Now just look at the next photo of a column of German troops marshing along to the front line. Judging from the undone collars, it looks like a warm summer’s day which contradicts many of the winter photos we have in the Collection.
Eastern Front Collection No 1523
Featured in our following photo below is a nice shot of a German gun emplacement with a 105mm howitzer. A great photo for the modellers amongst us or even the re-enactors.
Eastern Front Collection No 1530
A nice photo of a snowy German MG-34 machine gun crew, looking pretty serious.
Eastern Front Collection No 1543
Our final sample shows a very happy German soldier splashing around in the mud.
Eastern Front Collection No 1544
So we’ll get back to the trusty scanner and add some more brilliant photos for you to see.
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2010
Hi there and welcome once again to what’s new this week on Miliblog !
As mentioned, I went to a little antique fair in a village hall and came away with three nice photos which I want to share with you all. Firstly is a nice little photo of a group of REME soldiers of the British Army taken in Italy in July 1945. Studying their faces, they look like they had a long hard campaign and now totally relieved the war was over and they pulled through it.
REME Unit in Italy, July 1945
Next is a fine photo of a group of Royal Artillery gunners taken in the deserts of North Africa. MEF stands for Middle East Force.
107th Battery, 32nd Field Regiment, Royal Artillery MEF
Our next photo is taken in Germany, probably in the late 1940′s. Spot the Bedford QL 3 Tonner on the right and the Willys MB jeep parked in front on the building. But what’s the vehicle parked next to it ?!!! Anyone know ?
Bedford QL & Willys MB Jeep in German Town
We featured a few warship photos recently as something a little different and they proved to be very popular from our emails. So below are a couple of Royal Navy Sandown Class Minehunters.
HMS Inverness (M102) Sandown Class Minehunter
HMS Ramsey (M110) Sandown Class Minehunter, photographed of Portsmouth in June 2005
So have a great week and we’ll see you soon. Back by popular demand are some more photos added to our Eastern Front Collection.
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 30 AUGUST 2010
Hi there and welcome to this week’s newsletter of what’s new on Miliblog.
This week, on September 3rd in fact, we commemorate the outbreak of WW2 or the Second World War. Actually 71 years ago this week, the UK and France declared war on Nazi Germany after they had invaded Poland. If we think about it, many of the people that were around at the time and saw history unfold before them were at least ten years old on that day. That means that they are at least 81 years old now !!! I often see an elderly person in the supermarket or when I visit my old auntie in the nursing home. How tempting it is just to go up to them and ask them about their memories.
So where have we been this week ? Actually to one of our favourite shows, the 1940′s Weekend at Bantock House. Set in the grounds of Bantock Park in the West of Wolverhampton in central England, the event has been running a few years now. Each year it gets better, with a nice mix of re-enactors, military vehicles and the music and atmosphere of the period. We’ve got a full report under our Shows section, but just to tempt you to have a look, I’ve included some sample photos below.
A group of 1940s Re-enactors
RAF Operations Room
Ford GPW Jeep with RAF Crew
Land Army Girls and WAAF
ATS and Home Guard
Next week we’ll be featuring a couple of old wartime photos recently bought at an antique fair. Until then have a great week !
Cheerio !
Simon
Over fifty new additions to the Eastern Front Collection this week, so I’ve picked out five samples to share with you all, starting off with a German machine gun crew with their MG-34.
Eastern Front Collection No 1466
Next is a nice selection of German army vehicles including a Horch Kfz15 Field Car on the left.
Eastern Front Collection No 1478
Following on is a Junkers JU-52 transport plane coming in to land.
Eastern Front Collection No 1481
….And which militaria dealer wouldn’t like to get their hands on this collection of weapons !!!!
Eastern Front Collection No 1482
Finally, we have a nice photo of a German infantryman with his KAR 98k rifle. However, I think this looks a little too posed, and the uniform too clean for a muddy trench !
Eastern Front Collection No 1492
So next week in the UK we have a bank holiday Monday followed by one of our favourite shows, the 1940′s weekend at Bantock House in Wolverhampton.
Until then, have a super week and we’ll see you soon.
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 16 AUGUST 2010
As promised, we’ve been delving into the pending box and loaded more photos on this week. Lots of interest from our emails in old WW2 British vehicles and one of the most popular and most recognised is the AEC Matador gun tractor. Maybe because we probably all made the lovely plastic model kit of the Matador by Airfix, which included a 5.5″ howitzer gun. Many were used in the timber industry, while others were snapped up by transport and bus companies to use as breakdown lorries.
My best friend from school’s father served in the British Army in National service just after WW2 and one day told me a story. He’d been driving a Matador in Germany and had stopped for a typical British cup of tea. When ne came to start the engine, it had a flat battery and couldn’t even turn over the engine. A couple os US Army GI’s were passing in their Jeep and stopped to help. A quick tow rope was attached and to his great surprise, the little Jeep was able to pull the Matador fast enough to enable him to let the clutch out which kicked the engine into life !!!!! So below is a further addition to our collection of Matadors.
AEC 0853 Matador (GSO 566)
To complete the story, we have another recent addition to our Jeep gallery on Miliblog. A little different colour scheme to the normal US olive drab jeeps seen around at shows.
Willys MB - Ford GPW Jeep
Following on this week’s theme of British Lorries and in particular gun tractors, below are two examples of the Scammells added to the website this week.
Scammell Pioneer R100 Gun Tractor (HVW 77)
Scammell Pioneer R100 Gun Tractor (JXL 669)
And finally one for our US cousins, a Dodge Power Wagon Ambulance, which look in excellent condition.
Dodge Power Wagon 4x4 Ambulance (Q 239 GVM)
So have a great week and we’ll see you soon !
Cheerio !
Simon
