Following on is Volume 4 showing the next 250 photographs from a very exciting collection of photos taken by many Allied servicemen during the Normandy Campaign of the Summer of 1944. Following the D-Day Landings on 6th June 1944, the Allies attempted to breakout from the bridghead throughout June. The Americans drove up the Cotentin peninsula towards Cherbourg and then across through into Brittany. Many of the photos show the devestation of battle of just the ordinary little villages that were destroyed in the name of the Liberation. If you are a military vehicle enthusiast who owns and loves their Jeeps, Dodges and Jimmies, then see your vehicle in it’s environment. Who knows maybe your actual vehicle may be in one of the photos. Looking at many of the photos the Summer of ’44 looked pretty dry and dusty, with many vehicles covered in a light dust. Again a useful observation for model makers amongst us.
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
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 9 AUGUST 2010
Hi there and welcome to what’s new on Miliblog this week.
Firstly we have the 65th anniversary of VJ Day on August 15th, the final end of the Second World War. Often overshadowed by events in Europe, finally the troops of the 14th Army, or the Forgotten Fourtheenth as they were called, could all finally head back home after an often nasty war. Fighting not only a determined enemy but also the hot and steamy jungle along with disease and illness too. We raise our glasses to you all.
So a little different this week in that we have some military vehicles in post war service in civilian life. Starting off is an interesting Albion 10Ton Cargo, with two sample pictures. One in just out of service condition, while the other is a modified one used by Chipperfields Circus in red and pale blue colours. Wonder where they are now ?!!!!!
Albion WD-HD 23N 10ton 6x4 Cargo (Q 859 FAD)
Albion WD-HD 23N 10Ton 6x4 Cargo (UBW 478 G)
Following on we have a nice little Bedford MWD 15cwt in RAF colours, which I’m sure I’ve seen at many shows over the years.
Bedford MWD 15cwt GS (YMR 58)
Miliblog is interested in all military vehicles, from all countries and all ages. So we next bring you two photos of the the new MAN trucks that have entered service with the British Army, one four wheeler and the other an eight wheeler.
MAN 6 Ton 4x4 Cargo (HK 50 AB)
MAN 9 Ton 8x6 Cargo (HA 82 AB)
And finally, a photo for our naval enthusiasts, in the shape of the Royal Navy’s latest Type 45 Destroyer, which looks a pretty streamline and fast craft.
HMS Daring, Type 45 Destroyer (D-32)
So we’ll have another look in our pending box and see what we can find you for next week !
Cheerio !
Simon
From our emails, especially from our fellow enthusiasts in Germany, we read that the original photos in our Eastern Front Collection are as popular as ever. So this week we have scanned and loaded on a further batch of photos. As usual, we’ve included a few samples to tempt you further to visit the Collection.
Eastern Front Colelction No 1409
We start with a nice photo of a Panzer 3 tank just climbing up a hill; nice one for our modellers !
Eastern Front Collection No 1411
Well polished boots for this medal presentation, with others in the background waiting their turn
Eastern Front Collection No 1432
Nice photo of a Demag half track towing a Pak43 anti-tank gun
Eastern Front Collection No 1433
German troops in a slit trench with an MG-42 machine gun. Just look at the chicken wire on the two helmets, which was a cheap and effective way to add camouflage by just weaving leaves and small branches through the wire.
Eastern Front Collection No 1439
A lovely photo of a simple lightweight pontoon bridge. Suggestion for a model diorama with a few vehicles and horse and wagons. Maybe a future IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) or MAFVA (Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association) competition winner ?!!!!
So my friends, back to the scanner until next week !
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 26 JULY 2010
Hi and welcome to this weeks newsletter. Well we are back from the seaside after a nice holiday in Devon in the South of England and ready to add some more photos to our Eastern Front Collection. So without any more fuss, we’ll launch into this week’s samples of our additions.
Eastern Front Collection No 1361
Another example of just how much the German army was fully mechanised !
Eastern Front Collection No 1368
This photo just illustrates the power of German tank weaponery, with the turret of this Soviet tank just blown off the hull and into the air.
Eastern Front Collection No 1370
Soviet refugees heading away from the fighting.
Eastern Front Collection No 1381
A nice shot of a VW Type 82 Kubelwagen, Germany’s answer to the US Jeep, with a BMW R75 motorcycle.
Eastern Front Collection No 1393
Home from home in this deep German dug out, taken in the wintertime looking at the amount of warm clothing the soldiers are wearing.
So I hope you enjoy visiting the collection along with all the other types of photos we have for you on Miliblog.
So until next week……
Cheerio !
Simon
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 19 JULY 2010
Wecome once again to you all !
After featuring the landing craft hards at Brixham last week, this week we’re just down the coast at Slapton Sands and visiting it’s rare Sherman swimming tank. We have a write up on Slapton and the Sherman in our new Then & Now section, so we’ll just include a flavour to tempt you to visit it.
In the build up to the D-Day Landings, training and more training was needed to ensure the operation was to be a success. What better than to find a beach that was copy of one of the landing beaches itself. In 1943, Slapton Sands beach in South Devon had been identified by the planners as being a relpica of Utah Beach.
Slapton Sands, July 2010
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Slapton Sands and Sherman Tank, South Devon, England, UK
In the build up to the D-Day Landings, training and more training was needed to ensure the operation was to be a success. What better than to find a beach that was a copy of one of the landing beaches itself. In 1943, Slapton Sands beach in South Devon had been identified by the planners as being a replica of Utah Beach, where the US Army 29th Infantry Division was to land. Only problem was, that there were many villages and farms occupied for generations by many Devonians. However, nothing stood in the planners way and so the villages of Blackawton, Chillington, East Allington, Sherford, Slapton, Stokeham, Strete and Torcross all based in the glorious South Hams district, were cleared of all people and their possessions.
So a battle practice area was created. Many practice landings took place during early 1944, usually with live ammunition being fired across the beach as the landing craft came in. I think I read somewhere that more casualties happened on this practice beach than on the actual Utah Beach landings on D-Day, where luckily casualty figures were very low.
Slapton Sands, July 2010
Slapton Sands, July 2010
Slapton Sands looking inland over Slapton Leys
Slapton Sands Memorial
Between April 22 and 30, 1944, Operation Tiger took place. This involved a number of practice landings in both day and night. On the night of April 27/28, 8 LST’s (Landing Ship Tanks) set out from Lyme Bay to turn into Start Bay and onto Slapton Sands. However disaster struck, when a flotilla of German E Boats attacked the convoy and caused havoc. 749 US sailors and soldiers were killed in the attack that night. Many books and articles have been written about the event, so we won’t go into further detail here.
British scientists had remarkedly invented a swimming tank ! Based on a US Sherman Tank, it had two propellers on the back and a thick canvas screen that was raised around it. Launched out at sea, upto 2 miles from the beach, the DD or Duplex Drive Sherman would swim to the beach, drop it’s screen and then continue to shoot up German pillboxes.
During Tiger, one such DD Sherman was launched from a landing craft, but without it’s water proof engine plate in place. It began to sink, so the crewquickly baled out. The tank then sank in 65 feet of water and 3/4 of a mile from the beach. In 1983, Ken Small, a local hotellier from Torcross, discovered it with the help of local fishermen.
In 1984, forty years after it was lost, the tank was towed ashore and winched up the beach, When the tracks hit the slipway, the running gear turned as freely as it had done back in 1944. Ken could always be found parked next to the tank over the years and would tell visitors its history and all about Operation Tiger. The site continues to be of great importance locally, historically, educationally, and of course emotionally. It is now a tribute to the man himslef, who died in 2004, aged 74.
One unusual thing to note though, is that the Slapton Sherman DD is based on an early M4A1 cast hull rather than most DD’s being based on the later welded hull types.
Sherman DD Tank
Sherman DD Tank Rear View
Sherman DD Tank Propeller Driveshaft
