Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Military Trader

In the early 20th century, Robert Gilmour LeTourneau established his company in California, initially building earthmoving equipment for his own contracting business. The equipment soon garnered the attention of others in the earthmoving business, leading LeTourneau to begin marketing the equipment he designed. The company quickly became known for three distinctive characteristics: innovation, massive scale, and the use of electric drive systems in its machinery. The birth of the “land train” concept began in February 1953 with the Tournatrain—an articulated vehicle consisting of four units with 16 powered wheels, capable of carrying 60 tons. Within a year, LeTourneau expanded this design to include 8 units, 32 driven wheels, and doubled its capacity to 140 tons, powered by a 1000-horsepower engine. This caught the attention of the Army’s Transportation Research and…

Q: I just spotted the “Jeepology PHD?” letter by William B. King in January 25 MT&V magazine, and your reply. You probably already have heard from others about the correct answers to his question. I am a little late getting to page 88 because I always read the magazine from start to finish, part time. Tech Tips is one of the last things I look at, although it is my favorite monthly feature. Mr. King was wondering why WWII British jeeps had chopped off bumpers, cut out grilles, and the “silly little lights on the front fenders.” Relatively few of their jeeps had the first two modifications. The shortened front bumper was a feature of jeeps for airborne service, specifically for loading aboard Horsa gliders used by airlanding units. When…

In 1853, Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War to the United States government, directed that the U.S. Army should quickly adopt muzzle-loading percussion cap rifles instead of smoothbore muskets. Such a policy was wise, and it ensured that when the Civil War broke out in 1861, the Union had a ready supply and manufacturing base for the Springfield .58-caliber rifled musket. When Major Josiah Gorgas was appointed Chief of Ordnance of the Confederate States Army in 1861, he found the nation’s arsenals contained just 15,000 rifled muskets and 120,000 old smoothbores. To equip its new army with modern weapons, the Confederacy would have to buy from abroad. By far the biggest European power willing to run the “Yankee” blockade was Great Britain. From workshops based in London and Birmingham, England…

The militaria hobby is wide ranging and offers many options for the collector. Over the years I have met many fellow collectors whose main interests ranged far and wide, from amassing large collections of divisional and unit insignia, to accumulating every possible enameled unit insignia (DUI’s). Others collected military weapons ranging from side arms, to rifles and even military swords. One of the most fascinating areas of collecting for me is military medals and orders. When a collector holds a medal in his or her hand, there is much history associated with the medal; they have a personal feel, and we usually remember how and when the item was acquired. Orders often require more immediate and larger capital outlay, but often end up as a better investment. As a beginner,…

The Kubel Korps USA held its 36th annual reunion in Pioneer, Ohio last summer, once again attracting a very impressive collection of historic German WWII vehicles. This event is always more of reunion, not a “show”, so there is always plenty of catching up and reuniting, but the days are really structured around driving (or swimming) these vehicles because this is a club on the move! The Kubel Korps was created in 1989 by, and for, those with an interest in German World War II vehicles. Like most vehicle clubs, it is not a political organization, and you don’t have to own a historic military vehicle to join, but many members own both German and American vehicles. For many years now they have held their reunion at a very large,…

There are only two basic requirements for any automotive vehicle, military or civilian — that a vehicle goes and a vehicle stops. While it’s usually not a life and death matter if a vehicle won’t go, it can certainly be life-threatening if a vehicle won’t stop. This article offers some basic information about the hydraulic service brake systems of common collectable historic military vehicles, including how these systems work, of what their components consist and how they bring a vehicle to a halt. It also includes trouble-shooting procedures and how to diagnose common brake system problems, as well as how to make adjustments and bleed the brakes. While a totally unskilled person probably shouldn’t be messing with their vehicle’s brakes, it can be just as risky if one doesn’t learn…