Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Military Vehicles

In 1946, my dad purchased a 1944 Ford GPW jeep for $300 from a government surplus sale. That started my love affair with the GPW. It was in that Jeep that I taught myself how to drive — at the age of 10. Since that time, Ever since, I had a longing to own a 1944 Ford GPW once again. That realization came true for me in July 2017. I was able to purchase a 1944 Ford GPW from a woman in Wilmington, N.C. Her husband’s father, a retired USCG officer, purchased the Jeep on April 7, 1948, for $600. He used the Jeep on his farm in Virginia for many years. Her husband inherited the Jeep in 1977. The Jeep bought a great deal of joy to her husband…

We love to see and share photos of our readers’ HMVs. Here are few that appeared on our Facebook page. To see more, share your own photos or to simply “join the conversation,” log onto your own Facebook page and type “Military Vehicles Magazine” in the search bar at the top of the page. “LIKE” us to receive the most recent news and hobby chatter. Follow us on Facebook: Join Facebook.com and search for Military Vehicles Magazine…

Even before America entered WWII as a belligerent nation, the country’s vast industrial capacity was gearing itself to supplying weapons and vehicles to the armed forces in the re-armament program. One of the companies producing specialist vehicles for the armed forces was the Battle Creek-based Clark Tructractor Plant in Michigan, founded in 1919 as a division of the Clark Equipment Company, itself founded in 1916. The company had an established reputation as a manufacturer producing specialist machinery and vehicles to handle heavy cargo loads. One of these vehicles was the “Tructractor,” used to move aircraft around airfields and other locations such as maintenance hangars. Eventually this small, but extremely useful specialist vehicle would be used by both the USAAF and the Royal Air Force in most theatres of war. It…

Thursday, November 5, 2020, dawned slightly overcast as I drove my 1952 Dodge M37 out of my driveway and north for 350kms (220 miles) up the center of the North Island of New Zealand to Cambridge. Armistice 2020 was being held at the Mighty River Domain, Lake Karapiro, over the weekend Nov. 6-8, the closest weekend to Armistice Day November 11 (Veterans Day in the USA). The event attracted ex-military vehicles and sponsored battle re-enactments, hosted events for children, and gave room for venor displays — all of which was open to the general public. When COVID-19 struck, we went hard and fast into lock-down as a nation. Over a number of months, we eliminated the virus in the community. An while we have recorded 25 deaths, the last COVID-related…

I began working for a living around the age of eight. My dad owned a small scrap metal yard in Oakland, Calif., Prior to the age at which some boys join the Cub Scouts, I helped him run our business, prowling among mountains of junk, searching for tidbits of brass and copper, electric motors, and car and truck generators. At the end of the day, I was rewarded with enough pocket change to hit the corner market for sodas, chips, and candy bars. My starting pay was fifty-cents an hour — not bad if one considers that most candy bars were a nickel, Shasta sodas were twelve cents a can, and a local burger joint sold surprisingly good cheeseburgers for just a quarter. As a bonus, I also got to…

Ivan Dmitri (or Dmitre; 1900 – 1968), an American photographic artist, was born Levon West in Centerville, South Dakota. His father was a Congregational minister who immigrated from Armenia. The family changed their name to “West” when Levon and his brothers did not want to enlist in the service during WWI under their Armenian last name, “Assadoorian.” They chose the name “West” — the maiden name of their mother. When he began producing his color photographs, Levon adopted the pen name, “Ivan Dmitri.” When he began working with color photography, Levon West adopted the pen name “Ivan Dmitri,” though he continued to use the name Levon West for his non-photographic works. Dmitri was a pioneer in color photography, and wrote several books on the subject, his first being, Color in…

Vehicle: WWII Dodge WC-62/63 G-Number: G-507 Also known as: T-223; The “Big Dodge” Compared to the creation of many of the military’s vehicles, the genesis of the ton and one-half Dodge was simple. The army increased the size of a rifle squad from eight men to 12 men and, when that occurred, a squad would no longer fit into a 3/4-ton Dodge. Therefore, Maj. Gen. Courtney Hodges, chief of infantry, suggested the 3/4-ton Dodge be stretched 48 inches, and the vehicle became a 6x6. Most of the mechanical and some of the sheet metal parts were the same as those used in the 3/4-ton series. Certain components, primarily in the driveline and suspension, were strengthened in the ton-and-a-half models, and many of these changes were incorporated into subsequent 3/4-ton production,…

New Zealand is an island nation of 5.5 million people, 2,583 miles east of Australia in the South Pacific. It is ranked 76th in country area size, slightly larger than Great Britain. New Zealand is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It recently re-elected a female Prime Minister, — the third woman to hold this position. New Zealand is an exporting country — mainly dairy products, wine, timber and meat. 8 of the nation’s top 10 exports are food- or beverage-related.…

Recovery of disabled tracked vehicles is a commonly required battlefield skill, but one which can be difficult to realistically train for in peacetime. On October 28, 2020, a team of Virginia Guardsmen from the Mobilization & Training Equipment Site (MATES) at Fort Pickett had a unique training opportunity. While also supporting the Virginia National Guard (VANG) Joint Force Headquarters at the Defense General Supply Center in Richmond, they were asked to recover and move a large armored vehicle. The soldiers were ready to take it on. The subject of the training exercise was a vintage M42 40mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, usually referred to as a “Duster.” The M42 Duster was built using the same chassis as the M41 Walker Bulldog tank and is armed with two 40mm anti-aircraft guns. Some…

My Jeep adventures began with the purchase of a Korean War M1 Garand rifle. Because of my interest in the rifle, I started watching every war movie that featured M1s. In those movies, I saw a lot of jeeps, as well. About the same time, I joined a local military vehicle club, The Monroe Marauders — even though I didn’t own a military vehicle. My grandfather had served in the Korean War, and my father served during the Cold War era. Therefore, I was attracted to Korean War and 1950s jeeps the most. THE ACQUISITION To my wife’s surprise, I finally got the nerve to purchase a military jeep. I saw the M38A1 not too far from where my grandmother lived, just north of Montgomery, Ala. I put down a…

NEW JEEP BODIES FROM PETE DEBELLA Peter DeBella Jeep Parts is proud to announce a *NEW* Line of Reproduction Jeep Bodies. The old bodies available on the market did not come with the holes drilled and often have issues with poor fit of windshields, fenders, and hoods. Many details were also missing. Peter DeBella Jeep Parts are looking to fix that with this New Range of High-Quality Jeep Bodies. A full range of bodies will be available including Slat Grille, Standard MB, ACM1, late GPW, CJ2A, CJ3A, CJ3B, CJ5, and M38A1. These will be available as only body tubs or as kits that include the tub, qindshield frame, fenders, hood, and grille. Visit www.debellajeepparts.com to see many more photos of these new bodies and all of the other, high-quality parts or…

Like any collectible vehicle, the price of any historic military vehicle (HMV) is based on a combination of three factors: Condition, rarity, and popularity. A vehicle can be rare but if it isn’t interesting, it won’t be as valuable as an equally uncommon, popular vehicle. Rarity is determined by two factors: Production quantity and survivability. The rarity of vehicles in this guide are rated on a scale of 1 through 5 (1 being the most common and 5 the scarcest). “Rare,” however, doesn’t always mean “valuable.” It has to be desirable, as well. A “preserved vehicle” is maintained in a “state of suspended animation.” All the flaws, scratches and rust that are present when the vehicle was “discovered” are preserved. While this style of collecting is more popular with vehicle…

They say a normal human being will suffer massive spinal damage, harmful joint trauma, and significant ego deflation when attempting to break loose the lug nuts on a military vehicle like the M35A2 and M37 if they use a standard lug nut wrench. And they would be correct, because the correct torque for lug nuts on the M35A2 is 325-350 foot-pounds and on the M37 is 200-225 foot-pounds. That means these bad boys are on there tight! In this classic battle of the average human armed with a large four-way lug nut wrench versus a correctly-torqued standard military lug nut, the human loses every time. So how are the lug nuts on a military vehicle broken loose so the tire and rim can be removed for replacement or servicing? THE…

Some vehicle sightings along Vietnamese highways during the period of 1968-70 were neither weapons platforms nor transport vehicles. In fact, a common vehicle seen in many US Army convoys in Vietnam was the RTFL (Rough Terrain Fork Lift). Moving along at “convoy speed” of up to 30mph with is exposed operator tightly belted onto the saddle and clinging to the controls, the machine bounced along with the convoy. Regardless of make or brand, these rough terrain fork lifts had no suspension other than their very large, tractor-sized tires. Charging along at speed on rough roadways really pushing the safety for the machine, but no one wanted to slow down the convoy — and the operator did not want to be a slow, lone exposed target. THE NEED FOR LIFT The…

Master Sergeant Edward Mordush of Painesville, Ohio, was in this M26 Pershing tank when it flipped off of a bridge during night driving near Regensburg, Germany, ca. 1952. He is the fellow in the white shirt. The Company Commander is standing on the bank of the river, either curious or ticked off as he watches the crew prepare to right their tank. Submitted by his nephew and namesake, Ed Jividen If you have a suitable photo for SNAFU, please send it to Editor, Military Vehicles Magazine, 5225 Joerns Drive, Suite 2, Stevens Point, WI 54481, USA. All submissions become property of F+W Media, Inc.…