Indholdsfortegnelse for January/February 2022 i Military Vehicles

Perhaps, my fascination with history began with my father, a high school history teacher. My special interest, though, is in mechanized warfare. That may explain why I drove across five states in a hurricane for the chance to drive a Sherman tank. You see, for a suitable donation, the American History Museum near Boston will let you drive one of their tanks. The museum is really three museums in one. An armor museum, aircraft museum, and an old car museum. All of these can be visited for one admission. A VISIT TO THE MUSEUM I arrived early. Because it was also a “tank demonstration” weekend at the museum, the first thing to catch my eye, as I drove up the driveway, was the M26 Pershing tank. No, it was not…

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…

The Great Race is an antique, vintage, and collector car competitive controlled-speed endurance road rally on public highways. While it is not unusual to see Auburns, Packards, and early MGs battling alongside classic Barracudas, Impalas, and vintage Corvettes, the 2021 race had a unique entrant. Teamed up in a 1952 M37, upstate New Yorkers Dominick Celia and Michael Spina competed with vintage classic cars in the cross-county race — to the delight of all who saw the olive drab truck along the route. DECISION TO RACE The first running of the Great Race occurred in 1983. Named for the 1965 movie, “The Great Race,” that starred Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk the event is not a test of top speed. It is a test of a…

When Britain declared war against Germany on September 3, 1939, one of the companies to be prepared for the event was the Southall-based firm of Associated Equipment Company, otherwise known by the initials AEC. Since 1936, when Britain began its re-armament program, AEC had been producing a range of wheeled vehicles for the British army. One of these was the “AEC Forward Model 0853.” More commonly referred to as the “Matador,” the heavy lorry entered service in 1938. By 1945, AEC produced more than 9,000 Matadors from its London factory. Measuring over 20 feet in length and 7 feet and 10 inches wide, it was hard not to notice this heavyweight truck. In 1936, the Matador design represented a new direction for AEC. It was the company’s first 4X4 vehicle…

Military Vehicles Magazine welcomes photo submissions from its readers of any MVs, new or old. Send photos with a brief description to: Military Vehicles Magazine, Attn: Reader Photos, 5225 Joerns Drive, Suite 2, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or email high resolution scans with descriptions to Military@Aimmedia.com.…

I was a Navy brat. My first real exposure to Army troops and army combat vehicles was when I was about 4-1/2 years old. My father, a Navy Lieutenant, had been assigned to Los Alamos, where the Navy had recently taken over from the Army as the “housekeeping landlord.” Mom and I followed him a few months later, in early summer after we finally had been assigned housing on post. Although I was too young at the time to understand what it all meant, I was curious to see what living on a military post was like. While Dad had been assigned in San Diego, we had lived off-base in apartments. In 1949, Los Alamos was still a rigorously enforced “closed post” — a highly secret research laboratory for the…

On April 29, 2021, the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) told drivers to expect "significant delays" as crews worked to remove an armored vehicle that fell off a truck and landed on its top on C-470. According to a CSP tweet, the carrier came off a flatbed semi-truck in the westbound lanes, just west of Interstate 25, and landed in the middle of the road. The Fort Carson-based, 30,000-lbs M1117 was eventually placed back on its wheels. #M 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, or email a high-resolution scan to Military@Aimmedia.com…

The American Heritage Museum is housed in a 65,000 + square foot building located at the Collings Foundation’s headquarters in Stow, Massachusetts. The concept of the American Heritage Museum began when the Foundation was selected to receive the massive collection of tanks, armored vehicles and military artifacts from the family of Jacques M. Littlefield in 2013. Receiving this historically important and extensive collection was a tremendous honor for the Collings Foundation. Exhibiting these artifacts in the most meaningful way possible is the Museum’s goal. They designed the American Heritage Museum to fully engage people in understanding our turbulent past. In this remarkable place, American history will be explored, studied and most of all, remembered. Through educational interpretation, and a chronologically arranged series of dioramas and exhibits, the American Heritage Museum…

Each November, the Midwest Dream Car Collection in Manhattan, Kansas, considers it a privilege to share Military Month with its guests. The Museum honored the military past and present through a special month-long exhibit. Rare historic military vehicles and uniforms were on display through the month of November 2021. In addition to the five military vehicles on display, Ft. Riley has generously loaned their 1st Infantry traveling display complete with photos, memorabilia, and period uniforms. On November 6, Dr. Robert Smith, Director of Ft. Riley Museums gave a presentation on the “Mechanization of the WWII U.S. Army” in our museum event center. During the month of November all active duty service members and veterans were admitted to the museum free of charge. For more information, contact: Doug Meloan, Director of…

One of the biggest finishing touches for most WWII Jeep restorations is the installation of combat rims. While the initial 20,000 Jeeps rolled out on solid rims, all of the Jeeps thereafter, had “combat rims.” The Kelsey Hayes Wheel Company made these rims for the duration of the war. Developed in 1941, the idea of a combat rim was that in a combat situation, any GI could quickly remove a tire from a rim just by deflating the tire and unbolting eight bolts. A metal band called a “beadlock” was also added. This acted as a sort of “run flat,” allowing a Jeep with a punctured tire to run for an additional 40+ miles. It is difficult to find original combat rims in good shape that are safe enough to…

The M606 was a military version of the CJ-3B model Jeep, built primarily for export through provisions of the Military Defense Assistance Act. At the time, South Korea had no domestic auto production capability and relied on the USA and Japan for military vehicles. When the Republic of Korea (ROK —South Korea) entered the Vietnam conflict in September 1964, it received foreign weapons and equipment, in large part from the United States. That same year, the Kasiser Corporation built the Model 606 Jeep featured in this article at the former Willys plant in Toledo, Ohio, before shipping it to South Korea for use by their army. This vehicle arrived in the Republic of Korea just as that nation’s army began deploying into Vietnam. At the same time, Mitsubishi J-Series Jeeps,…

Not many people who collect, restore, drive, or just love old cars, trucks, or military vehicles would argue that the 1950s and ‘60s were some of the most innovative years for the U.S. automotive industry. Besides the “Big Three” (Ford, Chrysler, and GM) there were other contenders vying for a share of what was basically a captive market — or, at least, a market that seldom looked beyond its own borders. Of these, most notable were Studebaker, Hudson, Packard, American Motors (Rambler), and Willys-Overland. Foreign cars were a fairly rare sight in the U.S. back then, and most seemed tiny, funny-looking, and fragile. American cars and trucks were the standard of the world in many ways, including design and durability. Most baby boomers will recall when new American cars were…

Paul Roshak has shared a number of his photos from his active duty service from 1959-1962, including 26 months with the 7th Army, 587th Engineers, stationed in Hanau, Germany. We published one group in the August 2014, issue of MVM. We are happy to share another installment. Paul wrote about his service, “My primary job was transport of engineer heavy equipment. I also operated cranes, wreckers, dozers and any new demo equipment. Our unit mission also included direct support to other engineer companies in north, central, and southern Germany. Additionally, I did wreck recovery work and heavy haul of equipment to the engineer repair depot located in Kaiserslautern. The Mack M123 was my main work horse. It had amazing power and was available 100% of the time. I really enjoyed…

At the outbreak of war in 1939, the British Army was desperately short of vehicles for liaison roles that it resorted to “impressing” into service almost 4,300 civilian-owned cars. Orders for some 3,800 further vehicles were placed directly with manufacturers, such as Morris, Austin, and Standard, before the end of the year. At the start of 1940, the Army added 2,300 more cars to its fleet of civilian vehicles that had grown to 26,000, a figure that included thousands of private cars, some that the Government bought outright. This was in addition to 7,000 motorcycles and 14,000 trucks. And in June 1940, the War Department placed orders for a further 12,660 cars to replace the almost 8,000 lost during the Dunkirk evacuation that year TILLYS GO INTO SERVICE Several types…

MIGHTY MID-KANSAS MVPA CLUB Club Objective: To preserve and present the history of military vehicles! Back in 1984, Gary Cross, a USAF veteran, had the idea of promoting military vehicles to honor all active and former military personnel. Now, 38 years later, not all 32 members of the Mid -Kansas MVPA Club have vehicles, but all have the passion to preserve these vehicles. At present, members’s vehicles include M38, M38A1, M37, GPW, CCKW, M151A2, M1009, Cushman Airborne, GTB Jeep, 43 Willys Ambulance, CUCV, HMMWV, and a Mechanical Mule. Our club members have joined together to restore, preserve, and exhibit the history of military vehicles. We enjoy the company of like-minded individuals who are interested in advancing the hobby. As club members we support each other in our effort to accomplish…

For many years after the fighting stopped in September 1945 there was a lot of confusion as to the fate of the thousands of surplus military trucks. It is probably good for those of us who are interested in those vehicles today to learn some of what transpired then and just how they ended up in civilian hands. As a person who spent his professional life studying and teaching history, I wish someone had recorded what went on then. Now, it is almost too late for research into that era because the individuals involved have almost all passed away. I was born during WWII. I always joked I wasn’t “born “but was “issued Army surplus.” Though I lived during that time, I only learned some of what took place as…

The CJ-3B was introduced in January 1953 and the M606 followed, produced at least into the mid-1960s. While it is speculated that the U.S. military bought CJ-3Bs off the assembly line, the M606 designation actually applies to units built in the 1960s to be supplied to foreign militaries through an assistance framework established by the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. Most M606s supplied to US military branches were essentially CJ-3B Jeeps with 6-volt configuration, though some were delivered with 12-volt systems. In addition, many military versions were built with the heavy-duty options such as larger tires and springs. Other options found on military-purchased CJ-3Bs and M606s include blackout lamps on the front, left fenders and fold-out windshield glass. . Jeeps bearing the designation of M606A1 (neither a Kaiser nor US military…

Peter DeBella Jeep Parts is offering a new line of high-quality reproduction Ignition Coils for the MB, GPW, CJ2A, and CJ3A and also used on some WWII military trucks. These coils come in a variety of configurations: Early style 6-Volt Coil with Ground Stud; early style 12-Volt Coil with Ground Stud; and late style 6-Volt without Ground Stud. Each Ignition Coil comes with a bracket. If you are tired of disappointing reproductions sold by other brands out there, then please take a look at what Peter has to offer. Many other lower priced imitations are being made today, but with that lower price comes lower quality. Don’t skimp. Visit Peter DeBella Jeep Parts’ website to see many more of these new products: www.debellajeepparts.com give him a call at (631) 874-8660.…