Awesome picture, Marco!

Alex

That is a great photo
 

Hi Marco

That is just one of the better photos, what more could you ask for extra gas cans, reclining canvas chair, table for your typewriter, warm enough to take of your shirt, and do your paper work.

Gives you a feeling for how these guys lived, worked out of the back these trucks for months on end.

Cheers Phil

FAT Tuesday!
A couple of stills from movies in the collection of the Friesland film archives. This archive was in the Dutch national news last week as they found a missing fragment of a Stan Laurel film.
The archive also has several movies of WW2 in Friesland.


This movie shows several vehicles at rest in a field in April 1945 (from about 00:45). Two cab12 FAT's can be seen in a field along with a cab13 FAT. On the other end of the field, another 4! Monkey face FAT's can be seen. The movie also shows a Bedford QLB, a number of carriers, A HUW and a Morris FAT

Two more early FAT's filmed in Leeuwarden, two in Sneek
And a 15cwt in Heerenveen.

It could be that some of the footage shows the very same vehicle, but it's hard to tell. One of the FAT's in Leewarden seems to be missing the front bumper.

Alex

Source:
Leeuwarden:https://www.archieven.nl/nl/zoeken?m...rden&miview=ff
Sneek:https://www.archieven.nl/nl/zoeken?m...neek&miview=ff
Heerenveen: https://www.archieven.nl/nl/zoeken?m...true&miview=ff

Hello
Nice pictures of the FAt with an amazing load on the roof!

Thank's to share them :thup2:
Sylvain

Round about 0.42

http://film.iwmcollections.org.uk/record/647

Lovely find Rich! I took the liberty of making a screen dump.

Interesting bit of footage that clearly shows the traffic jam at the beach due to the blocked beach exits! Also a glimpse of a rare HUA C8A.


Alex

I can't really claim the credit for finding the film, Alex. It was discovered by Tom O'Brien over on WW2t. He came up with it as part of his ongoing research to determine if the much-maligned Austin K5 really was responsible for the failure of Market - Garden as alleged by Chester Wilmot based on half a line in a 21st Army Group report. It seems increasingly unlikely but particularly U.S. publications have made much use of the allegation.

Enlighten us, please. Is that the story about the problem with a batch of trucks with bad valves?

Thanks,
Hanno

One of the sources refers to piston problems. Tom has been through almost all of the 21st Army Group REME diaires though and can find no reference to anything. If it happened it would seem to have been detected before they got to France and plenty of Austin 'Screamers' seem to have made their way from Normandy to the Baltic.

The trouble is that the absence of proof doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it does seem to have been blown out of proportion...and a 3-ton 4x4 was never likely to have been a major LoC RASC tool anyway.

I came across this picture on the web. According to the website the picture is taken on July 25th 1944 near Caen during Operation Spring, but I am trying to find out if this is indeed the case. The same picture has also been copied by Pinterest with the same description.

Does anyone recognise the picture or knows where it originates from?

I found it here: http://www.dday-overlord.com/mediath...alvados/caen/2
Alex

Heavy barrage......
 

....at least 9 guns going off at once...... surprised by the lack of cover for the foreground gun and close proximity of vehicles....... either they have total supremacy in the area or it is a drill....... even the staff is just very casual!!! gun emplacement look well made..... permanent perhaps???? telegraph pole on RH side ????? does not look like they expect anyone to fire back at them......

Bob C.

Referenced as PA-116516

in Bloody Victory by Granatstein/Morton and dated 25 July 44

Awesome Kevin! :thup:
Pity the pic is not available online; would love to see if there is a better quality version available.
So, another three cab 12's in Normandy!

Bob, I'm guessing they had at least a few days to prepare for Operation Spring.

Alex

Or, are they cab 11's? And has anyone ID'd if they are Ford or Chev? I'm guessing Ford, on the basis they look broken down by the side of the road! :D

Owen.

Difficult to see, due to the quality of the picture....but I see what you mean, Owen....the left one could indeed be a cab11. I think the other two show the alligator hood of the cab 12.
Chev or Ford...I think the middle one might be a Chev based on the bumper brush guard.

Alex

Look to be a few others in that series, including close-ups of the 5.5s. Location given as S. of Vaucelles. None online unfortunately.

Just spotted this one.....3rd British Infantry division Cab11 or 12 ....with what looks like a retro-fitted round hatch.
footage taken near Douvres-la-Delivrande july 1944


source: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ect/1060013716

A Cab 12 Ford FGT, pictured right at the end of the war in Europe during the liberation of Dordrecht on 8 May 1945:

Attachment 102654

And a Chevrolet Cab 12, looks like a C30?

Attachment 102655

Source: https://www.dordtsekaart.nl/bombardbevrijding.html

Sorry guys....scraping the bottom of the barrel....but they are early CMP's in NWE.

1st.....Monkey face in Oegstgeest, near Leiden 1945.
2nd...Monkey face, liberation of Leiden 1945 (same truck as above??)
3rd...Amsterdam 1945

All three above, source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/

4th.....location and source unknown, but according to the caption it's NWE....possibly the Netherlands or Germany. To me it seems to show a retro-fitted round roof hatch on the Monkey face.

Alex

Not CMP
 

4th pic is not even a CMP, but a UK Ford WOT6 (or maybe WOT8) .
Chris

Ahh, but WOT is that behind it ?

David

Couple more....

A 3Ton Monkey in Culemborg 1945 (in the background)
source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/

Another 3Ton Monkey with British body in Arnhem, 1945
source: https://www.geldersarchief.nl/

C15A cab 12 in Harlingen 1945
source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/

Cab 11! C15 (or C15A???) in Arnhem 1945
source: https://www.geldersarchief.nl/

C15A cab12 in Leeuwarden 1945
source: https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/

Great finds, Mr. Eagle Eye!

:thup2:

Hanno

Cab 12 in Utrecht, may 8th 1945

source: https://hetutrechtsarchief.nl

Cab 12 3 Tonner by the looks of it...

Normandy 11 August 1944. RASC trucks at Le Fresne-Camilly
source:https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ect/1060019739

Holland 30.10.44

Attachment 109538

Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/8596...172568?sfns=mo

Italy.....maybe not North West Europe, but I wanted to share this anyway.

"BRITISH EIGHTH ARMY TROOPS CROSSING THE RIVER PO, BEYOND FERRARA, ITALY, 28 APRIL 1945"

source: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ject/205189155

Leiden, Holland, may 1945...C30 LAAT cab12 and an F15A cab 12

source:https://youtu.be/-paX0Lz1xIc

Alex

At least 3 Monkey face FATs in Belgium 1944.
Source: Canadian Army Newsreel 45
https://youtu.be/N-P0_TyIdXg

Alex