Greece to Normandy Convoy '09

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Lang

You are more than welcome to tack on to us. Any tips you might have on places to see will be welcome.

Will work on that. I was thinking of backtracking the Princess Irene Brigade's footsteps, though that might not be of particular interest to the Australians.

Originally Posted by Lang

I am working on a very rare Australian built vehicle. Should be nice and comfortable. Will put up some photos soon.

Don't let us hold our breath!

Paid up entrants include: Studebaker 6X6, Chevrolet 3 Ton 4X2 LendLease, Dodge 1/2 Ton WC, Harley WLA (too keen for me!!!), Dodge 3/4 Ton Command Car, Chevrolet 15Cwt 4X2 CMP and of course Jeeps.

I think some want to sell in Europe after Normandy.

Might be wise to advertise in advance. I would not be surprised to see the more plentiful vehicles being sold first, due to their popularity. . . .

H.

[zemsi]

Lang, how many days do you plan travelling through Switzerland? A rush in 1 - 2 days or a little bit slower in 2 - 3 days?

One place you have to stop by is the unofficial Swiss Army Museum. They've got an huge (ca 20) collection of tanks (they're currently restoring a King Tiger! They also got the company collection of Guns from Oerlikon-Bührle with all the different prototypes. I've been there several times and it's allways worth a visit. You can get an overview here on my site. Just nearby is an old WW2 fortress which you could visit too. The Museum is only open on Weekends but they do special tours for groups. I'm sure they would be happy to show some Aussies our stuff. Time to visit approx 3 - 4 hours for both Museums.

The Museum is located in Full Reuenthal, close to the German boarder

[zemsi]

... the Swiss Army hosts in the Army Camp in Thun a unique collection of Tanks, what a pity they've been sitting outside for the last few decades: Sherman, Panther & Jagdpanther, Jagdpanzer IV, Panzer IV, Hetzer (all the German stuff you can dream of ;-), T34 etc. Have a look at Tank Museum at my site.

The Museum is in an official Army Camp. So your visit is fine on weekdays. Entry should be free.

[zemsi]

... there are quite some WW2 fortifications which are open to the public. You'll get an overview here.

[zemsi]

... fancy a spectacular scenig flight in one of 4 (!) genuine Ju-52 with the original BWM engines?? Price CHF 260 for a 60min flight from Dübendorf. Only available on Saturday mornings. The Ju 52 won't be flying too long due to a lock of spare parts. There's a air museum too.

[zemsi]

... when you're travelling from Italy you will probably want to "climb" over the Saint Gotthard, a beautiful pass. There's a fortification too, Forte Ospizio.

That's the road you'll have to climb (very bumby, cobblestone):

(source: www.gotthard-hospiz.ch)

[Lang]

Chris,

We drove that road in your photo last year as part of a convoy of 200+ Fiat 500's. Wonderful narrow cobblestones. Unfortunately I never saw anything like this picture because the clouds came down and we had a visibility of about 10 metres!

Our plans through Italy take us through Genoa/ Turin so we will cross from Aosta over the St Bernard pass (not through the tunnel but over the old mountain road).

I am interested in anything along the way to keep the troops occupied so keep up the suggestions.

Lang

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by zemsi

... fancy a spectacular scenig flight in one of 4 (!) genuine Ju-52 with the original BWM engines?? Price CHF 260 for a 60min flight from Dübendorf. Only available on Saturday mornings. The Ju 52 won't be flying too long due to a lock of spare parts. There's a air museum too.

Two questions, Chris...

(1) Does the redhead come with the JU-52?

(2) Can we jump out of the JU-52? Preferably with parachutes, of course...

[Lang]

People may be interested in the entrants paid and signed up for the Normandy trip from Australia and New Zealand:

Harley WLA !!!!
Studebaker 6X6
Chevrolet 3 Ton 4X2
Dodge 1/2 Ton WC
Morris Radio Van
Jeep 3 of
GMC 1 Ton Panel Van
Chevrolet C15A Radio Van
Chevrolet C15A
Chevrolet C15

We have a Dodge 3/4 Command Car, Lynx, Dodge 3/4 WC and 2 more Jeeps as probables at this stage. That's about as many as I can handle.

Not bad for a year out!

Lang