Greece to Normandy Convoy '09

[Lang]

With the approval of the Chief of the General Staff I would like to pass the word around the MLU members.

As a result of the successful trip Bev and I did from Aqaba, Jordan to Normandy for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day in our 1940 Dodge staff car, we want to do it again.

We have looked at a few options and come up with a pretty interesting trip but this time we want some others to come too. How about getting a convoy together (I will do all the organising)

Trip is planned to start from Athens (Pireaus Port) and jump a ferry across to Crete. A few days on this island of fantastic scenery and people going over the battlefields of the decisive campaign. I am embarrassed to admit the All Blacks did vastly better than their Wallaby and Lion team mates but still didn't prevent a thorough drubbing by a smaller but more polished team.

Ferry back to Greece to follow the beautiful coastline (and path of the original retreat) befor going across to Brindisi on the heel of Italy. Up through Italy via Anzio, Monte Cassino, Rome and Salerno then over the Alps into Austria and Bavaria.

We can then either follow Patten's 3rd Army back to Normandy or swing a bit further north to follow the British and Canadian route through Holland and Belgium.

Want to come. lang@st.net.au

Main reason for the post is to ask for leads on a "Civilian Military" vehicle which might be for sale - preferably in Australia - that I can prepare for the trip. 15cwt Chev ute or car based ute even a staff car is the type of thing but I would look at anything.

I have finished my parole after my sentence driving CMP's but I have no doubt there are people with compressed vertebra, deaf ears and detached retinas from vibration who would delight in driving this route.

Any leads on a vehicle, preferably complete but a bit of work no problem, greatly appreciated.

Lang

[Lang]

I am organising an Australian and New Zealand convoy to Normandy '09. About 6 weeks from early May to late June 2009.

We will ship 15 WW2 vehicles to Piraeus (Athens) then go by ferry across to do the battlefields in Crete before coming back to the Greek mainland. Up through Greece then across to Brindisi on the heel of Italy before visiting Salerno, Monte Cassino, Rome, Anzio etc.

All the way north to Switzerland, across France to camp with the Brits at Normandy. After the 65th celebrations we travel north through the WW1 battlefields (visiting the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian National Memorials) then ship our vehicles home to Aus/NZ from Zeebrugge or Rotterdam.

We have 7 signed up already so will have our full quota well before departure. Anyone wanting to come get in touch - we will talk to any other nationality who might like to join us in Athens for the journey (would love some Greek vehicles).

This is not a commercial profit-making operation but an enthusiast's convoy we are leading for the fun of it. Only charge is $AU500 contribution to help cover the hundreds of hours and dollars expended on organisation before departure. All other expenses are from the entrants direct to the service providers (organised and coordinated by us). Mostly camping. To see what else we have done look at the web site www.next-horizon.org

Lang

[Keith Webb]

I, along with others attended Lang and Bev's talk at Corowa. This is the trip of a lifetime.
Did anyone see the article in Melbourne's Age yesterday about the Greek campaign? How timely.

[zemsi]

I wanted to see your next-horizon site but I got a virus alert from Kaspersky: Trojan-Clicker.HTML.IFrame.mq virus => any clue?

[zemsi]

... wow, brilliant idea!

Must be a fantastic feeling driving your own truck through all the battlefields.

I'll be in Normandy for around 10 days too. Be sure you don't miss the French Tank Museum in Saumur (near Le Mans) before heading up North to Bayeux.

Just let me know if I can assist you with your travel plans through Switzerland.

Greetings
Chris

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Sounds like a great trip, Lang! I might join you on the way back to Holland.

Are you going by staff car again, or by Ute this time?

Picture below shows "Australian troops embarking for Greece from Alexandria, Egypt, April 1941. (AWM 044254)

[Lang]

I just tried to open the website and got some sort of pop-up which should not be there. I will contact my webmaster to see what the story is.

Lang

[Lang]

I have just been told by my webmaster that the virus attached to my website was a low grade trojan horse which has now been hopefully fixed. He says any system such as Nortons or AVG will screen such virus attacks.

Would appreciate feedback on my web site www.next-horizon.org to make sure it is now clear (I have just gone in 3 times and got a clear run)

Lang

[Lang]

Chris and Hanno,

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

lang

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Lang

Would appreciate feedback on my web site www.next-horizon.org to make sure it is now clear (I have just gone in 3 times and got a clear run)

Clear here!

H.

[zemsi]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Clear here!

Me too! Looks good again. Nice little Italian bone crasher

[Lang]

thanks Hanno.

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

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.

Lang

[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

[Lang]

Chris,

Forgot to mention thanks for the Ju-52 information. One of the great aircraft of WW2! The team could well be interested in a flight (I know I certainly would be) after visiting Crete and standing on Maleme airfield where the German paratroops jumped from these planes.

Swiss aviation has always impressed me (I flew the world's all-time best STOL aircraft - the Pilatus Porter - for 10 years during my time in the Army) with the variety of their historic aircraft fleet. And what a fun country to fly in, a STOL pilot's paradise - pity about the crap weather!!!!

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

[Lang]

The Normandy convoy is well and truly full. Despite my better judgement I allowed the numbers to run out to 18 vehicles. There are 5 on the waiting list and more inquiries each day.

We have 3 Kiwis with the rest Australians (although there is a Dutch Australian planning to park his jeep in Holland at the finish).

We had enquiries from Canada and several other countries about joining but most could only come for part of the time which was not in the plan.

If the interest is there I am considering another trip in say, September 09, starting in Northern Europe and doing WW1 area, Normandy, Italy, Greece but going via Gallipoli to Istanbul to finish. Drop me an email if you are interested and I will see if the numbers justify planning.

I will do a full list of vehicles going to Normandy shortly.

Lang

[Lang]

A further update on the Normandy trip. We now have a growing list of reserves and I am more seriously thinking of a reverse trip in September finishing in Istanbul (via Gallipoli).

Quite a nice variety of vehicles - only 6 jeeps. When everyone gets their photos to me I will put them up here.

The British Military Vehicle Trust have massaged the Normandy bookings to allow us all to camp at Etreham. Having been in this campground before it is very pleasing.

[clifford]

Hi all, what date do you thnk you will land in Italy? i am thinking about coming across from Spain and driving up, could be good meet up..Cliff

[Lang]

Cliff,

We will be in Southern Italy around the end of the second week in May.

Lang

[Lang]

Here are a few photos of the Normandy convoy. As can be seen there will be a number of newly restored vehicles on the trip.

[Lang]

Another Group

The last lot at present.

Found one more

[Lang]

Mike O'sullivan just sent his Normandy Blitz photos. The vehicle has been in his family for 50 years. Smart move to put suspension seats in for the trip.

[Lang]

One more Normandy convoy member has sent a photo of his vehicle.