Soft Skin Bedford

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Thought it time we saw a proper "Soft Skin" in this part of the forum...

Picture No 10282926

Date
Description Inflatable decoy truck

Details
A Bedford MW inflatable decoy truck produced by Vauxhall during World War II


Credit Mary Evans/Robert Hunt Collection


The Mary Evans Picture Library has some very interesting photo's:
http://www.maryevans.com/home_2008.p...&prv=menu&ppp=

[aj.lec]

Must be where the term balloon tyres comes from

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Richard

I've always wanted one or the set of these decoys. Think it would be great to roll in to a show, unroll a couple of trucks and maybe a tank and start inflating them.

Cheers Phil

[Mrs Vampire]

I have a series of photos of decoys I copied from the Australian national Archives when I was researching the Stuart. Should I post em here ???

maybe they are well known .

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Phil and Andrew, let me just say that I was blown away with the detail of the decoy. I had known that they had existed, but always thought they were one of those artists renditions that looked good from the air, I wonder how close you would have to be to pick up the fact it was a fake. I expect they had a very short life span due to wind, UV etc.
Gina, surley a blow up Stuart would come under the "SOFT SKIN" category. I would certainly like to see them regardless of where you post them.....
Rich.

[Private_collector]

Would love to see production photos of the manufacture steps!

Anyone with more photos of these please show em. I have one somewhere, showing either a Spitfire or Hurricane being 'unrolled' and set up.

They used to paint aircraft shapes on classified sites such as the 'skunk works', in the late 50s & 60s, when Oxcart was being developed. Apparently drove the russians insane trying to decipher what the crafts actually were that they were seeing on their sat photos.

Now that's my sort of humor.

[Matt Baker]

Hi Guys & gals,

That would be the perfect military vehicle just imagine no environmently unfreindly oil leaks, just air leaks

[Mrs Vampire]

I have around sixty photos of Decoy tanks and camouflaged tanks. The most startling is a grant camouflaged as a Chev Blitz .
I have the plans of the Stuart look alike and lots of photos of its assembly.

I will start a thread over in Armor as "Soft Skinned Armor "
But here are a few to give you an Idea. Love o hear if someone makes one. I love the Blitz it could sit eight across in the front seat .

[Mrs Vampire]

here are three more .

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Gotta love that they went to the trouble to put a Chev badge on the grill, such fine detail and no one will notice the TRACKS!
The Stuart is more of what I was expecting a decoy to be, so much more simple than going down the inflatable direction.
Rich.