AUSTIN K2 AMBULANCE.
The K2 was the most common ambulance used by the British Army during the second world war. A very popular vehicle, known affectionately as the `Katie`, it saw service in all theatres of operations. In this scene you can see inside the ambulance, I was unable to take photographs of the front and sides of this vehicle do to other exhibits being to close.
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SCAMMELL SV/2S RECOVERY TRACTOR.
Popular with it`s crews because of it`s pulling power and all round ruggedness. The Scammell was the main British Army heavy recovery vehicle of world war two.
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GMC CCKW-353 2.5 TON CARGO TRUCK.
Jimmies or Deuce and a Half`s as they were commonly called were the most numerous and widely used trucks of the second world war. 560,000 were manufactured by General Motors during the war years.
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17 POUNDER ANTI - TANK GUN.
The 17 PDR, first widely used in Normandy provided anti - tank regiments with a weapon capable of knocking out the best German tanks. It was very effective although it`s size did make it difficult to manhandle.
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MONTGOMERY`S BEDROOM CARAVAN.
This caravan was captured from the Italians in Tunisia in May 1943. Remounted on a Mack chassis it served as Montgomery`s living quarters through the Italian and north west Europe campaigns.
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AEC ARMOURED COMMAND VEHICLE.
Known as the Dorchester the AEC was an armoured truck fitted out with radio and communications equipment. It provided protection for senior officers and their signallers while they co-ordinated battlefield activities.
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UNIVERSAL CARRIER.
The most numerous British armoured vehicle of the second world war. Being totally tracked it could go virtually anywhere and was used in a wide variety of roles, primarily by Infantry formations.
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INTERNATIONAL M5 HALF TRACK.
The M5 provided infantry with a way of keeping up with fast moving mechanised forces. It was lightly armoured to give limited battlefield protection. It could carry up to thirteen combat infantry passengers.
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FORD GPW JEEP.
The jeep was the general workhorse of the allied forces undertaking a wide variety of roles. Willy`s was the main manufacturer, producing 362,841 jeeps compared to 281,448 Ford jeeps between 1942 and 1945.
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MONTGOMERY`S TAC HQ.
These caravans were the centre of the mobile headquarters from which Montgomery commanded allied forces throughout the campaign in north west Europe. His team of liaison officers reported to him in the map caravan. They kept in touch with what was happening at the battlefront.
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SOVIET JOSEF STALIN 2M HEAVY TANK.
Late second world war tank of advanced ballistic design which spearheaded the Soviet offensives of 1944 - 45 as they smashed their way through Berlin.
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SOVIET SU100 TANK DESTROYER.
Produced to counter the German Panther and Tiger tanks the SU100 was a T34 tank chassis adapted to fit a 100mm navel gun which would not fit in the normal T34 turret.
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You have quite the collection of military vehicles here, my friend! And I like them all and am familiar with most of them, but not all. I don't think I have ever seen the Stalin heavy tank before or the tank destroyer. Makes sense that they would have one seeing everybody else did. Of course the good ol' Jeep has a place here. Small, compact and highly reliable. All had a simple 4 cylinder flat head engine that went forever. I did forget that International made those half tracks. The Universal Carrier looks like it could get the job done and also protect troops from small arms fire. That Scammell looks quite tough. But to do what it did, it definitely had to be didn't it? Everybody hated to see an ambulance until they needed a ride in one. Montgomery's rides and the command vehicles all look good. Montgomery deserved some comfort. After all he was certainly a better general than MacArthur was. Except for his Operation Market Garden, he pretty well nailed everything down fairly well. Good stuff here, Les! And great photos.
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