Dave, Thank you for your information. I am sure that I have seen the first photo you mention but I can not find it today. It would not have been taken on D Day itself. No LSTs actually beached on D Day. It was intended that vehicles would be transferred from LSTs to the beach by Rhino Ferry. This proved to be so slow that LSTS were later beached to unload. Captions are often mistaken. Mike
Bedford 3ton 4 X 4 QLC GS. QLC was the standard Bedford QL GS load carrier. Some 50,000 QLs were produced in a variety of roles and they served long after the war. QLC Mobile Kitchen. The various items to make a kitchen were fitted into a standard QLC. At he front there was a sink unit with cupboards. On the offside there was the cooker unit with standard petrol cookers and shelves over. On the nearside were cupboards and a work top. The units were secured to the vehicle floor and to the tilt frame. Meals could be prepared on the move. Mike
Dave, The Crossley 4x4 tractor towing the Trailer off the landing craft belonged to No 7 Mobile Field Photographic Section- the 7MFPS marking is legible; I have a snapshot document of the 25 July 1944 and this gives the location of this unit as RAF Northolt. Also this document is worth a read : http://www.jshawmsc.f2s.com/mfps.htm The picture of the convoy at the head of the article is just part of the convoy; On one of the Canadian veteran sites it is published bearing a hand written caption " Part of No 5 MFPS at VITRY 21/9/44 " Mike, Have really enjoyed following the TRUX model trail ! thank you; Now getting back into the stride of things after a 6 week lay off regards TED
Ted, I was hoping you would make an appearance and help with the Crossley. Thanks for your kind comments. Mike
Bedford 3ton 4 X 4 QLT Troop Carrier. The QLT was given a longer chassis, though not a longer wheelbase, by adding a section to the rear of the QLC chassis. This enabled longer bodies to be fitted, 15 foot instead of 10 foot. Some of the extra body length was made possible by removing the petrol tank from behind the cab and fitting smaller tanks either side of the chassis. The spare wheel was moved from behind the cab to under the rear chassis. As a troop carrier he QLT could carry a complete infantry platoon of 36 men. The officer sat in the cab and the rest sat on bench seats down each side and down the centre. There were wide double doors at the rear plus two small emergency doors at the front of the body. There was a frame to carry a bicycle on the rear. Yes I know there are only 26 men shown. Another 10 man section was needed to make a full complement. A QLT Commanders Caravan. This may be a one off. The title on the only photograph found says it as modified for the GOC XXX Corps. There was also a batch of caravan bodies made for senior commanders. These had a box type body. The interior had two compartments, an office at the rear and a sleeping compartment at the front. Mike
Bedford QLR 3ton 4 X 4 Wireless Lorries. The QLR chassis was identical to the QLC but had electrical suppression etc, for the wireless role. There were several variants for different roles, all using similar bodies. Here we have: In the foreground a version equipped for Phantom. This had a body without internal partitions and fitted with six receivers, hence the six aerials (one has fallen off). Operators listened in to own forces radio transmissions and passed on to higher authority information about the progress of an operation. Commanders generally had other things on their mind and could be slow in making progress reports. In the background a Wireless High Powered lorry. This carried a 12 High Powered set and two receivers. This vehicle has aerials rigged for operation while moving. The main set aerial is fastened down to prevent excessive swaying. The body was divided into two compartments. At the front were batteries and charging engines. At the rear the wireless sets and operators. (see below). A slightly different version of the Wireless High Powered. This one has a 36 foot aerial which could only be used when stationary. The interior view shows the layout. The operators compartment has the 12 High Powered set against the front bulkhead. A table for two operators is on the offside. On the nearside is stowage for the associated equipment including the second receiver. 12 High Powered was indeed a powerful set capable of a range of 200 miles speech or over a thousand miles using Morse. Mike
The Bailey Bridge. Part 1. I did not originally intend to make a Bailey Bridge but rather to make lorry loads of components. These were first offered as loads for the Canadian Diamond T. Before long customers were trying to built a Bailey Bridge using the components. This was possible but was a fiddly and time consuming task. Alongside the lorry loads a separate kit to make a 40foot Bailey Bridge was introduced. This had the decking cast in one piece, complete with stringers, roadway chesses and kerbs. This single piece replaced some seventy separate components. A complete 40 foot Class 40 single single length of bridge. The single single was the basic structure. Extra panels could be added outside and on top of the ones shown to give a much stronger bridge. A triple triple was normally the maximum. As well as the roadway, side panels and bearers this model has the footwalks added. The same section from above showing the road chesses and kerbs plus an extra bridging chess at each end to fill gaps. The same section from below showing the cast on stringers and the transoms. A drawing from the handbook showing the basic components and construction. Construction was in ten foot modules. Two side panels were held in place while two transoms were clamped into place. Stringers were placed on the transoms. These fitted into slots and were not fixed. Wooden road chesses were laid across the stringers, being positioned by lugs on the outside stringers. Kerbs were bolted on to hold chesses in place. The diagram also shows the end posts, bearings and base plates which were fitted to each end of the bridge. The section in the photographs does not have these. Tomorrows photos will have them. Mike
The Bailey Bridge Part 2. The Bailey Pontoon Bridge. In general the Bailey Pontoon Bridge was simply constructed from rafts of 40foot of single single bridging carried on two tripartite pontoons. The ends of the pontoons were either the older MkV or the MkVI (a simpler version). In the centre was a specially designed centre pontoon with fittings to accept the Bailey Bridge. First step was to make a bankseat to accept the end posts and base plates for the bridge. A standard 40 foot length of bridge was assembled and pushed out to rest on a single tripartite pontoon. End posts, base plates and an end transom. Rafts are assembled and added to the bridge. To allow for some movement as vehicle pass over the bridge the rafts are joined together with articulating connectors as shown here. Where shallow water requires a longer length of bridge to reach the shore, or where the height of the bank requires a steeper approach, a special raft is needed to take the weight. This is made of four tripartite pontoons and distributing girders to spread the load across them. Here a length of double single bridge is used to access the raft and a standard length of bridge connects to a raft. Note that footwalks cannot be used with the distributing girders in place. With the double girder construction the number of transoms is also doubled. An extra long ramp is used to lessen the angle when leaving the bridge. Otherwise vehicles could belly down. Mike
That's all for now folks. What shall I do now? Tidy the garden? Decorate a room? Paint some Napoleonic figures? Or just have a snooze while I think about it. Thank you everyone for your interest and support. Mike
Thank you very much for your precious thread, Mike. What shall I take now as my daily highlight? Aixman
Thanks Mike, its definately too early in the year to consider gardening, decorating etc can I be as bold as to request a visit to OP Plunder please ?? best wishes TED
Ted, Operation Plunder is one of my favourites. The huge setpiece river crossing where Monty brings every wierd and wonderful piece of equipment out of his toy box. There was a study of Plunder on the old Trux website but it was not transferred to this forum. It still exists in my old PC but in a format or using a programme which no longer works. The 'other' Operation Neptune, crossing the Seine at Vernon is another favourite. Smaller and more easy to comprehend. I did have a customer who wanted to buy every piece of Bailey and FBE III equipment I could get so that he could build models of the David and Goliath bridges at Vernon. It was beyond my capacity. Mike
Hi Mike I have sent you a PM, Plunder was of course dear to me as my Dad was involved at one of the crossing points there was a steam crane- its remains were still there when I first took him back to the Xanten area, regards TED
Ted, You will be most interested in Operation Torchlight, 15 Division's crossing at Xanten. Arguably the most interesting part of Plunder with Commandos, Airborne forces and all types of river crossing equipment involved. Mike
Tremendous thread. Saddened to see it come to an end, but it has been exceptionally enlightening! Many thanks Mike!
hi mike long time since we last spoke @ trucks n tracks the first time you were there. I still have the albion 10 ton gs 6x4 and have in fact just re-released it. I wish one day I could get all the s&s models pictured and catalogued but I doubt I will have the time! glad to see you are still alive and kicking. 1990 was a long time ago! thanks shaun s&s models
Here's the link. A dozen of them, from Spain. As often on ebay, postage costs are prohibitive... http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_odkw=&_ssn=gandalien&item=151706942268&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X1%2F76+trux.TRS0&_nkw=1%2F76+trux&_sacat=0 Michel
I've missed your Trux range of models for years. This a wonderful archive of your modelling skills, and after so many years its great to see your own collection ( to see how they should have turned out!!). I have many of your "most secret" A4 pamphlets, and a Cd of 21 Army Group which is mostly ? replicated on this site with additions. I was lucky enough to purchase at auction a box of about 30 of your models a few years ago ! and still look to purchase more when I find them, but as stated above the price on Ebay from Spain seems to value your products extremely highly! I was never able to purchase the rollers( apart from several of the Buffalo Springfield- not the band !..although they were good too !), so if you ever want to let yours go to a loving home....?!? Incidentally I didn't see Morris CS9 or Austin K6 ballon winch in the pics ,both of which I still have to make. Just wish you were still in production