BEF Vehicles

Discussion in '1940' started by JCB, Feb 18, 2011.

  1. sparky

    sparky Junior Member

    Look at all them spare
    Look at all them spares ,if only I had some of them for my bedford.
     
  2. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Just bought this and has a name on the top. BEF Jan 1940, would this have been kept with the Veh.
    Keith
    bef book 1 GHQ.jpg
     
  3. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    These booklets are a slightly smaller variation on the "Standing Orders for Drivers of Mechanical Vehicles (Wheeled) and Motor Cyclists" of which I have a March 1939-dated copy. There is a note inside stating that drivers should have it in their posession (no excuse for not knowing the rules !) and that it may be kept with the AB64....Yours looks to have become damp with the AB64 ! They are not all that uncommon...probably because tens of thousands of drivers brought them home in their paperwork but they had become obsolete due to the fall of France.
     
  4. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Thanks Rich
     
  5. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Not 1940 but interesting mix of kit .Some colour stills of the 4th Bn. Duke of Wellingtons Regiment on exercise 1938 ( in the fields in front of my house !) . Interesting in the first pic they have some Commer Beetle 15cwt's which seem to be a a bit of a rarity . Most of the 15cwts are Guy Ants. Lots of Morris Commercial 6x4s incl CDSW looking strange with artillery on carriage wheels.
    Whole film here-
    4TH BATTALION DUKE OF WELLINGTON REGIMENT AT REDCAR CAMP | Yorkshire Film Archive
    Craig



    1.png 4.png 2.png 5.png 8.png 13.png ]

    9.png 14.png 12.png
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2019
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  6. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Some of the new weaponry , Mortars and Boys AT rifle .
    Craig
    2019-11-17 (34).png 2019-11-17 (38).png 2019-11-17 (39).png
    2019-11-17 (36).png
     
    Last edited: Nov 17, 2019
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  7. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    Wonderful stuff ! The vehicles a mixture of gloss bronze green and the mid-1938 introduced matt version. Lots of brown denim and green webbing too.
     
  8. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    It does seem to be a period of change , vehicles all look quite new and the officers all look as they are dressed for horse riding ! No Brens in evidence but lots of Lewis guns.
    When on manoevres they are mainly transported by the local bus company 'United', shades of 1940 .
    Craig
     
  9. James K

    James K Active Member

    There were a small number of Daimler Scout Cars (Dingo's used) they were new so their issue was not widespread
     
  10. James K

    James K Active Member

    The Austin 7 Radio car at the R' Sigs museum was used in France in 1940, I used to work there and knew most of the vehicles and equipment. The little car was fascinating
     
  11. Nido

    Nido Active Member

    Good evening!
    This is my first step here, so, I just wish it would not be troublesome. :blush:
    Well, I've come across some pics of an Austin K2/Y plate (contract No. V/3622, 1940). See the attached files, please. The reverse side has got some markings too. I only hope the markings are visible enough on the pics. So, the question is, could these numbers and letters on the plate back side reveal some extra information as to the particular vehicle?
    As it appears, the plate was found in Russia. The K2/Y might have come in the USSR via the lend-lease. But, is there any (perhaps very tiny) possibility that that Austine had been among BEF ambulances captured by the Germans, before Wehrmacht units crossed the USSR state border in 1941?
    Any ideas are welcomed and appreciated.
     
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  12. Nido

    Nido Active Member

    One more image in addition.

    1D80 DDV 257 77.jpg
     
  13. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    I think it is almost certain to be a BEF vehicle. When the Germans invaded Russia in June 1941 they used thousands of captured BEF vehicles .
    It is very unlikely that a vehicle made in 1940 would be supplied as aid in late 1941 when the British started sending vehicles to Russia via the arctic convoys.
    Here's one example-

    Austin Ambulance WW11
     
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  14. Nido

    Nido Active Member

    Thank you very much indeed for your detailed answer and the link !
    So, it's one of the BEF vehicles... That K2/Y went as far as vicinities of town Yelnya (Smolensk region, Russia)... Just along roads of the Wehrmacht offensive towards Moscow.
     
  15. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Do you live in Russia Nido ?
    Craig
     
  16. Nido

    Nido Active Member

    Thank you very much indeed for your detailed answer and the link !
    So, it's one of the BEF vehicles. That K2/Y went as far as vicinities of town Yelnya (Smolensk region, Russia)... Just along roads of the Wehrmacht offensive towards Moscow.
    Yes, I do. Or, rather, have been living. :)
     
  17. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Motley MG mounts on vehicles have been mentioned here before.
    High on a North Yorkshire cliff top there remains the bottom half of one in a gun pit which amazingly after 80 years still rotates freely on its bearings.
    Craig

    aa phone.jpg
     
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  18. morrisc8

    morrisc8 Under the Bed

    Guy Ant in the dunes has letter A and a number 5 on the front, name on the roof. Photo from my collection.
    Keith
    dunkirk guy ant.jpg dunkirk guy ant.jclose up A 5.jpg
     
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  19. JCB

    JCB Senior Member

    Norton Big Four combination in use by the Germans . Ebay photos from a long while ago.
    Craig
    norton Schützen-Brigade Gespenster Div. Krad Abt. Beute Motorrad EK Wappen.jpg norton.jpg
     
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  20. Nido

    Nido Active Member

    Those Nortons could've appeared in this video.

     

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