Carrier Based Half Track Film Props
 

I am trying to track down information on a Sd.Kfz. 251 like film prop half track that I think was built sometime in the late 70s and used in the films "A Bridge Too Far", "Hanover Street" and "Force 10 from Navarone." I think the vehicle was built by combining the front of a truck chassis with a old Universal Carrier, but I am not sure. In the past I thought this vehicle was one of the vehicles that Guy Arendt built for his long gone Victory Memorial Museum in Arlon, Belgium. A Opel Maultier Panzerwerfer 42 replica from Guy Arendt's old collection, now on display in the States, looks to have a similar front end and a Universal Carrier back end.

Then my Guy Arendt Frankenstein House of Horrors Theory was killed when this picture below surfaced on a forum. Does anyone have any information about the origin, history, and current location of this half track monster?

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...too_far_02.jpg

Regards,

Chris Ballance
filmpanzer.squarespace.com

Moderator´s note: off-topic postings have been moved to a separate thread: ex-Victory Museum Morris-Commercial PU8/4.

Chris,

The tracks and sprocket are surely of Universal Carrier origin, the road wheels probably too.

I think I have seen that picture of this movie prop on a Dutch internet site. The background in your picture surely looks Dutch to me. I´ll keep it in mind and see if I can find more info.

Hanno

Thanks, I will be grateful for anything you can dig up!

Chris.

road wheels
 

Hi think the road wheels are off a carrier too as i have seen road wheels with holes in just like them, think they are off a loyd carrier? friend sold a hull that came out of a quarry had a pump in the back but had the same wheels on it we thort they were german at first then found a photo in the book making tracks.
good luck with your search
martyn

Those wheels have been discussed on MLU before, as well. I think they came under Mr. Dodge's Loyd carrier in France. Anyway, if I remember correctly, those wheels had larger holes in them, so I recon the film prop company used " normal" carrier wheels and welded a thin piece of metal onto the spokes.
Although it looks out of proportion for a 251, it is fascinating to see the engineering!

Alex

in nigels book the very early lloyd carrier wheels look like that but they appear solid, i have also seen solid wheels on a T16 perhaps it is them with holes drilled through ?

Wheels
 

The carrier martyn refer's to, I found in a quarry in the midlands in 2001.
It did have a pump on the back and similiar wheels. I believe this must of been the last carrier working every day in the world. I will try and find a picture.

The wheels had round holes in them. They were made late in the war by a British car company I think Worsley or Morris, in the Midlands again I will check.
I have wartime pictures with them on carriers. I think they are slightly differant to the ones in the picture.

See you at W&P

Barry

Go the second last link in the list on the left side. ( http://www.geocities.jp/jipang_t1/tank-index.html ) Its all Japanese, but there are more pictures of the flat-idler German halftrack.

There are dozens of VISMOD tanks that some rivet counter has posted.

Japanese site
 

Yes, this Japanese site is a great source for film prop vehicle pictures. I have tried to translate a few of the pages with various degrees of success. The site in question also has links to Japanese Kelly's Heros fan site and a site about T-34/44/55/72 based Tiger VISMODs.

I have links to all these sites on my filmpanzer blog

http://filmpanzer.squarespace.com/filmpanzer-links/

Regards,
Chris Ballance

It is the japanies site now better?
http://translate.google.cz/translate...hl=cs&ie=UTF-8

Google's translator works pretty well. In the past I have tried to find a email address on the site without luck.

Chris.

Throw a curveball into a conversation amongst rusty old truckers, and film critique debate breaks out! Who knew? :thup:

Actually, it was sent to me via a mailing list as one of those "what is this?" type of e-mails. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Hanno

Hi Hanno,

No worries, eventually I think the answer will turn up and I will post what I find here. I really need to get a hold of the After the Battle Magazine Special Edition on Market Garden. It has a write up about the film, and maybe I can track down someone still alive from the production who can fill in the gaps. RZM did not have this issue a year ago, but I have not tried lately.

Regards,
Chris.