Western Desert images

cletrac (RIP) · #1 13-02-10, 08:30

I was browsing Google Life images of the western desert and got quite a variety of interesting shots of vehicles. Some of them I don't have any idea what they are.

cletrac (RIP) · #2 13-02-10, 08:38

There weren't any captions other than War in the Western Desert. I cropped out a lot of sky and sand then changed to greyscale and resized them for the forum.

cletrac (RIP) · #3 13-02-10, 08:54

The pictures with all the clutter are quite interesting. Those boats seem to be out of place in that landscape!

Keith Webb · #4 13-02-10, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by cletrac

I was browsing Google Life images of the western desert and got quite a variety of interesting shots of vehicles. Some of them I don't have any idea what they are.

Some of these are good candidates for the in the background thread.

First pic is a C60L, third I can see a F15 fourth a cab 12 C60L as is the last one which looks to have flat tyres and been made into some sort of semi-permanent office.

zemsi · #5 13-02-10, 09:43

.. wonderful images, there are even more if you search for "Western Desert"

Greetings
Chris

Kuno · #6 13-02-10, 10:14

Wow! These are great & fairly unusual pics. Made my day!!!

Lynn Eades · #7 13-02-10, 10:22

Second pic, with spare wheel, and no tyre, is a I/2 ton Dodge ambulance. the water cart is a MW bedford, as is the one beside it, facing the other way. It is followed by a heavy Humber. The tyres ,springs, gen. sets, body parts etc. tell stories. Lots of broken springs, tyres either shot up, or failing due to heat/or cracking. Lots of tread on most. Keith, I think that truck with the flat tyres, is shown again later, and is the blacksmiths wagon. The tyres are buried, rather than flat. Some days were worse than others, in the desert (the wind blew on some days)

gordon · #8 13-02-10, 11:29

The only really notable point for me about the Dodge ambulance is that the Red Cross markings have been re-done much larger than 'factory' for air recognition.

2nd AIF · #9 13-02-10, 11:39

Great pics, thanks for sharing

Hanno Spoelstra · #10 13-02-10, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by zemsi

.. wonderful images, there are even more if you search for "Western Desert"

. . . or for Bob Landry.

cletrac (RIP) · #11 13-02-10, 21:08

These pics come in two series; War in the Western Desert and Western Desert after Axis Retreat. Each series has over 200 pics and Google will only show 200. To access the others a person might have to search by year also. There aren't any captions to search for key words.

Hanno Spoelstra · #12 14-02-10, 12:20

David,

The third pic in the last series you posted is interesting as it shows a F15 with canvas-covered square roof hatch, a typical North African theatre modification. But pictures of CMPs with this type of hatch are few and far between.

Hanno

cletrac (RIP) · #13 17-02-10, 03:34

Here's some more. It's interesting to note the commercial pickup box in the first pic.

cletrac (RIP) · #14 17-02-10, 03:42

Would that be an Indian pattern box in the first two pix?

cletrac (RIP) · #15 17-02-10, 03:51

More to come.

Hanno Spoelstra · #16 20-12-15, 21:12

Also see Western Desert After Axis Retreat - 1942 on FB; and also EGYPTE - DESERT OCCIDENTAL - 1942.

H.

Hanno Spoelstra · #17 09-06-16, 21:58

A couple more from Life, may have been posted before:

7486c544fc32165d_large.jpg

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And one from AWM:

AWM 014125.JPG
"ID number 014125
Maker Hurley, James Francis (Frank)
Place made North Africa: Western Desert
Date made 20 January 1943
Description Westward Ho 1 streams of Australian Army transport vehicles hurrying in the wake of Rommel's retreating army in the Western Desert."

Hanno Spoelstra · #18 24-04-21, 21:47

War In The Western Desert
Date taken: August 1942
Photographer: Bob Landry

7bcffeba5d2256d4_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...a5d2256d4.html

ddd88467ad041319_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...7ad041319.html

8b320086d9130e3a_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...6d9130e3a.html

8aaef4a825853001_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...825853001.html

9f7b9a23a2395f1f_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...3a2395f1f.html

Ed Storey · #19 24-04-21, 22:07

Here is an image from the wartime RCAF PL Series.

PL-10169 copy.jpg

Hanno Spoelstra · #20 25-04-21, 11:23

Western Desert After Axis Retreat
Date taken: December 1942
Photographer: Bob Landry

caf0d0141575cf00_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...41575cf00.html

4c0928b72ff18b35_large.jpg
Source: http://images.google.com/hosted/life...72ff18b35.html

Edited to add:
The lower picture shows an American made 1938 Ford V8 cabriolet, according to Alexander Scott. The census number comes from a block "LP" which stand for locally procured, as far as I know. And Nick Balmer noted:

Quote:

It is interesting that the census number is both in Arabic numerals as well as English ones.
It was normal to put Arabic numbers as well as the normal WD numbers on vehicles that operated in the Canal Zone and Cairo, particularly during the earlier years of the war in Egypt, but this was done less and less as the war ramped up and more a more vehicles arrived.
This suggests that this vehicle had already been in Allied hands for a year or more by the date the photo is assigned to, December 1942.

178601166_10225272066567007_5730499905572166503_n.jpg