some new ww2 aussie vehicle recovery photos from north africa unearthed

kiwiquad · #1 27-06-09, 02:57

my step grandfather was in the vehicle recovery section of 2/4 AUST ARMY FIELD WORKSHOPS in north africa and later in new guinea, here are some of the photos i have to show.

this is of a jerry canteen bus being liberated..

kiwiquad · #2 27-06-09, 02:59

the unit water truck,, what is this one?

kiwiquad · #3 27-06-09, 03:02

jerry tank abandonned..

kiwiquad · #4 27-06-09, 03:04

sidi rezegh

cliff · #5 27-06-09, 03:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiquad

the unit water truck,, what is this one?

1941 Chevrolet. Holden assembled going by the quarter vent windows and the cowl would have had side vents as well.

kiwiquad · #6 27-06-09, 03:08

ill get some more photos scanned soon,

kiwiquad · #7 27-06-09, 03:11

cheers for the quick reply cliff,i know where there is a truck that looks like this, but looks like it used to be a tow truck as it still has the old style tow frame on the back, ill have to take some photos...mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by cliff

1941 Chevrolet. Holden assembled going by the quarter vent windows and the cowl would have had side vents as well.

kiwiquad · #8 27-06-09, 03:33

kiwiquad · #9 27-06-09, 03:39

written on the rear of the photo it looked like italian, once blown up though it was probably indian...

Grant Bowker · #10 27-06-09, 03:43

My immediate reaction to your photo captioned "italian heavy tow truck?" was that it was a good example of a Scammell wrecker with a trailer that I suspect was built in the local shop to meet what the boys saw as their needs.

Bruce Parker (RIP) · #11 27-06-09, 04:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiquad

sidi rezegh

No gun shield on the 25 pdr. First time I've seen that.

jim sewell · #12 27-06-09, 05:31

Excellent pictures Mike .
Thanks for sharing .
Regards
Jim S.

Wayne Henderson · #13 27-06-09, 11:19

Thanks for sharing your photos.
As Bruce noted the sheild and firing platform both missing from the 25.
The tank is a Mk2.
I have been searching for a photo of the chev "Indian patten" truck and now know what the rear tray would have looked like, bloody ugly.

Kuno · #14 27-06-09, 11:34

I see! The Aussies took away all those wrecks I am desperately searching for in the desert!!!! Great pics!

Bob McNeill · #15 27-06-09, 11:48

The water truck is very similar to the one 2/9th Field Reg used in the middle east. Like the 7 ton recovery trailer the chev is almost on.

cliff · #16 27-06-09, 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiquad

In this 'Staff Car on tow' the wrecker is a 12 cab CMP which is unusual in itself as most photos show 13 cab's but I wonder what the writing on the cab door is?

The missing sheild on the 25lb'er suggests that it may be a recovery from the battle field or from an accident involving the gun's original tractor as the photo's are of a recovery unit.

Thanks for sharing these as it is nice to see the photos taken by soldiers at the time and not 'staged' as many official photos were.

Tony Smith · #17 27-06-09, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob McNeill

The water truck is very similar to the one 2/9th Field Reg used in the middle east.

This truck is a Ford MCP, while KiwiQuad's first pic is a Chev, but the rear bodies are the same. Even thought it was the identical same truck at first!

Justin Pollard · #18 28-06-09, 02:39

Awesome pics Mike,
Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Justin.

kiwiquad · #19 28-06-09, 03:24

thanks for all the comments on the photos i uploaded for you all to see also the details on the vehicles. ill endeavor to put more up over the week. mike

kiwiquad · #20 28-06-09, 03:26

you can imagine driving on this with no end in site following the trails of wreckage

kiwiquad · #21 28-06-09, 03:39

i wish i went on your trip ! ill order a copy of the book soon,there would have been plenty to find if it werent for the 2/4 AUST ARMY FLD W/SHPS work,i missed the docco.. mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kuno

I see! The Aussies took away all those wrecks I am desperately searching for in the desert!!!! Great pics!

Phil Waterman · #22 28-06-09, 20:52

Mike these are simply great photos, thanks ever so much for sharing them and adding them to common knowledge about CMPs.

Cheers Phil

maple_leaf_eh · #23 30-06-09, 03:46

Recovery after the battle is one of those misc. tasks that is written in the books. As long as the area is reasonably safe, smart armies send out salvage parties. Besides looking for bodies and signs of missing soldiers, a lot of valuable equipment can be gathered for reuse or recycling back into the supply chain. What the Germans lost in Eastern Europe, you can bet the Russians put to good use one way or another.

An old shooter friend talked about recovering Shermans in Italy to reuse the final drives. He never sent his men into burnt tanks because he didn't want them also to live with what he'd seen and found. In Normandy, Maj "Rad" Radley Walters (Sherbrooke Fusilier Regt) made all his replacement crews do battle runs on German hulks to refine their combat shooting to his satisfaction.

Kuno · #24 30-06-09, 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwiquad

i wish i went on your trip ! ill order a copy of the book soon,there would have been plenty to find if it werent for the 2/4 AUST ARMY FLD W/SHPS work,i missed the docco.. mike

Mike; Brenda is ready to send you a copy at any time

Mike K · #25 01-07-09, 07:52

Scanned from the Vanderveen bible 1972 edition

Looks like the truck

Mike