Farley Mowat's Stug

[Perry Kitson]

Rob,

I was referring to the vehicle in the left hand photo, definitely the "saukopf" mantle and L/70 75mm gun. The Stug has the box mantle. I believe these are two different vehicles in the photo's.

Perry

[rob love]

Perry
I blew up the photos, and it looks like you are right. Different mantles, and the first one has the first roadwheel more forward than the second one with relation to the return roller above. I had placed both photos as being accross from the church here in Shilo....looks like I need to rethink that.

I'll keep an eye in the Shilo archives to see if any photos of that area from the 50s show up. No doubt there are photos somewhere that show the German vehicles, whether incidental or not.

[James P]

Originally Posted by rob love

Perry
I blew up the photos, and it looks like you are right. Different mantles, and the first one has the first roadwheel more forward than the second one with relation to the return roller above. I had placed both photos as being accross from the church here in Shilo....looks like I need to rethink that.

I'll keep an eye in the Shilo archives to see if any photos of that area from the 50s show up. No doubt there are photos somewhere that show the German vehicles, whether incidental or not.

Yep..... Jagdpanzer in the LH pic Stug in the right. Sad how these vehicles where treated and lost. Interesting they are still wearing a correct coat of dunkelgelb paint.

[jdmcm]

But we're they actually "lost"? Or we're they sold off by the museums? Or was there some misappropriation? Not trying to open a capital case here, just sadly curious as how something with legitimate Canadian military history attached is now part of a private collection in the UK instead of here, where one could argue, it should rightfully be. Thanks for all the replies and input, it is fascinating to hear how things worked around the bases and museums regarding these artifacts.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by jdmcm

But we're they actually "lost"? Or we're they sold off by the museums? Or was there some misappropriation? Not trying to open a capital case here, just sadly curious as how something with legitimate Canadian military history attached is now part of a private collection in the UK instead of here, where one could argue, it should rightfully be. Thanks for all the replies and input, it is fascinating to hear how things worked around the bases and museums regarding these artifacts.

I would suggest that "lost" is not the right word. Perhaps "sold" or "traded" are the correct terms. Perhaps one day when we meet face to face, I can share the stories I have heard. There would seem to be variations to each.

[jdmcm]

Sounds great Rob, look forward to it

[ajmac]

Thee wasn’t a market as such for these vehicles in the 70s or really up until the early 90s. STUGs were coming out of Finland in running condition for the price you would pay for a Bren Carrier today back in the mid 80s. Remember that a good proportion of the Grizzly Sherman’s that came from Portugal in the 80s ended up on the UK firing ranges because the dealer couldn’t sell them all to the hobby market....and they were runners too! Only a couple of years ago a complete gate guard Churchill was only just saved from being targeted in the UK, the base were happy to put a more modern tank in its place and had chalked it up to be taken out as a hard target. It’s now with a private individual.

[lincwel]

It seems that many years ago there was something in Wheels and Tracks magazine inc a photo of it being loaded