Norman D. Landing

[General Apathy]

1 hour ago, Johan Willaert said:

Back in 2014 I purchased what was left of a 1942 Huffman Army bicycle, of which the parts still had the original finish...
I cleaned it up and completed it again, keeping the original paint where possible and trying to match the finish on the spare parts I used on the rebuild...

Back in the 1980s one would have stripped all paint and would have refinished everything...

Took it to Normandy in June 2019 where Ken got to ride it..

 

As said it's only original once...

 

 

1 hour ago, Johan Willaert said:

Earlier this year in June, this original 1942 Ford GPW sold at auction in Normandy for about 45.000 USd

Some rust and damaged floor, but a FANTASTIC example of an early Jeep.... Most of the unrestored ones are 1945 and did not see Military service during the war

 

 

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echoing some of the comments that Johan made above, back in the 1970's & 80's people would do a full strip down all over to the bare metal and repaint,  what I learnt in hindsight was that the undercoat ' Red-Lead ' was the secret as to why so many of these vehicles had survived so long.  That ' red-lead ' back then adhered itself so well to the bare metal when coated at the factories that it was a mistake also difficult to sand-blast and remove it. Due to health worries about the use of lead since then it was many years before anything comparable was produced.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 31  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

6 hours ago, earlymb said:

Great finds with the cans!

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Hi earlymb,

 

Thanks,  yes both quite unusual rather than the regular standard petrol  Jerrycans,  sad thing is is that stuff like these are still being thrown-out of deceased parents or grandparents properties, a lot of grandchildren would see nothing other than some ' old ' jerrycan.

 

This has just come home to me in a small way I was just looking through a tin of old take-out / take-off Jeep nuts and bolts, checking if there any ' F ' marked bolts still in there, to anyone not a Jeeper they are just disposable dusty pieces, and once I am gone maybe that will be what they are seen as . . . . . . . . . . . and dumped.

 

Anyway flipping through these nuts and bolts I saw this small flat bar of steel, of which I am instantly familiar with, but to anyone else it's another piece for the village dump. So here it is for you to see, and how un-interesting a piece it is.  Johan will be familiar with it . . . . . . .

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 31  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Ok so here it is seen again from the opposite side, hey look it has an ' F ' stamp on it, yes it's a piece out of a Jeep gearbox, item 41 in the exploded gearbox view, ' Transmission Countershaft & Idler lock plate ', unimportant unless you need one for a gearbox . . . . . .

 

Ford during WWII even went to the length of stamping unseen internal parts of the Jeep. 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 31  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

On 7/29/2022 at 9:53 PM, doyler said:

Ken you mentioned Coutances and these were also posted. Know your fondness of signage. 

 

Coutances Normandy - July 1944

LIFE Magazine Archives - Ralph Morse Photographer

 

 

 

 

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Hi Ron,  

 

here's Then & Now images of Coutances town hall and church I posted a couple of years back.  If anyone visits Coutances look on the left side of the town-hall and see all the bullet and shell marks in the stonework.

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 31  2022.

 

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[doyler]

23 hours ago, mikie said:

I'll second that! 

Mikie

 

Thanks Mikie and Dogsbody for the comment. 

 

I have always been fascinated by the black and white photography and the photographers who took the photos. The level of quality and detail we can see with the technology they had available at the time is amazing.  I never tire of looking at the photos from the past. 

[doyler]

3 minutes ago, General Apathy said:

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Hi Ron,  

 

here's Then & Now images of Coutances town hall and church I posted a couple of years back.  If anyone visits Coutances look on the left side of the town-hall and see all the bullet and shell marks in the stonework.

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  July 31  2022.

 

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Thanks for reposting. would hit the "like" but used then up for the day. Typically my like allotment gets used on this topic mostly 😊

👍👍👍

[doyler]

Similar image of Kens. The Cathedral at Coutances

 

[doyler]

another

 

 

[doyler]

The town hall all lit up

[doyler]

Armored Infantry pass through Coutances France. July 1944

 

from an online source:

 

Capital of the Unelli, a Gaulish tribe, the town was given the name of Constantia in 298 during the reign of Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus. The surrounding region, called in Latin the pagus Constantinus subsequently became known as the Cotentin Peninsula.

The town was destroyed by invading Normans in 866, who later established settlements and incorporated the whole peninsula into the Duchy of Normandy in 933.

On 17 July 1944, during the Battle for Normandy in World War II, the city was bombed during the Allied offensive against the occupying Germans.

 

More info:

 

https://www.britannica.com/place/Coutances

 

[mikie]

6 hours ago, doyler said:

 

Thanks for reposting. would hit the "like" but used then up for the day. Typically my like allotment gets used on this topic mostly 😊

👍👍👍

Here you go! Looks like I still have a LIKE or two left. Thought I already used them up today. 

[doyler]

41 minutes ago, mikie said:

Here you go! Looks like I still have a LIKE or two left. Thought I already used them up today. 

👍

[earlymb]

20 hours ago, Johan Willaert said:

 

Catching up after a few days away...

And I'm sure both ken and I have one of the oilers bottom left attached to the firewall in our Jeeps...

 

 

 

I have either a Eagle or a Noera, I forgot... I did paint the holder OD long ago and I learned since then that it should be left unpainted so I'll strip it.

[Johan Willaert]

35 minutes ago, earlymb said:

 

I have either a Eagle or a Noera, I forgot... I did paint the holder OD long ago and I learned since then that it should be left unpainted so I'll strip it.

On MBs with ACM1 body, a black painted bracket is not incorrect… photo from jeepdraw

The oil can in my GPW is a GEM… 

 

[earlymb]

Indeed but I need to strip it anyway since it's OD now, not black... and I like the look of that plated metal :)

[General Apathy]

7 hours ago, Johan Willaert said:

On MBs with ACM1 body, a black painted bracket is not incorrect… photo from jeepdraw

The oil can in my GPW is a GEM… 

 

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Hi Johan.

 

While we are on the subject of Jeep oil cans,  might I add that I have known of several people who have lost the spout off their oilcans whilst driving, the vibrations of travelling along with possibility of oil entering the threads  some of the spouts detach from the can and fall out under the vehicle.  In this case it's not tighten your nuts but tighten your can spout  !!!!

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  August 01  2022.

 

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[General Apathy]

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Hi earlymb

 

relating back to a post we shared about two years ago, I thought I would show you this  ' F ' marked piece and see if you could guess what it is . . . . . or anyone one else like to have a try. 

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  August 01  2022.

 

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[mikie]

56 minutes ago, General Apathy said:

.

Hi earlymb

 

relating back to a post we shared about two years ago, I thought I would show you this  ' F ' marked piece and see if you could guess what it is . . . . . or anyone one else like to have a try. 

 

.

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  August 01  2022.

 

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No clue, but eager to find out!

Mikie

[obg131]

Piece of the front bumper wood insert for a Ford GPW.

[doyler]

Allied Jeeps in a courtyard in Mont Saint-Michel Normandy - August 1, 1944

LIFE Magazine Archives - Bob Landry Photographer

 

 

 

 

 

[General Apathy]

47 minutes ago, doyler said:

Allied Jeeps in a courtyard in Mont Saint-Michel Normandy - August 1, 1944

LIFE Magazine Archives - Bob Landry Photographer

 

 

 

 

 

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Hahahhaha Ron,

 

another one that I covered a couple of years ago, at that time I did it as a ' Then & Now ' when in reality I took the Now photograph in 2009 unaware of the Then photo which I found some years later.  

 

So I present the comparison this evening as a ' Now & Then ' as in 2009 I was unaware of the 1944 photo but by pure coincidence spotted the tiled wall covering in the background of both photos.  

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  August 01  2022.

 

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[doyler]

1 hour ago, General Apathy said:

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Hahahhaha Ron,

 

another one that I covered a couple of years ago, at that time I did it as a ' Then & Now ' when in reality I took the Now photograph in 2009 unaware of the Then photo which I found some years later.  

 

So I present the comparison this evening as a ' Now & Then ' as in 2009 I was unaware of the 1944 photo but by pure coincidence spotted the tiled wall covering in the background of both photos.  

 

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Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  August 01  2022.

 

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I recalled I had seen the picture posted here as the view of the structure attached to the wall creating a covered street is pretty unique. Some things are worth looking at twice.. it has gotten me in trouble a couple of times 😁😎

[doyler]

Abandoned German Vehicles that got stuck on the mudflats near Mont Saint-Michel France are examined by Allied personnel and curious locals - 1944

The vehicles are a Schwimmwagen, two Kübelwagens, and a Krupp-Protze L 2 H 43

LIFE Magazine Archives - Scherschel Photographer

 

 

[doyler]

Abandoned German Vehicles that got stuck on the mudflats near Mont Saint-Michel France are examined by Allied personnel and curious locals - 1944

The vehicles are a Schwimmwagen, two Kübelwagens, and a Krupp-Protze L 2 H 43

LIFE Magazine Archives - Scherschel Photographer

[doyler]

Abandoned German Vehicles that got stuck on the mudflats near Mont Saint-Michel France are examined by Allied personnel and curious locals - 1944

The vehicles are a Schwimmwagen, two Kübelwagens, and a Krupp-Protze L 2 H 43

LIFE Magazine Archives - Scherschel Photographer