Combat Car Posted October 1, 2009 Share #1 Posted October 1, 2009 Hey Gang, New here, so forgive me if I'm treading on old ground here. Anyway, wondering if anyone here is currently doing- or at least interested in- impressions during this general period?? Myself, I'm (slowly)putting together a Combat Car commander's kit circa 1938-40. Personally I'm interested in the tanks of the pre-war period. Both Infantry Light Tanks and Medium Tanks as well as Combat Cars and the era of "mechanization" of the Cavalry and eventual formation of the Armored Force of 1940. Fascinating and important period that is totally overlooked. But aside from my personal interest, is there anyone else interested in this period?? Maybe an established crew out there?? I dunno... Is it feasible to get displays or something going? For instance I'm hearing some really neat stuff about the War College up in Carlisle. Always looking for insight or opinions. Clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted October 1, 2009 Share #2 Posted October 1, 2009 I hate to say this, but you are the first person I've ever seen refer to this period for reenacting. The closest thing I've seen on here are some reenactors who do impressions of US forces early in WWII... Philippine Scouts, USMC on Wake Island, etc. But you are right, the period you describe is fascinating. For all of the missteps the military made during that time period, there were a lot of things they did right. As luck would have it, the US Marines experimented with amphibious landings during the 1920's and 30's. I have always found the large scale US Army maneuvers of that period to be interesting, although I am not as read on them as I would like to be. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cco23i Posted October 1, 2009 Share #3 Posted October 1, 2009 I know part of our impression is prewar Philippines USAAC ground crew. Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysmb44 Posted October 2, 2009 Share #4 Posted October 2, 2009 Back in the 90s, my re-enacting group seriously considered getting together as many people with early war GI impressions as we could and trying to stage the 1930s re-creations of civil war battles the Army used to do. It seemed the Ultimate Crossover as most of us did CW era as well. Nothing ever came of it, but I still think it was a neat idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Combat Car Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted October 2, 2009 Well guys, seems my only choice is to put the impression together and start attending some Time Line or US-specific living history events :crying: Maybe run into other like-minded folks in this area... Definately is an interesting period full of both flawed theory and basically sound theory- both of which created the Army of 1941. Of course its easy for us to see all the dead-ends and bad ideas now but in the 1930-1940 period the problems with these ideas weren't so glaringly obvious. So maybe some living history displays that put the period in the context of the time rather than in the context of hind-sight and how it ultimately failed would be interesting. Specifically relating to armor, the Light Tanks and Combat Cars of the 1930-1940 period were actually viable weapons though slightly under-armored. The .50 caliber of this period firing AP could penetrate the armor of most tanks at reasonable combat range. Automotively our tanks were by-far the best overall. Clint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwb123 Posted October 2, 2009 Share #6 Posted October 2, 2009 This is the same time period in which the B-17 was meant for coastal defense, and both submarines and naval aircraft were considered merely scouts for the fleet. Flawed theories abounded, but somehow things managed to work out. At least the technology and the tools developed. From what I know of the maneuvers of the period, even with an Army of minimal size many of the staff and command problems of managing an army in the field were identified and worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hbtcoveralls Posted October 3, 2009 Share #7 Posted October 3, 2009 We did 1940/41 horse Cavalry for a while. Remembering the 103rd PA National Guard Cavalry. Still have the stuff, and still have horses, just haven't had a call for the Cavalry lately. Had alot of fun and really did learn alot. I was even fortunate to meet several actual cavalry vets from the end of the horse era. This was a photo early in our impression and we did get better and could really do a great static display as well. Tom Bowers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124cav Posted October 30, 2009 Share #8 Posted October 30, 2009 We did 1940/41 horse Cavalry for a while. Remembering the 103rd PA National Guard Cavalry. Still have the stuff, and still have horses, just haven't had a call for the Cavalry lately. Had alot of fun and really did learn alot. I was even fortunate to meet several actual cavalry vets from the end of the horse era. This was a photo early in our impression and we did get better and could really do a great static display as well. Tom Bowers Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everforward Posted October 30, 2009 Share #9 Posted October 30, 2009 Well guys, seems my only choice is to put the impression together and start attending some Time Line or US-specific living history events :crying: Maybe run into other like-minded folks in this area... Definately is an interesting period full of both flawed theory and basically sound theory- both of which created the Army of 1941. Of course its easy for us to see all the dead-ends and bad ideas now but in the 1930-1940 period the problems with these ideas weren't so glaringly obvious. So maybe some living history displays that put the period in the context of the time rather than in the context of hind-sight and how it ultimately failed would be interesting. Specifically relating to armor, the Light Tanks and Combat Cars of the 1930-1940 period were actually viable weapons though slightly under-armored. The .50 caliber of this period firing AP could penetrate the armor of most tanks at reasonable combat range. Automotively our tanks were by-far the best overall. Clint Clint, I'm probably not that far way from you (in Va.) and I'd love to talk with you about this sometime....I love the between the wars period as well and I think it'd be neat to do something...maybe National Guard related....send me a PM when you get time. It would be a work in progress for me but I'd work toward getting an accurate impression together...I have lots of reference to use from this period.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redjoshman Posted November 2, 2009 Share #10 Posted November 2, 2009 I have almost completed my CCC impression. I am also working on a 1937-1942 US Army Infantry and a 1937-1942 USMC impression. For the US Army Infantry the biggest thing I need to get is M1917(A1) Helmet. For the USMC Impression I need to get Cordovans, Summer Service Trousers, and M1917(A1) Helmet, P1912 Pack, and P1912 Canteen Cover. -Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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