Excellent Wehrmacht WWII Footage for Historians and Dioramas.

... yup, after the wow of the vehicles, the drama of the campaigns, the human side of things packs the biggest punch for me. These guys, like some of you guys, could just as easily be my uncle, my neighbor, my friend.

I read that in general, the German ability to salvage and retrieve battle damaged armour in the field was much ahead of the allies, especially in North Africa. I suppose they had to, given they didn't have the North American perpetual motion factories churning out replacements.
 
... yup, after the wow of the vehicles, the drama of the campaigns, the human side of things packs the biggest punch for me. These guys, like some of you guys, could just as easily be my uncle, my neighbor, my friend.

I read that in general, the German ability to salvage and retrieve battle damaged armour in the field was much ahead of the allies, especially in North Africa. I suppose they had to, given they didn't have the North American perpetual motion factories churning out replacements.
So true! And the Germans had a harder time making their over-engineered equipment work. Kudo's to those maintenance crews that made that equipment work for the country that they served.

Look at Germany's halftracks in WWII compared to the US halftracks. The 251 and all the German HT were an engineering nightmare compared to the American M2 or M3 halftrack which was basically and 4x4 truck with a track put on the rear instead of tires. And then light armor added. Even Rommel was seriously impressed if you believe what is written about him and the Afrika Korp.

Or even a better analogy is the T34 with a Christie suspension system which the US finally used in the Hellcat and Chaffee and Pershing.
Most, if not all, tanks today use the Christie suspension system in one variant or another in tracked vehicles.

The over engineered overlapping panther and tiger variants tracks were a disaster. The Germans should have learned more from the CZ 38T after they conquered (annexed) that nation.
 
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I read that in general, the German ability to salvage and retrieve battle damaged armour in the field was much ahead of the allies, especially in North Africa.
Maybe in North Africa, but not once the heavier tanks started making an appearance. It took more than a single big half-track to tow a Panther or a Tiger, and the Germans never developed an armoured recovery vehicle with capabilities similar to the American M32 TRV, or a tank transporter like the M25 "Dragon Wagon" (the tractor of which could handle a Panther by itself, and probably Tiger too).

I suppose they had to, given they didn't have the North American perpetual motion factories churning out replacements.
The Germans had great trouble repairing their vehicles and replacing them in time because they shipped all of the more serious cases back to Germany for repair and rework at the factory, instead of having dedicated tank repair workshops some way behind the front like the Allies used. Very enlightening is reading passages from reports by PzJ Ferdinand units in Russia in Schwere Jagdpanzer by Spielberger, Doyle and Jentz, where the reports continually complain about the inability to get any work done because of having to find suitable buildings (factories etc.) themselves — ones not already used by other units at that — and then, just when they've set up shop, the order coming to pull out again because of the Russian advance.

My almost-local library had (no idea if they still do, I haven't been in there in at least a decade) a book about this, IIRC a republished US military report. I wish I could remember the title, though. It was very enlightening about the shortcomings of the German tank repair system.
 
Even if the front had been stable enough, the reports show they had great difficulty because of everybody working either at cross-purposes, or of all wanting the same thing (mainly buildings) for themselves before anybody else could grab it. A properly organised system of rear-echelon repair units would have been much more efficient.
 
I would go back and instead, collect paint chips of olive drab, dark yellow, panzer grey, and more ;)
Right!^^^

I would go back and get the the Lotto numbers before hand. Then start a model kit manufacturing company with the won money and produce the obscure kits that we all want.

How about a 1/48th scale U Boat and US and Japanese submarines.... with FULL interior. And crew figures.

How about 1/35th and 1/16th scale armor kits all with FULL interiors.

How about obscure soft skinned WWII trucks in 1/35th.

How about full interiors with all kits and micro led lighting options.

I can wish and dream.

Be well. Model on.

Eric
 
How about 1/35th and 1/16th scale armor kits all with FULL interiors.
Too much work :) I don't mind the occasional one, but the interior adds at least as much work again to the model as for the outside, and I already finish fewer models than I would like …

How about obscure soft skinned WWII trucks in 1/35th.
Too much work :) I don't mind the occasional one, but the interior and undercarriage add at least as much work again to the model as for an equivalent tracked vehicle, and I already finish fewer models than I would like …

:)
 

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