Hello Guys! Today I'd like to show you some more classy WWII originals I photographed at the WTS in Koblenz.
Go through it all, you'll see pleasing stuff like a
French FT-17 light tank from the inside, german
WWII infrared nightvision devices, the
Kettenkrad, the HUGE
Schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18 to. (Sd. Kfz. 9) and a load of other beautyful stuff!
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| leichter Ladungsträger Goliath (Sd.Kfz. 302) |
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| leichter Ladungsträger Goliath (Sd.Kfz. 302) - sprocket wheel |
As far as I remember I saw the following Vehicle in every german museum that features WWII vehicles. The Kettenkrad seems to be a must-have. I should have one too...
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| Kleines Kettenkraftrad Typ HK 101 (a.k.a. Kettenkrad) (Sd.Kfz. 2) |
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| Kettenkrad (Sd.Kfz. 2) drivers seat |
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| Kettenkrad (Sd.Kfz. 2) with trailer |
But if I cannot have a Kettenkrad, I would also be satisfied with one of the next two. Unfortunately you pay up to 70.000 € for a BMW R75 in good condition...
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| "Schweres Wehrmachtsgespann" BMW R 75 |
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| "Schweres Wehrmachtsgespann" Zündapp-KS-750 |
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| Schwerer 8-Rad-Panzerspähwagen Typ GS (Sd.Kfz.231) |
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| Same, obviously disabled by 2 20-37mm shots in its back |
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| leichter Zugkraftwagen 1t (Sd.Kfz. 10) - incomplete |
What comes next, completely blew me off my feet. Compared to todays trucks, it might be not THAT big, but honestly, I was really impressed of the size of this Sd.Kfz. 9!
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - Front |
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - side |
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - Engine Block |
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - Drivers seatrow |
This is pretty cool: Lacking an opto-electrical indicator, they added a "winker", an arm that shows the direction, the driver is going to turn to.
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - Indicator (a.k.a. Winker) |
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| schwerer Zugkraftwagen 18t (Sd.Kfz. 9) - rear seatrow |
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| Its so huuuuuge! |
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| Leichter geländegängiger Einheits-Lkw 2,5t |
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| Willys Jeep along with some postwar Kübels |
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| VW Typ 82 Kübelwagen |
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| VW Typ 166 Schwimmwagen |
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| VW Typ 166 Schwimmwagen - Back |
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| VW Typ 166 Schwimmwagen interiour |
One thing that really pleased me, was that most of the exhibits are standing free. You can touch that cold steel and sometimes get a sneak peek inside. Thats what I did with this beautyful FT-17...
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| French FT-17 |
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| French FT-17 drive detail |
Here you can see the tail-attachment witch is useful for passing bigger trenches. The crew can tilt it up to access the inertia-starter.
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| French FT-17 |
A look through the open turret-hatch in direction of the drivers compartment.
The only thing that seems missing down there is the seat-cushion, as the user-elements were pretty basic (see interior details
Wikipedia)
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| French FT-17 Drivers compartment |
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| French FT-17 Ammo |
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| German WWII Air-to-air Missile R4M "Orkan" |
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| Nachtsicht Fahrgerät |
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| Wehrmacht Infrared Vision FG 1250 |
Have you ever seen, where the Tiger's roar comes from? Watch this:
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| Maybach HL 230 P 45 as used on Tiger I |
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| Tiger I Crankshaft with Pistons |
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| Tiger I driving and steering transmission |
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| Tiger I driving and steering transmission |
And some parts from his little brother:
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| Panther driving and steering transmission |
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| Panther driving and steering transmission |
Since I was short in time, I could not take more shots of this pretty interesting chapter: Uniforms and personal equipment...
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| German Camo Uniforms |
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| German Uniform |
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| German "Sumpftarn" Camo Uniform |
Now, some more small Dakka-Dakka ;-)
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| Granatwerfer 36 |
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| Some MPs |
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| Various StGw 44 |
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| FG 42 in all three versions |
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| Machine guns |
Another curiosity: This model of the Infantry Assaultbridge on Pz. Kw IV was (most probable) used to demonstrate Hitler the design and functionality of a concept for a bridge-laying tank:
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| (Original) Model of the Infantry-Assaultbride on Pz. Kw. IV |
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| One man Splinter-Shelter |
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| Rolling Bomb (used to blow up reservoir dams) |
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| British Airmine HC 4000 lb |
These were the last pictures of WWII equipment and vehicles that I shot at the WTS in Koblenz. Unfortunately the Panther-tank and the StuG III were off to Trier for some refurbishment. That made me a bit sad...
So what, I'll have to go there again :-D
Next time, I will show you some Post-War developments shown there. Some of which seem pretty peculiar...
Have a nice time!
//mojo
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