2008 already brought us the 7th Edition of the Wings & Wheels Show on the Ursel Airfield in Belgium.
This Daimler Dingo marked to the 1st Belgian Brigade
(Piron) is probably the one restored by the late JL Desmet in the early 80's. It
still looks great after all these years, just as Jean Lummerzheim's 1940 Austin
Light Utility, marked to the British 4th Infantry Division of the BEF.
American tracked vehicles: M5A1 Stuart (left) and Clarkair
Airportable Bulldozer for sale at the fair (Right).
A rather rare 'Goliath' in running condition displayed in
front of an Opel Blitz truck. The 'Goliath' was in transit in Belgium awaiting
transport to its new owner in the USA.
Hans Vandendriessche entered the superbly restored 1940 Wanderer
'Truppenfahrrad' shown right.
As time goes by, more and more post-WW2 vehicles are
displayed at shows.
This year, Land-Rover celebrated its 60th birthday and this was illustrated by
two icons of the brand: a MarkI (left) and Airportable Model (right).
Classic trucks: Studebaker with wooden body and Willys
Pick-Up Model, both from the immediate postwar era.
Highlight of the 'Wings' part of the show was without
doubt the French registered B17 'Pink Lady', a fantastic sight both on the
ground and in the air. This B17 was built as a G version in late 1944, but was
retrofitted to an F model for the 1989 movie 'Memphis Belle' where it starred as
'Mother and Country'.
The Beltring Hop Farm was again host to the largest gathering of Military Vehicles in the world for the 2008 War & Peace Show. This event remains a must for the serious MV enthusiast.
Sherman tanks in action: 17Pdr Firefly on the left and
right a camouflaged M4 Model.
The black camouflage scheme was adapted on some US Army vehicles for the
Normandy campaign as can be seen on the color footage shot by Hollywood director
George Stevens and his SHAEF Special Coverage Unit.
Other rare sights included a US Simplex Servicycle (left)
and a pair of American Red Cross Clubmobile GMC Trucks from which coffee and
donuts were handed out to GI's, just like in 1944 (right).
No, this isn't a Before & After ;-)
On Saturday there was a superb Spitfire flying display, while a mock-up of a
crashed Spit showed that not all made it back safely....
Some collectors and restorers go thru great lengths to get
their display perfect.
A recreation of a well known Red Ball Express sign and a rather rare Cushman
Model 39 Package Carrier scooter as used by the US Army Air Forces during WW2.
Normandy,
June 2008, The 64th D-Day Commemorations
In my view, less vehicles than usual attended, but this could be due to the high
fuel prices in Europe and the fact that people will come 'in force' in 2009.
As usual the Jeep was the most common vehicle in Normandy: from showroom Jeeps
at Paratrooper
Vehicles
to one used to haul some of the omnipresent US Airborne re-enactors around.
The Jeep on the right is marked to C Company, 326th Airborne Engineer Company of
the 101st Airborne Division (101AB-326E C-13)
Dodges before and after
a lot of 'elbow grease': WC21 left and a WC51 awaiting restoration right
A welcome sight amongst
many American vehicles were the British Austin Light Utility and a couple of
German bicycles
Of course the French
could not leave their automotive heritage at home: Peugeot 202 and Citroen
'Traction'
