Military Horses and Mules

In the history of warfare, the role of horses, mules and other pack animals or cavalry mounts cannot be overestimated.  But with the advent of mechanization in the 20th century they all but disappeared.

A new section has been added to Olive-Drab.com with details on the use of animals in the U.S. military as well as the story of how mechanizaion was introduced.  The modern role of the few remaining animals is also covered, stimulated by the horse soldiers in Afghanistan in 2001 (mounted SOF riding with the Northern Alliance).

The Military Horses and Mules section starts at the linked page.

 

WW II Staff Cars

An Olive-Drab.com visitor asks:

• Were Dodge sedans used by any branch as staff cars during WWII?

Answer:

Dodge of course built many 4×4 light trucks during WWII, including the WC series Command Cars, but the civilian-type Staff Car is less clear.

When civilian vehicle production ended in early 1942, the U.S. military scooped up many miscellaneous vehicles from the civilian market. Some of these purchases were made by the QM Corps on a national, standardized basis, but others were strictly local.   In addition, car companies in Allied countries made vehicles that were used by the U.S. as well.

The September 1943 War Department manual TM 9-2800 (”Standard Military Motor Vehicles”) lists two 5-Passenger 4×2 sedan models:

• Light:  Manufactured by Chevrolet, Ford, Plymouth
• Heavy:  Manufactured by Buick, Packard

These were civilian cars — not built to full military specs — just stripped of chrome, painted OD and maybe a few other cosmetic changes.   Since the Dodge D12 is actually a Plymouth, some of the Plymouth staff cars may have been Dodge vehicles retrofitted for the Army contract.

Long way around to say that some Dodge sedans were certainly used as Staff Cars during WW II, but they were not in the standardized group.  There is relatively little info.    A few have survived and can occasionally be found at MV shows, for example:

http://www.sierramadrenews.net/4thofjuly/2k8/2k8parade1.htm  (See Pearl Harbor image)
http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1333

 

More on Soldier’s Uniforms and Weather Protection

Additional pages have been added in the section covering Soldier’s uniforms and weather protection from 1980 forward.  The new pages include:

• Parka & Trousers, Wet Weather
• Improved Rain Suit (IRS)
• Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (ECWCS)
• All Purpose Environmental Clothing System (APECS)

The ECWCS page has its own subsection for Gen I, Gen II, and Gen III, of ECWCS.

 

MV Conversion to Fire Truck

An Olive-Drab.com visitor asks:

 i am looking to begin a fire contract business with wildland forest fires. i need a water truck, 6×6, basically with the most water i can carry with the ability to get into and out of mountain terrain with varying degrees of incline. as i am jsut starting out i dont have tons of cash to buy a new truck nor do i really want a new truck, not really my style. i have discovered the m-50, seen it out on the line as well as around the country and am wondering if this is the best truck for my needs?  is the m-50 the rigth truck for my expectations? is there another model i should be looking at? what should i expect with the m-50? does it need to be trailered from fire to fire or is driving what could be multi state distance a viable option?

Answer:

I suggest  you review this website and perhaps contact the people there:

• Roscommon Equipment Center

They are the experts in conversion of ex-mil trucks for fire protection usage.  The website has a huge library of pertinent material and ideas.

 

Frank Buckles, the last known U.S. military veteran of World War I, has his 108th birthday  today.  His life story is fascinating, a journey across history,  including recollections of his grandmother who was born in 1817, life as a seaman, imprisonment by the Japanese during WW II, and a long retirement in West Virginia.  You can read an excellent account here:

• ‘Our last living link’ to WWI

Frank has his own web site here:

• FrankBuckles.org

Frank has been honored for his service and his portrait hangs in the Pentagon, but there is still no memorial in Washington, DC for WW I vets.  See his website for more information.

 

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

A new page has been added to the WW II War Stories section with the history of the Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942:

• Doolittle Raid

Lt. Col. Doolittle launched B-25B bombers  from an aircraft carrier to bomb Tokyo and Nagoya.  This near-impossible feat was the first U.S. attack on an enemy power in WW II, coming at a time when all the other news was bad.  The American public, still reeling from the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, cheered the news.

In addition to the text and photos, be sure to watch some of the video, including original War Department footage and the trailer from the movie “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.”

 

Military Firearms Photos

Photo pages have been added to the Military Firearms section with photos of individual weapons.  These supplemental photos add depth to the material on the main page for each firearm.  For example, the page on the M1 Carbine is now supplemented by a page of M1 Carbine photos.

So far, the photo pages have been added for these military weapons:

• M1 Garand Photos
• M1 Carbine Photos
• M9 Beretta 9mm Pistol Photos
• M1911 .45 cal. Pistol Photos

Pages will be added for other firearms as time permits.

 

Red Ball Express

The Red Ball Express was an extraordinary logistics operation in Europe during WW II.  Thousands of trucks were used like a vast bucket brigade to transport fuel and other supplies to the rapdily advancing front.  Nothing like it had ever been done before, but the whole operation was organized and put into motion in a matter of days.  Although, like the Pony Express, it was only used for a few months, the Red Ball Express became a legend for its amazing accomplishments.

A new page of Olive-Drab.com (in the War Stories section) presents the facts:

• Red Ball Express

 

M1 57mm Antitank Gun

New material has been added for this piece of World War II towed artillery:

• M1 57mm Antitank Gun

 

Millitary Jeep, Trucks and Tank Photos

Olive-Drab.com has launched a new website called MilitaryMashUp.com that features thousands of photos of military jeeps, military trucks, tanks and other military tracked vehicles along with other weapons and equipment.  The emphasis is easy browsing and searching of a large number of military photos and integration of photos from multiple sources.  MilitaryMashUp.com brings together the photo resources of Olive-Drab.com and provides an easy interface to Google, YouTube and Yahoo image libraries as well.

Give it a try:  MilitaryMashUp.com