From: Ron (rojoha@attbi.com)
Date: Thu Aug 08 2002 - 13:20:40 PDT
Just watched 'Hell On Wheels' episode. Covered Scout cars, Half tracks,
DUKWs, Ketts and others. Of note...showed the Sd.Kfz 232 with the front and
rear drivers so it could get out of Dodge quickly when it's failure to scout
out the enemy effectively became apparent to the commander who noticed
increasing particulate emissions coming from the vegetation to the fore.
Also a real "throw away your shorts" sequence of a GP going over a
series of 'whoop-de-doos' and impacting the next one in the sequence at
about a 75 degree nose down attitude and digging in the front bumper, then
slow motion allllllll the way over onto it's back with the driver bailing
and doing a quick stand up 'I'm OK!!!!!' scene. A later test shows the
Army's solution to this problem was to add 3 more soldiers and add a counter
weight cleverly disguised as a 37mm AT gun to keep the ass from getting too
high while airborne.
And for those who own WWII jeeps and keep asking 'what was the color of
the power plant from the factory?' type questions, a nice series of movies
of different jeep assembly lines with one very clear sequence of the rolling
chassis (minus wheels and tires) with engine and tranny in place coming down
the line with the entire chassis and ALL components being spray painted the
SAME color ( which you can't tell since it is BW, but is almost certainly
OD). As the sequence shows, the axles look black, the frame maybe gray and
then they sling in the power pack and the engine is multi colored, the bell
housing looks almost black and another lighter color for the tranny. Then
the paint sequence and then the body tub gets slung on and the color of the
frame and engine match the already painted tub being attached. The tub has
the windshield, steering wheel, bows and seats and cushions already in place
while it is lowered down, then wheels(with tires already on) and front
fenders and front sheet metal is attached and out it drives.
Major Dad says that the US Army owned over 600,000 jeeps by wars end. He
reports that one army tester said that "riding in a jeep was like falling
down a set of stairs"
Worse than that ride had to be the sequence of the Ford M8 Greyhound
doing probably close to 40 mph over the test track with the thing going
airborne off every other set of whoop-de-doos, missing the next set while
airborne, then coming nose down onto the next set with the rears impacting
while the front bounces clear of the ground again and then the next set gets
sailed over and then repeat for 10 more seconds of film. This before seat
belts were commonly used. Shaken, not stirred. "Not tonight dear, I have a
headache....and back ache and shattered kneecap and 5 compressed vertebrae
and every time I take a breath I fell like I gotta pee....."
Kinda makes me jealous. Maybe I'll go fire up the M35A2 and go find some
Ferrets or Valps to run over at 30 mph, since whoop-de-doos seem to be a
little scarce up this end of the world.....but then again, so are they.
Hell, I'm not proud. I'll just have to settle for Pinzies....
Ronzo
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