2003 Reading WW2 Weekend Photos (NSF 56K!)
Moderator: Beowulf
- FSTargetDrone
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 7878
- Joined: 2004-04-10 06:10pm
- Location: Drone HQ, Pennsylvania, USA
2003 Reading WW2 Weekend Photos (NSF 56K!)
Each year in Reading, Pennsylvania, USA, the Mid Atlantic Air Museum has its "World War II Weekend" featuring all sorts of WW2-era hadware and reenactors. Happily, you can get right up next to most of the multi-million dollar restorations, but this also makes it tricky to get a picture without 400 people walking in front of your camera. Every year, more and more people seem to show up and it's well worth the trip for anyone who's interested in this sort of thing.
There are many displays and best of all, wartime vets usually attend. A few years ago, several surviving Tuskeegee Airmen were at the show, and they were absolutely mobbed by autograph seekers and people just looking to talk with them.
The museum itself owns several different vintage and more modern aircraft, but the bulk of the ground vehicles and aircraft are visiting for the
weekend. The prize of the MAAM is a very rare P-61 nightfighter which was found wrecked overseas. It's been undergoing a mulit-year restoration and as of last year, the bulk of the fuselage had been restored. This year, a Lancaster is scheduled to attend. Last year the Commemorative Air Force's B-29 "Fifi" was present. There are many, many other vehicles and I just ran out of memory cards.
Various encampments are set up around the airfield, including American, Canadian, British, Russian and German. There's a vehicle parade and a simulated skirmish in a small French village with German and American soldiers supported by French partisans. Many people also walk around the airfield in civilian garb of the era.
That said, here are some pictures from 2003, the first time I was able to use a digital camera. I apologize for any awkwardly framed pictures, but I was stil getting the hang of the camera, and fighting the mobs at the same time. Still, if it works out, I plan to attend again next month.
I have about 290 pictures uploaded from 2003 in glorious 1024 X 768. The photos from 2004 and 2005 are higher resolution and there are a lot more of them, but it took awhile just to get 2003's images up, so if there's interest I will link those in the future as I find time to upload them. The photos are rather randomly grouped at the Flickr site, but I was walking round for several hours, grabbing shots when I could.
This year, the public show will be on June 2 to June 4. I have no affiliation with the MAAM, but I definitely recommend a visit!
N3N-3 primary trainer.
Prop polished to a mirror shine.
Stearman D75N1/PT-27.
Anyone know what kind of aircraft this is?
The museum's B-25J "Briefing Time."
Close-up on "Briefing Time."
These guys were good enough to pose for a picture for me. However, I'm not sure the shorter guy on the left should have his weapon pointed at his buddy...
Grumman TBM-3.
Immaculate wing-fold details of the TMB-3.
TBM-3 nose art.
TMB-3 upper fuselage turret with 1 .50 caliber defensive gun.
Some of the German small arms on display. MP-40 I believe?
German MG-34 or -42. Anyone know?
I believe this is a Dodge 1/2 ton WC-13 weapons carrier...
...mounting a water-cooled .30 caliber machine gun.
.50 cal emplacement outside...
..and in.
Naval jeep.
Some kind of airborne (?) motorcycle towing a water-cooled machine gun. Anyone know what kind of bike this is?
Some kind of Rolls-Royce. Later in the day "FDR" was driven around the airfield.
Anti-aircraft weapon. Anyone know what type?
Barrel art!
Ryan ST3KR/PT-22
M-8 Armored car. Main gun is 37 mm with .30 cal coaxial. The weapon on the top ring is a .50 cal.
Driver's position in the M-8. The bar is used to pull the hinged armor plate closed.
Super tryke!
Water-cooled .50 cal.
Some kind of Hudson.
Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX. Apparently, this particular Spitfire served with the Italian and Israeli Air Forces in the 40's and 50's, respectively. It is currently based in Suffolk, Virginia.
It carries a single .50 cal inboard and a 20 mm cannon outboard.
Percival Provost Mk. I. This was a trainer used by the RAF. The sign near the main landing gear says it is the only one flying in North America. It's based in New Jersey.
British encampment.
Anyone know what kind of weapon this is?
Anyone know what types of rifles these are?
One of the 2 B-17's at the show. Both eventually took off.
British Universal Carriers (or Canadian-built equivalents. I'm not sure).
Pair of German BMW motorcycles with sidecars.
Kubelwagen.
Aside from the tires (the field was very muddy after awhile), this Ford is in immaculate condition.
Muddy Kubelwagen...
...with MG-34 or -42, anyone know?
Die deutschen Soldaten!
M4A1 18 Ton High Speed Artillery Tractor (or some similar variant) towing...
...a 155mm "Long Tom" artillery piece.
M-19 Gun Motor Carriage with twin 40mm anti-aircraft weapons. Note the spare barrels on the hull, in front of the guns.
Seabees' Caterpillar bulldozer.
Got a bit muddy, as you can see.
M-3 Halftrack.
M-36 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 90 mm main gun.
Business end of "Sugar Puss" M-36.
M-18 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 76mm main gun.
M-29 Weasel.
M-7 self-propelled 105mm howitzer.
B-17G "Yankee Lady" taxiing for takeoff.
Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer tank destroyer with 75mm main gun. I am not sure, but this may have been an essentially-identical Swiss G-13 that was modified to look like the original German vehicle.
Note the false driver's vision blocks painted above, below and next to the actual vision block opening. This was an attempt to decoy enemy gunners from hitting the real ones. A remotely-controlled defensive gun is mounted on top of the hull.
Vought F4U Corsair. 6 .50 cal in the wings (3 each).
Grumman F6F Hellcat with 6 .50 cal in the wings.
This is a modified Vultee BT-13B that was evidently used in the film Tora! Tora! Tora! to represent a Japanese D3A1 Val torpedo bomber.
There are many displays and best of all, wartime vets usually attend. A few years ago, several surviving Tuskeegee Airmen were at the show, and they were absolutely mobbed by autograph seekers and people just looking to talk with them.
The museum itself owns several different vintage and more modern aircraft, but the bulk of the ground vehicles and aircraft are visiting for the
weekend. The prize of the MAAM is a very rare P-61 nightfighter which was found wrecked overseas. It's been undergoing a mulit-year restoration and as of last year, the bulk of the fuselage had been restored. This year, a Lancaster is scheduled to attend. Last year the Commemorative Air Force's B-29 "Fifi" was present. There are many, many other vehicles and I just ran out of memory cards.
Various encampments are set up around the airfield, including American, Canadian, British, Russian and German. There's a vehicle parade and a simulated skirmish in a small French village with German and American soldiers supported by French partisans. Many people also walk around the airfield in civilian garb of the era.
That said, here are some pictures from 2003, the first time I was able to use a digital camera. I apologize for any awkwardly framed pictures, but I was stil getting the hang of the camera, and fighting the mobs at the same time. Still, if it works out, I plan to attend again next month.
I have about 290 pictures uploaded from 2003 in glorious 1024 X 768. The photos from 2004 and 2005 are higher resolution and there are a lot more of them, but it took awhile just to get 2003's images up, so if there's interest I will link those in the future as I find time to upload them. The photos are rather randomly grouped at the Flickr site, but I was walking round for several hours, grabbing shots when I could.
This year, the public show will be on June 2 to June 4. I have no affiliation with the MAAM, but I definitely recommend a visit!
N3N-3 primary trainer.
Prop polished to a mirror shine.
Stearman D75N1/PT-27.
Anyone know what kind of aircraft this is?
The museum's B-25J "Briefing Time."
Close-up on "Briefing Time."
These guys were good enough to pose for a picture for me. However, I'm not sure the shorter guy on the left should have his weapon pointed at his buddy...
Grumman TBM-3.
Immaculate wing-fold details of the TMB-3.
TBM-3 nose art.
TMB-3 upper fuselage turret with 1 .50 caliber defensive gun.
Some of the German small arms on display. MP-40 I believe?
German MG-34 or -42. Anyone know?
I believe this is a Dodge 1/2 ton WC-13 weapons carrier...
...mounting a water-cooled .30 caliber machine gun.
.50 cal emplacement outside...
..and in.
Naval jeep.
Some kind of airborne (?) motorcycle towing a water-cooled machine gun. Anyone know what kind of bike this is?
Some kind of Rolls-Royce. Later in the day "FDR" was driven around the airfield.
Anti-aircraft weapon. Anyone know what type?
Barrel art!
Ryan ST3KR/PT-22
M-8 Armored car. Main gun is 37 mm with .30 cal coaxial. The weapon on the top ring is a .50 cal.
Driver's position in the M-8. The bar is used to pull the hinged armor plate closed.
Super tryke!
Water-cooled .50 cal.
Some kind of Hudson.
Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX. Apparently, this particular Spitfire served with the Italian and Israeli Air Forces in the 40's and 50's, respectively. It is currently based in Suffolk, Virginia.
It carries a single .50 cal inboard and a 20 mm cannon outboard.
Percival Provost Mk. I. This was a trainer used by the RAF. The sign near the main landing gear says it is the only one flying in North America. It's based in New Jersey.
British encampment.
Anyone know what kind of weapon this is?
Anyone know what types of rifles these are?
One of the 2 B-17's at the show. Both eventually took off.
British Universal Carriers (or Canadian-built equivalents. I'm not sure).
Pair of German BMW motorcycles with sidecars.
Kubelwagen.
Aside from the tires (the field was very muddy after awhile), this Ford is in immaculate condition.
Muddy Kubelwagen...
...with MG-34 or -42, anyone know?
Die deutschen Soldaten!
M4A1 18 Ton High Speed Artillery Tractor (or some similar variant) towing...
...a 155mm "Long Tom" artillery piece.
M-19 Gun Motor Carriage with twin 40mm anti-aircraft weapons. Note the spare barrels on the hull, in front of the guns.
Seabees' Caterpillar bulldozer.
Got a bit muddy, as you can see.
M-3 Halftrack.
M-36 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 90 mm main gun.
Business end of "Sugar Puss" M-36.
M-18 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 76mm main gun.
M-29 Weasel.
M-7 self-propelled 105mm howitzer.
B-17G "Yankee Lady" taxiing for takeoff.
Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer tank destroyer with 75mm main gun. I am not sure, but this may have been an essentially-identical Swiss G-13 that was modified to look like the original German vehicle.
Note the false driver's vision blocks painted above, below and next to the actual vision block opening. This was an attempt to decoy enemy gunners from hitting the real ones. A remotely-controlled defensive gun is mounted on top of the hull.
Vought F4U Corsair. 6 .50 cal in the wings (3 each).
Grumman F6F Hellcat with 6 .50 cal in the wings.
This is a modified Vultee BT-13B that was evidently used in the film Tora! Tora! Tora! to represent a Japanese D3A1 Val torpedo bomber.
Last edited by FSTargetDrone on 2006-05-11 02:48am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: 2003 Reading WW2 Weekend Photos (NSF 56K!)
YesFSTargetDrone wrote:http://static.flickr.com/48/141653491_ad31732314.jpg
Some of the German small arms on display. MP-40 I believe?
34http://static.flickr.com/44/141653492_5857c6f069.jpg
German MG-34 or -42. Anyone know?
Looks like:http://static.flickr.com/56/141836021_3b42d1e898.jpg
Anyone know what types of rifles these are?
SMLE (probably a No4)
M1 Garand
G43
K98k
another Enfield, with accessories
34 againMuddy Kubelwagen...
http://static.flickr.com/45/141847122_6dc75c2c69.jpg
...with MG-34 or -42, anyone know?
Shouldn't that be Swiss, not Swedish?http://static.flickr.com/55/143775719_fc162566c1.jpg
Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer tank destroyer with 75mm main gun. I am not sure, but this may have been an essentially-identical Swedish G-13 that was modified to look like the original German vehicle.
- FSTargetDrone
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 7878
- Joined: 2004-04-10 06:10pm
- Location: Drone HQ, Pennsylvania, USA
Re: 2003 Reading WW2 Weekend Photos (NSF 56K!)
Oops, thanks. You are correct. Fixing that now.AMX wrote: Shouldn't that be Swiss, not Swedish?
- That NOS Guy
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1867
- Joined: 2004-12-30 03:14am
- Location: Back in Chinatown, hung over
Re: 2003 Reading WW2 Weekend Photos (NSF 56K!)
Bofors 40mm AA, Without a pick of the sight setup can't tell if it's of Canadian, British, American, Russian, German, or which country made it(Yes damn near every country inculded Italy used the Bofors 40mm)[img]http://static.flickr.com/48/141828408_4343618b34.jpg
Anti-aircraft weapon. Anyone know what type?
Without being able to see the gauges no way of telling[img]http://static.flickr.com/30/141846043_8319a8d162.jpg
British Universal Carriers (or Canadian-built equivalents. I'm not sure).
Kubel mounted MG34(Perforated Barrel means Mg34)
Likley never saw action or they've striped it, the first thing nearly every M36 driver did was gank the AA .50cal off the back and strap it to the hull so it could be used as a coxail and built himself a cover. Since most tank destroyer crews when they went from the M10 to the M36 and found an tank destroyer with no armored top? built themselves one out of whatever they could get.[img]http://static.flickr.com/55/143771159_ae4a6bddd3.jpg
M-36 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 90 mm main gun.
The Good old Hellcat[img]http://static.flickr.com/52/143768048_d1406f9e76.jpg
M-18 Gun Motor Carriage tank destroyer with 76mm main gun.
Good old WWII junk, I love it all.
"A cult is a religion with no political power." -Tom Wolfe
Pardon me for sounding like a dick, but I'm playing the tiniest violin in the world right now-Dalton
- FSTargetDrone
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 7878
- Joined: 2004-04-10 06:10pm
- Location: Drone HQ, Pennsylvania, USA
It gets bigger and better every year.That NOS Guy wrote:I HATE YOU
I haven't been able to make it the past two years due to either work or car concerns. Now I know what I've been missing. I can't live anymore.
Also, for reference that AAA piece was a 40mm Bofors IIRC
This year I'm especially looking forward to seeing the Lancaster. The B-29 that was there last year is enormous, but I have very few pictures of it because it was mobbed by people. They sell rides on the B-17s.
It's both bad and good that the show is as popular as it is. One the one hand, it's great so many people come to see the equipment and reenactors and speak with the vets, on the other hand it's hell trying to get pictures of anything without people getting in the way. By the time you ask people to pelase step out of the way for a moment, 10 more walk in front of whatever you're trying to photograph! There didn't seem to be nearly as much armor there last year as in 2003, but it's always different.
Thanks for the IDs on everything, everyone. Unfortunately I do not have better pictures of the gun sight mentioned above, nor of the interior of the Universal Carriers. If they are there this year, I will probably look into it more closely.
- That NOS Guy
- Jedi Council Member
- Posts: 1867
- Joined: 2004-12-30 03:14am
- Location: Back in Chinatown, hung over
Actually, you may be in luck yet. There's a unit insignia on the front of the Bren, I'll see if I can dig it up. It looks like a red griffin of some sort. In addition, the man appears to have a British tank corps beret on. That may be the tip off.FSTargetDrone wrote: Thanks for the IDs on everything, everyone. Unfortunately I do not have better pictures of the gun sight mentioned above, nor of the interior of the Universal Carriers. If they are there this year, I will probably look into it more closely.
Incidentally I'm going to take a stab at your rifle question.
I believe the top is a Mk. III or IV Lee-Enfield (SMLE), probably a IV though I'm not too sure. Then there's the M1 Garand. After that it appears to be a Ghewr 43. After that it's a Muaser 98K, and at the very bottom it appears to be simply a SMLE with a scope attached.
- FSTargetDrone
- Emperor's Hand
- Posts: 7878
- Joined: 2004-04-10 06:10pm
- Location: Drone HQ, Pennsylvania, USA
Possibly, but it could be a Canadian Universal carrier painted up to look like a British vehicle. There was a Canadian camp at the show, but I don't recall any ground vehicles with Candian markings. I suspect it is Candian-built only because Canada built a number of these and it would explain how it got there a lot more easily than it being brought overseas, but anything is possible.That NOS Guy wrote:Actually, you may be in luck yet. There's a unit insignia on the front of the Bren, I'll see if I can dig it up. It looks like a red griffin of some sort. In addition, the man appears to have a British tank corps beret on. That may be the tip off.
Good info, thanks. Most of my interest lies in vehicles and less so in uniforms and small weapons, but I still like to learn as much as possible!That NOS Guy wrote:Incidentally I'm going to take a stab at your rifle question.
I believe the top is a Mk. III or IV Lee-Enfield (SMLE), probably a IV though I'm not too sure. Then there's the M1 Garand. After that it appears to be a Ghewr 43. After that it's a Muaser 98K, and at the very bottom it appears to be simply a SMLE with a scope attached.
All of the pictures I posted here are available at my Flickr page, so you might get a closer look there. If you're not familiar with Flickr, click on a photo, and then you can choose from various sizes at the top of each picture.