Old German steel, and some other stuff too (No 56k)

[RainierHooker]

Just got home today on my last-minute whirlwind roadtrip from Seattle to the Bay Area and this is why I went...

Teaser pic of a 'euro light'

















So, anyway I scored a private tour with some friends around the Late Jacques Littlefield's private tank collecton. Lets just say that I am maybe a little more than passonate about military history. This I jumped at the opportunity to tinker with 300+ armored vehicles of all eras. So without further ado I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Outside:




Inside Building 1:


German PzKfw.IV


Russian T-34/85


German PzKfw.II (Stupid-Rare)


British/Australian Matilda:


Inside Bulding 2:






The only BMW there... R75 with driven sidecar:


German SdKfz.222 (extreme closeup)


German MG34 (on the 222):


Russian T-34/76 (the Rare early variant)


German/Czech Panzerjaeger 38(t) Hetzer (my most favorite evar)


Hug the Hetzer...


More Building 2...


German Krause-Maffei Prime-Mover (used to pull Artillery Pieces like Flak.41 "88s", yes, they have one of those too)...


Building 3:


Russian SCUD (they have two...)


Russian IS-II (its big... its ugly... its awesome...)




Building 4:




On the (ultra rare) American/British Locust Tank...





And the Piece de Resistence. The holiest of holies...
You may have figuered it out from the first picture or of the Bulding 1 line-up. An original, fully restored PzKfw.V "Panther". It is only one of four running examples in the world. One of two with the original Hanomag V-12 engine. And its the only one in the western hemisphere...








The Hanomag V-12 as found in the Panther...




Enjoy...

[Click]

Nice, I love WWII machinery.

[Unearth078]

That is awesome! Especially the original panther. i now have a reason to visit my aunt out there.

[LivingLegend06]

I just watched the episode of myth busters where they tour that place and then use a tank and an armored APC to tear two phone books apart. Looks like they have some pretty cool machinery.

LOL at the VW thing.

[SaskE30]

Wow that must have been awesome to see that in person.

So Jealous!

[ethree]

The collection really grew over the last 20 years. I haven't been up there since I went to elementary school with one of Jacques son.

[shiftbmw]

I've been meaning to see this, considering my line of work. E30 trip may be in order.

[m3manic55]

whats with the notches between cylinders on the panther engine?

[Pinepig]

LOL at the VW thing.

It's not a Thing, It's a Kubelwagon ( sp? )

[homegrone30]

whats with the notches between cylinders on the panther engine?

Since I can only se those between two cylinders and one is bigger then the other Im guessing that motor failed and your looking at the scene of the crime.

[homegrone30]

But yes awsome pics op thanks for sharing Im gonna have to see that place before I die.

[accident]

so who's putting that motor into an E30?

[RainierHooker]

LOL at the VW thing.

It's not a Thing, It's a Kubelwagon ( sp? )

Yes, it is a Kubelwagen. One of my many dream cars. Other than some 'styling ques' and the basic Volkswagen drivetrain Kubels and Things share almost nothing in common.

whats with the notches between cylinders on the panther engine?

That was the original engine from the Panther. It was cracked and blown on those two cylenders, but apparently it still ran as evidenced by the tank's story.
It was crossing a Bridge in Poland when it collapsed, sparing it from the Post-war scrap yards. It was recovered about 10 years ago from the bottom... and now we have it here.

[Chabs]

those must have vtec

[deutschman]

Yes, it is a Kubelwagen. One of my many dream cars. Other than some 'styling ques' and the basic Volkswagen drivetrain Kubels and Things share almost nothing in common.



That was the original engine from the Panther. It was cracked and blown on those two cylenders, but apparently it still ran as evidenced by the tank's story.
It was crossing a Bridge in Poland when it collapsed, sparing it from the Post-war scrap yards. It was recovered about 10 years ago from the bottom... and now we have it here.

i thought the story behind that tank was that it tried driving over thin ice, and then fell into the river? maybe that was the one that got restored in england...
nice pictures.
the engine in that tank was an aircraft engine. they used it because of it's weight reduction, but the compromise was strength. this tank was also manufactured towards the end of the war, and it is believed that many of the tanks built during this time were sabotaged in the factories by the forced labor.