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Announcing ‘Repairing the Panzers,’ by Lukas Friedli, a Ripping Yarn of Loss and Redemption
No comments · Posted by Bill Auerbach in Announcement, Repairing the Panzers Vol.1
We are pleased to announce our first hardcover book, “Repairing the Panzers,” by Lukas Friedli. And what a book it is!
All told, it is a massive 256 pages, with close to 300 photos depicting all aspects of maintenance, repair and recovery of German AFVs in exquisite detail. The majority of photos are unpublished, and our landscape format allows us to present them in the best light possible.
Well researched captions accompany each photo and provide the who, what, when and where to hobbyist and historian alike. The comprehensive text, based on wartime diaries, documents and reports, is further enlivened with the necessary maps, tables, drawings and charts needed to bring this fascinating subject immediately into focus. While the Lukas’ first German book ‘Die Panzer-Instandsetzung der Wehrmacht‘ was based largely on secondary sources, POW interrogations and veteran memories, Repairing the Panzers (RtP) is based solely on primary source documents found in the Military Archives in Freiburg and the National Archives and Record Administration in Washington D.C.
All the hardware, history and highlights spilled over into a second volume, but there is more than enough here to sustain your interest in the meantime. To Lukas, and to all the others who contributed to this first volume, we wish to say “Thanks for the opportunity, we think we served you well.”
More details including page samples are on the Panzerwrecks website
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Sd.Kfz. for the Nebeltruppen: Misidentified mittlerer Spruehkraftwagen (Sd.Kfz.11/3)
No comments · Posted by Bill Auerbach in Correction, Sd.Kfz. for the Nebeltruppen
If the step under the driver’s cab is one of the identifiers of a m.Spruehkw. (Sd.Kfz.11/3), then the vehicles on pages 63, 76 and 84 (first vehicle on rail car) are indeed the m.Spruehkw. (Sd.Kfz.11/3) and not the m.Entg.Kw. (Sd.Kfz.11/2). Note the step appeared on both sides of the vehicle. My apologies for these errors.
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Panzerwrecks 6 P60-72 – Flammpanzer 38. The missing photos …
No comments · Posted by Lee Archer in Extra information, Panzerwrecks 6
I have said it before, and I’ll say it again; sometimes we just cannot fit everything into a Panzerwrecks that we want. Much squabbling and tantrums precedes most Panzerwrecks, but it’s all for the greater good. Here are three images from the report that we could not fit in. The pole or tube that the flame thrower is resting on is not related, it is just there to prop the thing up.
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Panzerwrecks 6 P66 – Flammpanzer 38
No comments · Posted by Lee Archer in Extra information, Panzerwrecks 6
“I recently bought Panzerwrecks 6, and was intrigued by the Flammpanzer interior shot showing a warning placard, on page 66. In the caption, you give the interpretation ‘… teile der Tragfedernbefestigung durch Nachschlagen auf festen Sitz kontrollieren! Lassen sich die Ketten nachschlagen, Kettenden wieder auf…lagen (or auftragen?)!’
This doesn’t really make sense. If the warning is about the Tragfedernbefestigung (attachment of the suspension springs), then why should the driver check the track pins? In the text, the word interpreted as ‘Ketten’ clearly ends in an ‘e’, so the plural Ketten (‘tracks’) is out of the question. My interpretation may offer a better solution:
‘(first words totally illegible)… Spannkeile der Tragfedernbefestigung durch Nachschlagen auf festen Sitz kontrollieren! Lassen sich die Keile nachschlagen, Keilenden wieder aufbiegen!’
A Jagdpanzer 38’s suspension springs are kept in place with a small wedge on top of them, of which the ends were often bent upward (very noticeable on the Aberdeen vehicle), which would fit the text on the placard. These wedges are relatively easy to reach between the wheels
My 2 cents!
Thanks Eelke
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Panzerwrecks X – P33 Lookalike?
No comments · Posted by Lee Archer in Irrelevant Trivia, Panzerwrecks X
Every time I look at the photo on page 33 of Panzerwrecks X I think I am looking at actor Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame. See for yourself.
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Panzerwrecks X P22 – Sturmgeschütz III in Berlin – extra photos
No comments · Posted by Lee Archer in Extra information, Panzerwrecks X
Lack of space meant that we could only use one shot of the Sturmgeschütz III on the corner of Invalidebstrasse and Brunnenstrasse. Is it us, or does the German policeman bear more than a passing resemblance to a member of the band Devo? It must be that hat.
Seen any other lookalikes in Panzerwrecks? Drop us a line. (Opens in a new window)
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Panzerwrecks X P76-7 – Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf.G
No comments · Posted by Bill Auerbach in Correction, Panzerwrecks X
Panzerwrecks X is shaping up as the one Panzerwrecks with the most mis-identifications – so far. David Roy was good enough to notice that the vehicle on Pages 76-77 of PWX is a Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf G, not a Sturmgeschütz III Ausf G.
“On the StuH, the welded mantlet barrel shroud tapers at the end (10.5 cm) and on the the StuG it’s flat ( 7.5 cm). Another way to tell the late production StuG Ausf G from the StuH (minus its main armament) is the travel/barrel lock or lack thereof. All late model StuG III had this fitting, not all StuH (as in your photos Pg 76-77) have the same lock with larger diameter barrel rest for the 10.5 cm.”Our thanks to David for bringing this to our attention.
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Panzerwrecks 7 P62 – Hummel – extra photo
No comments · Posted by Lee Archer in Extra information, Panzerwrecks 7: Ostfront
It seems that Russian photographers were fond of splitting a scene over two photographic frames. A number of our images, obtained from Russian sources are like this. A case in point is the scene depicting the thoroughly wrecked Hummel in Brieg (now Brzeg in Poland). We published what is in effect the right hand photo, as it had all the interesting stuff in it. Below is the companion shot showing the front end and detritus down the road. The crew obviously applied their winter whitewash while the gun was in the travel lock.
16 Panzer Division · Brieg · Brzeg · Hummel · Poland
