File: 2023007-0530
At The Tank Museum, Bovington, Dorset, England, United Kingdom, on Friday 23rd June 2023.
About the photograph.
he photograph shows the two re-enactors dressed as Second World War American soldiers, out of their Willys MB or Ford GPW jeep, with their weapons ready, and in action. One of them is carrying a Bazooka seen on the right, while the other standing next to the jeep, is using the M1 Garand rifle.
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The photographs were converted to black and white in Adobe Lightroom and cropped for a more dramatic action, and as homage to the WWII era where black and white photos are more common than colour photos.
The Willys MB or the Ford GPW jeep is formally called US Army Truck, ¼-ton, 4x4, Command Reconnaissance, and more commonly known simply as the Jeep.
When Germany was starting to arm itself, they manufactured their own light multi-role utility vehicle known as the Volkswagen Kubelwagen. The Americans decided they want a similar light multi-role off-roading vehicle to do a similar job.
A number of automobile companies joined together with the US Army, to come up with an idea. The companies included theAmerican Bantam Car Company, Willys-Overland, and Ford Motor Co.
They started the design work in 1940 and lasted into the early 1942. Unlike the German vehicles which had to be built to specifications approved by the German military, the Americans opt for vehicles built in part using commercially available parts, and in part to military requirements, making it possible for the vehicle and spare parts to be manufactured by various car manufacturers.
( Side note: This is the reason the Americans were able to churn out a lot of M4 Sherman tanks in high numbers (approx. 49,000), compared to the Germany building only approx. 1,300 Tiger I tanks. )
Between 1941 to 1945, over 647,000 jeeps were built, of which 359,000 by Willys and 277,000 by Ford.
The jeep’s standard specifications are the same for both the Willys MB and the Ford GPW models.
The jeep uses a 2.2 litre engine offering up to 60hp, with 3 speed gearbox, and four wheel drive. The total weight without fuel is 2,337 lbs. The jeep could go up to a maximum speed of 65mph on the road, and an optional range of up to 300 miles.
It became the most iconic military vehicle of the Second World War, and had been offered to various Allies, including Soviet Union.
About TANKFEST and The Tank Museum.
The Tank Museum is found next to the British Army military base, simply called Bovington Camp, and is used by various tank regiments.
The writer Rudyard Kipling once visited Bovington in 1923, and saw some damaged tanks left from the First World War. He recommended that a museum should be set up.
However the museum was simply a shed, and was not open to the public until about 1947, when the museum was finally set up.
By about 1982, the museum was expanded and modernized, it housed many various different tanks in the Exhibition halls, along with working tanks which are often show in the live action arena.
The museum also has the only working German Tiger I tank, known as Tiger 131.
TANKFEST is an annual live action re-enactment event showing off various working tanks in staged display, in the museum’s showground known as Kuwait Arena.
For more information, just Google “TANKFEST, The Tank Museum, Bovington.”
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