And...all of this to me suggests that if Charlie Trainor and Richard Rohmer are operating on the same clock Charlie lands at the end of his sortie (after the staff car attack) at the same moment Rohmer spots Rommel 10 to 15 kilometers away. Now, if you convert to German time, Charlie's last attack takes place sometime around 6:00 PM, at about the same time Rohmer spots Rommel 10 to 15 kilometers away. It all seems like Charlie is attacking a staff car along the very same route that Rommel took, but since Rommel had a head start, he meets his fate, 10 to 15 kilometers away, and about 45 minutes later.
Dean, you are correct. Charlie Trainor’s strafing attack on an escorted limousine in Boissey on his birthday, July 17th is completely independent to Major General (re't) Rohmer’s reconnaissance sighting. I understand why this sighting would be so important to Major General Rohmer and I sincerely hope he finds the pilot (s) who were alerted and responded. However, one thing is certain, it was not Charlie Trainor. I concur with your comments on the "Who Shot Rommel" thread that the Whitebeam team has been outstanding in their professionalism and proficiency. I would also add, their dedication and open-mindedness to finding the truth has been exemplary. Ellen
Hi All, After a week long trawl of 1947 IGN cover I have so far failed to find our railway embankment having checked over a hundred frames from the archive. Where are you hiding?...:dodgy: In order to get some structure on the hunt, I used stations and junctions as waypoints as set out in the map below. The area shaded red is the assigned area for the 16:00 patrol (Caen / Falaise / Lisieux) and the blue is the later patrol at 20:25 (Thury Harcourt / Domfront / Alencon / Argentan): The site of the 3rd attack at Boissey is shown with the black star and the table below gives the names of the stations and junctions corresponding to the green numbers on the map. <table width="900" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> <tr bgcolor="#0000FF"> <td height="32" colspan="4"><div align="center"><font color="#FFFF66" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Track Sweep of 1947 IGN Cover for First Attack (Railway Embankment) </strong></font></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#0033FF"> <td width="120" rowspan="2"><div align="center"> <p><font color="#66CCFF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Line</font><font color="#66CCFF"><br /> </font></p> </div></td> <td colspan="2"><div align="center"><font color="#66CCFF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Map Ref </font></div> <div align="center"> </div></td> <td rowspan="2"><div align="center"><font color="#66CCFF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Notes</font> </div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#0033FF"> <td width="83"><div align="center"><font color="#66CCFF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">From</font></div></td> <td width="82" bgcolor="#0033FF"><div align="center"><font color="#66CCFF" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">To</font></div></td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><div align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Briouze to Couterne </font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">8</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">9</font></div></td> <td bgcolor="#66CCFF"> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Cabourg to Mezidon-Canon </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Cabourg to Trouville-sur-Mer </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">10</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td bgcolor="#99FF00"><div align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Caen to Cambercourt Junction </font></div></td> <td bgcolor="#99FF00"><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td bgcolor="#99FF00"><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">11</font></div></td> <td bgcolor="#99FF00"> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Caen to Mezidon-Canon </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Caen to Putot-en-Auge Junction </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">12</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Caen to Villers Bocage </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">13</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Falaise to Argentan </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">14</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Falaise to Cambercourt Junction </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">11</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mesnil-Mauger to Livarot </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">15</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Lisieux to Orbec </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">19</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Lisieux to Mezidon-Canon </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Livarot to Vimoutiers </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">5</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">16</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Luc-sur-Mer to Caen </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">6</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mezidon-Canon to St-Pierre-sur-Dives </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">7</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">17</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Orbec to St-Vincent-la-Riviere </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">19</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">20</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#66CCFF"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ouistreham to Caen </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">18</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">1</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#99FF00"> <td><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> St-Pierre-sur-Dives to Falaise </font></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">17</font></div></td> <td><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3</font></div></td> <td> </td> </tr> </table> You may wonder why I have gone so far outside the patrol areas and why I have included the narrow gauge lines running north from Caen to Ouistreham and Luc-sur-Mer for instance. Well, there is no good reason other than it can get a bit obsessive Its fascinating to trace the line on GE using one monitor while viewing the track on the 1947 cover on the other. The only line I have failed to find is the one leading south-westwards out of Alencon (14). I can see hints of it on the 1947 frames but am beginning to wonder if it was already closed by 1944. All of the track in the 16:00 patrol area is now checked but some remains in the later patrol's blue area, so more to do. I have the hundred odd frames saved in sub folders for re-checking later if anyone wants the job Regards, Pat
Hi All, An interesting little snippet... Just for the heck of it I done a Google on the term 'spitfire "MK 423"' and was directed to this page relating the career of Squadron Leader Robert Wilkinson Turkington, DSO DFC and Bar. He survived the War in Europe but was killed in a flying accident while on route to Naples on the 29th July 1945 - in a Spitfire with a serial number of...you've guessed it 'MK 423'. It could be just a typo but if its not an error, then this is the same aircraft flown by F/Lieut Charlie Trainor on both patrols put up by 411 Squadron on the 17th July 1944 just a few days short of a year previous to the accident. There used to be a site devoted to Spitfire serial numbers at http://www.spitfires.ukf.net but it seems to have closed down. Can anyone check the history of this aircraft please? Thanks, Pat
I don't have much help to offer, Pat. My kingdom for a telephone pole (to cast a crisp shadow). At different sittings, I have been able to convince myself I see shadows from almost every point on the compass. For your own interpetation, here's what the calculator says the sun was doing: A) 1400 GMT - Altitude: 54 deg; AZ: 229 deg B) 1825 GMT - Altitude: 13 deg; AZ: 288 deg If forced to take a stand, I suppose I would guess the sun is to the right of the image. If those dark spots to the left are low bushes, it's hard to see how it could be the later time. The later time would make the sun at 13 deg. tan 13 is about .23. This means the shadow on the ground would be over four times as long as the vertical dimension of whatever object cast the shadow. From 1400 to 1500 GMT, the sun loses 8 deg of altitude and advances 17 deg in AZ. From 1825 GMT to 1925 GMT, it's 9 deg and 11 deg, respectively, for Alt and AZ. tan 54 is about 1.4. This means that the height of the object casting the shadow is about 1.4 times as tall as the shadow's length on the ground. So, pick a sun location and see if any of your suspects look more guilty.
Thanks Don, There are a few spots I was looking at but there are problems with all of them - not from the point of view of shadows but rather the setting in which they are located. I am currently checking the triangular junction about 15 miles south east of Argentan here but I am not hopeful following a quick look at the relevant 1947 frames last night. Regards, Pat
Hello Pat This site is great for researching Spitfire records: http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/home.html - although I have the Spitfire "Bible" "Spitfire - the history" by Eric Morgan and Edward Shacklady, this website is great for quick check. For MK423 see http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/p070.html where you can see it had a short history with 411 Squadron, and whilst it was transferred to the Med theatre nothing is shown of any accident on 29 July 1945, however, it was Struck off Charge on 2nd August 1945, which would indicate something had happened as that would be really early to SOC for normal reasons. MK423 LFIX CBAF M66 8MU 12-2-44 331S FAAC 6-6-44 511FRU 8-6-44 411S 29-6-44 1S 7-7-44 AST 29-9-44 VAO 22-12-44 mods 317S 25-1-45 AST 25-2-45 MedAAF 5-4-45 SOC 2-8-45 To help with your rail line search - reading between the lines perhaps! - you might wish to contact http://www.evenement.sncf.com/sncf.com/archives-documentation.sncf/?lang=en and this link for their wartime period http://www.evenement.sncf.com/sncf.com/archives-documentation.sncf/?lang=en Don - I note you are using GMT - why are you not using DBST, which was in force then? In the UK it was summertime during the war from February 25th, 1940 till October 7th, 1945. To get more daylight it went over to Double British Summertime (DBST). This was during: a. 1941 May 4th till August 10th. b. 1942 April 5th till August 9th c. 1943 April 4th till August 15th d. 1944 April 2nd till September 17th e. 1945 April 2nd till July 15th During these periods the time in the UK was GMT+2 Here is a list of dates when the German time was equal to British time in 1944 - I have the data for other years. January 1st till April 2nd and April 4th till September 17th and October 2nd till December 31st. regards Allan
Gentlemen, Yeoman's service on the rails, shadows and time. Thank-you. A little more ambiguity to keep things interesting: A curator at the IWM says it is a reasonable assumption the 3 attacks in the gun footage are sequential but he would/could not guarantee they are in chronological order. So, at the very least, we have the certainty of the church in Boissey! Ellen
As I worked on the transfer of this particular film sequence, I do not recall any splicing or cut of any kind which would have jumped at me, as I went through this film frame by frame. Also, I cannot imagine anyone during war time and even after cutting those very short films and splicing them in a different chronology. This would be tempering with History / Truth . IMHO, this possibility is non-exhistant.
Thanks Allan, Ellen & John, Many thank Allan for tracking down MK 423's history: From the Abbreviations Page, I note that this aircraft has the following data entered: LFIX - Low Level Fighter, Mark IX CBAF - Built at Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory M66 - Fitted with Merlin 66 Engine 8MU - Arrived No. 8 Maintenance Unit (RAF Little Rissington) on 12th February 1944 331S FAAC - No. 331 (Norwegian) Squadron where it suffered a minor damage in a flying accident on the 6th June 1944 511FRU - Arrived No. 511 Forward Repair Unit on the 8th June 1944 (RAF Odiham) 411S - Arrived No. 411 Squadron RCAF on the 29th June 1944 1S - Arrived No. 1 Squadron RAF on 7th July 1944 (should this read 7th August?) AST - Arrived Air Service Training Establishment (where?) on 29th September 1944 VAO - ? on 22nd December 1944 mods 317S - Arrived (modified?) No. 317 (Polish) Squadron on 25th January 1945 AST - Arrived Air Service Training Establishment (where?) on 25th February 1945 MedAAF - Transferred to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force on 5th April 1945 SOC - Struck Off Charge on 2nd August 1945 Allan, can you check my extractions from the database entry above please for errors and omissions? Thanks Allan. Ellen and John, I just wanted to rule out, in so far as is possible, the chance that the gun camera footage was from the training film. As your PM suggests Ellen, there does not appear to be a copy of your father's training film held at the IWM, which seems to confirm the gun camera footage is a 'standalone' original. Good news indeed Regards, Pat
Hello Pat The website link has taken over the data previously on http://www.spitfires.ukf.net some more meat on the bones of the abbreviations. FAAC - Flying Accident - AC means repair beyond unit capacity, hence sending to 511FRU 1 Squadron - without access to either the 411 or 1 Squadron Form 541 I would have no idea which is correct, but service of a week could have been the norm at the time. Remember, these servicing cards are filled in by humans, so never 100% accurate. (As an aside - pre-D-Day the squadrons were packed with additional aircraft, and pilots, and 15 June 1944 appears to be a date commonly used on these servicing cards as a tidying up exercise in bulk) VAO - Vickers Armstrong - in this case at Oxford for modifications (mods unknown as not stated) AST - Air Service Training - could have been at Hamble, Exeter or Marwell - AST was originally formed for training pilots but became a repair facility in WW2. See http://hamble.net/WP/history/aviation/air-service-training-hamble/ - a good explanation of repair work on this one. See also http://www.hamblelocalhistory.hampshire.org.uk/Airfield.htm with reference to Hamble. Probably to be serviced fully before transfer to the Med. It could have been broken down into a crate for delivery by sea, and Marwell and Hamble are close to Southampton docks if sent crated up and driven to the docks to go by ship, or it could have flown overland in hops to Italy, as by March/April we were up by the Po Valley so it could have been flown relatively safely across France, around Switzerland and crossing via Sardinia or Corsica to Italy. Who knows now!! Note my comment about the servicing cards being filled in by a human, so not 100% accurate - no mention of what squadron it was allocated to on arrival in Italy, nor the flying accident on 29 July - but somebody partially caught up by putting on the fact that it was SOC on 2 August. Presumably it went to 241 Squadron, as that is the Squadron that S/L R W Turkington DSO, DFC* was on according to CWGC - and they were at Treviso from 3 May 1945, having moved from Bellaria where they had been based since 4 December 1944, and stayed there until disbanded on 14 August 1945. 241 Squadron was utilised for Tactical and Shipping reconnaissance, escort and ground attack duties whilst in Italy. As an extra - I have consulted "Spitfire - the Canadians" and "Spitfire II - the Canadians" by the late Robert Bracken, which are full of stories by the pilots themselves, and superb photos as well. With regard to 430 Squadron - Warren Middleton DFC states: "We were cleared to attack ground targets if the section leader considered the target important enough. We lost too many pilots doing ground strafing, and we had to have a damned good reason for carrying out such attacks. Our tactical information was considered vital in determining enemy troop movements prior to offensive action..." (my italics) Hence my interest in seeking the 2TAF order to call the sighting in to Kenway mentioned by Major-General (ret) Rohmer. James B Prendergast, also 430 Squadron - and later 414 Squadron states about the Mustang IA used by them: "The Mustang IA we flew had a 1,200 hp Allison engine, with six, thirty calibre machine guns as armament, and three camera mounts. the supercharger was de-rated (cropped) to give more power at low level - up to 400 mph on the deck.." Regards Allan
Thanks Allan, I appreciate the clarification. While there does seem to be a bit of ambiguity for the month of July 1944, I think we can safely assume that this is the same Spitfire flown by Charlie Trainor on the 17th. No luck yet with the railway embankment. It might be an idea to leave it sit for a while and have a look at the 2nd attack in the gun camera footage. Will do up the screenshot later tonight. Regards, Pat
Yes, thanks Allan. I also have Robert Bracken's Spitfire 11 book and used it to connect the pilots to the gun footage whenever I could. Interesting for sure! Heard from the curator at IWM this am. It is his "understanding" that the gun footage is a standalone origional. That is as close as we will get; together with John Versteege's scrutiny as his post indicated. Ellen
Thank you Ellen and Pat. Pat - have you tried the SNCF archive to see if it reports any incidents on those lines around the date in question? The date is most probably incorrect when it went to 1 Squadron and it was the one flown by Charlie Trainor - but with our luck it will not be shown by serial but by individual code on the Form 541, which might not be the same final letter that it held when utilised by 411 Squadron. It is very rare for a Form 541 to show both serial and individual code, some list the letter, or the serial, on a daily basis and then give a breakdown at the end of the month, but this is a rare as hens teeth. Even pilots logbooks don't show everything - but they were fighting a war, and did not have in mind helping historians 70+ years later!! Allan
Hi Allan, Yes, I tried the SNCF site last night but was time limited due to extracting three good screenshots from the 2nd attack footage. I now have the three stills polished and ready for posting tonight. I note that while there is an English version of the archive search engine, the actual documents are of course in French which leaves me able to search but unable to know what fish I have landed - the price for reading 'Commando' comics in French class many years ago :blush: Off topic here, but if anyone can find any documents in the SNCF archive pertaining to the Ascq massacre on the 1st April 1944, I would be very grateful if you would let me know via a PM please. I am trying to establish the exact spot where the derailment occurred in order to see if there is any aerial reconnaissance cover available in the NCAP archive. Thanks, Pat
Thanks for the updates Pat - With regard to the Ascq massacre it states in the wiki article that the train was approaching the Gare d'Ascq and SS Obersturmführer Walter Hauck, ordered troops to search and arrest all male members of the houses on both sides of the track - so it should be possible to identify the spot from that as the train would be coming from one direction only in to Ascq - i.e. towards Normandy (eventually). The 12th SS Hitler Jugend later had several instances of murdering captured Canadian and British soldiers, so they were obviously honing their "skills" at Ascq. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Hauck http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_SS_Panzer_Division_Hitlerjugend Regards Allan
Hi All, OK, here are some of the best stills I could muster from the 2nd attack footage. Still No. 10 shows the scene just before Charlie Trainor opens fire: Here is what I see: 'T' junction on a two lane main road Open ended shed - note light visible on far side in open gable Triangular field on the far side of the lane Patch of scrub on inside of of hedge in same field (overgrown water course?) At first I wondered if we had another railway track but a 'T' junction would not make sense if such was the case. The shed or barn is at an angle to the road (not parallel). Most interesting is what at first glance looks like a tall sign post at the end of the lane. It took me a few stills to figure it out (at least in my mind)... Still No. 11 below shows the burst of fire hitting the field on the far side of the lane. This makes me wonder what exactly is the target? There appears to be a truck parked in the lane but the fire seems to me to be hitting over the truck. Is this simply a miss or is the fire directed at more than just the truck? Still No. 13 is probably the sharpest of the lot and reveals something interesting to me regarding the 'road sign'. I don't think its a road sign at all - it appears unnecessarily high. Looking at the object in still No. 13, I think this is a tall calvary crucifix with a short cross member. I wondered at the design if such is the case as it seemed out of proportion until I went hunting for old French postcards for locations in Normandy using the search term 'calvaire' on the ever fruitful delcampe.fr site. The search result can be seen here if the link stays alive. Note there are several examples of very tall stemmed crucifixes with short cross members. Another thing I have noticed is the puff of smoke to the right of the main impact area in the corner of the field - it never changes right through the full footage! Is this a weapon on the ground returning fire or it it just coincidence that the same spot is hit multiple times? Below is a zoomed extract from still No. 13: The truck (if that's what it is) seems to be parked with its rear toward the junction and the cab visible through a break in the near hedge. The cross at the calvary (if that's what that is) also seems to take on the expected appearance at the top. Are you guys seeing things the same? I done a quick search around on the IGN site last night to see if I could find a calvary at a 'T' junction in the first patrol area (Caen / Falaise / Lisieux) but to date have not found a good match. If anyone wants to have a go, look for the 'crucifix' symbol as arrowed in blue on the example below: When I viewed this example in 'street view' here, it turns out to be a very good example of the type I was looking for - no 'T' junction though Regards, Pat
Hi Pat, Nice work with the still images! The only thing I am pretty sure about is that the truck looks alot like the American style 2 1/2 ton truck and there are a few simular German types like the Henschel 33 D1 or Krupp L3H. I checked on the dimensions of a 2 1/2 ton and it is 22 1/2 feet long, just under 7 1/2 feet wide and about 8 feet high. German versions are very close to these dimensions. Now what I am not sure of: The main road... or is it tracks? I look at the stills and I keep seeing some darker parallel lines that run along the road/tracks and I just can't decide either way. It could even be a double wide set of tracks. You make a great point on the T intersection road as far as why would it lead up to the track only. I don't know, maybe it just serves as a train stop or track service road?... if it is even tracks... see what this does to me. :/ I also wonder why there seems to be no path out of the shed to the road/track. The Crucifix... or is it a crossing sign? I looks like to me to have the same symbol we saw on the "Halte" location before, but it also must be roughly 10 feet tall. Also there seems to be ground cleared and cut out at its base like we see with crucifix locations. It seems like Charlie Trainor is flying into the general direction of the sun based of the light reflecting off the upper truck surfaces, and the dark side of the truck to the camera. So if it is a crucifix we would be looking at the back and dark side of a crucifix. Or is it a X crossing sign facing down the road and we are getting some light reflecting off of it. I am puzzled, I have looked at it all so many times and I can't figure it out. John
To echo John, nice work Pat. Looks like a calvary to me. John, I think it's a road. The Y-shaped tracks where it meets the wider road imply traffic from one to the other, I reckon. Cheers, Sean
Hi Sean, You may be right and I lean the same direction you and Pat do, but I'm just not completely sure. John