Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Military Trader

Military Trader|April 2025

What’s wrong with ‘selling out’?

I’m proud to say “I sold out.” Now without the proper context that might sound like a bad thing. That’s because the concept of “selling out” could have two very different meanings. In the world of artists, selling out could mean that someone compromised their values, integrity, or authenticity in exchange for personal gain. On the flip side, “sold out” could mean an event that has no more tickets available or at retail when all of a product has been sold and no more are available. Context is clearly everything. So when I say “I sold out,” I meant a few times at collectible shows I’ve literally had nothing left to sell when it came time to pack up and go home. Now in fairness, this was accomplished by offering…

4 min

Military Trader|April 2025

RETURN FLIGHTS

A flock of old warbirds is now getting some much-needed TLC and restoration efforts are ongoing at several military aviation museums around the world. The work will ensure that these historic aircraft will be preserved for future generations. Here are just a few notable examples. Museum of Flight’s German WWI aircraft Last year the famed Museum of Flight in Seattle, Wash., had taken two of its German aircraft from the First World War from active display and brought them to the MOF’s Restoration Center at Paine Field for needed refurbishment. The planes included the museum’s original Pfalz D.XII and its full-scale reproduction of a Fokker D.VII — two of the most advanced German fighters. The Pfalz D.XII is one of only four that have survived; one other is now in the…

4 min

Military Trader|April 2025

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, many designs for armored vehicles were produced. Most were in response to official military requirements, but a few were private ventures. Of these, some were adopted and sold while many appeared briefly then faded from the scene. Vickers-Armstrong Ltd was a well-established British armaments company at the time. Indeed, many of the vehicles bought by the British Army in the inter-war period were designed and built by them. In addition to these, several vehicles were designed for sales abroad. One of their more successful designs was the 6 Ton Tank Mark E, which was available for sale starting in 1928. The Vickers 6 Ton was fitted with two small turrets mounting machine guns. Vickers’ own contemporary sales literature describes the suspension as being of a…

9 min

Military Trader|April 2025

CALENDAR

MILITARY COLLECTOR SHOWS Mar 14-15 IL, Countryside. Countryside Military Show. 6200 Joliet Road. www.chicagomilitaryshows.com/countryside Mar 15-16 NV, Las Vegas. Greatest Gun Show in Sin City. Ahrens Hotel Mar 22-23 MD, Timonium. Baltimore Antique Arms Show. www. baltimoreshow.com Mar 22-23 OK, Cushing. Cushing Fly-In Fair Military Vehicles, Car Show, Militaria, Arts & Crafts, Antiques & Reenactor Camp. Cushing Municipal Airport - 2141 Tom Maloney Drive. Charles 1-817-929-1816, whipp. events@gmail.com Mar 22-23 NV, Las Vegas. The Great Las Vegas Show. Las Vegas Convention Center. MAC Shows LLC, Evey Mertens 620-615-0098, info@macshows.com, www.macshows.com Mar 22-23 MD, Baltimore. The Original 69th Year MACA Baltimore Show. Maryland State Fairgrounds, Cow Palace. Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun 9am-3pm. www.baltimoreshow.com Mar 28-30 NV, Sparks. Big Reno Gun Show. Sparks Nugget Casino Resort. Big Reno Show, Lou Fascio, 620-615-0098, bigrenoshow775@gmail.com, 775-828-2350, www.bigrenoshow.com/ Apr…

6 min

Military Trader|April 2025

HOMEFRONT NEWS

Fort Bragg renamed again — sort of WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed an order restoring the name of a storied special operations forces base in North Carolina back to Fort Bragg and said there will be more name changes coming. Speaking to reporters in Germany, Hegseth hinted at a wholesale reversal of the broader Biden administration effort in 2023 to remove names that honored Confederate leaders, including from nine Army bases. It sets up a potentially costly, complicated and delicate process that could run afoul of the law. “As the president has said, and I’ve said as well, we’re not done there,” Hegseth said when asked about the decision to revert the base name from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, but changing the service member…

4 min

Military Trader|April 2025

Uncovering the Third Reich RUSHA

WITH CHRIS WILLIAM As Adolf Hitler and the “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” (NSDAP – Nazi Party) planned for their ideal “Aryan Nation”, it was decided that only those Nordic types of the purest Germanic bloodlines could become members of the elite “Schutzstaffel” (SS – Hitler’s body guards and “black knights”). In addition, plans were laid out for the replenishment of the German people (devastated by the losses of the First World War) and the re-population of areas to be conquered for “Lebensraum” (room to grow) in the 1,000-year Reich. The “Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt der SS” (RUSHA - Race and Resettlement Department of the SS) was established by SS leader Heinrich Himmler and General Richard Walter Darre in 1931 to providing a structured system to accommodate those needs, and follow the Nazi concept…

8 min

Military Trader|April 2025

THE SHOW GOES ON!

Louisville, Kentucky, is often known as being the “northernmost southern city,” but this past February, it might have almost felt it was at the North Pole — except for those from the “true north” of New England and the Upper Great Lakes Region. To them, the 22 degree weather that kicked off the annual Ohio Valley Military Society’s Show Of Shows (SOS) may have felt almost like springtime. After years of milder-than-average temperatures, this year’s show reminded attendees that it was still very much winter on the calendar. Yet, despite some complaints about the weather, the show went on, and SOS 2025 saw strong crowds and according to dealers stronger than average sales. It truly was a show of shows for those in the military collectibles hobby. Long-time attendees of…

5 min

Military Trader|April 2025

CHEVROLET G-506

Ask many farmers, ranchers, contractors and other working people what size truck larger than a pickup but smaller than a semi is the most practical and cost-efficient for most jobs and they will probably say a 1 1/2-ton truck. Ton-and-a-half trucks usually don’t cost significantly more to license, operate and maintain than most three-quarter and one-ton trucks, and when fitted with flatbeds are generally easier to load and unload than pickups. In most states, an ordinary automobile license is all that’s required to drive a ton-and-a-half truck; and most 1 1/2-ton trucks are about as easy to drive, maneuver and park as large dually pickups, and don’t require any special skills except the ability to back up using mirrors if necessary. With all these points in their favor it seems…

14 min

Military Trader|April 2025

JOHN’S JOURNAL

Having a spring ‘clear-out’ There are many benefits to being a home owner, such as being able to put your things down and know they will still be there undisturbed when you return. You can come and go as you please and bring more stuff into your house. This can be both good and bad for military collectors. There often comes a day when, no matter how assiduous you try to be, things reach a critical point and you discover you are running out of space in the precious room you set aside for the sole purpose of keeping your collection separate from everyday household living. When that happens, it calls for drastic action and you know a “clear-out” is long overdue. Some call this “de-cluttering”, while others refer to…

7 min

Military Trader|April 2025

HEAVY CHEVY

During WWII General Motors produced a myriad of products for use by the U.S. military and our allies — a complete cataloging of which would fill several volumes. The Chevrolet Motor Division produced not only trucks for the military, but also aircraft engines, anti-aircraft gun tubes, tank ammunition, and the subject of this article: 3,844 armored cars. Dubbed the Staghound, the official U.S. Army nomenclature for the base vehicle was T17E1. The 23,000-lb. 4x4 was designed in response to a request from the British purchasing commission in June 1941. Drawing from the experience of the North African campaign, the British were interested in medium and heavy armored cars. At about the same time, the U.S. Army Armored Force Board had determined that the White M3A1 scout car was not adequate,…

6 min

Military Trader|April 2025

OTTOMAN STEEL

There remains no shortage of confusion over the Turkish steel helmets used in the First World War, and much of it is due to a few eager helmet collectors decades ago, and some obvious misunderstandings. One of the first dubious claims is that the helmet known as the Model 1918 was the first “Turkish steel helmet,” but that obviously isn’t correct. All too often modern helmet collectors seem to believe that helmets became “a thing” during the First World War and overlook that soldiers donned the protective headgear for millennia. The origins of the Turkish helmet predate even the Ottoman era by a few centuries. In fact, it is worth noting that based on some written sources from the early Middle Ages, the name of the “Turkish” people comes from…

12 min

Military Trader|April 2025

TECH TIPS

A temperamental clutch Q: I have a 1968 M151A2. The clutch pedal starts releasing al-most as soon as I step on it. Does this mean the clutch has to be adjusted? If it does, how do I do that?—Josh McKenzie A: Like many automotive terms, clutch adjustment can be misleading. While the clutches of most large, heavy trucks, and large equipment such as bulldozers can be adjusted for wear, the clutches of most light vehicles, such as jeeps and MUTTS cannot. The only thing that can be adjusted on most light vehicles is the clutch pedal free play. This means the point at which stepping on the pedal pushes the clutch release bearing against the clutch fingers or diaphragm to begin releasing the clutch. As the clutch disk material wears,…

4 min