The Jeep, figure and radio look excellent! Will you be applying the shovel, axe and other tools, or have the doughs stolen all of them? Can't wait to see the finished product.

I found what appears to be the historical event that sent Sherman tanks of the 9th Armored Division to Bastogne from Neufchateau.

The following information is an excerpt from Blood for Time:

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/blood-for-time-9th-armored-at-bastogne-and-the-battle-of-the-bulge/

The Retreat to Bastogne:

With its primary mission now canceled with the destruction of Task Force Harper, Team Booth weighed its options of either defending in place or heading for Bastogne. Lt. Col. Booth’s outposts had reported the presence of enemy armor on the Bourcy-Noville road and a platoon of the 52nd AIB discovered enemy units to the west, northwest, and south. Based upon all available information, Booth estimated that his team was up against at least one armored division. On the morning of December 19, Booth decided to move what was left of his team plus about 100 stragglers, even a few from the 106th Infantry Division, to Bastogne.

Lieutenant DeRoche, after turning five of his Shermans over to Lt. Col. Harper, led his small force toward St. Hubert where they found supplies of fuel and ammunition. After stocking up, the DeRoche force proceeded to Neufchateau where General Middleton had relocated his command post. Once in Neufchateau, DeRoche located Captain Walter M. Meier, who was busy gathering and regrouping retreating CCR men and armor. After acquiring DeRoche’s small force and a few others, Captain Meier called 9th Armored Division headquarters in Mersch and received permission to take his force into Bastogne.

Captain Meier’s force, like most of CCR, 9th Armored and 28th Infantry Division soldiers and tankers retreating from the roadblock battles, eventually made it to Bastogne. However, many other retreating soldiers never made it, having fallen to the gauntlet of sporadic enemy artillery fire, snipers, and engagements with concealed enemy infantry and tanks. Men and armor retreating into Bastogne from the battles that preceded the arrival of the 101st Airborne Division continued to stream in throughout the day with valuable information concerning German deployment and strengths.

These retreating soldiers and tankers were not, despite some postwar accounts, a bunch of dispirited, demoralized, and undisciplined panic mongers. The great majority of these men had given it their all. They came through the 101st defensive lines having had very little sleep or food for three days and in almost constant battle with an enemy that not only had the full advantage of surprise but was also far superior in numbers, the quantity and quality of its armor, and in its battle experience. The personnel of CCR, 9th Armored Division who managed to make it to Bastogne and regroup were able to assist the 101st Airborne Division by acting as either mobile emergency relief strike forces, armored support for the lightly armed paratroopers, or direct infantry augmentation to the defense line.

After the war, General Manteuffel wrote: “On the whole the delaying action of the withdrawing American Army was a success. It slowed down the German advance, though it could not prevent the pursuing German spearheads from coming within 4 km from the Meuse near Dinant without any major engagements. But the resistance by delaying actions gained the time needed to bring up their tactical reserves at the correct moment.”

richs26

Exactly that for a SCR-694 (BC-1306).  Stik's photo came from a 1963 USA TM which I believe used a different radio set.

 

Remember the Vietnam War spanned 14 years for the United States, but the conflict began November 1, 1955. U.S. Congress declared our involvement in the war was officially from 1961 to 1975, but we know the U.S. started out as advisers. By 1964, there were 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam. This escalated further following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident. We also know the war ended for the U.S. and it’s Allies with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. My point is technology changed over that long time period.

I also see what Stik is saying... He said and I paraphrase, the coiled wire (cable) came into effect somewhere between World War 2 and the Vietnam War and I believe he is right. His point was not lost on me that I used a coiled wire that was not in use by the U.S. military until more than 20 years later. It may be a small detail, but details are what Fine Scale Modeling is all about and that’s why I believe we love this hobby. 

Exactly that for a SCR-694 (BC-1306).  Stik's photo came from a 1963 USA TM which I believe used a different radio set.

richs26

 

 

stikpusher

Here’s a good view of a WWII set up that looks to be pulled from a TM.

 

 

 

 

Stik, that is an M-38A1 setup with the giveaways being the steering wheel, the grab bar, and the TP-25 in the right corner.  It is out of a 1963/78 TM.

 

Here is my primary reference for the BC-1306 (SCR-694-C) radio set. TM 11-230 C, dated 15 August 1944, see List of Illustrations Figure 9 on page 10 http://radionerds.com/images/3/37/TM-11-230C.pdf

Thanks for you insight richs26.

stikpusher

Here’s a good view of a WWII set up that looks to be pulled from a TM.

 

Stik, that is an M-38A1 setup with the giveaways being the steering wheel, the grab bar, and the TP-25 in the right corner.  It is out of a 1963/78 TM.

Gamera

Sarge: She's coming along great! 

 

And thanks guys for the history lesson, I didn't know anything about Goldstone, Joe Kortman, or straight vs. coiled wires till today. 

 

The radio suppression thing is interesting, I toured the Green Bank Radio Observatory in West Virginia a few years ago and they used something like that that on all vehicles to keep down the interference with the big radio telescopes. I was told don't expect to be able to get a cell phone signal either!   

 

Sarge: She's coming along great! 

And thanks guys for the history lesson, I didn't know anything about Goldstone, Joe Kortman, or straight vs. coiled wires till today. 

The radio suppression thing is interesting, I toured the Green Bank Radio Observatory in West Virginia a few years ago and they used something like that that on all vehicles to keep down the interference with the big radio telescopes. I was told don't expect to be able to get a cell phone signal either!   

Stik, it is amazing how showing someone what you have done flushes out little inconsistencies in a project. You are absolutely correct about the cord.

I looked at at least two-dozen pictures from a World War 2 TM and not one of them showed a coiled wire like the Legend instructions indicated, or a headphones hanger for that matter. I thought it was pretty clever how Legend simply took a piece of soft wire and made it look like the coiled wire we have today, but totally missed the fact this was not the way it was done in 1944.

I‘m going to remove the headphone hanger and the coiled wire altogether, they are a nice detail, but not accurate. I’m still considering a stowage rack similar to the picture below and if I do the headphones with straight wire can be placed on the back seat, otherwise I will leave the rack off and place stowage in the back seat. The headphones can either be laid on the front seat, on top of some stowage item in the back seat, or not shown at all.

Thanks for your candid observation, you are 100% right about the coiled wire.

Here’s a good view of a WWII set up that looks to be pulled from a TM.

Sarge, everything is looking great so far. I just would advise a double check on the cord for the headset. At what point did they cords switch from straight to coiled? As a boy, I remember old straight cords on phones. I know that old radio sets had similar cords, but somewhere along the line between WWII and Vietnam they went to the coiled type like we use now.

Waiting for Archer transfer decals before installing spare tire, steering wheel, and rearview mirror. In the meantime, I’ll paint the antenna olive drab and install window glass. Also waiting for Vallejo paint to give driver a realistic face and hands.

Then I will begin work on the Sherman M4A3 tank. When the tank is finished, I will prepare the diorama before weathering the tank and jeep.

stikpusher

Ah,,, “used at Goldstone” was the phrase that you used, not “I was at Goldstone”. I do recall on my times out on certain areas of Ft Irwin that you could see those massive dishes of Goldstone in the distance. The attached OC (observer controller, a sort of wargames umpire) told us that it was Goldstone and NASA/space comm stuff. It was miles away, but even from a distance those things looked huge.

 

Hello Sarge!

Good thing I didn't explain radio suppersion to you in detail :-)) Very interesting what you wrote about your service in Vietnam. Made me think about that MRC-108 jeep I want to build one day, although, I know, that's air force stuff and not the army.

Anyhow, I believe you'll feel the better about adding that -S to your radio jeep!

Good luck with your build and have a nice day

Paweł

Ah,,, “used at Goldstone” was the phrase that you used, not “I was at Goldstone”. I do recall on my times out on certain areas of Ft Irwin that you could see those massive dishes of Goldstone in the distance. The attached OC (observer controller, a sort of wargames umpire) told us that it was Goldstone and NASA/space comm stuff. It was miles away, but even from a distance those things looked huge.

stikpusher

Isn’t Goldstone out between China Lake and Ft Irwin?

 

A Signal unit Jeep as part of route control for the Combat Command movement does make sense. Obviously MPs do the actual directing of traffic, but I have no idea what their organic comms would be. 

 

 

 

The telemetry equipment I helped design was done in a laboratory during the late 60’s and early 70’s. Myself and other technicians worked for an Air Force electronics engineer who developed a method for transmitting high frequency telemetry signals on existing low frequency (3000 Hz bandwidth) telephone lines. What we did 50-years ago is considered normal today.

What is truly amazing is this engineer who I admired, his name was Joe Kortman served with my Father in the China Burma India Theater and later was stationed in Laon, France as Commanding Officer of the Communications Squadron of the 126th Bombardment Wing. Laon, France is where my Uncle Harold died. He was the Flying Officer of a Lancaster bomber in 153 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.

https://obits.columbian.com/obituaries/columbian/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-marvin-kortman-joe&pid=173391493

Isn’t Goldstone out between China Lake and Ft Irwin?

A Signal unit Jeep as part of route control for the Combat Command movement does make sense. Obviously MPs do the actual directing of traffic, but I have no idea what their organic comms would be. 

richs26

After looking at the vehicle markings site, I would mark the bumper as 9triangle-149S-unit vehicle number (made up).

 

I‘m familiar with vehicle suppression technology used by the U.S. Army on Vietnam era equipment, but not WWII. I was a sergeant in charge of a platoon of radio and radio-teletype repair and operation personnel in the 70’s.

The Army hired me  as a Sergeant because I had been a Petty Officer in the Navy and trained as a Ham Radio operator and electronics technician In college. I worked on telemetry systems used at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (Observatory).

After looking at the vehicle markings site, I would mark the bumper as 9triangle-149S-unit vehicle number (made up).

After looking at my copy of the December 1945 USA Order of Battle, would the unit you would be looking for, is the 149th Armored Signals Company which is an organic unit of the 9th AD?  I could ask a friend of mine tomorrow who is the #2 expert of the Bulge in the US.  The radio suppression system is the use of special filters in the spark ignition system of vehicles to eliminate static and noise on the radio system.

stikpusher

My 2 cents: serial numbers are probably the least important aspect in a dio such as this, unless you have good solid reference. I do know that for the US  Army in WWII, the first two digits of the serial number denotes vehicle type. The rest was vehicles individual number. Also that a “S” suffix on the serial number denoted that the vehicle was equipped with a radio suppression system. I remember having those on tracks that I crewed upon long ago, but no longer recall their exact function.

Bumper codes are more important if visible. After all, you would not want to use unit bumper codes for an Ardennes diorama for a unit that did not serve in the Ardennes, say the 1st Armored, or 1st Cavalry Divisions, they served in other theaters. And even if you go with a unit that served in that battle, at least use one that served in the proper area. You would not want to use bumper codes from units that served on the northern flank of the Bulge, when your diorama is set on the southern flank. So a little more research to see what sort of units did route control in that area will go a long way to telling you what you need. The individual vehicles bumper number, without a good photo reference, will be an educated guess at best, based upon standard army regs and practices.

actually that was about 5 cents...

 

My 2 cents: serial numbers are probably the least important aspect in a dio such as this, unless you have good solid reference. I do know that for the US  Army in WWII, the first two digits of the serial number denotes vehicle type. The rest was vehicles individual number. Also that a “S” suffix on the serial number denoted that the vehicle was equipped with a radio suppression system. I remember having those on tracks that I crewed upon long ago, but no longer recall their exact function.

Bumper codes are more important if visible. After all, you would not want to use unit bumper codes for an Ardennes diorama for a unit that did not serve in the Ardennes, say the 1st Armored, or 1st Cavalry Divisions, they served in other theaters. And even if you go with a unit that served in that battle, at least use one that served in the proper area. You would not want to use bumper codes from units that served on the northern flank of the Bulge, when your diorama is set on the southern flank. So a little more research to see what sort of units did route control in that area will go a long way to telling you what you need. The individual vehicles bumper number, without a good photo reference, will be an educated guess at best, based upon standard army regs and practices.

actually that was about 5 cents...

Hello Sarge!

Well, that tends to be a problem, most of the time. First of all, use all the info you have on your photo reference. There's not much, that's a pity. Now you're left to improvise. Look for jeeps from the unit operating in the area - copy the bumper codes, just be carful about the last number (marching order) - this tends to be meaningful. For example bumper code with last group containing a 6 might indicate the commander of one of the units. The registration (hood) numbers are less meaningful, but you might want to tweak them a little, like avoiding sequences that come up in well known kits. A jeep with a radio should have a hood number ending in  -S - meaning the wiring of the car has been "silenced" to ensure interference-free radio operation.

Hope it helps and good luck with your build, have a nice day

Paweł

snapdragonxxx

Vallejo is my primary go to paint at is chipset accurate and is a very high quality paint with a strong pigment which means that you don't need to use much to get the right depth.

I only use other brands when I have to and when I need colours that are not in the Vallejo range. The only exclusion to this is AK's Xtreme Metal range which beats Alclad hands down and won't melt your model! That and Vallejo's Metal colour range sits and co-exists side by side on my bench and gives me a huge tonal metal colour variety.

many other brands(mission, AK etc) use scale correctness formulae quoting light reflectability, which according to what a leading ophthalmic surgeon here in the UK says is total BS as the colours we see depend on the rods and cones in our eyes and differ from person to person as well as our subconscious lightning or darkening what we see in order to bring out detail.

Vallejo can always be modulated anyway by the depth of paint you apply although this takes some practice and thinning the paint a little.

 

I love how the Jeep has turned out with the Vallejo OD and the dry transfers directly on to that paint will look great. No varnishes needed!

 

 

James

 

First of all is the correct registration number series and bumper codes an important detail in a diorama? If so, how do you find the right information? I have been reading this article https://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_markings.php from the Olive-Drab website which leads me to believe this subject is as confusing as the discussion of which olive drab paint or camouflage color is right for a specific time period.

The following numbers are the Archer items I selected, but I’m not sure about either the registration numbers or bumper codes: AR35048W, AR35058W and AR35066.

stikpusher

Sarge, Happy to help you keep your dio accurate!

 

Sarge, 9th AD had some of the most visually interesting tanks. Between the screening added for foliage attachment, lack of stars on the sides, and the three color scheme, the look pretty unique and warlike. Not bad for a “rookie” unit at the time of the Bulge. They would get blooded there and by the time of Remagen a few months later accomplish what was thought almost impossible, capture a bridge over the Rhine.

Happy to help you keep your dio accurate!

stikpusher

Here is the original photo in B&W. Below it is a photo of a 9th Armored Division M4A3 76mm fresh out of the Engineer Camouflage Battalion paint shop. You can see the mods peculiar to the 9th in this photo.

 

Here is the original photo in B&W. Below it is a photo of a 9th Armored Division M4A3 76mm fresh out of the Engineer Camouflage Battalion paint shop. You can see the mods peculiar to the 9th in this photo.