Some old TD-18 pics from my Army days.

[RonG]

As difficult as it is to admit it,they were probably the best days of my life.Not a worry in the world really,three meals a day of great food and there were always challanges to keep your brain working.Not knowing what I know now I would have still gotten out when I did though.Ron G

 

[RonG]

Some odds and ends pics as they appear in the list.

Here are a couple more of the railroad cars and some more that you have not seen in Hanau of the APCs getting ready for a swim.I will have some of our bivouc area while we were at Hanau showing the five tons in the staging area with the cyclone fence around them for security.......I think that was to keep us from the german girls.LOL

 

[hardtail]

Heir freauline you say ................ Good stuff Ron........

 

[RonG]

In case there is any doubt about how old I am Lance.LOL.Ron G

 

[stock]

der leibling!

 

[RonG]

That fence is concertina wire,not cyclone.I have got the gout and it is going to kill me I think so I am not thinking with both brain cells it seems.Ron G

 

[RonG]

Here is a couple more of the APCs and now our bivouac area.

The pics of the 5 tons are significant to me in that the X17 which was my tractor apparently was right after I had gotten it because I had done very little to it.I do see that I had upgraded the mirrors from the traditional round basic issue mirrors that it came with and that was the best I could do with what was available.The mirrors that I wanted were what the army called "10 ton mirrors" and the only place I would be able to get them were from the 10 ton on the base there and there was only one of them so it was not likely that I would ever get any.Even if I did they would be stolen immediately as soon as I was out of site of the truck.As it was I went to another military base for a few days to build a motor pool for them and they stole the pintle hitch from me the first night I was there.
One of these pics has me standing in front of my truck,I have to look at that more often,I can't imagine that I ever looked like that.LOL.Ron G

 

[RonG]

A few more of the bivouac area.

This brings back the memories,wish we all could have been there.I was a real star in these pics I guess,showed up in four out of the five.Enjoy guys.Ron G

 

[RonG]

Some more of that pesky meine river.

These pics should all be new to you because the board won't let me post any pics that have already been posted.Therefore at the most they will be different views of familiar territory.Ron G

 

[RonG]

Here are some more of Hanau,I still enjoy these.

I never get tired of looking at these..........I am still using the camera today that took these pics and it still does a credible job,in fact it is one of my favorite cameras.I regret that I did not get these negatives scanned earlier to preserve the quality but it is what it is.
Here is one of the deadmen coming in on the lowbed.Seems like yesterday
Hope you can get some pleasure here as I have.Ron G

 

[Dozerboy]

Amazing pics and stories can't wait for the rest of them. Thank you

 

[RonG]

Some more of the lowbed and dozer.

Here are some more of that dusty old five ton blowing exhaust from that big Continental right down into the sand and choking everybody up that happens to be near it.............wouldn't you think that someone would have had a better idea about where to point that pipe?LOL.
A few more of our bridge being used to cross the river.Ron G

 

[stock]

Excellent Ron; keep them coming PLEASE

 

[RonG]

Some more bridge shots to ponder.

Here are a few more of us gloating over all of our hard work and marveling at the engineers who designed it all to make it work like it does.I think that the Bailey bridge is the most labor intensive,those panels are heavy,it takes four guys with spreaders to lift them and carry them into position.Ron G

 

[Lashlander]

Was starting to wonder where the update was. Looks like you got tired of swimming those APCs across and decided to give them a rest. That one pic looks like they barely fit but when I saw the different angle decided it was an optical illusion. Maybe if you hadn't let your crane roll in the river the bridge wouldn't have been so labor intensive. LOL! Back in post 110 there seems to be a strip of concrete laid down on the waters edge. Is that something you guys did where you were entering and exiting the river to control erosion or was it already there? Thanks for the pictures.

 

[RonG]

I am getting near the end of the pics that I have cropped although I have many more that are interesting they might not have as broad an appeal to make them worth posting.
I am trying to wean everyone off of it gradually...lol.
I do keep pretty busy and it sometimes slips my mind.I thank everyone for their interest,I do have a couple more installments but some of those may be duplicates.
The others would be pics of artillery,tanks etc taken on field trips or on the parade ground at open house day for example.Come to think of it I do have a few color pics of the TD-18 that I must post as well.Don't tell KoO that they are in color.
I would speculate that the concrete apron was there before we got there,probably to control errosion.As you know the Germans were pretty neat,almost anal it seems about some things.I work on German cameras and some of their shutters are complicated to the extreme it seems,tolerances very tight and if one thing is not up to spec it throws everything else off kilter.I enjoy it but you need the patience of Job to succeed at it.
I love those old Voigtlander Bessamatics but a good working one comes with a price.Ron G

 

[RonG]

I don't remember this angle before)

Everybody gets in on the act here..........the kids,everybody.Look at the carriers that the pontoon bridge travels on. A couple more of the Bailey bridge....ouch....my back hurts.That is a lot of work assembling that Bailey bridge.The Engineers were always on the front lines building things or blowing them up.My hat is off to the demo guys,even today.I heard that they surgically sever the nerves in your arm to keep it from shaking to disarm the ordinance that has to be neutralized.I don't know that,I heard it though.
I should have gone to demo school,there was a nice chunk of change each month to make it worthwhile to you.Something like the Airborne benefits.Ron G

 

[RonG]

The color pics

Here are the color shots of the dozer on the lowbed.Something tells me that the reason that we were out in the field had to do with our company failing a couple of AG inspections in a row and the old man sent us out in the field and said that we would stay there until we passed the reinspection.
In any case the guy in the pics is Leslie Jones..........not a mean bone in his body but he did not know his own strength.He once broke a guys ribs just grab assing around.He was from Oregon....I have searched for him,he was from Paisley as I recall.Ron G

 

[Grader4me]

Great pictures Ron! Heck of a way to have to shave isn't it? That picture is priceless!

 

[stock]

OOOOH! I remember it well training up in the Wicklow mountains doing the same shaving thing .