"FOLLOW ME" ...

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7557

Hey these are super cool and I'm almost convinced these photos have something to do with warbirds .... or not!! :wink:

If the management wants to move them or delete the thread all together that's fine.

Chess anyone?
Source: (U.S. Air Force Photos) Fold3 archives

Part 1

Control Jeep Directs A Consolidated B-24 To The Runway For Take-Off At A Base In UK

Follow Me jeep guides a Douglas C-54 to the parking area at Air Transport Command's Payne Field at Cairo, Egypt

Follew me jeep leading a B-29

Douglas C-47 Assam Air Lines Of The 1337Th Aaf Base Unit, Air Transport Command, On Runway At Assam, India. 10 May 1945

Radio Jeep Of The 391St Bomb Group In England, 8 April 1944

Paced by a motorcycle policeman and jeep equipped with two way radio, ambulance of a 9th US Air Force evacuation unit in UK 1944

Operators Of The Caravan Control Truck Stand By To Guide The Planes Of The 353Rd
Fighter Group In To A Safe Landing At An Airbase In England

Operator Of A Mobile Control Tower Stand By To Guide Planes Of The 78Th Fighter
Group To Safe Landings At 8Th Air Force Station F-357 Duxford, England. 4
February 1944

Mobile Control Tower-Signal Trailer Of The 490Th Bomb Group At An Airbase In England. 19 July 1944

Mobile Control Tower-Signal Trailer Directs A Boeing B-17 Of The 379Th Bomb
Group To A Safe Landing At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 7 February
1944

Mobile Control Tower - Signal Trailer At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 31 March 1945

Beacon Light Trailer Of The 381St Bomb Group, England, 10 November 1944

A Mobile Radio Unit Is Installed In This Jeep Of The 323Rd Bomb Squadron, 91St Bomb Group, Based At Bassingbourne, England

A 'Follow Me' Jeep Are Parked Along The Runway At An English Base
Awaiting The Return Of Flying Fortresses From A Mission Over Enemy
Territory On 27 March 1944

A Completely Equipped Jeep-Mounted Control Tower Of The 490Th Bomb Group At An Airbase In England. 19 July 1944

A Caravan Traffic Control Trailer Of The 381St Bomb Group At 8Th Air Force Station 167 In England, 6 October 1944

A Caravan Control Truck On An Airbase In England. 17 June 1944

A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Of The 91St Bomb Group Comes In For A Landing At Its Base In Bassingbourne, England. Note The Mobile Control Tower To The Right. 20 August 1944

And if you think these are fun, I have dug up more closely associated to them.

The Inspector · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:04 pm

Neat subject! THNX Mark- :supz:

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7557

Part 2

A Jeep, Loaded With Pilots Of The 307Th Fighter Squadron, Pulls Up Alongside A Supermarine 'Spitfire' At An Airfield At Nettuno, Italy. 2 Feb. 1944

A jeep load of Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtress pilots being rushed to the
heavy bombers in time to take off for a tactical bombing mission

Pilots Of The 94Th Fs, 1St Fg, Load Their Equipment On A Jeep After Returning To Their Base In Italy From A Mission

Pilots arriving at the 'line' jumping off truck

Piling flak vests, parachutes, and chute harness on their jeep members of the crew on the Martin B-26 Marauder

oversized jeep built out of two salvaged jeeps from front line dumps. Vehicle will accommodate nine

At the sound of an alarm 'alert', pilots rush to their truck to be driven to the 'line', where their planes are all ready warmed up and ready for the take-off

Ninth Air force Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter-bomber pilots of the 367th group

Jeep Shows The Comparative Size Of 4000-Pound Block Busters At An 8Th Air Force Service Command Depot In Sharnbrook, England

A Jeep 'Yardbird Iii' Plows Through The Heavy Dust At An Airfield In Italy

Anti-aircraft defenses include gun-toting jeeps like the one shown above

A 50 Cal. Anti-Aircraft Gun Is Mounted On A Jeep At 8Th Air Force Station 167 In England. 14 August 1943, 381St Bomb Group

A 50 Cal. Anti-Aircraft Gun Is Mounted On A Jeep At 8Th Air Station 167 In England. 14 August 1943. 381St Bomb Group

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is shown seated in his jeep during an inspection of Air Force troops in Sicily

Tech support trailer

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7557

Your welcome Bill, I'll be posting some really interesting vehicles and contraptions I found later. Amazing amount of imagination back in the day of war. I find these photos fastinating (almost as much as the airplanes) and I hope others do too.

I expect to see some of you dudes who are into the military vehicle collection and hobby world to get on the ball and get some of these "Follow me" jeeps up and running. Super groovy looking machines for sure. :supz:

Rajay · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:45 pm

Mark Allen M wrote:

Part 2

A 50 Cal. Anti-Aircraft Gun Is Mounted On A Jeep At 8Th Air Station 167 In England. 14 August 1943. 381St Bomb Group

Compared to the 2-handled behemoth in the previous photo, this single-handled machine gun looks more like a .30 cal. to me...

What I really liked from the first set of photos were all of the mobile control "tower" trucks that utilized the clear Perspex bombardier nose cones (and in just 1 case a top turret) from old B-17's for their window cabs. There must have been a very active salvage operation going on in the 8th Air Force to recover and re-use parts from damaged aircraft. The thought kinda gives me a "kid in a candy store" feeling!

cco23i · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:49 pm

GREAT SHOTS!! Here was Sparky's jeep at bomber camp, she is now in England.

Mark Allen M · **Joined:** Fri Feb 03, 2012 1:48 pm **Posts:** 7557

Part 3

A Republic P-47 Is Shown On A Transport Truck Which Was Used To Carry The Planes From The Docks To An Airbase Near London, England

P-47, Is Lowered Onto A Specially-Built Trailer For Hauling Planes Through The Narrow Streets At Liverpool 6 Nov 1943

At The Liverpool Docks, Huge 60 Ton Cranes Gently Lift A 6 Ton Republic P-47 Thunderbolt To The Flight Deck

After Dissasembly And Taping, The Now Dingy Looking Republic P-47
Thunderbolts Are Hauled Through The Streets Of Liverpool To The Docks

A truck pulls a Curtiss P-40 back to the airdrome for repairs

An unidentified P-51D assigned to the 307th Ftr Sq, 31st FG is hoisted off the runway at San Severo, Italy

B-25 Of The 310Th Bomb Group Is Lifted By A C-2 Crane Onto A Semi-Trailer To Be Hauled To A Salvage Depot In Berteaux, North Africa. 4 March 1943

Crash Trucks Wait On The Edge Of The Field Of The 324Th Bomb Squadron, 91St Bomb Group At Bassingbourne

Down a narrow Irish Rural road rolls the truck and trailer bearing a Lightning to an advanced Modification Depot of the 8th AF Service Command

Maintenance crew loading bombs B-25 Mitchell. The bombs were brought by truck and trailer from the supply dump-Clark Field, Phililppine Islands. 1 June 1945

Members Of The Ordnance Crew With The 93Rd Bomb Group In Hardwick England Load Up A Consolidated B-24 Liberator With Easter Eggs For Adolph

Side View Of A Piper Cub Plane Loaded On A 2 12 Ton Truck In Preparation For Amphibious Landing Operations. Devon, England, 12 February 1944

At Wakde Island, Dutch New Guinea, on 28 June 1944, a Piper L-4 is transported by truck to be loaded on an LST

Raf 6Th Motor Transport Company Convoy Of North American 'Harvard' Trainers Assembled At The Raf Base At Glasgow, Scotland For Transport To England. 11 November 1943

wheeling out on a bomb trailer a 500 lb bomb to be loaded on an 8th AAF P-51 Mustang

The Inspector · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 3:14 pm

P-39D-BE 417016 was wrecked S.W. of APO-838 in the Canal zone on 4/29/43, looks like everyone took 'strafing practice' on the right rear tire :lol:

JohnB · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 4:43 pm

Anyone know what make/model those (presumably) English trucks are with the B-17 nose "glass" attaché?

Also, I love the stretched Jeep. I've seen a few Jeep books but have never seen that.

Invader26 · **Joined:** Wed Aug 11, 2010 7:56 am **Posts:** 843

Excellent pics. Love those Jeeps and the Air Traffic Control vehicles. :drink3:

Also noted the "toned down" marking on the 93rd BG Liberator.

Digger · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:36 pm

I know where there is a genuine USSAC Follow me Jeep left here in Australia.

Must get onto the owner and remind him how the bottom has fallen out of the second hand WW2 Jeep market and my offer was a

most gracious one............................

CDF · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 7:30 pm

JohnB wrote:

Anyone know what make/model those (presumably) English trucks are with the B-17 nose "glass" attaché?.

Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) Car, Heavy Utility, 4x2 (Ford F8)

303rd BG used one

Blackbirdfan · **Posted:** Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:14 pm

By no means vintage, but I thought they fit the spirit of the topic. I shot these last year at the Nut Tree Mustangs gathering.

Will

CDF · **Posted:** Wed Dec 11, 2013 1:54 am

wasn't sure if "follow me" was a thread title or a challenge, but here goes.

Quote:

US & Australian Servicemen survey damage after a bombing raid - Darwin 1943 -

Quote:

Beach-master's control car, one of the first R.A.A.F. vehicles to arrive on Tarakan Island, Indonesia. The R.A.A.F. men are Sgt. W. Jones, L.A.C. H. C. Billingham, L.A.C. R. C. McDonald and Cpl. R. Blanch

Postwar disposal auction UK

AIF Jeeps (misc)

Assembling GMC trucks PNG

The Inspector · **Posted:** Wed Dec 11, 2013 9:22 am

and,like 99% of people, the guy at the right front of the Beach Masters personell carrier has less than zero ideas (or clues) on how to install tire chains, must not snow much in his neighborhood :lol:

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