Collings Foundation Open House and Re-enactment
Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:39 pm
This past weekend we hosted our first of what will hopefully be an annual Fall Open House and re-enactment. We had about 30 German and 30 Allied re-enactors. The German group set up their camp at the corner of our 2000 foot grass strip, and it was the mission of the allies to take the field. The Germans had the Fi-156 Storch as an observation plane, the help of a 7/8th scale Ju-87 Stuka to take out the allied tank, and the 88mm cannon. There were also several fixed machine gun positions and a mortar position.
The allied forces had a M24 Chaffee light tank, M16 Halftrack with a quadmount, an armored personnel carrier, and several jeeps. The allied forces started out beyond the tree line and worked their way up the field to eventually take over the German camp. Here are a few pictures of the event. If I can get the you tube thing figured out, I also have a video of the event on Saturday that I will post.
We are now starting the planning process for the event for next year to make it bigger and better. We had over 1500 people here on each day even with not so great weather on Sunday.
The allied forces had a M24 Chaffee light tank, M16 Halftrack with a quadmount, an armored personnel carrier, and several jeeps. The allied forces started out beyond the tree line and worked their way up the field to eventually take over the German camp. Here are a few pictures of the event. If I can get the you tube thing figured out, I also have a video of the event on Saturday that I will post.
We are now starting the planning process for the event for next year to make it bigger and better. We had over 1500 people here on each day even with not so great weather on Sunday.
Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:50 pm
Great photos, well done.
The Chaffee is one of my all time favourite US AFV's
The Chaffee is one of my all time favourite US AFV's
Fri Oct 19, 2007 10:43 pm
I particularly love what very much looks like a MARINE on the left of the bottom photo, attacking the Germans. 
The US Army never issued a camo helmet cover like that.
I guess his Higgins boat had a really faulty compass on it's last run to the beach, huh?
The US Army never issued a camo helmet cover like that.
I guess his Higgins boat had a really faulty compass on it's last run to the beach, huh?
Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:53 am
I don't understand this reenactment stuff. Don't the Germans always lose? 
Howsabout a photo of the Stuka?
Howsabout a photo of the Stuka?
Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:20 am
p51 wrote:I particularly love what very much looks like a MARINE on the left of the bottom photo, attacking the Germans.
I guess his Higgins boat had a really faulty compass on it's last run to the beach, huh?
Didn't Sgt. Saunder's were a camo cover in the TV show "Combat"?
I guess because it was on a TV show, it makes it okay!
Any more pics from this years event at Stow?
Jerry
Sun Oct 21, 2007 5:43 pm
Nice photos, thanks for posting.
Well if we are going to have fun picking apart the impression then you can't leave out the CJ or M38 impression of a WWII jeep, the nylon camo netting on the halftrack or the half track driver who is wearing an airborne infantry helmet. I also find it interesting that the folks driving the jeep would choose to use their rifles and handgun during an assault as opposed to the .30 cal machine gun that is sitting on their jeep. Also not sure about hte placement of the national insignia on the halftrack. Also not sure a hay bail will stop a whole lot of high velocity bullets.
I particularly love what very much looks like a MARINE on the left of the bottom photo, attacking the Germans. Rolling Eyes The US Army never issued a camo helmet cover like that.
Well if we are going to have fun picking apart the impression then you can't leave out the CJ or M38 impression of a WWII jeep, the nylon camo netting on the halftrack or the half track driver who is wearing an airborne infantry helmet. I also find it interesting that the folks driving the jeep would choose to use their rifles and handgun during an assault as opposed to the .30 cal machine gun that is sitting on their jeep. Also not sure about hte placement of the national insignia on the halftrack. Also not sure a hay bail will stop a whole lot of high velocity bullets.
Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:18 pm
What photos are you looking at? I took as good a look at the Jeep in those pics as I could, it doesn't look like a postwar Jeep to me!rwdfresno wrote:I particularly love what very much looks like a MARINE on the left of the bottom photo, attacking the Germans. Rolling Eyes The US Army never issued a camo helmet cover like that.
Well if we are going to have fun picking apart the impression then you can't leave out the CJ or M38 impression of a WWII jeep
Most folks with MGs on Jeeps don't have working ones. Yeah, I would take it off mine if it'd been my Jeep for that reason... And yes, I do have a WW2 Jeep!rwdfresno wrote:I also find it interesting that the folks driving the jeep would choose to use their rifles and handgun during an assault as opposed to the .30 cal machine gun that is sitting on their jeep.
Wed Oct 24, 2007 2:13 am
Great pic Kmiles! Thanks for posting them! Dont worry, I wont pick them apart...Its better to have something and learned than to have nothing at all! At least the general public likes it and doesnt know the difference in the minor things! 
Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:58 am
What photos are you looking at? I took as good a look at the Jeep in those pics as I could, it doesn't look like a postwar Jeep to me!
Look at the rear axle:
Jeep in picture
CJ-2A
GPW/MB
Most folks with MGs on Jeeps don't have working ones. Yeah, I would take it off mine if it'd been my Jeep for that reason... And yes, I do have a WW2 Jeep!
True, but my mom told me that I have the need to pick others apart to make myself feel better
I did notice that the M16 had a propane setup for the Maxson turret which must sound pretty neat in action having 4 propane .50s firing at once.
Dont worry, I wont pick them apart...Its better to have something and learned than to have nothing at all!
For the most part I agree with you in a demo such as this it is unlikely that much historical record is going to be lost if someone is using a CJ as a WWII jeep and that one actually looks the part pretty well only anal retentive people like me would notice lol. I do think there are some instances where gross negligence in historical representation can be backwards progress in teaching the pubic but I don't think this really qualifies as that.
To be honest I really only pick on these guys because I hold re-enactors to the same standard that they hold everyone else to. They are the first people to whine if your repro M1941 jacket is 1/1000 of a shade off from the formerly NOS M1941 jacket that is now destroyed because they have been playing in the mud with it.
Ryan
Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:24 pm
Thank you for all of the interest in the photos - even if it is just to put down the group of reenactors that volunteered to come out for the weekend to entertain the general public on short notice.
bdk - I am working on getting some photos from Saturday when the Stuka took part. The weather on Sunday was 700 overcast and raining until about 20 minutes before the reenactment started, so the Stuka was not here on Sunday when these photos were taken.
Jerry - The Marine that was in the picture from Saturday had not planned on taking place in the battle, but we had a bunch of guys not show up on Sunday because of the weather, so he agreed to join in to make the numbers a bit closer to even. There were several other who did the same or else it would have been 6 allied troops vs. about 20 German troops. I will look at getting more photos resized and posted. With the tour coming to an end for the season, I may get home at a more decent time each evening, and be able to post more photos from this event, and the air shows I visited this season. I use a webshots account for posting the photos, so there are several on there that I have not posted here.
rwdfresno - if that is what it takes to feel good about yourself, that is fine. The M16 does have propane/oxygen guns on it, and they are quite loud, but not close to the real thing. Most people have never heard a real .50 cal, so the propane/oxygen guns sound good to them. As for the jeep, it is a similar story to the Marine in the photos. It happened to be close by, and the owner did not mind giving up his weekend. The .30 is just static, so it would have looked a little funny with someone up there making machine gun noises with the mouth. I am not sure which reenactors you have interacted with, but all of the guys here were very nice, and did not care that the netting on the M16 was Nylon or the halftrack driver had the incorrect helmet on. The helmet was actually borrowed from one of the reenactors because we have the vehicle, but no accurate reproduction gear for the crew. Our area of focus has been on the aircraft, and we are just starting to expand into ground vehicles. The gear that goes with them will be expanded, and maybe next year we will have the proper netting and helmet so that you can go back to feeling bad about yourself.
bdk - I am working on getting some photos from Saturday when the Stuka took part. The weather on Sunday was 700 overcast and raining until about 20 minutes before the reenactment started, so the Stuka was not here on Sunday when these photos were taken.
Jerry - The Marine that was in the picture from Saturday had not planned on taking place in the battle, but we had a bunch of guys not show up on Sunday because of the weather, so he agreed to join in to make the numbers a bit closer to even. There were several other who did the same or else it would have been 6 allied troops vs. about 20 German troops. I will look at getting more photos resized and posted. With the tour coming to an end for the season, I may get home at a more decent time each evening, and be able to post more photos from this event, and the air shows I visited this season. I use a webshots account for posting the photos, so there are several on there that I have not posted here.
rwdfresno - if that is what it takes to feel good about yourself, that is fine. The M16 does have propane/oxygen guns on it, and they are quite loud, but not close to the real thing. Most people have never heard a real .50 cal, so the propane/oxygen guns sound good to them. As for the jeep, it is a similar story to the Marine in the photos. It happened to be close by, and the owner did not mind giving up his weekend. The .30 is just static, so it would have looked a little funny with someone up there making machine gun noises with the mouth. I am not sure which reenactors you have interacted with, but all of the guys here were very nice, and did not care that the netting on the M16 was Nylon or the halftrack driver had the incorrect helmet on. The helmet was actually borrowed from one of the reenactors because we have the vehicle, but no accurate reproduction gear for the crew. Our area of focus has been on the aircraft, and we are just starting to expand into ground vehicles. The gear that goes with them will be expanded, and maybe next year we will have the proper netting and helmet so that you can go back to feeling bad about yourself.
Wed Oct 24, 2007 5:03 pm
I found these videos on YouTube of the Reenactment:
Storch Take-off: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nx3u_VVDktM
Stuka Attack: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nx3u_VVDktM
Storch Take-off: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nx3u_VVDktM
Stuka Attack: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nx3u_VVDktM
Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:56 pm
rwdfresno - if that is what it takes to feel good about yourself, that is fine. The M16 does have propane/oxygen guns on it, and they are quite loud, but not close to the real thing. Most people have never heard a real .50 cal, so the propane/oxygen guns sound good to them. As for the jeep, it is a similar story to the Marine in the photos. It happened to be close by, and the owner did not mind giving up his weekend. The .30 is just static, so it would have looked a little funny with someone up there making machine gun noises with the mouth. I am not sure which reenactors you have interacted with, but all of the guys here were very nice, and did not care that the netting on the M16 was Nylon or the halftrack driver had the incorrect helmet on. The helmet was actually borrowed from one of the reenactors because we have the vehicle, but no accurate reproduction gear for the crew. Our area of focus has been on the aircraft, and we are just starting to expand into ground vehicles. The gear that goes with them will be expanded, and maybe next year we will have the proper netting and helmet so that you can go back to feeling bad about yourself.
kmiles
Let me just first apologize for even posting that stuff on your thread in hindsight it was pretty rude.
It is just sort of something kind of fun to do I suppose if you are a nerdy sort of guy like me and my friends we pick apart this or that...for instance we watch a movie like Patton and make fun of how the tanks are modern and the jeeps are all wrong etc etc. Same thing goes for when us nerdy computer engineers watch a movie about hackers we laugh at these "action" scenes of people hacking into a computer system. Perhaps I am just too nerdy or an a**hole or who knows but we usually get a kick out of it. Sort of the grown up version of the back of the cereal box where you have to pick out all the things that don't belong. Anyhow, I am certainly not a member of the "all or nothing" history crowd who thinks if you have an inappropriately marked Wildcat you may as well have a paper airplane.
As for re-enactors, I'm not sure which re-enactors you have dealt with but most of them that I know of will argue for hours, days, weeks, months, years....oh wait the argument is still not settled on what color the M1 steel pot is supposed to be painted or if the the horn on an MB is bolted on after priming prior to painting or after the subsurface was painted (as if anyone is going to unbolt the horn on a restored jeep just to check if it is primed or paint underneath).
Really my comments were for entertainment value, and meant mainly in jest but obviously that didn't come across. Anyhow, regardless it was your post and it obviously bothered you so I am sorry that I interjected my comments.
Ryan
Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:35 pm
I was hoping to go this year, but just couldn't swing it after being away atthe Mustang event. Maybe Father's day!
Ken;
If you need some re-enactors to help out, I know a bunch of good guys.
Jerry
Ken;
If you need some re-enactors to help out, I know a bunch of good guys.
Jerry
Sat Oct 04, 2008 2:17 pm
I just wanted to give anyone in the New England area a heads up that we are going to be having the reenactment on Columbus Day Weekend (October 11th and 12th) again. It is only a week away. We have added 2 additional tanks this year, and some more German equipment. The Sherman and Stuart tanks will be taking part in the reenactment. We are also adding more pyro this year. When the 88mm fires and takes out a tank, there will be explosions to make it more realistic. We are hoping for good enough weather to have the Storch and Stuka take part again.
More information and directions can be found at: www.cfdn.org
More information and directions can be found at: www.cfdn.org
Fri Feb 20, 2009 4:14 pm
Jerry,
You mentioned the 'camo' cover on the helmet of one of the re-enactors.
Although, it does appear to resemble the Marine's helmet cover, it is in fact the remnants of an airborne troopers chute.
Yes, most chutes were white, but the Pathfinders had special camo chutes.
There were G.I.s that did use them for that purpose. The TV character Sgt. Saunders as well.
In reality, the S.S. was heavily camouflaged in the field, and nobody wanted a 'friendly fire' or 'Night of the Bayonet' casualty so most Americans never bothered.
I do agree, however, that it is curious that someone in an Armour Infantry unit would wear one however.
Mike
You mentioned the 'camo' cover on the helmet of one of the re-enactors.
Although, it does appear to resemble the Marine's helmet cover, it is in fact the remnants of an airborne troopers chute.
Yes, most chutes were white, but the Pathfinders had special camo chutes.
There were G.I.s that did use them for that purpose. The TV character Sgt. Saunders as well.
In reality, the S.S. was heavily camouflaged in the field, and nobody wanted a 'friendly fire' or 'Night of the Bayonet' casualty so most Americans never bothered.
I do agree, however, that it is curious that someone in an Armour Infantry unit would wear one however.
Mike