Author Topic: Berlin Blitzer 1943 IH M5 (Read 23787 times)

Mash · « **Reply #15 on:** February 08, 2026, 10:04:52 AM »

So A&E was just a shake down in preparation for the XXX corps tour, this was going to see a large convoy of vehicles from Guernsey join up with in excess of 250 vehicles from the UK and Europe, this was two weeks in period kit following the route of XXX corps on Operation MARKET GARDEN.

Sourcing a new canvas and bows in the short period of time I had was proving difficult so a cunning plan based off of some period film footage set me on the road to building a wooden superstructure on her instead, this was done with some REME and signal units as it offered more room and drier storage, and with the appalling rain we had I was very glad of that. The wooden frame went up quickly, unfortunately the building suppliers were a few boards short prior to one of our local shows but it went as an ongoing project, once wind and water tight a few creature comforts were added which include lighting and fold down beds (very welcoming compared to the faff of tentage)

For the majority of my time I was in my element, along with one of the other guys we spent the vast majority of the time working on anything green, from motorcycles to trucks and armour we had the spanners out and ensured everything got to the end. My halftrack became an unofficial recovery vehicle for our packet, day one saw a Bedford QL on tow for the majority of the day due to a faulty coil, the M3A1 developed some vapour lock at one stop so that needed a short tow to the next location and finally the recovery of a Norton motorcycle that had been parked up on display in one of the stop off towns, it had been knocked over by a pensioner on their mobility scooter who promptly rode off, this caused the magneto to be out of alignment amongst other things so onto the bumper it went.

A truly great trip with like minded individuals, we even managed an Inter HT photo

Mash · « **Reply #16 on:** February 08, 2026, 10:05:45 AM »

Quote from: emptyhead on February 08, 2026, 07:33:18 AM

Nice job getting the old girl back in service

Cheers, I just cant believe so much time has passed since I updated this post, more to come that is for sure.

Monkeypirate · « **Reply #17 on:** February 08, 2026, 05:27:39 PM »

This is so cool! I doubt i'll ever have the money for a trip like that but i love to see people get thes pieces of history out and really show what they could do! Beter to be driven and beat on then rotting in a sealed case in some museum.

Mash · « **Reply #18 on:** May 07, 2026, 01:12:41 PM »

Updates and progress

The past few months have been productive with some planned and preventative maintenance happening in the garage, with our liberation coming up and the fabulous Armour and Embarkation following closely behind.

February consisted of two men, a van and 2200mi over four countries in four days on the hunt for any parts covered in cosmoline and some that were not.

Once back home the first job was to refit the newly re-cored radiator, the engine was always running a little hot for my liking, now with the new radiator she sits around 120-130 so much better.

As you can see the old core was definitely passed its best.

In with the new.

I've also managed to source an original oil bath air filter and got rid of the Israeli one.

As the front axle bearings had never been touched since owning it I decided to strip it down and re-pack them, finding the hub nuts and locking washer mullered it didn't take long to see that the bearings has some dents in the cages, new bearings and locking rings ordered and fitted.

The last Job was fitting of some new tracks, this gives me some time to bed them in and ensure everything is settled in and re-torqued prior to the UK trip.

Other things that have happened,

A new bespoke canvas has been sourced and fitted,
Entered a local car show and was awarded best military vehicle,
She ran on our 80th liberation parade (I however wasn't driving),
Did some detail work inside the cabin including some weapon mounts for the driver and commander,
Probably a few more things too.

emptyhead · « **Reply #19 on:** May 10, 2026, 06:57:35 AM »

Excellent

Mash · « **Reply #20 on:** August 08, 2026, 07:59:38 AM »

Updates once again.

So after the successful trip around Europe it was time to prepare for liberation day. This of course meant the fitting of the shinny new tracks, these are from Stefan and welcomingly come with new drive sprockets as mine were starting to show a fair amount of wear. The tracks fitted with no problem and following the instructions to check all guides both prior to fitting and after the first run a few were found slightly loose but nothing of great concern. (having now done over 200mi and no issues at all).

Liberation day was a fairly uneventful day in terms of Berlin Blitzer, she ran beautifully with the new radiator and tracks, all slow speed along the coast and into town to park up for the public display, the drive home however was a little more interesting, a lack of power, large backfires and a few cut outs at idle meant it was a slow limp home ( I was told flames could be seen shooting out the exhaust). Once back home it was park it up and walk away for the evening, I'm now in a situation where certain things like this are not mission critical so I don't need to be diagnosing/fixing faults until the early hours (unless I want to).

The next morning I started with the simple stuff and pulled the plugs, all looking good despite the idling and slow speeds the day before, thinking over the fault I pulled out my spares box from the rear locker and swapped over the condenser, instant success, no more issues and running like a champ. (not bad as I've no idea how old that condenser was as it was the one fitted when I purchased it).

A month later (June) and I'm sat on the docks with an M9A1 and an M8 ready for another fantastic event that is Armour and Embarkation. (Pics and run down to follow shortly)

emptyhead · « **Reply #21 on:** August 09, 2026, 06:20:34 AM »

Nice your getting the old girl out and about.

Mash · « **Reply #22 on:** August 11, 2026, 03:06:35 PM »

So following on from my previous post the building up to A&E 2026 was happening, with the wagon running sweet the only thing required was filling up, now to say running any of these vehicles doesn't hurt the wallet would be lying, however the enjoyment and the ability to honour those who went before us far out weighs a monetary value.

Guernsey fielded a larger contingent this year with two halftracks, an M8 and a WC-52.

Lined up awaiting the ferry (luckily this year it arrived in to the UK during daylight hours)

Once in Poole we met up with an old friend who took over as lead vehicle and nav bringing us into D5, the run up was enjoyable, I did however notice a lack of top end and power due to the new tracks (this was expected and didn't cause any major issues).

Arrival to D5 camp was quickly established and we got ready for the run to Weymouth for fish and chips.

At this point we noticed the M8 had developed a flat tyre due to the innertube leaking at the valve stem, as normal with these events a mad 5 of arms, legs and tools set to work and Graham came up trumps with a spare inner tube, ( the community spirit within this event is truly amazing), unfortunately we did not have enough time to get it all back together prior to the run down to Weymouth so the crew jumped into the other HT and off we went.

Once we were fed the drive back along the quiet country roads did throw up a couple of breakdowns that were soon hooked up to the wreckers and recovered to camp, we immediately set back to work on the M8 and got her ready for the next day.

Morning Alan... the call of the tour, Saturday morning was a lovely drive through winding lanes, Morton ford and onto the tank museum

The afternoon took us across the bovvy training area before parking up with a Chally 2 and CRARRV before heading into Dorchester for the public display.

Sunday was an amazing drive through lanes and private land too and from Martins Town, where we had a fantastic Hog roast.

The event ended on Sunday evening with the wagons all a little dirtier than when they started.

Our ferry was the Monday and after nearly 200mi on these new tracks I definitely felt that they have bedded in nicely and it was certainly noticeable on the return run.

Mash · « **Reply #23 on:** August 11, 2026, 03:09:36 PM »

In the quest to improve my display and demonstrate the roof structure I added a few internal details for the local show the other weekend.

The rear now boasts maps and a large chalkboard filled with various information an LAD would need to know. And as normal I was to preoccupied with the living history display to take pictures but I did snap one of the namesake with the halftrack named after him.