Wehrmacht on the Interstate

[beamjockey]

Coming home from Musecon Sunday night on Interstate 88, I was startled to find a large tractor-trailer in front of me, burdened with two sinister brown shapes.



It dawned on me that not only did I recognize those shapes-- a World War II German Army halftrack and a tank destroyer-- but that I had met them before.



Here I am, in 2008, standing in front of the Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer. It belongs to the Illinois re-enactment group known as the 2nd Panzer Division, which operates a number of German military vehicles.

Behind the Hetzer is the SdKfz (Sonderkraftfahrzeug but nobody spells it out) 251/1 halftrack. Actually this started life as a postwar model-- the Czech army continued to produce and operate this design as the OT 810-- but it has been modified to resemble its German ancestor.

I was surprised that both heavy vehicles (17 tons for the Hezer, 8 tons for the 251) are carried on a single transporter. I suppose their owner was bringing them home from some re-enactment outing.

Comments

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

ITs not just the Americans there are German reenactors around the world: http://www.panzergrenadier.net/reenactment-groups-links.php

And other WWII reenactors: http://www.reenactor.net/forums/index.php?page=17

Its the SS groups that bother me.

To me the German groups should anly exist so the Allied reenactors have someone to shoot at.

There are reenactors for pretty much any time period I think.

[mike johns (from livejournal.com)]

I couldn't find a link, but there are groups in Japan that reenact the Eastern front, even covering Toyotas with cardboard shells to resemble German & Russian vehicles.