Barn Find WW2 German Vehicles

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  • Опубліковано 9 лип 2023
  • Finding an original WW2-era German military vehicle today is incredibly hard, but every so often one turns up, usually abandoned in a barn. Here are some of the best 'barn finds' from all over the world.
    Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
    Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
    Help support my channel:
    www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
    / markfeltonproductions
    Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
    Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv; UK Barn Finds; Johan Larsson; Mikeandkirsti; Hanson Mechanical Classic Jeep Restoration; Anton Belousov; Apogeum Old-timer; Przek Klemens Forel; milwebt.net; Airborne Garage B.V.; Christian Kaiser; DukeJim; vwschwimmwagen.de; Oystein Asphjell; vw106.com; Newington War Museum; Kunal Biswas.
    Thumbnail: Johann Larsson

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,6 тис.

  • @terrystokes3577
    @terrystokes3577 11 місяців тому +940

    The vehicle with 3 headlights is a Tatra, also known as the General Killer as it had terrible handling at high speeds.

    • @markmower1746
      @markmower1746 11 місяців тому +54

      Yeah he didn't even point that one out.

    • @bugler75
      @bugler75 11 місяців тому +51

      Thanks, I was wondering 👍🏼
      Ian

    • @papafox80
      @papafox80 11 місяців тому +36

      Per r/whatisthiscar, a Tatra 87

    • @methodeetrigueur1164
      @methodeetrigueur1164 11 місяців тому +29

      Right, this is a Tatra 87.

    • @grootzijl
      @grootzijl 11 місяців тому +33

      ​@@markmower1746perhaps because it's not a German car so it doesn't really fit in the list. My favourite car in the whole video though, rear mounted air cooled v8

  • @jerryjeromehawkins1712
    @jerryjeromehawkins1712 11 місяців тому +798

    Schwimmwagen...
    in my opinion, the "coolest" and most unique ww2 vehicle.

    • @malekodesouza7255
      @malekodesouza7255 11 місяців тому +23

      Yep. And quite a lot of it was literally a VW Bug/Beetle. Same for the Kubelwagen.

    • @ianbeale2527
      @ianbeale2527 11 місяців тому +44

      The ultimate VW beach buggy.

    • @cabledad65
      @cabledad65 11 місяців тому +39

      That and the tracked kettenkrad.

    • @flitsertheo
      @flitsertheo 11 місяців тому +6

      @@cabledad65 The Kettenkrad couldn't swim however.

    • @PU8698
      @PU8698 11 місяців тому +5

      I personally like the Ford GPA more as a amphibious vehicle

  • @tomweickmann6414
    @tomweickmann6414 11 місяців тому +243

    Every episode of Dr. Mark's is like an historical barn find.
    Imagine being the only guy on the block with your own Kettenkrad!

    • @ricbarker4829
      @ricbarker4829 11 місяців тому +19

      My neighbor thinks life is a competition. If I rocked up with a Kettenkrad, the next day he would have a Stuka.

    • @josephcuevas8100
      @josephcuevas8100 11 місяців тому +5

      I would gladly go to work riding in one of those.

    • @samparkerSAM
      @samparkerSAM 11 місяців тому +2

      I got a Ultimate Soldier Kettenkrad , I was so thrilled!!! I had my solders travel to my Aunts Christmas 🎄 party... I remember the Shock of her friends when I was playing with them under the Palm 🌴 trees in front of her house on Prytania ... I certainly caused quite a stir, either way I forged a great understanding of Fellowship under Fire 🔥...

    • @Porsche996driver
      @Porsche996driver 11 місяців тому +2

      Well said mein Fruend ha.
      I’ve got a ‘62 R69S would love to add a Kettenkrad lol

    • @PaulP999
      @PaulP999 10 місяців тому +1

      one of my mates has one, might even be the one in Saving Ryan (he was a stunt arranger on that film) so I need to do him some big favours to increase my chance of driving/riding it - probably have to join a big queue?!!

  • @iggy9955
    @iggy9955 11 місяців тому +37

    I am 62 years old and had several motorcycles from the war period and after it. Thus, the oldest was a DKW from the war period and a BMW from 1948. We loved those motorcycles from the war and post-war period. We also had a Norton 500cc from which a tree grew 😃. When we opened the machine, it was like new. Days of polishing and brushing and the engine like lightning. We made the engine frame out of pipes and when we put it together it was like new, almost. I also had a Hercules (Hamburg motor werke) of 350 cc. But it was big, I don't know if bigger engines are made now. Yes I enjoyed restoring those antiques on two wheels.
    Then I lived in Yugoslavia, today I am in Croatia, for which I fought as a volunteer in 91-95. When we came to the defense line of the city, it used to be the Italian border. Super solid bunkers with a 2.5 m thick concrete dome. They served us well in the first year of the war. And we used to jump around those bunkers as teenagers, and many from the city had never been there, and I and some of them knew every inch of what used to be the Italian border. Many greetings from Zadar to the 3000-year-old city on the Adriatic sea coast. Yes, an old town with an old tradition.

  • @PJ-pj8lr
    @PJ-pj8lr 11 місяців тому +147

    in NZ hundreds of universal carriers were used on the hill country farms stripped down to a flat bed utility, while Sherman tanks were used into the 1990s as winch cable platforms on forestry.

    • @gwimbus4399
      @gwimbus4399 11 місяців тому +16

      Even now, can still find a few rusty Universal Carriers, around the North Island. A friend of mine, has the chassis of an old Universal Carrier, on his farm near Te Awamutu.

    • @helixator3975
      @helixator3975 11 місяців тому +5

      I can recall repurposed tanks/ tracked vehicles being used in Gippsland Australia to clear scrub and swampland

    • @idanceforpennies281
      @idanceforpennies281 11 місяців тому +3

      I was told the same thing 30 years ago. Bren gun carriers make superb farm tractors/haulage vehicles.

    • @Allan_son
      @Allan_son 11 місяців тому +2

      You guys took your stuff home? I heard the Canadian Army left this sort stuff in the Netherlands to help rebuild the country. Possibly we were really just too cheap to ship it back.

    • @alonsocushing2263
      @alonsocushing2263 11 місяців тому +1

      The same in Australia with the universal carriers.

  • @hgm8337
    @hgm8337 11 місяців тому +66

    sigh, discovering a barn-find STUG would be awesome

    • @TheStugbit
      @TheStugbit 11 місяців тому

      Well, I don't actually live in a barn, but my house kind of looks like a farm.

    • @historicmilitaria1944
      @historicmilitaria1944 11 місяців тому +1

      As of the year 2022 theres a hetzer,jagdpanther,panther sitting side by side in a field in the uk...theres a vid on youtube somewhere

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan 11 місяців тому +1

      @@historicmilitaria1944- I should that’s pretty unlikely, unless of course you’re referring to the Wheatcroft collection.

    • @dennisthurman2070
      @dennisthurman2070 11 місяців тому

      I agree it would be awsome

    • @davidvucina732
      @davidvucina732 10 місяців тому

      3 pieces please

  • @backpackingireland8624
    @backpackingireland8624 11 місяців тому +77

    My neighbor here in SW Ireland is a French man from Normandy . He told me stories of his childhood adventures back home . Small arms , hand grenades , explosives were often used in a disused quarry . Old farmers had stored lots of munitions from the War .

    • @sking3492
      @sking3492 11 місяців тому +9

      I bet they did. I would.

    • @Signal_Glow
      @Signal_Glow 11 місяців тому +16

      Ex Yugoslavia was also full of weapons and vehicles, i remember trucks like Opel Blitz being used during my childhood (collectors might be interested in southern part with warm weather without much rain...). German retreat was very likely difficult due to mountains at many places. Their Mauser 98k is still used by some hunters because they are very precise, enough cleaning make them last a long, long time.

    • @ktipuss
      @ktipuss 11 місяців тому +6

      WW1 munitions, still "live" and all the more dangerous as the casing deteriorates over the years, are still unearthed on French and Belgian fields.

    • @backpackingireland8624
      @backpackingireland8624 11 місяців тому +2

      @@ktipuss watched a documentary on teams of bomb experts still clearing out ordnance in France

    • @Signal_Glow
      @Signal_Glow 11 місяців тому +2

      @@backpackingireland8624 They are finding it across Europe. We don't get much information about such findings in Russia where they are unearthing large amounts of ordnance and other remains from wwii. I hope Germans didn't cut the deal with many NGOs who are bringing them back remains of soldiers from unmarked graves.

  • @Ulani101
    @Ulani101 11 місяців тому +99

    The best barn find story I read was a collector out in Eastern Europe. He was following rumours of vehicles in storage, and went to a farm, expecting a lorry, or maybe a Kubo. Sitting in the barn was an intact Panzer 4 Ausf H, intact, complete with the crews' personal kit, just the way it had been parked to get out of the weather.
    Clearly, the crew had been unable to reach it when they pulled back, and it had sat there for forty years.

    • @MultiSkyman1
      @MultiSkyman1 10 місяців тому +13

      Every militaria nuts fantasy dream!

    • @poppaleggansquat3640
      @poppaleggansquat3640 9 місяців тому +11

      There was a German guy who had a fully loaded Panzer in his barn which only came to light about ten years ago, the Police and the bundeswehr confiscated it pretty quickly though! Imagine such a machine complete with fully functioning weapons in the hands of an untrained guy? Okay the ammunition was very old but could still have been very viable given it was stored well. I wonder where it is now given the insane price tag it would have at auction.

    • @peoplehavetherights
      @peoplehavetherights 9 місяців тому

      Can I buy it? 😃

    • @SwedishEmpire1700
      @SwedishEmpire1700 8 місяців тому +8

      @@poppaleggansquat3640 It was more the gov's fear of german civilians with guns, not about him being untrained.

    • @zombiecowboy4946
      @zombiecowboy4946 7 місяців тому +6

      ​​@@poppaleggansquat3640Yes, I know the story you're talking about. He was an 80 year old man, and he was restoring an old Panzer 4 in his barn over the years. When they found out, he was fined, and went to jail. Because you know, what's a single 80 year old man going to do with an even older tank?

  • @malekodesouza7255
    @malekodesouza7255 11 місяців тому +123

    Thank you Dr Felton. As someone who’s owned, repaired and restored 3 VWs (1960s models) this was both fascinating and entertaining.

    • @elultimo102
      @elultimo102 11 місяців тому +6

      I had the opportunity to sit in a Kubelwagen. The gas tank is right where the glovebox would be on civilian models---Sitting in he suicide seat puts the gas tank right in your lap. It also sounds like a real VW is supposed to.

    • @ugurbsysal6120
      @ugurbsysal6120 11 місяців тому +1

      SOMZYMARBZMKLND 51940
      ❤❤❤❤❤❤

  • @user-tj6gb8vx3q
    @user-tj6gb8vx3q 11 місяців тому +127

    I have not thought much of the clean up process after a battle but now that I think about it, I am glad that these once war machines were used to help the people get their lives back on track after the war. Thank you Dr. Felton for another great video!

    • @389383
      @389383 11 місяців тому +3

      He didn't mention de-mining! Probably the most important clean up.

    • @Shauma_llama
      @Shauma_llama 11 місяців тому +4

      Absolutely, good to know some of this military hardware was converted to civilian use rather than being scrapped.

    • @landonedwards7504
      @landonedwards7504 11 місяців тому +6

      Thinking about clean up now, that job was probably almost as consuming as fighting the war itself. Think of the manpower, logistics, planning and coordination that was necessary to do that in an expedient fashion! That may be a story all unto itself!

    • @genwoolfe
      @genwoolfe 11 місяців тому +3

      I'm curious as to whether anything abandoned at Dunkirk was similarly 'recycled'?

    • @Blackadder75
      @Blackadder75 11 місяців тому +3

      swords to plowshares is a very old saying....

  • @echohunter4199
    @echohunter4199 11 місяців тому +34

    Mark, go find a man who used to live in Bitburg, Germany who restores Germany military vehicles, he moved to Hungary about 10 years ago and is active with production studios and supplies German vehicles, you saw him and his vehicles if you watched the movie “Valkyrie” in 2007.

  • @ericscottstevens
    @ericscottstevens 11 місяців тому +43

    On a road march northwest of Kaiserslautern in the summer 1989 I spotted a tubular built hay cart sitting near a fence line with Sd.Kfz. 251 roadwheels. They still had their war colors and the rubber tires read continental tire. Waiting for the rest of my platoon to catch up I stood by the cart wondering the history of the wheels. An SS armored column had been destroyed in the valley westward approaches of Kaiserslautern but that was too far away from this farm.
    As the platoon caught up to me waiting, they did not even notice the cart with the historical wheels and kept walking by to the rendezvous, I stayed as long as I could looking at the cart before moving on.
    It takes a trained eye to spot history.

  • @thevictoryoverhimself7298
    @thevictoryoverhimself7298 11 місяців тому +306

    The opel blitz was super common in Europe, after a short break to re build a new factory (the soviets had dismantled and stolen the old one brick-by-brick) it saw production all the way up until 1975 in west Germany, and in fact 1987 under license in the UK by Bedford. (Commonly used as everything from a Fire truck to a light city bus to an ice cream van

    • @thomasburke2683
      @thomasburke2683 11 місяців тому +20

      Opel and Bedford/Vauxhall were all part of General Motors, so a licence was hardly required.

    • @Paul020253
      @Paul020253 11 місяців тому +26

      Except the factory was not "stolen by the Soviets" it was part of their war reparations-a big difference

    • @EOJ111
      @EOJ111 11 місяців тому +46

      ​@@Paul020253It was stolen.

    • @RepublikBaden
      @RepublikBaden 11 місяців тому

      ​@@Paul020253stolen inventions to further their Political goal.

    • @knerduno5942
      @knerduno5942 11 місяців тому +18

      I would love to have General Burkhalter's car, the Mercedes-Benz W31 type G4

  • @NoNamenoonehere
    @NoNamenoonehere 11 місяців тому +72

    beautiful to see these machines restored ,relics and pieces of history.

  • @davidpawson7393
    @davidpawson7393 11 місяців тому +23

    My granfather built a body for his model T in New Zealand from shell casings but I only have a few pictures of it and never saw it in person. My father's boxing trophies are engraved shell casings which he modestly keeps packed away. I did get to see the two room house with a bomb shelter in the backyard my grandfather built from packing crates which is probably where I get my ability to see and use resources other's see as trash. Thanks again Dr Felton from New Hampshire USA
    Edit: I forgot the original subject which was the ride I got in a restored Kubewagen last summer at a busy gas station because I was the only person who knew exactly what it was from my time being an air-cooled Volkswagen fanatic.

  • @teutonalex
    @teutonalex 11 місяців тому +9

    My uncle had a friend who at age 16 after the battle of Halbe encirclement, simply drove many abandoned vehicles home to his farmstead.
    He had a kübelwagen, kettenkrad and some motorcycles.
    In the 60s he would drive these himself in several east German movie productions costumed as a Wehrmacht soldier. He never let anyone else drive these on set.

  • @S.M.S-Dresden
    @S.M.S-Dresden 11 місяців тому +112

    As a German who loves History (especialy the one until 1945) I couldn't be more happy to See this German maschinery still existing and restorabel today! Again a Video that Shows History that is to often forgotten, Thanks for all your hard Work!

    • @adamzieba8364
      @adamzieba8364 11 місяців тому +11

      There are 2 different German WWII halftracks in Poland that sank in Pilica river in Tomaszów Mazowiecki in January 1945 and were discovered around the year 2000 during construction of a new bridge. They have been recovered and later meticulously reconstructed. Both are now in running order and are stored in a local museum. One of them even has the original Maybach engine, the other received a Diesel engine from a soviet-built Kraz truck. I will try to find links to the web page of the museum or other links.

    • @wanderer7755
      @wanderer7755 11 місяців тому +10

      Germans are damn good mechanical engineers!

    • @S.M.S-Dresden
      @S.M.S-Dresden 11 місяців тому +6

      @@adamzieba8364 Interesting and thank you. Long live the polnish German friendship! 🇩🇪🇵🇱

    • @S.M.S-Dresden
      @S.M.S-Dresden 11 місяців тому +12

      @@wanderer7755 Thats a reason why "Made in Germany" is known around the World for good quality 👍

    • @StevenKeery
      @StevenKeery 11 місяців тому +2

      @@S.M.S-Dresden : Unless you buy tools from the middle aisle of a certain supermarket in the UK. The quality is not very good at all.

  • @maryhook9478
    @maryhook9478 11 місяців тому +364

    Mark Felton is a superb war historian.

    • @alanblanes2876
      @alanblanes2876 11 місяців тому +5

      Ditto that! I'd suggest that the Type 82 Kübelwagen has a more purposeful and substantial look that the VW Thing and it would have been perhaps wiser for VW to have continued this model as an addition to the Thing line.

    • @roymartin500
      @roymartin500 11 місяців тому +6

      Indeed!

    • @ray7419
      @ray7419 11 місяців тому +8

      Dr Felton is the premier historian on UA-cam. 👍

    • @armanhadi777
      @armanhadi777 11 місяців тому +4

      Unmatched in content and presentation

    • @AndyJarman
      @AndyJarman 11 місяців тому +7

      I'm have all three of my children surgically altered to resemble him.

  • @Sydney2for2
    @Sydney2for2 11 місяців тому +3

    I love the passion and commitment of those who restore these vehicles back to running order so they are not lost to history.

  • @gunner678
    @gunner678 11 місяців тому +6

    A German WW2 Mercedes staff car past by me yesterday in the SW of France. Incredibly well kept.

  • @cripplers8
    @cripplers8 11 місяців тому +283

    It’s ashamed that a lot of these classic vehicles are lying in waste 😢

    • @gdutfulkbhh7537
      @gdutfulkbhh7537 11 місяців тому +20

      No, it’s good. Better that than they’re restored by amateurs, or done on the cheap. There is such a thing as “over-restored”, too.

    • @alm5992
      @alm5992 11 місяців тому +4

      @@gdutfulkbhh7537 But they could have been taken better care of to begin with, then they wouldn't need so much work.

    • @magna116
      @magna116 11 місяців тому

      They are symbols of fascism. Let them rot.
      Unless you are Republican, than you like that sort of thing.

    • @MrTibbs12
      @MrTibbs12 11 місяців тому +3

      @@gdutfulkbhh7537true,a lot of the restorations are terrible and turn these into fantasy pieces..these have history,patina,leave them as is

    • @danielpaulsness6951
      @danielpaulsness6951 11 місяців тому +2

      Most were scrapped

  • @orlandobonilla3156
    @orlandobonilla3156 11 місяців тому +5

    It gives you a great feeling of knowing that many of those vehicles are being saved from rotting away.

  • @goldenfiberwheat238
    @goldenfiberwheat238 11 місяців тому +3

    Crazy how these vehicles still run after 80 years. Now people are expected to get a car every 5 years or so

  • @gijsv8419
    @gijsv8419 11 місяців тому +26

    I live near the road to Nijmegen, famous from a bridge to far. I have the wheels of an Canadian Carrier, from a farmer. A jeep has been stored by a farmer in 1944, abandoned by the drivers. A German 251 was left without damage. It is now in a museum near Eindhoven.

  • @TheAdvancedMusic
    @TheAdvancedMusic 11 місяців тому +17

    It's a good day when Mark Felton Productions issues a new video clip. His work is what the History Channel wishes it was.

  • @reinhardwolters7180
    @reinhardwolters7180 11 місяців тому +21

    Yes, my father told me the story several times when he came out of captivity in the late summer of '45. The parental home was very battered. The mother lived with the uncle. The uncle had a ride with a horse-drawn carriage. On the field were 2 Wehrmacht trucks with empty tanks. They built their own batteries from tarred wood, so weak of course that they had to be cranked. Then they could carry heavier loads further. Everything depended on bartering until the DM was introduced.

  • @ljt3084
    @ljt3084 11 місяців тому +12

    Great video as always.
    Grew up on a farm in Hampshire that owned two WW2 jeeps, a generator on trailer which had a jeep go devil engine, a Sherman with turret removed for forestry use and a Scammell Artillery tractor also for forestry work.
    There was nothing that Scammell could not pull including the Sherman.
    All were purchased by the country estate post war at a large government auction in Amersham. Circa 1947.
    The military equipment auction was advertised in national newspapers and i'm told many young single women factory workers & farm hands purchased jeeps as a very cheap first car.
    The Jeeps on our estate costing £4 each!
    (About £50 today)
    Some at the Auction were still packed in the kit form crates as they had arrived from the states. Brand new.
    Listed at a higher price of £7 reserve..
    Most of the farm equipment survived on the farm into the early 1980's, the Sherman was scrapped in the late 70's due to engine failure.
    One jeep was cannibalised for parts for the other which was restored by the farm estate mechanic and attended steam fair shows and military vehicle events until he died in the late 1990's.
    The jeep engined towed generator is still going today i'm told. The last time i saw it in 1990 it only had 48 hours total running time on the service dial.
    It was only used in power cuts to run a milking parlour.
    A local VW club has an attendee with a Schwimmwagen complete in original unit insignia purchased from France.
    Possibly the most heartbreaking story i heard as a boy by several OAPs in our area involved a local airfield used by the USAAF during WW2.
    Upon leaving in December 1945, they dug huge pits and buried many jeeps, Aircraft engines, some still wax wrapped and crated also trucks and dozens of Harley Davidson motorcycles used by the pilots who were billeted with locals around the nearby villages.
    No one is sure exactly where the pits are on the old airfield today.
    It was retained by the MOD as a radio telescope site until the 1960's with security by which time most locals had pasted away who had helped the US forces with dismantling the camp and knew the precise location.
    My older brother a biker in the early 90's hatched a plan to find the Harley Davidsons with a metal detector but gave up after a few days of turning up nothing but a few boot strap buckles and some nails.

  • @murphy6700
    @murphy6700 11 місяців тому +53

    Wow, how cool! Once again, a lot of research shedding light on an obscure part of the Second World War. Thanks, Dr. Felton, that was fun to see and learn.

  • @nonamesplease6288
    @nonamesplease6288 11 місяців тому +59

    I am always astonished at the variety of Axis vehicles that show up at Overloon every year. It seems there are just more of these vehicles tucked away in barns and garages than I ever imagined.

    • @gijsv8419
      @gijsv8419 11 місяців тому +6

      This show is for German vehicles only .... and it seemed to be the only show for German vehicles on the world.

    • @ikwer111
      @ikwer111 11 місяців тому +1

      Overloon also has one of the largest collections of Allied vehicles in the world.

    • @gielraap2002
      @gielraap2002 11 місяців тому +1

      Overloon love militracks

  • @murrayscott9546
    @murrayscott9546 11 місяців тому +2

    Beautiful music, enhancing the images of these forgotten gems.

  • @carlosfaliveni2442
    @carlosfaliveni2442 11 місяців тому +2

    Another good day with Mark Felton story.

  • @johnryder1713
    @johnryder1713 11 місяців тому +11

    An old guy I knew found a Kübelwagen in a barn of a house he bought whilst living abroad in Spain, restored her and drove it round a lot, not just to militarily shows

  • @leslietarkin5705
    @leslietarkin5705 11 місяців тому +3

    It hurts my heart to see those damaged Kubelwagens & Schwimmwagens. I love those two vehicles.

  • @TheGeezzer
    @TheGeezzer 11 місяців тому +48

    80 years ago! It's surprising that so many are still in one piece and in restorable condition. Good video, well researched Dr Felton!

    • @Blackadder75
      @Blackadder75 11 місяців тому +3

      most of those finds happened many decades ago, so they restored 30 or 40 year old vehicles, and once restored kept them in good condition for museums, re-enactments or other clubs

  • @garylawson5381
    @garylawson5381 11 місяців тому +37

    I never imagined post war vehicles used on farms. Amazing what a person can learn when you open the treasure chest of Mark Felton Productions. Thanks again Dr Felton!

    • @MikoyanGurevichMiG21
      @MikoyanGurevichMiG21 11 місяців тому +5

      Well the Willys Jeep is a far more better known and iconic example of this.

    • @JohnSmith-yv6eq
      @JohnSmith-yv6eq 11 місяців тому +6

      @@MikoyanGurevichMiG21
      and inspired the Series LandRover....

    • @anthonylewis679
      @anthonylewis679 11 місяців тому +4

      @@JohnSmith-yv6eq If i recall correctly, the very first landrover was actually built on a jeep chassis as a 1st proof of concept etc.

    • @J-1410
      @J-1410 11 місяців тому +2

      @@JohnSmith-yv6eq And the IHC Scout, which inspired the Bronco, Jimmy, Blazer, Ramcharger, and others.

    • @essexfarmer9610
      @essexfarmer9610 9 місяців тому +2

      I am a UK farmer and heard of a relative, also a farmer, who had most of his farm taken over for a US airbase. There was a period of hectic activity building the airbase wirh lots of imported American heavy machinery. The story goes that there was a single quiet day after the build crew had finished the heavy soil moving when the crew departed for their next job, but before the transport had arrived to load up all the machinery. On this day, the farmer saw a CAT D8 bulldozer sitting away from the main equipment, and built a haystack over it. The rest of the equipment was collected but nobody from the US team seemed to notice the D8 was missing. The farmer kept it under the "spoils of war" idea for all the agro the airfield had caused him. He used it to knock out hedges to make bigger fields, pulled a plough with it and even started a contracting business which grew to be the main family business with the addition of more machines bought with the income from the first "liberated" D8!

  • @howardoller443
    @howardoller443 11 місяців тому +4

    I love good stories of salvaging/scrapping/picking.

  • @romanstaszewski5329
    @romanstaszewski5329 11 місяців тому +12

    That Tatra 87 at the 8:00 mark was the ultimate assassin of German officers. With its heavy understeer, rear engine design, the germans were not taught how to operate such a beast. the rest is history of course when the Germans copied the designs and turned them into rear engine designs of their own known as the Beetle and Porsche.

    • @k4106dt
      @k4106dt 9 місяців тому +1

      I think you meant oversteer.

    • @romanstaszewski5329
      @romanstaszewski5329 9 місяців тому

      @@k4106dt yes, had brain fart.

  • @godgunzndrumz
    @godgunzndrumz 11 місяців тому +5

    Mark Felton has to be the best war historian ever. I have wondered about many of the obscure aspects of wartime history and then there they are, just like that. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Your work will live on for many generations to come.

  • @Dontwlookatthis
    @Dontwlookatthis 11 місяців тому +5

    Mark, in 1975 a friend found an add in a militaria magazine for still-in-the-box Kettenkrads which were still in "new" condition, selling for under $2,000 US and asked me if I wanted to go in with him to buy one. I didn't have the money.

  • @pasha12343
    @pasha12343 11 місяців тому +28

    Fascinating, it is incredible the amount of vehicles used in the war . Imagine the back stories to each vehicle. Great content 👍🙂thank you.

  • @irenesupica5571
    @irenesupica5571 11 місяців тому +25

    Seeing the photos from Greece reminds me of my relatives and friends who suffered the German occupation. As a youngster, I didn't really understand my uncle's antipathy to all German products, and how he would never even think to purchase a VW. As an adult who's studied history, watched so many of Dr. Felton's videos, and heard so many horror stories from Greeks who lived through the war, I get it, as much as a person who's never known war can. I lived in Thessaloniki for a few years, and have a small idea of the suffering of the Jews of that predominantly Jewish city.

  • @DrooMighty
    @DrooMighty 11 місяців тому +4

    It never fails to impress me how he can make even the more seemingly mundane aspects of history so interesting. People salvaging old military equipment for agricultural and civilian use makes total sense, but it's not the kind of thing that most people would put too much thought towards.

  • @Imagewalk
    @Imagewalk 11 місяців тому +5

    There will still be many vehicles to discover, they must be saved, a huge piece of history that cannot be left behind. Vehicles like this will never be made again. Great vídeo

  • @njcurmudgeon
    @njcurmudgeon 11 місяців тому +13

    While not a "barn find," it is worth noting that the Mercedes-Benz W31 convertible touring car used by General Burkhalter (played by Leon Askin) in the American TV show "Hogan's Heroes" (1965-1971) was one of only four of the 72 known to have been made between 1933 and 1939 that survived the war. The show featured a bunch of vintage vehicles, but they must have been hard to come by, because many had the steering wheels on the right, meaning they were actually English!

    • @lawrencelewis2592
      @lawrencelewis2592 11 місяців тому +4

      The Mercedes sedan used in Hogan's Heroes was also used in the series, "The Untouchables" - at least once a season, they show a dead guy being thrown out of the car and that car is the Mercedes. Desilu studios made both shows so why not?

    • @bubpori5105
      @bubpori5105 11 місяців тому +2

      SGT. Schultz I Know Nothing !.

  • @e-curb
    @e-curb 11 місяців тому +4

    Funny story about a Kubelwagen. I know a guy in southern California who owns a restored Kubel. He was out driving it one time and while stopped at a light, an old guy on the street corner approached him (top down), and said, "I haven't seen one of these since I was shootin' at them!"

  • @garyfasso6223
    @garyfasso6223 11 місяців тому +19

    Very unique, Mark, the extended period where you let the images speak for themselves. 👍 Well done.

  • @chrisparsons2791
    @chrisparsons2791 11 місяців тому +24

    As always Dr. Felton, top notch production value on your channel. Your subject matter is always engaging and I think I can speak for all of us when I say we all learn something each time, along with taking away that feeling of 'wow I did not know about that'. Thank you for all you do for history sir. 🙂

  • @dustylover100
    @dustylover100 11 місяців тому +6

    Remember the Volkswagen Thing? They looked a lot like some of these vehicles.

    • @GunnarMiller
      @GunnarMiller 11 місяців тому

      The 181 was a direct descendant of the 82 Kübelwagen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_181 .

    • @01cthompson
      @01cthompson 11 місяців тому

      I think VW got a good amount of grief from producing that car. No one minded the beetle or bug, though.

  • @user-io5gj6jw3p
    @user-io5gj6jw3p 11 місяців тому +5

    Nice to see me in my own '45 kübel struggling in the Ardennes snow! Must be at least 10 years old. The kübel was indeed a barnfind, and this is how he looks after restauration. Keep up the good work Mark!

  • @javcar1238
    @javcar1238 11 місяців тому +12

    I know a guy who has a willys in his garage and the giant plane search lights and helmets and a-lot of stuff, the guy doesn’t even like them he was using a luger as a hammer. He used to work in the British army’s armory In Malta and stole everything

  • @jjeherrera
    @jjeherrera 11 місяців тому +3

    The Schwimmwagen looks very handy for floods. It should be resuscitated.

  • @arbyjack2552
    @arbyjack2552 11 місяців тому +14

    Thanks Dr. Felton!! Appreciate your hard work and knowledge!

  • @herknorth8691
    @herknorth8691 11 місяців тому +12

    Not a lot of WWII German stuff here in the USA but a friend of mine is restoring a WWII American Jeep. It was painted yellow at some point but the OD green paint is beneath that. It has what looks like battle damage too, a hole (bullet?) and something that looks like shrapnel pattern. Under the hood is mind-blowingly simple; I think there's a total of two wires. Anyway, cool video about some classic vehicles!

    • @RealismAndHonor
      @RealismAndHonor 11 місяців тому +2

      You'd be surprised. I just found out the Halftrack from the field sceen in saving private ryan is in the next town over in MA

    • @MrSloika
      @MrSloika 11 місяців тому +3

      I have a friend who is a member of a WWII reenactment group. After the fall of the USSR his group purchased a running Stug somewhere in Eastern Europe and bought it back to the US for use in WWII reenactment shows. On one occasion, while hauling the Stug on a flatbed down the New York State Thruway, a toll taker took a look at the Stug, stuck out his arm and shouted, "HEIL HITLER!"

    • @herknorth8691
      @herknorth8691 11 місяців тому +2

      @@MrSloika LOL, Dang!

  • @andysmodelandstuff4306
    @andysmodelandstuff4306 11 місяців тому +5

    just a few months ago I "found" a forgotten Ford GPW jeep in a garage in Norway, where it had been since 1974. I am currently restoring it to a road legal standard and I'm hoping to have it on the road this summer. There are a lot of ww2 treasure still out there to be found, mabye in your neigbourhood!

    • @sosteve9113
      @sosteve9113 11 місяців тому +3

      i know ,i recently found a german shell off ww2 in my garden and a few weeks ago some flak ammo

    • @bobkrohn8053
      @bobkrohn8053 10 місяців тому +1

      Years ago I remember seeing ads in a U.S. collectors magazine advertising WWII US vehicles being surplussed by the Norwegian military. Hope they went to good homes.

  • @user-fv5ms4sz8e
    @user-fv5ms4sz8e 11 місяців тому +3

    I think it was at the Harley Davidsons in Corpus Christi, Texas, where I saw a pristine Nazi motorcycle with sidecar. I was told that at wars's end, the motorcycle was taken to a country barn and buried in a mountain of hay and never disturbed for sixty years. It was built to take a beating and keep on going.
    Mark, please consider the Admiral Nimitz museum in Fredericksburg Texas on your next America adventure. You'll need to prepare to stay for days, as there is much to see there. They even have a bulkhead door from a destroyed Pearl Harbor ship and a Japanese mini sub.
    Also, Fredericksburg is a town stuck in time, with many of its original buildings and lots and lots of handcrafted wines, candies and wares. You'll feel the German ancestry everywhere there and a desire to experience it all.

  • @johnnyappleseed6415
    @johnnyappleseed6415 11 місяців тому +10

    Also interested in that Straight Eight engine block sitting next to the KubelWagen at ~9:41. I thought only GM/Packard made a Straight Eight...

    • @chrisrichard2526
      @chrisrichard2526 10 місяців тому

      Buick, Chrysler, Pontiac, Marmons, Pierces, studibakers, and on and on

  • @WardenWolf
    @WardenWolf 11 місяців тому +4

    That 1940 Mercedes 170VK is in impeccable condition. Even the original paint is mostly intact and the tires are still good. That could easily be restored.

    • @callsigndd9ls897
      @callsigndd9ls897 11 місяців тому

      This Mercedes Type 170 was built almost unchanged after the Second World War. The West German police and border guards were equipped with it. I was born in 1949 and still know these vehicles. In the late 1950s they were mostly sold to private users who then had them repainted.

  • @crazyguy_1233
    @crazyguy_1233 11 місяців тому +3

    It would be so cool to find one but gosh it would be hard to find one over here in the U.S. but this video showed me its not impossible. These cars are a piece of history with a story and come from a dark place and time.

  • @markbakker2008
    @markbakker2008 11 місяців тому +2

    The owner of my parents house had a Electric Shop here in the Dutch Village Oostwold. After he passed away, the family started to clean up his old warehouse and found, behind a wall of boxes and tools, two BMW motors with sidecars and machineguns mounted on it. This was back in the 70s/80s. No one knows what happened to it, unfortunately, but it is so fascinating to think about. Great video

  • @thEannoyingE
    @thEannoyingE 11 місяців тому +15

    It’s incredible that all these years later, vehicles are still being discovered. Even more so that the original camouflage was still intact.

    • @MrSloika
      @MrSloika 11 місяців тому +5

      Lead based paint was very durable, not like that pansy 'environmentally friendly' paint we have today.

    • @UberLummox
      @UberLummox 11 місяців тому +4

      @6:47 the KdF Wagon Beetle here in the US had perfect original camo, and even original markings. Then it's shown in an olive drab.
      Why the hell would he repaint it???

    • @playwme3
      @playwme3 11 місяців тому +4

      @@UberLummox not the same one. All the driving footage looks to me from the Militracks event, no doubt Marks own footage or some that he was able to get permission to use easily.

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan 11 місяців тому +1

      @@MrSloika- ‘Lead paint: Delicious but deadly’

  • @jerryjeromehawkins1712
    @jerryjeromehawkins1712 11 місяців тому +6

    Wow!! The only thing I've ever found in the barns around me are old tractors!! 😅
    Thanks Dr F!!

  • @BlastedBilly
    @BlastedBilly 11 місяців тому +2

    that half track at 5:08 looks stunning!

  • @Bgo909
    @Bgo909 11 місяців тому +1

    You can almost tell from the comments who has just found mark feltons channel, like all of us who landed here, we can’t help but to show the love, but I assure you, people here honestly already know how awesome he is. Lol

  • @Willysmb44
    @Willysmb44 11 місяців тому +41

    I grew up in a town in North Florida and I remember seeing a schwinwagen for sale on the side of the road a couple of times. This would have been in the mid 70s and even then I knew what it was, but NOT how rare they were, especially in that place and time. To this day I wonder how it got there and whatever happened to it

  • @RackwitzG
    @RackwitzG 11 місяців тому +5

    Kudos to those who have the skill, endurance and nerves to restore such vehicles. The Kettenkrad is very popular in Germany.

  • @shawnwhite2120
    @shawnwhite2120 11 місяців тому +14

    I always find myself shocked at the amount of new material you come up with on a daily basis ,well done👍💯❤️

  • @johnjuarez8005
    @johnjuarez8005 11 місяців тому +1

    The word "scrap" must be a favorite of Mr. Felton.

  • @user-em2pe3rf4h
    @user-em2pe3rf4h 11 місяців тому +22

    Another stellar episode from Mark. The amount of research and verification that must be done is staggering. His channel could actually be used to teach class. Well done Mark and many thanks!

  • @charliemanson4808
    @charliemanson4808 11 місяців тому +8

    8:00 you didn't name the Tatra 87 one of the officer killers due to lift off while cornering spinning the car.

  • @tinkeringinthailand8147
    @tinkeringinthailand8147 11 місяців тому +4

    As an enthusiast of general history and also motor mechanics (the older the better) I loved it Mark. Thanks for this gem.

  • @lt.petemaverickmitchell7113
    @lt.petemaverickmitchell7113 11 місяців тому +4

    Thank you for yet another fantastic video Dr. Felton!
    Your ability to combine new obscure stories with television quality visual and narration never ceases to amaze me.

  • @devonwhetenhale8828
    @devonwhetenhale8828 11 місяців тому +12

    So cool! I would love to see these running again. They must have contracted a machine shop to make parts. Thanks Mark!

  • @jakethetool698
    @jakethetool698 11 місяців тому +22

    I want so badly to own a piece of German WW2 memorabilia, I can’t imagine stumbling on some of these funds.

    • @dougtheviking6503
      @dougtheviking6503 11 місяців тому +4

      Start small, then work up.. Be careful it gets addictive. 👍

    • @kenh3344
      @kenh3344 11 місяців тому

      Why .... ???

    • @alfnoakes392
      @alfnoakes392 11 місяців тому +2

      I'd imagine the real stuff is quite expensive (unless you actually find it yourself). The Ural motorcycle combination is a direct (Russian) copy of a 30's BMW machine and old ones can be had comparatively cheaply due to the awful (Russian) build quality. It is often rebuilt to 'look German' so that might be the way to go.

  • @jpavlvs
    @jpavlvs 11 місяців тому +7

    Kettenkrad production by Opal lasted post war for several years. Used as an ATV on farms and in forests.

    • @theonlymadmac4771
      @theonlymadmac4771 11 місяців тому +4

      It was produced by NSU, not by Opel. Only the engine is from Opel.

  • @ray7419
    @ray7419 11 місяців тому +3

    I’d absolutely LOVE to have one of the old Kettenkrads. Really awesome vehicles.

  • @tiredlawdog
    @tiredlawdog 11 місяців тому +3

    As the owner of a 1972 "Thing" made in Germany, It made my skin crawl to see the Kubelwagens laying in ruin.
    I can only imagine what the cost of restoring one of those would be. Fantastic video, thanks Mark.

    • @markescartin1915
      @markescartin1915 11 місяців тому

      The "thing" was a thing in Mexico. Although never as popular as the Kombi AND all its variants Volkswagen has quite the following to this day: Don't know if Continental OR Fulda are sold but Euzkadi, General Popo and Michelin are available?

    • @tiredlawdog
      @tiredlawdog 6 місяців тому

      @@markescartin1915 Actually mine bore the ID plate under the front lid, Made in Germany. I was told by the
      dealer that retrieved it out of Mexico, it was an experimental vehicle for the West German Army. I know I could
      never get original replacement parts for it. I kept it for 15 years before selling it.

  • @williamglover3965
    @williamglover3965 11 місяців тому +8

    The staff cars are especially cool to me though I can only imagine the nefarious uses to which they were put. Great job, Dr. Felton.

  • @user-vx4eg2yb8c
    @user-vx4eg2yb8c 11 місяців тому +1

    Mark Felton is a superb war historian.. beautiful to see these machines restored ,relics and pieces of history..

  • @theallseeingmaster
    @theallseeingmaster 11 місяців тому +3

    My father liberated a fast, yellow BMW roadster of some type. He had it for about a month or two after V.E. Day. When his commanding officer saw it, it wasn't his anymore.

  • @e-curb
    @e-curb 11 місяців тому +4

    5:20 This Kubel was sitting in a field outside the village of Ermione on the Peloponnese of Greece. I was in contact with a guy who took a different photo of this car, and in May 2011, I went to find it. The photo I had was taken only 10 months prior, and by the time I got there, the car was gone. I also had the same photo seen here, but it wasn't cropped as tightly, so you could see the houses in the background. When I was walking the country roads, I found the right road with the houses in the photo, so I knew I was in the right place.

  • @417jumps3
    @417jumps3 11 місяців тому +5

    The research that goes into content provided in your stories is amazing!!! I’ve enjoyed every one of your videos! Thank you Dr. Felton!!

  • @royboy9361
    @royboy9361 11 місяців тому +5

    Stumbling across this channel would be something like a barn find. Great work again Dr. Felton. 5:52 was my favorite.

  • @davidcouch6514
    @davidcouch6514 11 місяців тому +3

    Some guy in East Point, Ga had a good shape Kubelvagen in the 60’s. Local paper did a story on its origins I cannot recall but that he occasionally rented it out for WWII movies and tv.

  • @westychesty
    @westychesty 11 місяців тому +4

    Thank you for taking an amazing interest in WW2 history! Not enough historians like you out there!!! Please keep up the outstanding content!

  • @randyeller8139
    @randyeller8139 11 місяців тому +2

    Great tally of historical machines. Always heartened by the fact that you can leave the weapons of war behind near a bunch of farmers and they’ll quite literally figure out how to turn swords into plowshares. I still hope to see one of the half track trikes up close and maybe make my own using modern technology.

  • @kpdvw
    @kpdvw 11 місяців тому +1

    keep on finding and restoring these classics....!

  • @thomaspavelko9412
    @thomaspavelko9412 11 місяців тому

    The folks at restore these vehicles a lot of us really appreciated.

  • @lukefriesenhahn8186
    @lukefriesenhahn8186 11 місяців тому +6

    I would love to own any type of German half-track from WWII. They are very cool and not talked about very often.
    Great video as always, much thanks to you Sir Felton.

  • @brucevanderzanden9638
    @brucevanderzanden9638 11 місяців тому +4

    Thank you Mark for sharing this with us!

  • @bymarcatholictinkering
    @bymarcatholictinkering 11 місяців тому +1

    Thank you for keeping people informed about the history that changed the world in so many different ways.

  • @loismiller2830
    @loismiller2830 11 місяців тому +6

    I love that Schwimmwagen. I grew up in Alaska. In the summer, a guy from Anchorage would bring his Amphicar out to Kenai Lake and drive it into the water. As kids, we were fascinated by that and thought it was the coolest thing. His wife would be riding shotgun wearing a stylish outfit with a giant straw hat. It was all quite remarkable to a pack of feral Alaskan kids! I just googled the Amphicar and discovered it was also designed by a German.

  • @morningsalute03
    @morningsalute03 11 місяців тому +3

    Found a ww2 scout car (wheeled half track) at a ranch in San Jose ca. it was used to feed the horses. My dad and I restored it and is now in a museum

  • @johnathanlewis2049
    @johnathanlewis2049 11 місяців тому +3

    Mark Felton always creates the best videos. Another awesome example to be sure.
    Great video Mark!

  • @marcoluoma3770
    @marcoluoma3770 11 місяців тому

    Thanks. As a car guy and a WWII history buff, this video was right up my alley. Thanks again.

  • @tracynewberry2937
    @tracynewberry2937 11 місяців тому +2

    I am sure that many of these old, forgotten and now silent vehicles could tell some interesting stories

  • @Caerdarn
    @Caerdarn 11 місяців тому +3

    A British buddy of mine, living and working as I was in Tokyo, discovered a WWII Japanese tank, which was parked outside a provincial supermarket. He bought the tank, spent time and money renovating it, and then sold it to the Imperial War Museum. I do not gave a precise date of when this happened, but it was within the last twenty years.

  • @chuckb9867
    @chuckb9867 11 місяців тому +5

    Please more videos like this this is killer love the old barn finds to the max

  • @armorer94
    @armorer94 11 місяців тому +1

    Well done again, professor!

  • @Nethanieal
    @Nethanieal 11 місяців тому +1

    Many thanks for that , pretty to cool to see these still around as they have so much character

  • @MrTuftynut
    @MrTuftynut 11 місяців тому +7

    AMAZING ! I'd love to own a real and restored Kubelwagen or Schwimmvagen !

    • @malekodesouza7255
      @malekodesouza7255 11 місяців тому

      Bring your checkbook. The value of those has risen quite a bit.

    • @MrTuftynut
      @MrTuftynut 11 місяців тому +1

      @@malekodesouza7255 Oh I know for sure - A VW Kubelwagen is about £60k+ now and a Schwimmvagen about £90k+ !!!

    • @sosteve9113
      @sosteve9113 11 місяців тому +1

      @@MrTuftynut i even saw them for 130K