1950s RAF Germany vehicle colours?

Mark,

It was spotted a few years ago and was undergoing some kind of restoration. Do you have any more pictures of when you owned the car?Rich.

Rich,

I will have some tucked away in the family photos ‘shoe boxes’. They will take some finding.

I bought this vehicle from a work colleague who I haven’t seen in years but still get a Christmas card. I think he acquired it from Germany in about 1959. He will be interested in all this.

Long before these became collectors cars we were thinking of ways of removing that centre spoke of the split rear window, sacrilege now. He fitted the larger engine with twin pipes and converted the cable brakes to hydraulic.

With my first son on the way and Harold Wilson’s pay freeze, the Austin Healey had to go and I bought the Beetle. I replaced the worn out crash box trans-axle with a syncro unit which was not as easy as advised. I also dropped the road wheels down to 15″ to meet an available Pirrelli tyre. I was working at Astons at the time and fitted a DB5 steering wheel. All this the kiss of death to a current day restorer I am sure.

The last I saw of it, Quartermaster at the Angel, a good source of Spitfire parts, had camouflaged it in some pseudo Waffen SS livery with a rear mounted Jerry can!!

It gave good day to day service for a number of years when times were on the hard side.

Mark

Mark,

It was spotted a few years ago and was undergoing some kind of restoration. Do you have any more pictures of when you owned the car?

Rich.

I missed this post.

Amazing.

SLB 99 – That is my old Beetle, last seen in 1974.

Mark

Very nice – a friend of mine in Southend has one of those. Imagine finding that one with its history!

Good to see the numberplate clearly – that could make a useful reference for my German chum.

Cheers
Zwit

Another shot from my Uncle’s album. Not his vehicle, as first thought, but the Tatra of Grp. Capt. ‘Johnnie’ Johnson.

…and what colour I wonder?

Yes please.

Mark

Thanks Grounded, have you got a photo album with any period shots??

regards
Zwit

Beetle colour.

Zwitter, 52 to 55, I was an Mt driver mech in Germany and from memory the Beetles were green, Land Rovers grey, and most Opels were black.

Thanks all.

regards

Zwit

1950s RAF Germany vehicle colours?

Was a space cadet in the 50`s, visited RAF Bruggen I remember the RAF beetles were a olive drab matt, hope this helps?

thanks Les, much appreciated.

When I was there (62-65), all MT vehicles were still painted dark olive green (except the Mercedes fire engines). Just about all the German make vehicles on the camps, (cars, trucks and tractors, etc) were ‘Reparation Materiel’ and had been green since early 50’s. The only RAF blue vehicles were Land Rovers and J2 vans.

.

A sunroof split full of Supermarine’s finest…

That’s got to be the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time!

Thanks for that! 🙂

Here’s mine:

Mark12

What are the panels poking out of the roof? they look like belly pod panels

Martin

have you any pictures of your ’50?

This shot would be about 1971. 🙂

It had been seriously civilianized by then. Mid Blue VW colour 1960’s paint, chrome trims & hydraulic brakes by the previous owner and I had fitted a synchro box and smaller diameter wheels for available Pirelli tyres.

Mark

have you any pictures of your ’50?

Thanks Mark 12

hmmm… looks like a ’47

I’ll forward the photo to my friend. (I’d love to see more if you have anything) I just need confirmation of the colour! Something in the back of my head suggests that Uk military ones were all green regardless of the service they went to but I need to pin this down.

I’ve got a 1953 split window – I just came back from a weekend in Germany in it. (But that’s not relevant here!)

Maybe my photo shows one Blue one, with military markings, and one Olive Green one.

Mine was certainly Olive under the ‘civvie’ paint.

Mark

I

Thanks Mark 12

hmmm… looks like a ’47

I’ll forward the photo to my friend. (I’d love to see more if you have anything) I just need confirmation of the colour! Something in the back of my head suggests that Uk military ones were all green regardless of the service they went to but I need to pin this down.

I’ve got a 1953 split window – I just came back from a weekend in Germany in it. (But that’s not relevant here!)

I cropped this from the corner of a shot in my uncle’s album. It is outside the mess circa 1947/48. I cannot be 100% on the location but he was at Fassberg, Gatow, Gutesloh & Lubeck at that time.

I have a special affection for the Beetle having owned a 1950 civilianized ex BOAR staff car when first married in the mid 1960’s. LHD, Cable brakes, split rear screen etc. SLB99 – a valuable registration now. I sold it to Mike at ‘Quartermaster at the Angel’ in the early 1970’s.

Mark

I can’t talk for the Beetle specifically, but just to give some kind of response, RAF general use vehicles were usually painted in that lovely blue (RAF blue?) at that time.