MOTA: Vehicles and Equipment
Rant 5 of 8
By Taigh Ramey
The Detail
When it comes to details the vehicles and ground support equipment really can make a difference. They really did in MOTA in my eyes.
Ian Hughes supplied the vehicles if I understand it correctly. Ian and his family have a long history supplying vehicles for movie and studio work. I had the opportunity to visit with him at his shop and it was a real treat. He has so many rare vehicles and he is building up more all the time.
The unsung heroes of a production like this are the folks who take care of the trucks and keep them up and running. No small task for sure. Well done guys. We have several of these big trucks at our museum, so it was fun to talk truck with the guys driving and working on them. More sharp kids!
One of the things you see in films and still images around the WWII air bases are all the ground and air crew in jeeps, trucks, bicycles and gear all over the place. MOTA did a wonderful job recreating this and it was a delight to see it come to life.
Not only the vehicles but the equipment that was used to service and support the aircraft were on set. This specialized gear is quite rare and hard to find. Many local collectors and museums rented or loaned out their artifacts to help make the sets look amazing. A production like this can be hard on these kinds of props for sure.
One story was that two Jeeps were specially prepared for having air crew stand or sit all over them like they did back in the day. The hoods are not that strong, so these two Jeeps had a special frame welded up and installed under the hood to support the actors and protect the original hood. Well, when one seen was shot, guess what Jeep they used? One without the support underneath. Oops!
When you simply cannot find some of the ground support gear then you have it built. Chris Cull did an incredible job of coming up with so much cool original gear and what he couldn’t find, he had made. The quality of the equipment was first class too. Not cheesy or cheap at all. Incredible Chris. Another Master of Master’s! Except for that blue toolbox! Just kidding…
Check out the photos and the captions for more of the cool details.
The Gallery
Note: There's over 50 photos in this post... Please bear with me on the captions
The APU or Putt Putt. A gas engined 28 volt DC generator that was used to start the aircraft so the main batteries were not depleted. Each aircraft came with one from the factory as a part of its fly away kit. They were removed to save weight but were used on the hard stands for maintenance and starting. They were called a putt putt because of the sound that this Homelite single cylinder engine made. A very cool detail not often seen in any post war films.
The Federal 7 1/2 ton C-2 wrecker truck. These behemoths were at most all of the airfields in the US and wherever the AAF was. They were used to pick up the aircraft to get them back on their feet when needed or to help clear the wreckage. When an aircraft would belly land the ambulance was usually the first to arrive followed by the slower Cletrac and these wrecker trucks.
The tents around the hard stands where the ground crew lived.
Chris Cull's bomb dump. Outstanding job on the bombs and accessories. Stunning quality.
The engine hoist seen on the airfields are very rare today. We have one at our museum but we have not seen any others yet. Chris Cull had these made and they are beautiful indeed.
The Cletrac M-2 tractor. These were used for towing and servicing the bombers and fighters. These 15,000 pound tractors were also fast so they could get around the airfield in a hurry. They carried air compressors to make 2000 PSI air for servicing struts and regulated down for tires and tools. They had a generator making 115 volts DC for power tools and lighting. I think Ian had three Cletracs on set.
The Reo F-1 Prime Mover with a fuel trailer. A most impressive rig. Very rare too. Each airfield would have had a fleet of these to service the bombers. The amount of fuel that was consumed for the missions was staggering. The fuel came in to the airfields via a pipeline system from centrally located hubs that branched out to the bases. Amazing.
The maintenance stand also prevalent on the hardstands. Faithfully reproduced by Chris and his amazing prop department.
Note the step stand fabricated from ammo boxed just as they did. It is these kinds of details that are wonderful and consistent.
I am told that these are RAF wheel chocks.
The runway control trailer.
Fire truck
Chevy M-6 Bomb Service truck
M-5 Bomb trailers
3/4 ton Dodge Ambulance
Cant forget the bicycles. So prevalent on the airfields.
Runway control Jeep and trailer. The aircraft radios set up in the back of the runway control Jeep. Well done Chris!
M-6 bomb truck and two M-5 bomb trailers plus stands.
That damn blue tool box!
Not a prop but a wind machine that was made out of a radial engine.
It was a cold day to shoot but sure looked good. Winter 1944!
They called it a fuel truck. I called it an oil truck.
Well done!
A few with no captions
