A brilliant Wheatcroft Collection update

Many more pics at the website. Click on source at the bottom



The Wheatcroft Collection in the United Kingdom is a large and important collection of historical softskin and armoured military vehicles. It is one of the largest private collection of military vehicles in the world.

The collection has around 200 items, including more than 130 vehicles, of which 88 are tanks.The majority of the collection is of German, American and British origin, with a smaller number of vehicles from, Japan, France, and Russia. The owner of the collection, Kevin Wheatcroft, has been collecting military vehicles for over 40 years.

The collection is perhaps notable for having a number of extremely valuable and rare Second World War-era German military vehicles, including a number of Panther tanks, one of which is close to full restoration. A number of rare Tiger tanks, both I and II as well as StuG assault guns, Panzer III’s, and a Panzer IV tanks.

Below is an update of what the collection has been up and you can follow the Wheatcroft Collection on Facebook
We have recently discovered this immaculate, as new Maybach HL 230 in a French barn along with many HL 230 parts. It is believed from the farmer that the barn has been kept locked since the Germans ceased using it as a field tank repair shop. This engine is destined for one of the collections Tiger 1’s


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection


The latest picture of the Collections 770 Mercedes from our restoration partner Peter Spillner in Germany. Peter has now taken delivery of three engines and gear boxes for restoration. One engine and gearbox will be kept as a display item alongside the finished car with one engine available for swaps. The latest picture shows the first fitting of the body for alignment and small repairs that may be necessary before stripping and painting.

The Collections 1939 770K open tourer being restored at Rosenow Restaurierung, one of the Collections restoration partners in Germany. This week Kevin is delivering the engine and gear box for installation before refitting the bodywork. This car should re-join the Wheatcroft Collection’s other important Mercedes Benz’s sometime in 2018. Whilst we always knew the car was very intact and original, just how original has only become apparent during the research process. For instance, it will still sport its original exhaust system and after a 10 year hunt for spare engine parts, it will be rebuilt, totally numbers matched as we accidentally stumbled across the original engine that it left Mercedes with. The two spare engines will be restored as working exhibits to be displayed alongside the finished car.


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection
The Collections 1943 Borgward B3000 recently acquired from the French dealer Matthieu Dumias, one of the Collections preferred suppliers. This truck is in amazingly original condition. It is being returned to running condition but left with the ‘as found’ look as it’s a shame to destroy so much originality. Its front Notek and original WH prefixed number plates were found under the driver’s seat and must have lay there since the truck was demilitarised and sold to its first civilian keeper in 1946. It will join one of half a dozen vehicles in similar ‘as found’ condition.


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection
This 4 tonne stone eagle has joined the Wheatcroft Collection’s growing assembly of Third Reich architectural embellishments and will soon take its place in a park dedicated to the display of these items. We are unsure of where the eagle originated from but it was found in a garden in Surrey and is believed to be a corner decoration stone (one of two), off of a public building in Berlin. Further research is required before we can guarantee its origins.


© Wheatcroft Collection

Latest update on the Collections WW1 AEC Y Type showing the installation of the gearbox, gear lever, handbrake and running board iron.

Recently salvaged a 3 metre high, 5 tonne stone statue depicting a WWI German soldier, now on display in the Collection’s memorial park.


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection
These two images show the recently restored Maybach HL62 6 cylinder engine of 1944 construction that is destined for one of the Collection’s 8 tonne Krauss-Maffei semi-tracks. The completed machine is due to join the Collection sometime in 2018.


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection
This 6 tonne table in its memorial park which has been cut from the torpedo belt of battleship Tirpitz. It will stand as a memorial to the men lost on board this ship.


© Wheatcroft Collection
It has also taken delivery of this stone column from Bavaria, it is one of two that supported the balcony on the main entrance of the Platterhof Hotel (the NSDAP party Hotel), that stood behind Hitler’s Berghof. We have not been successful in tracing the whereabouts of the second column but further enquiries are being made. This is to be erected in the memorial park at the Head Quarters of the Collection.


© Wheatcroft Collection
The Wheatcroft Collection has added this ‘downed’ Spitfire to its memorial park. It depicts the original markings of an actual reconnaissance Spitfire that crashed in Normandy.


© Wheatcroft Collection


Following a lead, the Wheatcroft Collection has recently unearthed a cannon buried in Berlin. It was located by a metal detector, and revealed itself to be a 7.5cm KwK 37 L/24 Close Support Gun. It appears to have been removed from a STuG III or a SdKfz 251 and converted into a festungspak during the street fighting in May 1945.

The gun is now back in the UK undergoing restoration after being deactivated. When permission is granted by local land owners, a further expedition is planned later this year to recover what promises to be the remains of a heavily destroyed Tiger I.


© Wheatcroft Collection



© Wheatcroft Collection
Don’t forget you can follow the Wheatcroft Collection on Facebook

The restored Maybach engine is a thing of beauty. The amount of work needed to rebuild it, which entailed restoring original parts and manufacturing new components is quite amazing. Great efforts have been made to track down original manufacturers to see whether they could produce components or have details on the originals. The engineers themselves seemed almost indifferent to the attention their work received from us visitors. It’s all in a days work.

Source and more pics: Tiger 1, King Tiger, Spitfire, Maybach engines, 770K open tourer, Tirpitz and more - a brilliant Wheatcroft Collection update (image heavy)

 

Really nice and thanks for the link!

 

We worked out a while back where the new home is (well, a certain location-spotting savant of the parish did).
Some interesting planning applications floating about.
Intend to visit ASAP if/when the outside bit opens, in case the outrage brigade get stirred up.

Mr Wheatcroft has an incredible collection. Not just the vehicles, must be one of the biggest ephemera collections out there. Would be so good to see it properly on public display.

 

I might add a brilliant post by PzJgr ! I just "followed and liked " The collection on FB .

Gaines

 

Have you seen 'The Weald Foundation' on FB, Gaines? Might well be up your street.
Remarkable collection, plus current running restorations of two WW1 FT types & their second Jagdpanther:
The Weald Foundation

Really do have fingers crossed that Wheatcroft will finally hit the ground running with a fully-formed WW2 museum.

 

Well, in my ever-lengthening life I have gotten to Bovington twice and to the Musée des Blindés at Saumur once and was beginning to believe I would not see any more until the great news that the US Tank Museum was going to move from Fort Knox to Ft, Benning, the latter being about 40 miles from my house !! It will be a bit until it is open but I plan to sneak over. I really appreciated seeing the Weald collection, Herr von Poop, and wish I had seen it while in the UK. I am amazed that that newish looking Jagdpanther was once a projectile ridden wreck. Were those penetrations a test on a captured example? Are they too small to have penetrated like that and far too many ? Some does not seem correct. What a fantastic repair job. Perhaps they moved ours from Ft. Knox out of fear the entire US gold reserve would be needed to restore our collection!

Jagdpanthers are a thing of great beauty to me. I know they are weapons of war and struck fear into many an Allied tank crew but as a student, teacher and practitioner of architecture, still busy at 78, the lines and proportions cause me envy. They manage to look formidable and graceful all at once. But I have only seen one in a crowed static display. But can imagine one moving through bocage or the Ardenne.

I now have liked and followed then Weald collection as well and thank you kindly for the link..

Gaines