Dressing up at airshows

[JDK]

I find all this re-enactor stuff all a bit "blithering ninnies". It's like they weren't allowed in the boy scouts & have to make up for it in some way.

How, exactly, does it differ from messing about in redundant weapons of war?

[Robbie Roberts]

Over paid, over sexed and over here? Yes please.


PeterA

What is that vehicle? Looks similar to a Jeep, but clearly isnt. Some kind of Land Rover?

Its cargo aint too bad either...

That, my friends, is an Austin Champ- Postwar British replacement for the Jeep(MB/GPW) It is a VERY HEAVY son of a gun- and as over engineered as a German machine gun... Has a Rolls-Royce engine in it, and really a neat looking little machine. Not WWII by any numbers: but really a neat one. My buddy(who has my WWII MB) had one for a few months, but decided he had too many other projects (http://www.hansonmechanical.com).

The occupants of said vehicle look great in any time period

Robbie

[Robbie Roberts]

Getting interested in dressing up is the easy part. Its paying for the outfits!

If anybody has some decent fitting outfits that could fit a 21 year old, Id gladly do photo ops.

Christopher

It seems to me that MOST of the available original uniforms fit 21 year olds- all seem to have the 32in. waist, etc the USAF now wants everyone to have... lol... I usually feel lucky when I find gear in my size- 42-44...

Robbie

[k5083]

I find all this re-enactor stuff all a bit "blithering ninnies". It's like they weren't allowed in the boy scouts & have to make up for it in some way.

How, exactly, does it differ from messing about in redundant weapons of war?

When we mess about in weapons the focus generally is on the weapon, not the guy messing about. So there is not that aspect of narcissism and attention-seeking. Also, although the weapons sometimes look ridiculously inaccurate and even foolish, nobody blames them for it or wonders why they don't feel embarrassed.

August

[PeterA]

The Austin Champ.

I have a certain affection for the Champ, it being the vehicle I learnt to drive on, c/o 'Her Majesty' in the late 1950's. It had a transfer box and was as fast in reverse as forward...if you had the nerve.

Over engineered, as suggested, certainly. It was used for light liaison duties and at that time cost the UK Government about £3,000 when the equivalent Land Rover was just £600, a no-brainer.

Here is a shot I took at military vehicle meet in Australia a couple of years ago. The insignia is a bit optimistic and the colour more Australian Jungle rather than British Olive green.

PeterA

[Jesse C.]

Both the Rafterman and I agree that all you need is a WIX shirt!

Everything else is just silly!

[Holedigger]

What? There was a vehicle in the pic with the 5 young ladies?...I hadn't noticed...I must have been distracted!

[Mudge]

I'll tell you, though, some reenactors just weird me out. Nazis, I mean. Couple years ago, we were at Fort Campbell KY, and they had a group of Wehrmacht/SS types. They had their equipment and act down cold, even had one of those little tracked motorcycles and a replica tank. But, man. Nazis climbing around in ol' Hot Stuff just ... bothered me, in some visceral way.

I totally agree. I don't understand why some people want to "glorify" Nazis.
Don't get me wrong. The great majority of German soldiers were just that, "soldiers" and only soldiers. They weren't the viscious murderers that the SS troops were. It's my understanding that those same "regular" soldiers were Nazis in name only. Ya' had to "go along to get along" so to speak. Anyway, when I see a group of re-emactors at a show and they have the SS insignia on, I want to walk up and punch their faces around to the other side of their heads. I'll quit now instead of going into a rant about the vendor's with all the "kraut" crap.

Mudge the opinionated

ps...
1) Maybe my hostility has something to do with the fact that they killed my favorite uncle at Bastogne.
2) Anyone want to try to "enlighten" me regarding my opinion...Don't bother. It's carved in stone

[Django]

Well, I don't think I'm a boy scout wannabe, a blithering idiot, or whatever other names you can throw at me (us). The few times I have done it, I had a great time, and it was a way for me to honor the men and women who were there. Isn't that why the warbird operators go to the trouble to have accurate markings of some FG or BG and then take it to airshows to share with the public in the first place? To share the history? Strapping on a Mustang and flying about doesn't have anything to do with reliving that part of history even a little bit? No? I don't believe you. If that was the case, then we should have just turned them all into pots and pans in '48 and moved on. Put a couple in a musuem and read a book, right?

Does it have a geekiness quality to it? Sure. So does grown men building model airplanes. But no one questions that ever do they?

I agree with the age appropriate and fitness factor comments. FWIW, I have piercings and a goatee, and they are all gone anytime I put on the uniform or flight gear. (my wife hates it too! ) All of the pilots we have come across thought it was super cool. Some have even let us board the aircraft for more pics.

I had a veteran come up to me and tell me part of my flight gear wasn't correct. I said I know but it was the best I could do with what I had, as I was still learning. He told me how it would have been originally and that he thought it was great to see us out there, preserving the history so that people remember what they went through. I almost got a little teary eyed.

Here's another veteran, who came in his uniform from the war.



This was at Thunder Over Michigan in '05 and it was my first time doing it. It was alot of fun and I learned alot. And for a bunch of blithering idiots that no one cares about, you should have seen the photographers RUNNING across the tarmac for this shot...



This wasn't even all of them...



It was about 90° on the tarmac in the morning. The bunny suits were a little on the warm side.



My buddy Mikey took this pic. I love it.





This is my favorite pic of all time. If I never did reenacting ever again, I will always have this pic.



This one was funny. We all whipped out our paintbrushes for the shot. Unfortunately we weren't hard core enough to have done the actual painting in authentic workwear. Although Scott and Ellen gave us some pretty authentic aircraft bouncing up and down during "maintenance" while we were painting, that we found pretty funny.

[tom d. friedman]

I'll tell you, though, some reenactors just weird me out. Nazis, I mean. Couple years ago, we were at Fort Campbell KY, and they had a group of Wehrmacht/SS types. They had their equipment and act down cold, even had one of those little tracked motorcycles and a replica tank. But, man. Nazis climbing around in ol' Hot Stuff just ... bothered me, in some visceral way.

I totally agree. I don't understand why some people want to "glorify" Nazis.
Don't get me wrong. The great majority of German soldiers were just that, "soldiers" and only soldiers. They weren't the viscious murderers that the SS troops were. It's my understanding that those same "regular" soldiers were Nazis in name only. Ya' had to "go along to get along" so to speak. Anyway, when I see a group of re-emactors at a show and they have the SS insignia on, I want to walk up and punch their faces around to the other side of their heads. I'll quit now instead of going into a rant about the vendor's with all the "kraut" crap.

Mudge the opinionated.

ps...
1) Maybe my hostility has something to do with the fact that they killed my favorite uncle at Bastogne.
2) Anyone want to try to "enlighten" me regarding my opinion...Don't bother. It's carved in stone

being jewish i have always questioned why anybody would want to portray or wear an ss uniform at an air show or military history gathering. it makes me wonder what lurks in the back of their heads. mudge is 110 % correct that in most cases, but not all, the ordinary werhmacht soldier was just doing his duty defending his country, taking orders etc, but there was a quantity of war their criminals too. as to the ss, you know my feelings.

[RyanShort1]

being jewish i have always questioned why anybody would want to portray or wear an ss uniform at an air show or military history gathering. it makes me wonder what lurks in the back of their heads. mudge is 110 % correct that in most cases, but not all, the ordinary werhmacht soldier was just doing his duty defending his country, taking orders etc, but there was a quantity of war their criminals too. as to the ss, you know my feelings.

I think it VERY much depends on the group you work with. For some, it's a matter of "rank" and being an "elite" soldier with special toys (guns and stuff). For others, I think they're really weird. At the Mediterranean Assault reenactment (ground battle) we did have some guys dressed up as Nazis including a few SS, but they weren't pro-Nazi types, it was more of a few guys who'd restored a kettenkrad and a motorcycle who were willing to be the "bad" guys at this kind of event. As one of the co-organizers of the event, I did get some calls from other "Nazi" groups that wanted to "play." All but one got turned down and that was because I had someone vouch for them that they were "ok." I for one am OK with some guys playing Germans and being the "bad guys" so we have someone to shoot at - I see it as being like a movie portrayal of history, only more personal and real to the audience. If the guys are good actors, I'm OK with it (some people make really good bad guys, too), so long as I know they don't really believe that stuff.
It's also really fun (NOT) working with guys who think that they should be given "command" positions (think squad leader or General) just because they have a uniform and some stripes or bars on it! Argh! Now I portray a 1st Lt. on occasion, but that's just about the lowest form of actual combat pilot, short of an L-bird guy and I don't try to tell anyone else what to do unless they're messing with the airplane.

Ryan

[JDK]

I find all this re-enactor stuff all a bit "blithering ninnies". It's like they weren't allowed in the boy scouts & have to make up for it in some way.

How, exactly, does it differ from messing about in redundant weapons of war?

When we mess about in weapons the focus generally is on the weapon, not the guy messing about. So there is not that aspect of narcissism and attention-seeking. Also, although the weapons sometimes look ridiculously inaccurate and even foolish, nobody blames them for it or wonders why they don't feel embarrassed.

And most importantly no one can hear them say: '"taka taka taka taka" or "Achtung Scpitfuer!" in the cockpit.

Thanks for clearing it up for me August. Now I realise that the pilots are just doing a good job because someone has to and despite their personal hardship, they know what pleasure it brings to us watching.

[Second Air Force]

This one was funny. We all whipped out our paintbrushes for the shot. Unfortunately we weren't hard core enough to have done the actual painting in authentic workwear. Although Scott and Ellen gave us some pretty authentic aircraft bouncing up and down during "maintenance" while we were painting, that we found pretty funny.

HEY!! I was working in the bomb bay, and she never got inside the airplane during that whole time! Besides, we're married.
Oh, wait--she just told me she was helping me put the racks in that day. Never mind.........

As to the subject of period correct gear and clothing, I once had a plan to wear WWII mechanic garb around the flightline. Oh, well.

Scott

[mustangdriver]

I for one would like to thank the living history guys and gals. THey are the ones you see in full military gear in the middle of the summer at an airshow when we are wearing shorts and still hot. The are trying to tell the story and preserve history as much as someone restoring a P-51, just in a different way. I saw a woman dressed in 1940's attire at the WWII weekend in Reading. I was talking to a member of the Blacksheep, and as she walked passed, we both looked at her, and he noticed that ther nylons had the line up the back. He said, man that just took me back to the 40's.
I want to say thanks to these people that bust their butts to look the part, and educated about what the men and woman of that time period looked like, acted like, and some of the equipment they had. It is a vital but much needed mission that they do.

[Randy Haskin]

being jewish i have always questioned why anybody would want to portray or wear an ss uniform at an air show or military history gathering. it makes me wonder what lurks in the back of their heads.

I'm equally as bothered as the people who what to make that all go away and pretend it does not exist.

Recently I visited a museum in Munich that had a substantial aircraft collection....except it seemed to largely ignore that the years 1939-1944 ever existed. The Bf-109 and Me-262 displayed without Swastikas smacked of revisionist history to me.

So what if the Reich stood for evil and committed immense cruelty during its reign....it happened, regardless. Pretending it didn't by hiding the symbols of its existance doesn't help us "never forget".