Guest bill murray Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Another batch.Sorry for the quality, but these are wartime photos.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Wow! These are pretty cool Bill!CheersGrant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stephen48 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) Photo 3 of the 1942 Buick is in New Zealand. The Officer in the car is the British General Montgomery. The US Marines arrived here in big numbers in 1942 and brought both cars and big numbers of trucks with them .I have seen two surviving 1942 Buick convertibles in NZ, both right hand drive.One is in Southwards museum in Wellington.There were no private car sales here in 1942 due to the war. Edited February 19, 2012 by stephen48 typo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Oracle Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 The scond car was I think a similar conversion to the Phaetons created by GM Suisse on 1939 and 1940 Chevrolet sedans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Hi All:Thanks for the comments.David, yes one of those Buicks. Sadly due to major infections in two computers several months ago and several botched attempts to salvage my photo files they are still in a mess. I have somewhere a better photo of the Buick and am trying to find it. I do have several photos of the Chev vehicles and will post them later in the General Discussion sub forum.Stephen, quite correct and I should add the comments that the first photo shows Generalissimo Franco with his Buick that is set up with a gas generator trailer. Also the 4 door convertible shows General Smuts, head I think of the South African armed forces. Don't know where the photo was taken.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 This picture shows Mao Tse-Tung in a RHD 1941 Buick Roadmaster convertible sedan model 71C. There were 12 export 71Cs produced, but not all were RHD. A close examination of the image confirms that the image is not reversed.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Thanks a bunch, Grandpa.I have never seen that one and RHD to boot. Rareeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stephen48 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 The licence plate on the 42 Buick (photo 3) is 1946 to 1951 series so the photo must be post war.Plates were replaced annually until 1941 then 5 yearly until 1964 when permanent plates were issued.You can tell from the symbol inthe middle what year it is.Montgomery apparently visited in 1947 as indicated by this poor photo attached from a newspaper. Also attached is a photo from the same tour of him in a post war Chrysler. The NZ Government owned a number of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Thank you Stephen for the additional information.Totally aside from old Buicks, you mentioned earlier the US presence in New Zealand early in WWII.My father, MajGen Raymond L. Murray USMC (Ret) was one of those who was privileged to have been sent to New Zealand for rest and retraining.His memories of those days, passed on to my brothers and sisters over the years, were that they were some of the happiest of his 33 year career in the Marine Corps. He even spoke of moving there in the late 1960's when he retired, but it did not come to pass.If you are familiar with the book "Battle Cry" by Leon Uris, my father was his Commanding Officer and 'High Pockets Huxley" is modelled after my father.When the book was first published, they came into contact again after those many years and remained fast friends until they passed away.Small world isn't it.CheersBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph P. Indusi Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 The photo of the open convertible with who appears to be Gen.. Montgomery waving to the crowd is a 1941 not a 1942.Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Correct, JoeBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassesguy Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Bill: This has been a great series of photos you have been posting. I doubt many of us would ever have seen them were it not for the Internet. Thank you for taking the time to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hi Dave:Thanks for the kind words.As mentioned to other Buick enthusiasts, my WWII vehicle history buff friends are not quite so interested in civvy vehicles. My parallel interests in US vehicles of any type used overseas and my interest in military applications of US vehicles overseas has meant I have collected a lot of civvy stuff that sort of sits in my hard drives.I have thousands of images of cars and trucks from Auburn to Willys in the files.If there is sufficient interest, it would be a lot of fun for me to pass them on in forums such as this one to folks who would probably not otherwise run across this type of historical info. Certainly more fun than just staring at the images myself:)Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Stock Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The 1941 convertible was at the 2003 Buick centennial in Napier New Zealand. It was then owned by Mel & Colleen Cooper (& could still be). I believe that this is the "Montgomery" car in message #1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stephen48 Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi Bill. Thank you for you interesting comments regarding your father's service in New Zealand with the marines. I have now read material on the internet regarding his excellent military career. I recall when I was growing up here in the 1950"s and 60's my parents and grandparents talking about the relief and grattitude they felt when the US Forces arrived in NZ as there was a real fear of invasion before this.The contribution of these servicemen has not been forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Stock Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Completely off track but I'm claiming '39 Buick privileges as a follow on to the above messages.Robert Marvin McElvane, of 239 New Orleans Drive, Dallas, Texas was in Paekakariki, Wellington, New Zealand, with the US Marines in the 1940s. Can't find Robert Marvin McElvane nor the address he gave.A befriended family in New Zealand would like to know what became of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi Terry:You may already have this but if not it is a start. Not good news.BillMarines' camp sign returns home - Marinenz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Stock Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks Bill.Yes, my friend Dave Mears ('34 Chrysler) is the person who would like to find McElvane or his family.I dabble in family history so I offered to help him. No luck so far - Dallas genealogists have been on the hunt for me too.A real mystery. He was a real person who made a real impact and the Mears family have an affectionate memory of him but the name and address just don't add up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi Terry:Genealogy is not something I know much about, but Google is always your friend.I found the following link which I assume was a query generated by yourself.Nothing new there.I tried the street address several different ways and also came up empty.I tried several spellings of the last name and also mixed the name ie, Marvin Robert, Robert Marvin etc. and came up empty.I am going to try to go through the USMC archives, of which there are many, to see if I can come up with something else.People, families, addresses just do not disappear. Have faith.As to doing this on a Buick history forum, not to worry, history is history and who knows, maybe the McElvane family owned a Buick or other American vehicle in the day.CheersBillA Dallas-New Zealand WWII Connection | Dallas Genealogical Society Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hermann Goring's 1938 Buick convertible sedan.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hermann Goring's 1938 Buick convertible sedan - Two more images.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rob McDonald Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) BILL AND GRAMPA, I may be imagining this but the cars that are following Monty in the first and third batch of photos may be the same car. They seem to both have those absurdly big Lucas P100 headlights used by many high-end English carmakers.Pretty sure the first one's a Daimler. Might the second photo be from the same parade, meaning that the esteemed field marshall was riding in a five year-old Buick? Nothing wrong with that, mind you.Thanks so much for sharing these. I enjoy seeing big classic cars in their original context.PS. i'm curious - why was Goring wearing white, while all the others are dressed in dark uniforms? Edited February 28, 2012 by Rob McDonald fashion tip (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Stock Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 And another one of the same car and same Montgomery on a rainy day:Viscount Bernard Law Montgomery in ca... | Items | National Library of New ZealandApparently it was in 1948. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Grandpa and Terry:Thanks for the additional photos, all new to me:)Rob:I believe the car you are asking about is possibly a Lanchester, one of Daimler's competitors.As to Goerings uniforms, from what I understand, the following is the background.A. He was a six star general, perhaps the only one in WWII and he could do any bloody thing he wanted.B. He was a very vain clothes horse and had literally dozens if not more uniforms each, a little different for different occasions.C. The colour is said to be a shade of Pearl, not actually White.D. As the Luftwaffe was King of the Skies in Europe up until about 1944, Hitler indulged him and pretty much let him do what he wanted. This also had to do with allocation of war funds which left the other arms quite a bit short.E. I believe that starting in 1943/1944 he reverted to the Luftwaffe Grey uniform colour as it was causing friction with the general populace that he could dress like a Prince and they had no soap to clean the rags they were wearing.I have no idea why I looked into this a few years ago. Must have been in a trivia mood.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The 1941 Buick convertible sedan shown in the first group of pictures (marked "... British Pathe ....") is a RHD Super model 51Cx export model, one of 41 produced.The 1941 Buick convertible coupe in the first group of pictures appears to be a Special model 44C, one of 4,282 produced.Grandpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Stock Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hi Rob & GrandpaLanchester was a very modest car brand owned by Daimler. A friend had one for a while and it had been converted to a little ute / pick up / truck (not sure what language to use here)!I haven't got sources to back me up, but I reckon the Daimler following the Buick will be the Governor General car. As the Crown (the Governor General is the personal representative of the King/Queen) does not pay taxes to itself, the car of the Governor General does not have registration plates, but it has the Crown coat of arms at the top of the car above the windscreen.If you look at the Daimler following Montgomery, and use a little imagination, you won't see a registration plate, but you will see a shape (I say it is the coat of arms) on top of the car.In this case it looks like hero Freyberg ceded precedence to the guest hero, Montgomery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Hi Terry:Thanks for the correction, I looked it up in one of my Daimler history books and you are right.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50jetback Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Bill,I'm sure the Buick Pre War group won't get too upset with me for posting this off topic photo ( no Buick ) but it is probably of interest to you.Subject is Montgomery again, this time a visit to Perth Western Australia in July 1947. The vehicle he is in looks like a Plymouth.I have the photo because of my interest in Harley Davidson motorcycles and a friends father was the escort Patrolman at the front left. The US Navy had a large presence in Fremantle Western Australia during WW2 ( Submarine base ) and a Catalina Flying Boat base located on the Swan River near Perth. The Catalinas conducted long range submarine patrols and maintained our link with the rest of the world via Ceylon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Hi Stuart:Well, automotive history is automotive history so I think no-one will mind the odd non-Buick query. Uhhh, maybe the Harleys are a bit off track:)Trying to ID American cars assembled/manufactured in OZ can be very challenging as they mixed things up quite a bit.After an hour of looking at photos, I offer the possibility that your photo may be a 1936 Dodge 1 ton truck possibly with a sort of Ute body, maybe a police or fire personnel carrier.I say this because of the design of the grille and what appears to my eyes to be a lot more ground clearance than one would normally see with a passenger car chassis. As well, look at the height of the top of the door compared to the chap walking with the car. It is about equal to his shoulder.Here is a poor shot of a 1936 resident in the UK to sort of represent the grillework I am talking about.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest R.C.Aves Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 PASSING NOTE,,I have a 1941 71C, I recall seeing a Film News short of a parade where President F. D. Roosevelt was sitting in the back seat of such a car. There was a Cowl windshield in place with wind wing attached . I have searched for years for any further reference to such an event, Maybe a W. P. A. project or something. I would welcome any update. Thanks Russ Aves deucedeluxe@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bill murray Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Hi Russ:Well, I have not yet found a pic of the 'Roosevelt" Buick but while trolling Google, I found a photo of your Buick. Nice to see that it is being well used and displayed instead of sitting on a display somewhere.CheersBill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johncflick Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 BILL AND GRAMPA, I may be imagining this but the cars that are following Monty in the first and third batch of photos may be the same car. They seem to both have those absurdly big Lucas P100 headlights used by many high-end English carmakers.Pretty sure the first one's a Daimler. Might the second photo be from the same parade, meaning that the esteemed field marshall was riding in a five year-old Buick? Nothing wrong with that, mind you.Thanks so much for sharing these. I enjoy seeing big classic cars in their original context.PS. i'm curious - why was Goring wearing white, while all the others are dressed in dark uniforms?Does anyone know why the Germans blacked out (covered up) most of their car headlights during the Nazi era? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trp3141592 Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Hi,In the first Goering photo, is that Herr Schickelgruber himself on the left with his back to the camera?Just curious.--Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5219 Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Sure looks like him. The haircut seems right. Notice the clenched left hand. Consistent with Parkinson's disease. Hitler often did this to cover up his tremor. Goering appears to be saluting him.I have also seen a photo of Goering using a 1939 Cadillac. He must have liked American cars. I hate to think of what happened to the prior owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Grant Magrath Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Does anyone know why the Germans blacked out (covered up) most of their car headlights during the Nazi era?Because of wartime blackouts John.CheersGrantPS I reckon Monty is in a 1936 Plymouth, going by the grille badge and headlights on the fender catwalks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Creemers Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 We own the buick special Montgomery was in, we believe it was converted to RHD before 1950. An article from a newspaper lists it for sale in late 1947. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil morse Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) I stick the stars on the doors and the flags in the bumper ends and tell everyone this was Chester Nimitz's staff car. And while I wish it was a Buick, this might still be my favorite car photo of all time: Edited May 25, 2021 by Matt Harwood (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipj Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 Does anyone know what became of H. Goering's 1938 Buick convertible? Did it survive the war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38Buick 80C Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 7 hours ago, philipj said: Does anyone know what became of H. Goering's 1938 Buick convertible? Did it survive the war? It's an 80C... I keep a registry of 38-80Cs...I don't have it... of the 411 (350 domestic, 61 export) made 20-25 remain existing. Sure there are a few still hiding... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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