MVCG Languedoc-Roussillon

Bedford MWD 1941 "Column Leclerc, Taking Kufra "

A little history ...

This little vehicle in English military vocation whose final design is achieved by 1939, is the result of a request from the War Office up to 1935. During these 4 years, the Bedford Truck Division will gradually improve its basic prototype; Modified chassis,suspensions, wider tires, elevated ground clearance, on size of radiator and air filter ... all imposed by the War Board Mechanization.
Thereafter, the truck will change little during the rest of the world conflict. It will be the workhorse in the entire British army. Despite the transmission in 4x2, it will be very appreciated on all fronts, particularly south of the Mediterranean, ends up Sahara.
The Bedford MWD is the English equivalent of Dodge WC 51 de l'armée Américaine.
A small page of history:
End 1940, Leclerc and his "column" (env­i­ron 400 men, dressed by the English but retain their weapons and French part of their equipment) have a fleet of more tired; Matford trucks and Laffly ( S20T, S15T and R) , Austin ambulance, some break Matford, all too breathless to carry out an attack on Fort Kufra .
With persistence and perseverance, Leclerc finally get the Staff FFL a lot 26 Bedford brand new taken from the 1st Company of train FFL. With these cool mounts (the Bedford equip its 2 platoons of combat), without radio equipment, that Leclerc is to attack, which will result in success that we know and the statement of the famous Oath of Kufra . In his strategic sense and the courage of his men, Leclerc even managed to rout the Italian Saharianna, Yet far better armed and numerically superior.
Later, The Bedford , reliable and generous, torquey engine,the vehicle will remain symbolic and favorite FFL , until the end of the Tunisian campaign and agreements Anfa , top 43, when he will be dethroned by the arrival of U.S. equipment. The bell tolls for conflict AFN, the 2nd DB unborn: another page in history begins.

L’appel du sable

Fascinated by military vehicles of the Second World War, I've always been attracted to those who participated in the North African conflict. Devoting a real fascination with this medium as beautiful qu'hostile, theater immense task of requirements, this love of the wilderness led me to make myself raids trans-Saharan, thereby sharing the same feelings with the fighters that I try to meet today. I already restored in recent years a jeep SAS in the highest respect history. We were also, with my friend Jean Benotteau (VMM N° 15 from June / July 2007) among the first to have respectively a copy of this legendary vehicle, well before SAS become fashionable and that flourishes here and there reproductions sometimes very rough and unworthy of the name.

The discovery

While following the work of John B. of its Chevrolet LRDG well known today,I continued my investigations, for I have long wanted to meet other fighters forgotten desert; troops of Leclerc's Column, which virtually never represented at the commemorations. After much research, I finally discovered the gem: A Bedford MWD the 1941 croupissant and Hollande, the depths of a hangar. J’organisais l’expédition, renting a trailer of the appropriate size in order to bring the craft, making preparations. A big thank you to friends who seconded me on this journey and I served in turn as guide and interpreter, assisted me during the long negotiations and repatriation of more adventurous.
Winter 2005; the "baby" finally arrives in the Pyrenees Orientales.

The promising beginning ...

Getting Started, a thorough review evidence that the clutch is stuck, Fuel Pump, the entire braking system, master cylinder included, are useless, that electricity is to seriously reconsider, the steering column to change. Fortunately, the engine is in good general condition, The gearbox also, despite a selection grid slightly tired. But it is clear that the vehicle is almost complete and relatively healthy, important detail when we know the difficulty of finding parts of Bedford.
The mechanical work will take many months. Everything will be verified, con­trôlé, repaired or replaced to the extent possible: Bat­terie, beam and candles, fil­tres, car­bu­ra­teur, Fuel Pump, Maître-cylindre et cylindres de roues, column and steering box, and so on. ...
The supply of new parts, unearthed a hard struggle in England, delay somewhat the restoration.
Finally, the vehicle is operating properly. The 6 Inline emits a sweet sound, so characteristic of English engines.

The body-painting part-accessorizing is to finally begin.
The body is clean throughout, aside some areas normal (rocker, ailes…). The doors and windscreen are properly dismantled. The cash back, Wood, is impeccable. All hardware is present. Note that the truck, whole, includes many elements in wood.
The vehicle is disassembled and sanded up. Sensitive parts are sanded and treated.
Par­al­lèle­ment , media machine guns are installed on the vehicle, as well as the media of sand plates.
The electricity is then completed, the "delightful" modern trailer lights will of course be replaced at reassembly.
Military Tires, dry and hard as stone, are replaced with great difficulty with profiles very similar to sand tires used once.
To paint, the original shade is actually reproduced in the same. Sand is the color used by the factory in Bedford 1941.(L’ancien pro­prié­taire, died today, had reported directly to the parent that is fifteen years ).
Each piece is painted separately and then lift. A final coat finish is applied to make the result. Saddlery, this dilapidated but, is repeated identically by a local saddler.
Comes the much-anticipated final assembly of bodies (headlights, comp­teurs, volant…) and accessorizing!

Particular attention is given to the realism of the result.

Each accessory on this vehicle is the authentic, dated to the later 1941. Each bag, Satchel, gourd, bogus, card holder,Remove search, was collectionneur! No off-topic material not! So, no German can be found in Bedford (Leclerc had subsequently met Africakorp), except jerry, all German, but that equipped Italian troops already (including tanks) , and are only available on the ground at the material time; jerry cans and American English that appear later in this theater. For the sake of realism, nurses are embedded 1938, 39, 41 ... and have color variances between these. (Spoils of war).
The British sand plates are faithfully reproduced the same (Folded, holes, reinforced by riveted plates, as originally, model to support) . For the rest, the vehicle packed with equipment Italo-Anglo-French; Binoculars, gour­des, wallets, paque­tages, a barrel 200 L and number of 50 L (some of which are dated 1930!), English and Italian funds ...
The armament is consistent with many manuscripts and photographic evidence. The weapons are mainly French. It was after the capture of Kufra Leclerc recover that many Italian arms, included machine guns, and the British command will recognize the effectiveness and seriousness of the troops FFL, therefore helping them in arms, materials and equipment from this brilliant victory.
The Bedford has a machine gun Hotchkiss Mod. 1914 in cash, whose servers (shooter and provider) have just enough room to move in the stuff that exists at the rear of the truck. On the left front (the wheel is right, recall the), on lookout, an FM. 24.29 is fixed, its multiple chargers foot. En râte­lier se trouve un Mas 36, wonderful gun for the time, behind the driver and a Lee Enfield MKIII.
The compass navigation from a Bristol Blenheim bomber English and dated 1940 throne between 2 seats. Nothing missing in this car unusual today, see only in this version. Still , I'm constantly improve the results of my restoration, as this gherb unearthed at one of my expeditions in Libyan 2007 almost precisely Kufra. But what reward, and how proud the result and the compliments including veterans of the Memorial Leclerc Paris.

Always Projects ...
It took 18 months to complete the gear. The thing was relatively fast, compared to other food, with the help of some buddies MVCG Langue­doc Rous­sil­lon, I think mainly for the mechanical Claude Francis and Repatriation. The collection of original accessories started long before the work begins, facilitated and enabled the general equipment of the vehicle. The beautiful color of sand that little truck and the profusion of equipment always attract the attention of onlookers and photographers, for my greatest pleasure , happy to fulfill my duty of memory vis-à-vis men in the first column Leclerc. My Projects? After the jeep SAS and the Bedford FFL, The LRDG attracts me terribly ... unless a Bren Carrier Bir Hakeim not crossed my path before!

Small windshields are folding. A cover protects and avoids any glare that would betray the location of the vehicle with the enemy

The Bedford is almost finished. Quelques accessoires supplémentairesprendront place,according to their discovery.

SHEET TECHNICAL   Bed­ford MWD

RHD
Empty Weight	2145 kg
Weight Charge	3506 kg
Length	4,37  m
Width	1,98  m
Ground Clearance	0,23  m
Empat­te­ment	2,51  m
Trans­mis­sion	4x2
Gearbox	4 OF. + 1 Ar.
Sus­pen­sion	For rigid axle and leaf semi-elliptic
Elec­tric­ité	12 Volts
Braking	Hydraulics
Tires	900 x 16
Maximum speed	96 km / h
Con­som­ma­tion	28 l/100 km
Engine:
Mar­que	Bed­ford
Cylin­drée	3519 cm3
Nom­bre	6 , en ligne
Soupa­pes	Header
Refroidisse­ment	Water
Puis­sance	72 HP at 3000 rpm
Car­bu­rant	Essence
Réser­voir	90 L (2 the 45 L tanks)
Pro­duc­tion	66 000 copies