The Littlefield Military Vehicle Collection

[Scout]

Mr. Littlefield had not only the funds but also an excellent taste in hobbies

http://www.mishalov.net/military-veh...-vehicles.html

[AmericanKraut]

Nice, wish I could afford to collect tanks, or at least work on them The only tanks I own are 1:72 scale or virtual lol

[drmessimer]

Scout: Did you ever have the opportunity to go up there and see his place? I made three visits there twice with faculty members from the History Department and once with my son. I live just a short distance from his place. In the 1990's a California Air NG pilot flew over the property, did a double take, and called in a large number of armored vehicles, "hidden under the trees." In addiotion to the tank restoration faciility and the museum, Littlefield had tanks, armored cars, and SPGs stashed all over the property in buildings and out in the open, waiting their turn to provide parts or be restored. His death a few years ago was a real loss. Dwight

[Scout]

Hi Dwight.
I wish!! I went to Kubinka, the Smithsonian, Fort Knox (right AFTER they hauled the tanks I wanted to see off to Benning - there were still fresh tracks, fer crying out loud! LOL), but never this particular collection.

What is the current state of it - is it all sold off?

If not, Ill make sure to go se it when in the US (I go there all the time to check out historical militaria museums/collections).

Jesper

[drmessimer]

It's in Portola Valley, which is just south of San Francisco in the coast foothills. The property is/was his pprivate estate, which includes a 4-station railroad system and a private fishing lake. As long as Jaques was alive, there was no charge for entry. All you had to do was call Mike Green and set up a visit for at least 10 people. Jaques himself led the tour and then each person was on his own to climb all over and crawl into the tanks. I think that now it's in the hands of a trust that is operating it as a business, but I don't know. I'll do my best to track down Mike Green and get all the information from him. I saw him at a writers conference three years ago where we were both speakers, so I know he's still in the area and active. As soon as I know anything, I'll post the information here. Dwight

[Scout]

Right, I'm most certainly going there then.
Though having been to the US many times (4-5 times last year), I never did make it to California.
Loads of nice stuff I want to see there besides this fine collection.

[drmessimer]

Scout: Here is a link to the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation: http://www.mvtf.org/pub_tours.php If that doesn't work, simply put Military Vehicle Technology Foundation into the Google search window and it will take you right there. Everything you need to know about the place is there. Below is their description of themselves. Dwight

The Military Vehicle Technology Foundation oversees one of the largest and most significant collections of historical military vehicles in the world. Our goal is to acquire, restore, and interpret the historical significance of 20th and 21st century military vehicles. Domestic and foreign combat vehicles such as tanks, armored cars, self-propelled artillery, and other technically interesting mobile platforms are the focus of the collection. We maintain an extensive technical library that describes many vehicles down to the part level. Aside from the vehicles, there are towed artillery, antitank, and antiaircraft guns. Military support equipment,inert ordnance, and accessories round out the collection. The founder of the Foundation, Mr. Jacques Littlefield, started the collection in 1975 with the purchase of an unrestored M3A1 Scout Car. The first two tanks arrived on site in 1983. The collection comprised a total of five armored vehicles by 1988. Over time other military vehicles and associated equipment were acquired from dealers, collectors, or in trade with various museums or government agencies in the United States and abroad. By the middle of the 1990’s the collection included examples from almost all historically significant land battles of the last half-century. The oldest armored military vehicle in the collection is a World War I era M1917 light tank.
The Foundation was established in 1998 to serve the interests of authors, historians, educators,
the defense industry, veteran groups, model makers, as well as the entertainment industry.

[Scout]

Thanks.
Links works fine. Nice website design BTW.
The Scout Car is a favourite of mine (dont know why, but a huge fan of the halftracks; Sdkfz250, Kegresse etc).
Ill make the collection a priority.
Thanks again.