Battle for the Airfield

The Sights and Sounds of a World War II Battlefield

This weekend we went to The Collings Foundation WWII reenactment of the “Battle for the Airfield”; a live-action reenactment of a 1944 battle between the Allies and the Germans for a forward operating base airfield.

There were over 300 reenactors, representing several units of Allied and Axis military, participating in the reenactment. There was also fully restored military equipment of all kinds to include tanks, cannons, troop carriers, halftracks, aircraft and support supplies. Allied and Axis camps were set up with authentic materials and appearance and the reenactors shared their knowledge about the weapon systems and life as a WWII military person.

As you can see in the following photos, a significant number of restored WWII vehicles participated in the reenactment:
 
German Historic Vehicles:

• 1942 Fieseler FI-156C Storch airplane
• Zündapp KS750 motorcycle (with sidecar)
• 1939 Mercedes Benz W31 Staff Car
• SdKfz 251 Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 half-track
• Panzerjaeger 38 Hetzer tank killer
• Sturmgeschütz III tank killer
• Nebelwerfer rocket launcher
• 20-mm Flak anti-aircraft cannon
• 88-mm Flak anti-aircraft cannons

 
Allied (American and British) Historic Vehicles:

• M-3 Stuart tank
• M-4 Sherman tank
• M-5 half-track
• M-8 Greyhound armored scout car
• M-18 Hellcat tank
• Bren Gun Carrier

 
If you would like to learn more about the Collings Foundation - here's a link to their website:

                www.collingsfoundation.org