Army Surplus - '42 Kübel

The story behind this replica of a 1942 Kübelwagen is a great one. A story, in fact, that goes right back to the D-Day landing with some original 1942 parts finding their way in there too. Most of us want to build a car that we were taken to school in as a child or one that we have seen in old family photos, and that sentimental drive can be very strong. Well, how about building a car that you have never been in or seen in the flesh and with which your only connection is of a verbal and pictorial kind? That's exactly what the owner and builder of this Kübel did, and you're looking at the result.

Ladies and gents, I give you William Mortimer, who lives in Newport, Oregon, USA. His replica build was something that William and his father Harry had always talked about doing but life got in the way and this never happened, so after his father's death in 2004 William decided to build it in Harry's honour. So why would a man in Oregon build a replica of a World War 2 military vehicle in memory of his father? Why not would be my answer, but the real answer goes back to 1944 and the D-Day landing in France. After that D-Day landing, William's father, Sergeant Harry T. Mortimer of the 9th USAAF, had made it to Belgium and while on routine patrol he spotted a 1942 Kübelwagen on its side in a ditch. Curiosity got the better of him and his colleagues and they decided to pull this odd-looking vehicle out of the ditch to see if it worked. It had been abandoned by the German soldiers in such a hurry that there was still a rifle under the back seat wrapped in a blanket.

For the full story on this car make sure you pick up a copy of the December 2009 issue of VolksWorld

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