A shorter week after Militracks 2026. The team returned on Monday, with the Sd.Kfz.223 arriving back at the workshops on Tuesday, and Friday was taken off to allow everyone some well-earned rest after the show.
Even so, good progress was made on both the Wheatcroft Collection Sd.Kfz.223 and the Jagdpanther.
MILITRACKS 2026
Militracks was a major success for the Foundation. Our Sd.Kfz.223 was one of the stars of the event, attracting a great deal of interest in both the vehicle and the Foundation’s work.
It was wonderful to be back at the show after seven years – our last attendance was in 2019. The Foundation would like to thank the Overloon Museum director and all their staff for the warm welcome and for helping us with everything we needed.
A special thank you also goes to our good friend Remco, who owns a Funkkraftwagen Kfz. 17, for lending us all the radio equipment for our Sd.Kfz.223. It was great to see the vehicle fully equipped as it would have been originally. This also gave us the opportunity to identify the smaller parts we’re still missing to get a complete and working radio installation in the future. Research will be carried out over time so we can gather all the information needed to manufacture these parts.
A considerable number of our members also attended, and it was great for them to see the newly painted Dunkelbraun camouflage and Balkenkreuz markings up close. Best of all, we were able to run the vehicle several times each day on the one-mile track – a perfect way to properly test it in the kind of environment for which it was designed.
THE WHEATCROFT COLLECTION SD.KFZ.223
The seats for the vehicle have been collected, and the leather gaiters are now being made. These should be delivered very soon.
JAGDPANTHER
The magneto work is complete. Both have been repaired, refitted, and timed.
We also checked all the carburettors and discovered that one of the gaskets had degraded, allowing air to get in at the base of the carb and causing it to run lean. All the carb gaskets have now been replaced.
The engine is now running much better than it has in a long time – arguably the best it has ever run. We’ve been carrying out long test runs, but there is still a small “pop” sound we’re working to identify and resolve.
LOOKING AHEAD
Another shorter week ahead – there does seem to be a pattern – with Monday being a bank holiday here in the UK.
When we are back in the workshop, we’ll move the Jagdpanther out of the Collection Hall and run it in the yard, testing not only the engine but the steering too. We’ll also start getting all the smaller details ready for Tankfest 2026, which is now just five weeks away.
