Kübelwagen “Nose Art” at Benghazi

During my research in the National Archives for more material on the Ploesti, Romania, oil refineries low-level bombing mission, I came across an original 8″ x 10″ print of this Kuebelwagen apparently appropriated by men of the 98th Bomb Group at the Benina Main airfield occupied by several of the USAAF bomb groups that attacked Ploesti. I’m pretty sure this has been published before, but I hope you’ll enjoy this high resolution photo.

Our eagle-eyed fellow modeler Chris Mansfield has pointed out this particular Kübelwagen actually has a front windshield from an early Beetle (KDF-Wagen). Thanks, Chris–great catch!

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(Click to enlarge)

You know how much I love “nose art,” so this pic of a painted Volkswagen is right up my alley. Gotta love that balloon tire on the spare wheel on the hood (bonnet for you Commonwealth guys!). Looks better suited for swimming the Mediterranean than propulsion on rocky desert terrain.

(Nope, never did a decal for this, but I would have if I’d seen the photo earlier!)