Talk:Decision Before Dawn

Mocked Up P38s

The mocked up P38s were pretty interesting. Has anyone seen them before in a film? I'm not sure why they didn't just use Lugers, since I have seen blank firing Lugers before, like in Sergeant York. --Funkychinaman (talk) 10:14, 17 February 2014 (EST)

Car in MG34 section

It's not really in the framework of IMFDB, but I think the vehicle that is hesitantly described as a 'car' in the first picture of the MG34 section could be a so-called Kübelwagen. This is German for 'bucket car' and it's a type of low-cost jeep produced by Volkswagen, the design of which was based on the famous Volkswagen Beetle, PeeWee055 (talk) 11:39, 28 February 2014 (EST)

I had considered that, but the vehicle just looks like a regular car. It's like they took a regular convertible and mounted a machine gun in the back seat. --Funkychinaman (talk) 11:53, 28 February 2014 (EST)

It wouldn't be incorrect to call it a Kubelwagen. Even though the term is used almost exclusively in reference to the Volkswagen, it appears Kubelwagen can be applied to any German military version of a civilian car(I think the more correct term for these vehicles would be personenkraftwagen, or PKW, but I've seen both terms used interchangeably). The car in the movie is one such vehicle, and after watching the scene a couple times, I believe it to be the BMW Kubelwagen, as seen here. It's kind of surprising to see this in a movie as it supposedly is one of the more uncommon kubelwagen types.--Phillb36 (talk) 00:20, 1 March 2014 (EST)

When I think Kubelwagen, I think Volkswagens as well. It looks like these BMWs were just passenger vehicles. The machine gun mount in the film seemed very crude. As for availability, the film was shot in postwar Germany, so with the exception of tanks, all the equipment was otherwise authentic. (Which is why the mocked up P38s are so mindblowing.) --Funkychinaman (talk) 02:03, 1 March 2014 (EST)

You're right about the machine gun. It seems it was very rare for machine guns to be mounted on these type of kubelwagens, as I can't find any photo evidence on the internet or in any of my books. The MG was probably mounted on the kubel just for the sake of the movie; it looks like they put the MG34 on it's anti-aircraft tripod and threw it in the back. I was aware the movie was shot in Germany, but I was still surprised that a Kubelwagen that was built in small numbers makes it into a movie, instead of something that was produced in much larger numbers, such as the Mercedes 170VK.--Phillb36 (talk) 23:53, 2 March 2014 (EST)

I had a guess that it is a sidecar of a motorcycle but your idea seems to be more correct. Greg-Z (talk) 11:44, 28 February 2014 (EST)

Thanks for your suggestion about the BMW Kuebelwagen, I did not know this! Your idea seems most plausible because the German authorities probably used anything available to try to turn the tide of war, PeeWee055 (talk) 09:13, 2 March 2014 (EST)

Actually, most production for the various Kubelwagens started before the war. The BMW Kubels like the one in the movie were built between 1934-1937.

When the VW Kubelwagen went into production it replaced all previous Kubelwagen models built by the various manufacturers. The VW was so successful in it's intended role it became synonymous with the term Kubelwagen. This is why all those kubelwagens that weren't built by VW have been somewhat forgotten.--Phillb36 (talk) 23:25, 2 March 2014 (EST)