Recent discoveries by the restoration team have led to more questions
The Crowland Buffalo is slowly giving up more of its secrets as restoration work on the amphibious vehicle used in the Rhine crossing in 1945 continues. Daniel Abbott, chairman of the Crowland Buffalo LVT Association (CBLA), said more markings had recently become visible on the vehicle. “One marking we’ve discovered on the front is a US Marine stamp along with an anchor on yellow paint on the armoured front plate,” he said. “We’ve also found another 79th Division triangle, which appears to have been hand-painted. While these are interesting finds, they do lead to more questions as to when and why they were put there.”
Daniel said the finds had made them rethink how far they wanted to go with the restoration. “For now, we’re looking at restoring it to the point where we leave the Buffalo in the state it is in as we feel that will preserve the history of the vehicle better than if we were to fully restore and paint over all these markings.
“If we restore it, we would not be able to paint these markings back on how they are. We believe the only way you’ll really capture people’s attention is leaving it in the condition it came out of the hole.”
Daniel said they hoped to have the engine which came from the US running by Christmas, albeit on a pedestal and not fitted. “We have lifted the original engine out of the Buffalo and we’re comparing what bits are missing and if anything can be used to make one engine complete,” he said. “The original engine is unfortunately too far gone to save and will go on display in the museum.”
‘We believe the only way you’ll really capture people’s attention is leaving it in the condition it came out of the hole’
He said the gearbox restoration had continued to prove challenging as it was found the aluminium had corroded in places and there was a hole in which you could put your fingers through.
“The repairs were delayed while the engineering team at David Brown Santasalo came up with a solution to repair the casing and then carry out the work. But these things are to be expected – the Buffalo has been underground since 1947 so you’d expect corrosion and rust in places
“I was quite amazed that it was the only hole and don’t think we’ve done too badly then. The repairs have now been completed and it looks like new, they did a great job.”
The gearbox is now in the paint shop ready to be resprayed. “All the bearings and seals and gaskets have arrived from the US, so they’ll soon start putting it back together,” said Daniel.
He said they had also ordered paint to start work on restoring the Buffalo cockpit. “We got the reference colour from The Tank Museum, so we’ll do it in the same colour. There are no markings in the cockpit so we’ll get on with restoring it. We’ll also start work on the engine bay so that’s ready for when the engine needs to be fitted.”
The CBLA has been hard at work attending shows and events to raise funds for the restoration work and a new museum dedicated to the 1947 floods.
“We’ve also had to buy materials like steel so we can replace the floor panels which are rusted through,” said Daniel. “We have a team working on that and we’ve got to remake the front mudguards and wheel wings because they’re totally knackered. We’re still on track to have the engine fitted and running in time for the 1940s Crowland Weekend later this year (2022), but I don’t believe the Buffalo will move under its own power.
“We’re still struggling to raise funds for the new tracks and unfortunately the fundraising is not going as well as we hoped – we have so far managed to get £8,000.
“We’ve contacted so many people asking for assistance without much luck. It’s not every day you pull a vehicle like this out of a hole, so we’re all feeling a little disappointed, but we’re pressing on with repairing what we can.”
Donations“
Anyone wanting to contribute towards the restoration of the Crowland Buffalo should visit: www.gofundme.com/f/crowland-buffalo-restoration-museum
