This week’s “found film” is a roll of 35mm film that came with 5 other rolls via an eBay seller who was unwilling or unable to offer any details concerning the film’s origin. Only one of the six rolls yielded any images at all, and they all had an orange tint to them and had lost flecks of emulsion.
But that roll had some interesting shots on it, all of which appeared to be from someone’s trip to Germany – I’m guessing in the late 1970s or early 1980s. Is the photo above a US Air Force guy? The US military used these Chevy Blazers for many years – they were the precursor to the Army’s Humvee.
Why the that time period? I’m judging from the M113 armored personnel carriers, which came into US military use in the late stages of the Vietnam war, and were gradually phased out in the 1980s for the most part, except for the tracked ambulances that continued to be used in the 1990s.
Also, there are a few cars on some of the photos, but not enough where you can really tell what model it is.
In spite of the many years I lived in Germany (and it’s definitely Germany), I am not able to identify any of the places. But there are a number of photos taken on highways that suggest the photographer traveled across a larger area of Germany.
The photographer also had an interest in the small plane shown in 4-5 photos. UPDATE: a friend pointed out that you can look up the tail number for airplanes. It turns out that this one was a glider / trainer, built in 1961. It’s still in service. The airfield is in Peine, Germany – a glider club between Braunschweig and Hannover.
And finally, it appears that many of the pictures were taken from a bus.
My favorite photo on the roll is the last one – thought I can’t reconcile why everyone is in civilian clothes in all the other photos, and then suddenly the last photo on the roll appears to have people in uniform. Was it a tour? Air Force guys touring Germany? This might explain the glider. Help solve the mystery!
