I have always wondered what the story was behind this photograph. Anyone know anything about it?
Interesting photo and I hope to learn more about it.
Thank you,
Randy 
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Aerial camo?
Barn find?
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So please don’t take this as gospel, BUT somewhere along the line I saw this photo in conjunction with the German retreat from France. Now that part is pretty obvious, I thought the storyline was that the two vehicles were being used as an observation platform. Other than that I don’t recall specific details.
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Liberated/Captured/Stolen FIAT Topolino
Edit: Car misidentified. a more likely candidate is a FIAT 1100 Balilla
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FWIW- the Topolino registration number is from the province of Campobasso, Italy,
Cheers,
Angel
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I don’t think this is a topolino as it looks to be bigger than that car.
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I should have checked more carefully. The Topolino did not have a window behind the doors.
The FIAT 1100 Balilla is a more likely candidate, 1400 mm (57.3 inches) t0 1480 mm (58.3 inches) wide depending on body style.
The Balilla inherited much of the design from the Topolino but the Balilla is a bigger car.
The Sd.Kfz. 250 isn’t all that big either …
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Simca 5?
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Simca 5 is essentially a licence built rebadged Topolino.
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How about a Fiat 508 C.
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I would go with either air camo or transporting the CO’s run around car. It would be a pain as it would need a crain to uninstall it.
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It would also be a bi-atch reinstalling the tires every time.
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Google image search confirms your identification of the car. Although I note from the Wiki page that the same car was also manufactured in France as the Simca 8. So it could either.
Google AI also states:
The image was taken in Italy around 1943 during the war.
But does not given any reference in support of this
Interestingly, it identifies the truck behind as a Peugeot 402.
Looking more closely at some of the details on the photo, someone has gone to the effort of removing all 4 tyres and there seems to be something rectangular across the rear hubs. On closer inspection of both photos I think it may be an optional illusion though, and instead is a plant across the top of the 250, just in front of the car’s rear axle, matching the one across the middle of the 250.
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This photo was taken in Italy. It will have been a Fiat
(Simca was specifically set up by Fiat to make Fiats in France for the French market. Nobody would have had a reason to import Simcas into Italy, I would think, except maybe someone who already owned one and moved from France to Italy.)
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My comment to possibly being a Simca was in reference to Whitney having seen the image being from France.
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That’s funny. I’ve taken a graduate level class on the use of AI and attended a few seminars on it. That doesn’t mean I know anything more than anyone else could learn in five seconds by simply asking Google, ChatGPT, Grok or others how they operate.
What we’re seeing is something similar to citation laundering. A speculative claim is discussed online, indexed by search engines, summarized by AI, and then repeated with a citation attached. The citation can make the claim appear more authoritative than the underlying evidence actually supports. If you ask it now, it will give likely answers and now includes the very speculative conversation we are having as its “source.” Which is exactly why I don’t use it for such things. Here’s part of it:
These “tools” are exceptional at helping me with my novel, going so far as to offer a psychological analysis of the characters, correct grammar, offer tweaks, and trying to predict what will happen next. Sometimes I will tell it just for fun to write the next scene based on what it’s seen so far, and it can generate some surprisingly good twists, but the writing is horrible - full of cliches and far too many adjectives. Think “ it was a dark and stormy night. Even though it appears to invent a story from scratch, it’s doing so by predicting what narrative elements, character actions, and writing styles are most likely to fit what came before.
In short, if it doesn’t know definitively what you’re showing it, it’ll give you its best guess. Someone who has looked it up reads it, posts it like it’s gospel, and eventually it almost becomes the truth. Exactly why I make a point of busting out certain people on this site when they post tripe - over the years, even before AI, people have begun to drink the Kool-Aid with out even knowing what flavor it is. Most recent example - very recent discussion on M-L in which some are still saying you need to add a shim to the Tamiya M48 turret. I have proven with my own research that is not true, and even posted the results on the archived Armorama. Because I have no desire to waste time in their discussion, I posted a link that sort of alluded to my post, and didn’t mention Tamiya specifically, and this must not be true because they couldn’t find it. AI can make you very lazy if you don’t do your own research, just like they tell you at the bottom of their answer.
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Completely agree about use of AI having to be careful, which is exactly why I added:
“But does not given any reference in support of this”
I see Google image search as a useful tool to provide a starting point for research rather than replacing research.
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