Combat Dealers
Upcoming episodes
May 14th
1000p
USA
Bruce blows up a van with WW2 rifle grenades and the twins ride the Redball Express. Bruce tracks down an iconic ‘Deuce-and-a-half’ American army truck, and delivers it to aGermany, following the route of the giant convoy of trucks which supplied the Allied front-line during the invasion of Germany (this was the famous, heroic ‘Redball Express’). The deal is a swap. In return, Bruce gets the rusty hulk of the only known authentic ‘Berghetzer’ in the world (a WW2 tank recovery vehicle). It doesn’t look much, but done up, it could fetch Bruce as much as £400,000. On the way, Bruce buys a weird view-finder and a Panzer tank shell rack, and he gets to spy, but not buy, a gigantic ‘parachute mine’ called Monica.
May 15th
1000p
US/HOLLAND
Bruce spends a staggering £40,000 on a single WW2 army uniform, and Hus almost throws up doing loops in a Mustang. Bruce is in heaven. He’s an ex-para, and he’s on the hunt for old, super-rare British, German. and American paratrooper gear. His paratrooper pilgrimage takes him to the Netherlands and the U.S. Some great history in this show, brought alive by a series of amazing relics, from dusty packs of cigarettes and wrist compasses to muskets and old parachutes. Bruce meets up with a bomber pilot veteran and hitches a ride in a B-24. Mustangs and Spitfires also feature.
May 16th
1000p
UK/HOLLAND
Bruce finds a very special relic from WW2 - Glen Miller’s army uniform. He’s gotta have it, and is prepared to spend big. To pay for it, he’s doing up a wartime German tank engine. And this isn’t any old engine. When it’s working Bruce will be able to sell it for no less than £100,000! Meanwhile Bruce’s sidekick Hus almost comes unstuck when he buys a rare, but knackered American armoured car. It looks great, but when he gets it home, he finds there’s no gun and the turret doesn’t turn. Mechanical mayhem and musical nostalgia, with a wartime themed night out for Bruce and the missus.
May 17th
1000p
SECRETS AND SPIES
Bruce turns James Bond when a WWII Resistance museum in France sends him on a mission to find secret and spy related items. Such objects are rare and Bruce’s little black book of dealers and private collectors takes him around the UK and over to Italy. Uncovering a box of parts for a special anti-tank weapon, designed by ‘Churchill’s Toyshop’ that made secret weapons for spies, he charges Freddy with restoring it to test and sell to a buyer. Needless to say it ends with a bang!
May 19th
300p
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
Delivering an original WW2 American Jeep to a client Bruce is amazed at what he stumbles on. Peter Monk restores and rebuilds original WW2 Spitfires from scratch out of his workshop on the historic airfield, Biggin Hill. Peter has another challenging buy for Bruce, to find him a super rare fully restored German army jeep called a Kubelwagen for his museum. Never one to shy away from a profit or a challenge, Bruce and Freddy hit the road buying up Battle of Britain items to flog to Peter. The twins also have a challenge of their own; Bruce has asked them to prepare some WW2 artillery guns for export to Australia. The problem is, Aussie importation laws are very different to our own.
May 19th
400p
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
A Hollywood armourer is looking for props for a new blockbuster movie. On his shopping list is authentic Cold War Russian anti-aircraft guns. This could be a big money deal for Bruce. The only problem is, he doesn’t have any and Russia is a tricky place to source items quickly. But Bruce knows where he might find such items – Finland. At the end of WWII, Russia took 10% of Finnish territory so lots of WWII and Cold War items can still be found there. So Bruce and Hus head to icy Finland on his own Mission Impossible.
May 20th
1000p
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Always looking to increase his stock and his list of contacts, Bruce and ex–Para Freddy are on a business trip to Russia. Helped out by his trusty Muscovite dealer friend Dimitri, Bruce buys his way around some of Moscow’s biggest military dealers. He also gets a lucky introduction to an oligarch who seems to take a liking to Bruce and insists he takes him shooting! In the U.K twins, Nick and Phil are having slightly less fun. Bruce has tasked them with restoring a rare bit of German kit for a client of his, the problem is, there’s no instruction manual and nobody quite seems to understand what it is!
May 21st
1000p
NAZI OCCUPIED BRITAIN
An excited Bruce has heard that a Martello Tower has come up for sale on the Channel Islands. This is a huge concrete fortification the Germans armed and used when they occupied these British islands. Bruce has always wanted one to house his collection and they rarely come on the market, so he heads straight over to Jersey and Guernsey. Not only is this a trip down memory lane, as Bruce bought some of his first items there, it’s a chance to hunt for items that tell the story of Nazi occupied Britain. Back at base, the twins have the dangerous task of getting a WWII Napalm filled flamethrower safe and ready for a buyer.
May 22nd
1000p
THE ITALIAN JOB
Bruce and Hus are on Italian road-trip. From Venice to Lake Garda they meet up with dealers whose objects tell the incredible story of Italy in WWII. Italian kit is going-up in value; if Bruce can increase his stock while it’s cheap and sit on it as it rises in value, it’s money in the bank. And it’s a perfect excuse to take in the sites of northern Italy. Back at base, Freddy and his son are rebuilding an authentic German troop carrier from scratch. But they only have two weeks as Bruce has found a dealer who wants to try before he buys when they meet at a Dutch military fare. So Freddy must get the transporter built, running and ready to ride.
May 23rd
1000p
HIDDEN HEROES OF D-DAY
Bruce’s latest military acquisition is the fuselage of an original D-Day Dakota aeroplane. He wants this forgotten hero of history hung up and on display for all his clients to marvel at. Nick and Phil get the task of making this happen! With the 72nd D-Day anniversary coming up Bruce decides to travel to France buying up behind the scenes D-Day kit and vehicles that other dealers often overlook. On the way he investigates landing beaches, battle grounds and even gets to fulfil one of his bucket list items, a D-Day parachute jump out of a beloved Dakota! For Bruce, life doesn’t get much better than that!