Nickname for CMP cwt trucks
Was looking at some materials from a veterans' association, and the text mentions receiving some 15 cwt trucks. The writer added their nickname as "Cut Weights". Has anyone else seen, heard, used that phrase?
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Not me, but the Chev 8 cwts are "puddle jumpers" or "Pee Jays" down here in N.Z.
In Australia I think they are all "Blitz's" |
Names
Yes the generic name for a CMP in Australia is Blitz, or Blitz Buggy, plural is Blitzes.
The 15cwt Sigvans were called butter boxes, a name also applied to the boxy local design gun tractors. Cab 11/12s (not that we have many of the short wheelbase variety) are generically called Monkey Face or Desert Blitz. |
"Cut Weights"
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H. |
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I have also heard the Blitz signals van refered to as a 'pie van' by Australians. |
sigs vans
Gin Palaces!
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Pie van
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I have heard "carrot weight", and a few other interpretations from people who did not know what the cwt stood for.
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Rob, I work in the road transport industry. My boss (workshop manager) the other day, asked me how to write "1/8 th" I bet he wouldn't have a clue about the cwt.
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The ancient Roman basic unit of mass was the "Weight", the Latin word for which was "Libra". This was divided into 12 units called "Twelfths", the word being "Uncia" (in English, this became Ounce). The basic unit of length was the Pes (or "Foot", plural Pedes:Feet). A Twelfth of a Foot was also called an Uncia, but this translated to Inch. The Roman numeral for One Hundred was the letter "C". So a Hundred Weight is C Wt, or Cwt. How this became 112lbs is another story. Oh, and "Libra" is also the source of the abbreviation Lb for pound, and also for "£" for Pound Sterling. In fact " £, s and d" in old English currency all derive from Roman currency "Libra (of Gold), Solidus (1/64 of a Lb), and Denarius (1/96 of a Lb)". Naturally, a Pound weight of Gold was a massive amount of money rarely seen by the average Roman. Don't think there were many "Poundshops" back in the day. This system lasted nearly 2000 years in Britain, how quickly we forget for the simplicity of Decimal Currency and Weights and Measures. And more Pub-Trivia winning useless information. The Thompson Sub Machine Gun originally had 3 options for ammunition magazines, officially called the XX, L and C Mags. Anyone know why? |
20, 50 and 100 round mags...
But don’t ask me about British pounds, shillings and pence (£sd) :rolleyes |
Thompson Magazines
In keeping with the Roman theme, perhaps indicating the capacity, 20, 50 and 100 rounds.
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I just have to do this:
"It's a Thompson, not a Sterling" While you're at it Tony, you should cover: Bushells, Furlongs, BTUs, Troy weight, Tons, Tonnes, Firkins. Then, there is a: Short cwt, a long cwt, a net cwt, a gross cwt. (life used to be simple) :bang: |
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Oh, so many measures ...
Cubit, Hand, US Gallon, Imperial Gallon, US Ton/short ton (2000 lbs), Imperial or long ton (2,240 lb), and lets not forget 'Bakers dozen'!!
Not long after metrication in Australia, I was at the hardware store and overheard a builder asking for a quantity of '3 metre 4x2s' ..... Mike |
old terminology
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Hey guys, who switched on the Threadjacker?!? :D
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Hanno,
We are just going the extra 'country mile', seeing who can measure up, or who gets weighed down before its 'return-to-topic' time. (sorry, I'll stop now...) :giveup (I have not heard a CMP called a threadjacker either, Bruce, but I've called mine a few things that are not printable here, when experiencing all those aspects you mentioned!!) :bang: Mike |
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To try and get back on track, CMP's have also been called Bulldog face or Pug Faced trucks at times, too. |
I'm not quite sure, but could this...just possibly...maybe...be a threadjack of a threadjack? A double threadjack? Or a jack squared perhaps? Very rare indeed.
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Not rare on this forum. I have said it for years...decades even. The threads on this forum meander like a winding creek through the countryside. But it is all knowledge and interesting. |
Now back to your regular programing
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The abbreviation "cwt " was explained to me when I first got my HUP some 40 years ago as "carry weight" or "century weight " in both of these explinations the amount of weight being referring to was 100 lbs. By those explanations a 15 cwt truck was meant to carry 1500 lbs. Now according to TM 30-410 September 30, 1942 , US War Department entitled, HANDBOOK ON THE BRITISH ARMY WITH SUPPLEMENTS ON THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AND CIVILIAN DEFENSE ORGANIZATIONS. The purpose of this manual reads "The object of this handbook is to furnish a simple guide for the U.S. soldier cooperating with the British." This book in its abbreviations section lists- cwt Hundredweight Cheers Phil |
Phil,
Not far off the mark if your source of the explanation was an American: 1500 lbs = 3/4 of a US (short) ton of 2,000 lb, so you can see the logic from a US point of view concerning 15 cwt (ie 3/4 Imp ton). US Military nomenclature works in short tons, for example, the 'semitrailer, Van, 6 ton, 2-wheel' has a rated payload of 12,000 lbs, ie 6 x 2,000 lb, and the Ben Hur 'Trailer, tank, water, 1 ton, 250 gallon' has a payload rating of 2,000 lb. Mike |
Short vs Long Ton
Hi Mike
There are stories of some interesting confusion over payloads being quoted in long tons are understood as being short tons. There is one story from the Berlin Airlift about a C47 being loaded to the limit thinking it was short tons and actually being long tons. The goonie bird carried it but it was a long flight. There also is a story were they mixed up the weights for perforated decking confusing the weight for aluminum decking and loading steel decking. The pilots made the flight with the engines wide open, after it landed in Berlin the plane was scrapped. Moral of these stories is the old saying "two peoples separated by a common language." The book I was referring to also explained that 4x4 quarter ton was referred to in Britain as a Blitz Buggy. Cheers Phil |
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I have a British War Office Data Book on Bearings. It lists every ball and roller bearing on vehicles in service, whether British, Canadian or US built. It is wartime dated. It lists only the Bantam with the title 'Blitz Buggy', so it must have been an official name by the British. |
Weights and measures
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At the risk of taking a meandering tributary of Rob's creek, this might be interesting to those following the second or third hijack of this thread. I don't feel too bad at it as a General Motors product and it might help you out in the kitchen.
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Going back to the beginning, (I've lost count of which lap) here's another angle:
If you look at "Cut weights". Has it stemmed from a hand written source where the "w" was mis-read as a "u"? With all the CMP's being rated at 8,15,30 etc., Cwt. Maybe someone more familiar with trucks rated in tons, referred to CMP's collectively as "Cwt weights. Which may have morphed into "Cut weights". |
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Treadjacker2000>Enter
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