25 pounder tractors
 

I did not know whether to continue the GMC thread or not. When I started looking for GMC's in Australian service during WW2 I got on a roll with the War Memorial collection.

Below is a group of photos showing Australian units using anything but the CMP gun tractors for their 25 pounders.

A DUKW in Morotai

An experimental SP gun 25 pounder

GMC with (not 25 pounder but bofors) North Queensland 1944

GMC with 25 pounder Tarakan, Borneo 1945

GMC Balikpapan Borneo 1945

GMC Morotai

GMC Wewak New Guinea 1944

25 pounder behind captured Japanese tractor New Britain 1944

Big load for a little girl New Guinea 1943

Need a bit of help? New Guinea 1944

Marmon-Herrington in Syria 1941

This is the way to carry a 25 pounder. Parade in Melbourne 1943?

I do not know what this probably underpowered 4 cylinder British vehicle is, waiting to pick up an Australian 25 pounder in Syria 1941. At least that is what the caption says. I can't believe these vehicles were used as gun tractors. More than likely the Australian Marmon-Herringtons are out of shot and the British convoy is just driving past the Australian gun position.

Two for the price of one Bougainville 1945

Not WW2 but Australian 3rd Bn Anti-tank platoon vehicle Korea

Australian experimental tracked load carrier (Based on Bren Gun Carrier?) 1944

What truck is this. Marmon?

Interesting thread
 

This is a Ford M-H 3A tractor.

Thanks for the interesting thread, Lang.

There are also pictures of them behind Guy Quad-Ants in training in North Qld, among other things.

The first GMC Mototai shot looks suspiciously like many of the Trinity Beach series of training images in North Queensland too.

MCC
 

I have a print from the IWM around 1938 with a 1936? Morris-Commercial CDSW, limber and 25-pounder, belonging to 8 Battery RA.

http://www.iwmcollections.org.uk/med...KID_002602.jpg

Hi Lang,

This British vehicle is a 6-cyl. Humber Snipe based truck, 8 cwt FFW, I am sure they did not have a hitch on and would not have been a suitable towing vehicle. The photographers caption leaves a lot to be desire!

By the way, good luck on your trip, must be near the start time now.

this is the full caption of this Photo on the AWM site.

"HADIDE, SYRIA. 1942-03. VEHICLES WAITING TO COLLECT PERSONNEL AND 25-POUNDERS OF THE 2/7TH FIELD REGIMENT, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ARTILLERY, AFTER A PRACTICE SHOOT ABOUT FORTY MILES NORTH EAST OF TRIPOLI."

The Humbers were more likely there to just pick up the personnel.

Keith's lead turned up these photos.

Quad in South Australia complete with bodies beside the road.

This photo is credited to the Australian Navy on an exercise at Port Stephens New South Wales. The fellows sweating away are obviously army while the navy beachmaster ponces around with his swagger stick while taking photos.

Guy
 

That's one of the Guy Quad-Ants struggling away there.

The shot of the rolled CGT is a bit disturbing!

Looks like someone lying supine on the footpath.

The AWM caption to this is...

"A 4 x 4 Quad tractor attached to the 108 Tank Attack Regiment lies on its side after hitting a culvert and overturning on a road near the coastal town of Glenelg, SA. Used primarily as a towing vehicle for 25 pounder artillery guns, it was being utilised as a personal transport on the day of the accident. The roof of the Quad has been torn open and unidentified injured officers are laid out on the roadside receiving medical assistance. Identified to the left, bending down, is QX738 Sergeant Kenneth Alexander Blyth."

Dated 1942;C1944

Not underpowered
 

Lang .

The Humber pictured had a 85 bhp 4 litre 6 cyl. engine fitted .

Mike

Mike,

Probably had enough power to pull a 25 pounder along the road. No good off road without low range and four wheel drive and I think the gun would have pulled the bum out of such a light chassis! Mentioned above that they did not have the towing gear anyhow.

The captions on some of the photos are very poor if the photos got separated from their original descriptions and "somebody" made a guess. Of course many of the photos - probably the majority in military libraries - were taken by professional photographers who, not knowing a jeep from a bicycle, made gross errors in descriptions if they did not bother or get a chance to actually talk to the people involved.

You only have to be involved with a modern newspaper photographer to see, despite a 15 minute interview, captions on the photos so far away from the facts it doesn't matter!

Despite the caption on that Syrian photo which Cliff put up fully above, I would bet a stack of money those Humber trucks had nothing to do with the guns and were just going about their business when the shutter clicked! Then again maybe they had just arrived to bring lunch for the boys? Gun crews travel in their trucks and the Humbers look like you can fit two anorexic midgets in the back - not there to pick up personnel either to my mind.

The only possibility is they were transport for the CO and HQ people and possibly survey section. Has anybody else seen photos of Humbers being used by Australian units either as their own vehicles or on attachment from British transport pools?

Lang

A selection of Jeep/25 pounder photos

In the above photo you can see why they used jeeps and not CMP's once they got into difficult jungle hills in New Guinea.

This picture shows why they probably regretted not having CMP's with their high clearance and the jeep's propensity to stop if someone spat within a hundred yards of them.