[David_Hayward (RIP)]

I have retrieved my Xerox copy of NATIONAL ARCHIVES file CAB115/738 relating to the assignment of French contracts. Apart from White and White-Ruxtell there were 50 Lima Reclamation Works crawler cranes. I also see that Caterpillar tractors included D-6, D-4, D-6 and D-8 models, plus R. le Tonneau P.69, G, X; Rome Plow Company Harrows, Rogers Brothers Corporation trailers; La Plant - Choate -156 Leghdopod and trail builders [!] and a Ditcher company truck-mounted ditcher.

WHITE: 50? x 760

WHITE-RUXTELL:
10? x 920
300 x 922

GMC:
1,500 x ACK-353
1,000 x ACKW-353
1,850 x AC-504
10 x AFW-809

CHEVROLET:
2,650 x 6 X 4 Houlder-Thornton

DODGE:
1,500 x T-203

MACK:
150 x EXBX...100 with Mack axles and 50 with Timken axles
? x NR

I have most of the Census Numbers for the above plus all the British S/M Demands which were issued on assignment of the French contracts. I have a feeling that the Assignment was dated 26 June 1940, and I have seen a copy of it but cannot confirm yet.

I have no evidence of any connection between GM in France and Spain, especially as the Barcelona operation was effectively hamstrung by exchange control problems and thus never did get going after the technical re-opening in early 1939. The official history from 1944 states that the GM Plant in Port-de-Paris was run under military augis and was charged with assembling all of the 2,000 GMCs. This raises the query as to what did happen to those trucks that were delivered to French North Africa? Did Vichy 'sell' any to the Spanish Government? The big problem would have been lack of spare parts..the British had to spend millions of dollars on parts for the ex-French contracts in addition to the 'gift' of the trucks themselves.