U.S. staff car prang Brisbane

[Mike Cecil]

The final balance was Australia supplied about 75% of the final LL balance.

Motor vehicles comprised a small percentage of the final balance, as most supplied were returned to the Commonwealth in 1944 and 1945, for credit against the RLL account at a rate depending upon condition, but always less than the original price. As far as I have found out, the last vehicles returned appear to be those of the US Navy in Perth which were transferred back to the Commonwealth in December 1945.

The vehicle registration prefixes are interesting, with two systems operating (comments based on records of 1,231 vehicles).

The USN seem to have been the most organised, with the following prefixes being closely adhered to:
USN-S- for cars,
USN-U- for utility vehicles up to 1 ton
USN-T- for lorries and trucks 30cwt +

The US Army appear far less uniform in the prefix application.
USA-U- was the most common by far (1,041 vehicles of 1,148), and it was applied to just about everything supplied, from light tourers to tractors and cranes.
USA-RC- seems to be lorries and trucks 30cwt + (130 records)
USA-AP-seems to be light vehicles, mostly utilities and sedan cars (44 records)

Mike


An Australian ambulance supplied under RLL in a parade in Sydney. Reg is USA-U74079.

Ambulance U-74079.jpg