Wartime pictures: 20-cwt trailers

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Groningen city park, 1945.

OVMG_1123_001.jpg

Source: Groninger archieven, courtesy of Arjan van der Hoek.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Another picture of a 20-cwt trailer.

From the Belgian Brigade Piron website, captioned: "May 1945, Cpl Florent Dutrieux on the Rhine crossing".

Thanks to Guy over on HMVF for finding it.

H.

tem_dutrieux_4.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Groningen city park, 1945. Source: Groninger archieven, courtesy of Arjan van der Hoek.

Here's a better version of this photo, plus another one showing the same 20-cwt trailer. Obviously it has been modified with hoops and a tilt.

1785_24918.jpg 1785_24919.jpg
Source: https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/689e...9-f2071a8c0e2d and https://hdl.handle.net/21.12105/1ea3...5-f8e729653f20


The second photo gives some more insight into it's use. It looks like some kind of mobile workshop. There is a stack of cylinders to the right and a small sign set up in front of the trailers and the cylinders. What could it have been used for? Is it artillery related, like for filling recuperators (seeing some Mack NM artillery tractors parked next to it)?

NL-GnGRA_1785_24919_zoomed.jpg

[Grant Bowker]

My understanding is that the Gas Welding trailer (that would have had the gas cylinders) was built in a 15 cwt trailer, so this may not be a very likely answer.

The following is pure speculation - perhaps kit transferred from a 15 cwt to 20 cwt depending on what was available - or possibly later production on 20 cwt (but I haven't seen any documentation to suggest this)?

[Harry Moon]

Looks like a standard 20cwt GS trailer with hoops and tarp modified on it.

[Alex van de Wetering]

There is a stack of cylinders to the right and a small sign set up in front of the trailers and the cylinders. What could it have been used for? Is it artillery related, like for filling recuperators (seeing some Mack NM artillery tractors parked next to it)?

Hanno, I think you could be right that they are indeed for filling recuperators. For a moment I though they might be rockets for the land mattress, but on closer inspection they do look more like gas cilinders.

[Bob Carriere]

....when enlarging the picture......... some of the cylinders are smaller (oxygen) and the RH pile larger as if acetylene cylinders......

....but my glasses do need changing....!!