Jeeps in RCN and RCAF service

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Larry Hayward

Returning to an old post I have a question for Hanno and other Jeep fans. In British service in WW2 the sidelights on many Jeeps were typically moved to the mudguards, so I'm told as these lights needed to match the width of the vehicle for our road laws

However in the photo of the 'RAF' Jeep you posted with the pilots and Spitfire to one side, the side lights are still in their factory built location and the same is seen in the later photo of the RCAF Jeep from 39R Wing / 400 Sqn.

Could this mean that both Jeeps are in fact RCAF Jeeps that have been allocated direct to the Canadians? Or did we get bored with moving sidelights in 1944/45. Perhaps the Jeep numbers might reveal the production batch and who got them?

Larry,

In "The Wartime Jeep in British Service" by Gavin Birch lists the modifications carried out by the British to have them comply to their requirements. But due to the pressures of war only relatively few were converted as such. I would have to look up the details, but one cannot draw the conclusion those Jeeps were allocated direct to the Canadians because it does not have the British modifications.