Carrier restoration in Poland

[Adrian Mamzer]

Photos to previous message.

[Michael R.]

A production month and year of March, 1942 is my best estimate. I am not aware of a document that connects Canadian used U.C.'s by serial number to WD number, beyond the one hundred or so as published in Nigel Watson's 'Universal Carriers, Volume 1'.

Interestingly, it is most likely your carrier was in service in Canada into the 1950's before being disposed of. The RCEME engine rebuild tag for the Korean war period, 18 Oct 1951 done with triple .000s suggests the carrier was in Canada at that time. Here is another rebuilt two days later, at RCEME Workshop 204. There are few MLU members who know that workshop quite well!

Note: the engine number on the rebuild tag is not the engine number assigned at the factory. Factory engine numbers are most commonly observed starting with the letters "TL", ending with the letter "F". The engine serial number is located on the engine block intake manifold deck.

How did your carrier end up in Poland?

[Rob Beale]

I have lower hull 4200 which I believe is a UC Mk 1*
The wheels and some other bits have 1941 on them.

I went through the Ford contract numbers in Nigel's book and came up with a possible T census number, assuming the lower hulls were assembled sequentially.

The recent posts elsewhere here of pics of hulls arriving at the Ford factory by rail probably make it unlikely that they were sequential, but it does give a ballpark figure.

Rob

[Michael R.]

Lower hull 4200, as a U.C. MK-I* production date about 20-26 February, 1942?