1944 C-15A-Wire-5 Restoration

[Robert Bergeron]

Friends,

Today i did a little painting on the outside of the truck. I do not know if it is truly , absolutely authentic for the North-West European campaign . I have seen a few time period pictures of freshly disembarked Jeeps in Normandy with the white paint at each end of the front bumper .The white and red wheel nuts i have seen on wartime pictures but in training in England.

Would someone on this frequency please turn the crank on the field phone and call in with some additional on the info on the subject please ?

Many thanks.


Robert

[nicholas dunford]

Hi red wheel nuts are deferentially mentioned in the war time drivers hand book for my Bedford MWR but i think the white wheel nuts could be post war as they are often seen in British national service type photos
Nick

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

The white and red wheel nuts i have seen on wartime pictures but in training in England.

The outer nuts were red from the factory, and for good reason. Those that don't know any better ask "why are those nuts red"? You can then tell them that it is because if you undo them before letting the air pressure out of the tube, you will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The white nuts are not (to the best of my knowledge) factory. I am more used to seeing them on the odd vehicle that belonged to units who had a little too much time on their hands. If you look at some howitzers and field guns for instance you will see not only white wheel nuts, but even the wheel's lock ring (On rims of that design) along with the lunnette and a host of other oddities painted white. This is also on post war guns into the 60s.

[David Dunlop]

Not sure about the white bars on the bumper. This was DEFINITELY common practise in England during the blackout, for both civilian vehicles and military to aid in night time visibility, but I cannot recall ever seeing a military vehicle in theatre with that paint arrangement.

David

[Robert Bergeron]

Thank-you very much Nicholas, Rob and David. The red paint was there for a reason.The white paint of course is because it was saturday and the yard was already cleaned out of the leaves and the grass mown.Missus had no new tasks for me so i got carried away..

Speaking of paint. What colours if any were the tools stored in or on the trucks, or vehicules painted ? On the Wire 5 truck i have a spade and a pick axe. On the Mk 2 Carrier i have the same plus a heavy mining bar.

On US vehicules i have seen pretty much OD ( green ) as a colour but on British and some Canadian pictures i have seen mostly black on the metal and the wood left natural.

I enjoy your responses and insights greatly.I feel like i am part of a great community.

Cheers.

Bob

[Harry Moon]

I have often wondered if the practice of painting the center of your rear differential when hotrodding in the 50's and 60's had anything to do with the wartime practice of painting the differentials white? I remember jacking up the rear ends on cars with a (?) leaf spring hanger extension, putting wide tires on and painting the center of the differential white, anybody else do those things or was it limited to the west coast?

[Robert Bergeron]

Hi Harry,

I am too young to have practiced that art.

But i found the reference on red nuts.

Cheers.

Bob

[David Dunlop]

Harry.

Hate to admit it but I do remember that habit back in the day. Don't think it was a military connection at all, however, as I used to see white, black, yellow, red and even chromed diff covers. Think it was more a case of since the ass end of the car was up so high the diff could be easily seen so needed to be prettied up.

David