Repro WS No 19 Cdn battery box

[Eric B]

The CDN battery box posted by Tim is wood inside. Painted black.

I had the original box and took photos of it before finding a good home for it.

Thanks

Eric

[guy labbe]

collected some BEF battery boxes on the Belgian coast, surely left behind in 1940.

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by guy labbe

collected some BEF battery boxes on the Belgian coast, surely left behind in 1940.

Not unless they had a time machine back then: the one at bottom left has a 1944 date on it!

They're almost certainly ones which have been sold off as surplus/scrap post-WW2, because the wooden cases were re-used continuously. Faulty or worn out batteries would be returned to workshops for testing and dead cells would be replaced or the entire battery rebuilt as necessary before being refilled, charged, tested and finally reissued. The boxes represent a considerable amount of time and money and would not be discarded unless damaged beyond repair. They would finally be disposed of in bulk when the army changed over to the steel-cased equivalents in the 1950s.

(If they'd been left behind in 1940 they would not exist now, because once they were useless as batteries the spare plates, separators, and repair facilities would not exist in the occupied territories.)

Having said that, it's a wonderful set of battery boxes, do you have a radio truck to put them in?

Chris.

[guy labbe]

You don't know what still turns up over here Chris , on the way to Dunkirk the BEF left tons of kit behind. for sure there is one box from 1944 but al the outers where found on local flea markets .
Indeed, I am working on a Morris Commercial C4 W/T!

Guy.

Originally Posted by Chris Suslowicz

Not unless they had a time machine back then: the one at bottom left has a 1944 date on it!

They're almost certainly ones which have been sold off as surplus/scrap post-WW2, because the wooden cases were re-used continuously. Faulty or worn out batteries would be returned to workshops for testing and dead cells would be replaced or the entire battery rebuilt as necessary before being refilled, charged, tested and finally reissued. The boxes represent a considerable amount of time and money and would not be discarded unless damaged beyond repair. They would finally be disposed of in bulk when the army changed over to the steel-cased equivalents in the 1950s.

(If they'd been left behind in 1940 they would not exist now, because once they were useless as batteries the spare plates, separators, and repair facilities would not exist in the occupied territories.)

Having said that, it's a wonderful set of battery boxes, do you have a radio truck to put them in?

Chris.

[kevin powles]

Gents,

Anyone know the correct size of battery box which go's in the armoured box on the back of a Mk1 universal carrier ?, I have several battery boxes but they are not tall enough to be clamped down with the installed clamp arrangement. I would be willing to swap what I have for the correct box.

thanks kevin.

[Chris Suslowicz]

What is the battery used for?

If it's a radio set it's likely to be 12V 22 or 75 AH, or a pair of 6V batteries (85 or 100/125 AH). (Depending on if it's WS19 or WS22.)

[Thinks]

On the other hand: if it's for a WS18 then it's the "Static Battery Box" made of bakelite and stuffed full of primary batteries to give 162V (tapped at 12V) and 3V. This is actually more likely as the WS18 was used in the Support Platoon carriers for an Infantry Battalion (not in an Armoured Regiment), with WS19s added for the Armoured Regiment version (as well as lorries for the rifle companies). WS18 battery box is approximately 11.5/8-in high x 13.1/2-in long x 4-in thick. (The latter is guesswork because it's missing the lid and all the fittings, someone converted dozens of them into storage drawers, which is a great pity.)

If it's the vehicle battery all bets are off - check the vehicle manual.

Chris.

[kevin powles]

Chris, it's made for the 11 set wireless. Would that run on 6 or 12 volts ? The metal box on the back of the attached carrier diagram holds the 11 set wireless battery, labelled N014.