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#1
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Hi Tony,
Is it dark blue, or faded black? Anyway, most Americans don't seem to comprehend that the colour bar/USN system is a British invention, and that it came into use with US Forces in 1942/1943 through use in the ETO. Your document copy reinforces that view: it is marked July 43 and ETO. I wrote an article about the system and its use by US and Brit Commonwealth forces. It was published in Army Motors in 2014 - cannot remember which issue. I have reproduced the text below. Remember this is a US publication, hence the title has a question mark about its origin: Quote:
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#2
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Hi Mike,
It's definitely dark blue to the eye but less obvious in photos. I figure the applicators used 2-digit paint for convenience, rather than stock an extra colour Black purely for use as background. Just a guess of course. Quote:
East India Trading Company flag 1668-1801 cf. Grand Union Flag 1776.png Quote:
Cheers, Tony US Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne preparing for a jump, North Africa (2).jpg
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One of the original Australian CMP hunters. |
#3
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Hi Tony,
The number - I think it's 4426 or 4428 - falls within a vacant block in the British system, from 4100 to 4499. There are a number of vacant blocks within the British Field Force unit list, with no indication of where they were allocated to (if at all), so I had no previous indication the block may have been allocated to the US. I suppose an examination of many images of the Op Torch forces, especially those staging from the UK, might help solve that. The 509 PIR (they were not designated a Battalion until later) flew out from airfields in Cornwall, UK, direct to their drop zone near Oran, so were in the UK prior to the Torch operation, and we know the system was operating prior to that. Hence, the unit was a 1942 arrival into the UK, so may well have been allocated such a low number. As for the 'A' suffix, who knows? 'Company A'? 'Airborne'? 'Unit Truck A'? Until more research is done, it's an 'unknown'. Mike Last edited by Mike Cecil; 11-02-20 at 18:22. |
#4
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Regarding ARN font question raised by Jacques: The ARN font, and the position of the ARN on the front shell panel, varied between production plants according to local practice. The plant can usually be determined from the ARN record, which gives the State or Military District where the vehicle was first issued. Unfortunately it's often given as 'VB' for Victoria Barracks, which is rather confusing because there are Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It's a particular problem in the 52xxx - 555xx range, which is what we're dealing with in this case. Perhaps Mike can shed some light on this question.
Comparing VB ARN 53166 to NSW ARN 55936: the 3, 5, 6 digits look virtually identical to me, possibly reflecting an individual Ticketwriter's 'signature' as described by Tony. The WA ARN 59877 looks like a different 'signature' to me, ie. fatter and flatter, with a pointed upswept tail on the 9 digit. Two of these ARNs are centrally placed, leaving insufficient room for the Formation sign and TAC sign if required. Ford ARN font.jpg Other States including VIC and QLD used stencils, and placed the ARN along the top of the panel, leaving plenty of room for the Formation sign. However these stencilled digits were quite large and well spaced, which meant 6-digit ARN barely fitted across Cab 13 panel, unless it contained another '1' digit. This seems to have led to diagonal placement occasionally - Keith's gun tractor ARN 134855 may be an example of this practice. Postwar stencils were somewhat narrower, perhaps deliberately so for this reason. Ford ARN font (2).jpg Interestingly, just like Ford practice, Chev ARNs were stencilled in VIC but handwritten in NSW. In both plants however the placement was along the inner side of the panel. Chev ARN font.jpeg These are just my own observations over time, not based on any proper study of the matter. In the interests of authenticity it would be worth conducting an investigation of ARN fonts and placement on CMPs, perhaps using this thread commenced by Jacques to post examples and discuss. Cheers, Tony
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One of the original Australian CMP hunters. Last edited by Tony Wheeler; 15-02-20 at 13:32. Reason: error |
#5
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The latest painting of an ARN on my No.9 (134855) was done diagonally -I think one of Tony's No.8 FGTs may have been done the same way.
Attached are some which may be of interest - No.9 ARN 132141 when factory fresh with a stencilled ARN then one of it in CMF use after being repainted deep bronze green with a hand painted ARN lower down, finally a ticket writer hard at work on a WO38 C60S from the SLSA.
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Film maker 42 FGT No8 (Aust) remains 42 FGT No9 (Aust) 42 F15 Keith Webb Macleod, Victoria Australia Also Canadian Military Pattern Vehicles group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/canadianmilitarypattern |
#6
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Hi Keith,
That photo is at GMH Pagewood NSW, where for some reason a ticket writer was employed instead of stencils used at other GMH plants. Note the sideways ARN, also unique to GMH Pagewood. This practice continued through 71xxx range as seen below, and presumably into 6-digit range, although I don't have any 6-digit examples to confirm. Interestingly this C60L has the USN 49463 visible on the bumper, something I hadn't recognized until Mike's info on USNs in this thread. B-59807-3-17A.jpeg 132141 font is the standard stencil used by Ford VIC throughout the war. It can be seen in both 5-digit and 6-digit ARN ranges. Evidently Ford QLD used the same stencil, as seen on my F60L ARN 134579. This is the font we need for our No.9 FGTs. I have several examples from which I'll make tracings in due course. However I may not have all 10 digits. I wonder if anyone else has reproduced this font previously...?
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One of the original Australian CMP hunters. |
#7
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Hi Tony,
I am sure I am not the only long time "Blitz" owner who has learnt a bit more about these vehicles thanks to you, Mike, and all the others who have contributed. Based on your information 55166 would have had an ARN applied at the factory so its absence can only mean it was removed at some time. At your suggestion I sanded a section of its mudguard and can see at least 3 different colours applied to it so perhaps it was removed and not reapplied at one of these times. It looks like Canadian KG3 (originally covered over at the wheel arch), then Australian KG3 (darker) then a much darker (Olive Drab?) New Guinea service? I am 99.9% convinced the cowl is original and not a swap from another vehicle. As 55166 was an ex Bush Fire Brigade truck it would have been better taken care of than a lot of other vehicles that were sold after the war. Just a pity it sat out in a salt air environment after it was pensioned off from the Bush Fire Brigade. Assuming it is original, then the USN gives it something at least that is not always known about ones vehicle and that is the unit to which it was assigned. It would be good to see photos posted here of other CMP's with extant ARN's and USN's and bar codes no matter how faded or damaged the paintwork. Cheers,
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F15-A 1942 Battery Staff Jacques Reed Last edited by Jacques Reed; 20-02-20 at 00:33. |
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