C8AX production

[Tony Smith]

While there is no firm answer on the number of C8AX vehicles procured, numbers of 900, 1000 or 1200 have been suggested.

Whichever of these numbers proves to be correct, it is quite remarkable that the confirmed list of surviving vehicles currently stands at 47 vehicles. It is conceivable that there will be a number of "undiscovered" vehicles out there, hidden away on farms, workshops and wrecking yards, potentially expanding the list by 100%.

This means that after 77 years, around 10% of these vehicles still survive, many in restored and operating condition. Is there any comparable class of military vehicle that has stood the test of time so well?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

This means that after 77 years, around 10% of these vehicles still survive, many in restored and operating condition. Is there any comparable class of military vehicle that has stood the test of time so well?

Some 46 Grizzlies out of 188 built have survived: http://the.shadock.free.fr/Surviving_Grizzlys.pdf

That is mainly due to these not seeing combat, plus many were supplied to armies after WW2 which only used them for training and kept them in reserve long enough for collectors to snap them up (rather than being scrapped).

GMC, Dodges and Willys/Ford military vehicles being kept as strategic reserves were a main source for today’s fleet of preserved vehicles (as were the French Navy’s stock of CMPs) in Europe.