Jail Bar Ford

[Lang]

Mike

It does not take long for a whole Army to suck up 40,000 vehicles particularly if all the national support and manufacturing infrastructure gets a bite of the pie.

A normal division establishment could be as large as 3,000 vehicles. Obviously that number would be reduced in New Guinea etc. I would guess at least double the number allocated to fighting divisions (plus Air Force and Navy) would be floating around in reserve and military support units, essential services, manufacturing and agriculture, road/airfield building etc.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lang

Mike

It does not take long for a whole Army to suck up 40,000 vehicles particularly if all the national support and manufacturing infrastructure gets a bite of the pie.

A normal division establishment could be as large as 3,000 vehicles. Obviously that number would be reduced in New Guinea etc. I would guess at least double the number allocated to fighting divisions (plus Air Force and Navy) would be floating around in reserve and military support units, essential services, manufacturing and agriculture, road/airfield building etc.

Wonder if the 40K Lend Lease vehicles requested includes the 15,000 Jeeps that arrived. The 40k number in that document may have been a arbitrary figure that a beaurocrat dreamed up, needs more research. The naa files reveal how the vehicle situation changed from 1939 when the army was in dire need of transport , to 1944, when there was a surplus of some types of vehicles.


Ian G. Posted this pic on F/book. A military Jailbar Ford in the Northern Territory , it has a roof hatch, 18 inch divided rims made by Ford Aust. The cab is a Ford Australia built cab, the doors have the quarter vent windows.