M3A1 Scout Car Ambulance

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

This one on AWM site looks pretty basic...
http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/011720

ID number011720
Description 1942-03-09. AMERICAN "LEASE-LEND" EQUIPMENT. THE "WHITE" SCOUT CAR IS USE AS AN AMBULANCE.

[Mike Cecil]

Richard,

The image is almost certainly not Australian, despite the source. The AWM collection contains many images sourced from other countries.

Among other reasons, the registration number does not fall within the range of White M3A1 Scout Cars (in any confuguration) in the Australian Army, ie '35302' or '135302' or '135382'.

Nor have I ever seen reference to - or an image of - a White Scout car being converted in any way for use as an armoured ambulance by the Australian Army: maybe someone else out there in MLU land has?

Mike C

[Richard Coutts-Smith]

Mike,
I assumed from the wording:
"1942-03-09. AMERICAN "LEASE-LEND" EQUIPMENT. THE "WHITE" SCOUT CAR IS USE AS AN AMBULANCE."

used on this photo, and this one taken on the same day:
http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/011721
"1942-03-09. AMERICAN LEASE-LEND EQUIPMENT. TESTING GROUND. EACH VEHICLE IS GIVEN RIGID TESTS TO ENSURE NOTHING WILL GO WRONG ON THE FIELD OF BATTLE. A GUN TRACTOR IS SHOWN HERE AS IT GOES BOUNCING ACROSS THE GROUND.

that perhaps the Ambo. was a demonstration model, not neccessarily in use.
By the way, that last photo is a cracker!
Nothing ever seems to be cut and dried with the AWM Photo collection.
Rich.

[Mike Cecil]

Richard I can only agree, especially as the picture of the CMP gun tractor was taken in Canada, and the type was not supplied to Australia under the Lend-Lease/Lease-Lend Agreement (which was with the USA).

Canadian imports into Australia were credited to the Mutual Aid Program administered by Canada - sort of the Canadian version of the LL agreement (but I'm sure a Canadian MLU-er can provide more detail on that: it is a really interesting program, and not generally well known to Australians, more's the pity. Australia owes Canada a great debt for the Mutual Aid Program.)

Mike C

[Richard Farrant]

Think I have solved the White mystery, it is in British army service. A batch of M3A1 White scout cars had Census numbers, F35378 to 35526, so this one is F35382.