G749 Picture and info thread

[Wayne Hingley]

It seems there were many runs of the Operator's Manual. My copy is dated June 1954.

Dave: sounds like you are due for a road trip to revisit the WV Saloon. Every Wednesday is wing night!

[rob love]

Notable that on Wayne's, the reference to a medium wrecker is gone.

At that point in time, the CF was still using the Diamond T, and I believe continued to do so as the main wrecker until about 1960 when the M62 was introduced. So perhaps somebody in Ottawa realized that a SMP medium wrecker would be fairly useless.

I had a Sgt in MooseJaw who related drawing a Diamond T out of Edmonton depot as late as the early 70s for some operation.

[Ed Storey]

There were indeed several print runs of the Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian), which makes sense as the fleet was very big and they were handed out during driver training. I believe the light buff coloured cover version was the final print edition of this manual. I have yet to find one in French.

C-30-340-000 MB-000 Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian) Chassis and Cab M133CDN, Cargo T.jpg

7610-21-102-2088 Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian) Chassis and Cab M133CDN, Cargo Truc.jpg

Regarding the M62 5 ton Wrecker, they were introduced in 1953; the earliest vehicles were Korean War vintage machines that had been shipped back to Canada following the end of hostilities.

[DanJahn]

I have a Diamond T Wrecker ( 969B ) that came out of Alberta. The research I have done indicated it came from an auto wrecker in Calgary. Some Alberta MLU members may recall it sitting in Kananaskis Alberta beside highway 1 at a now abandoned gas station. My own research does tell me it served with Canadian forces as it had a distinctive cab conversion that we believe was done while in Canadian service. Another member of MLU George McKenzie also has a Diamond T with the same cab modification. I have restored mine to the original open cab design as used by Canada in Korea. The main exception is I have added a gun ring. I haven't been able to locate any pictures of Canadian using an open cab DT with a gun ring on it.If anyone knows anything about my DTs history I would sure be interested in hearing from you.

Thank you

Dan Jahn

[Dennis Cardy]

Would like to contribute this shot of an ordinary Deuce in-service.

Taken during the early 1980's…Still in use by Rocky Mountain Rangers in the interior of British Columbia..

Local Reserve Regiment.. doing it's bit…providing logistical support to the organizers of Spoolmak Days….An annual event celebrating the joys of living in Kamloops. (Spoolmak is Kamloops spelled backward's)..

The faithful old Regimental Deuce hauled a mountain of gear out to a field on the eastern outskirts of Kamloops …right beside the Trans Canada Hiway.

Historians will note the big marque tent being laboriously erected… This is pre-modular days…
And also the bell tent next to it….wartime dated I believe…and hotter than a furnace during a Kamloops summer.

Amazing what the Reserve unit's soldiered-on with.

Although…to be fair…the young Lieutenant and the RSM did get to share their very own jeep…

Certainly have taken this old workhorse for granted….nice this thread is working to change that.

[Ed Storey]

Here is an image of a M135CDN w/HIAB Crane at CFB Wainwright, Alberta during RV83.

65-27 M135CDN 2½ ton Truck with HIAB Crane, 53524, front left view, RV 83, CFB Wainwright, Alber.jpg

[rob love]

The caption on that photo should be "How not to travel with your Hyab Crane."

It also looks like someone was trying to learn how to fold up the crane and ended up re-shaping the roof.