G749 Picture and info thread

[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.

[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.

[Wayne Hingley]

Nice photo Ed.

What year (range of years) did the metal fuel cans get replaced with the Sceptor cans?

[rob love]

Mid 80s was the changeover to the latest plastic can. It was one of the best things the army ever did. Not having those white paint flakes from the inside of the cans kept a lot of APCs running. The paint flakes woudl collect in the quick disconnects for the engine causing fuel starvation. The other godsend was to start using fuel pods instead of Jerry cans for major refueling in the field.

Soldiers like to leave the lids off the empty cans so that they can tell their empty. Of course this turned them into a rain and dirt collector.

They also like to put other stuff in a gas marked can like antifreeze, naptha, hull sludge, diesel....none of which helped a gas engine run better. Same goes for diesel marked cans.

[Dano McLaren]

A couple of shots from inside my 220 CDN

[Dano McLaren]

A few more of mine and others. Love this thread

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Dano McLaren

A couple of shots from inside my 220 CDN

Now those are the pictures I'm looking for! Looks like we had a dental van, communication van.......what else did we do with these with the exception of trying to make them fly, John took care of that so we know they can fly.

We're slowly gathering materials to replicate what you've got there Dan so appreciate the shots. I know where I can get measurements now.

What is all the talk about the "Queen Mary" or communications vans that most folks weren't allowed to go near.

.....and Dennis, I have a picture I'm told is from Kamloops of a M220 with the big star on the door, a M37 and another truck. They're all sitting near some identifiable buildings so once I find that picture maybe we can ID if it's indeed Kamloops. Great historical pic.

[jdmcm]

[Dennis Cardy]

Another use for a Deuce.
Probably my favourite variant…(grin).

Not sure if this is an official kitchen truck or a field mod. Can anyone tell by looking at it?
Note the night lighting. Assume that would be plugged in to a nearby GenSet.

No points for guessing what Regt. it was.
BC Reserve Summer exercises...sometime in the early 80's. Seem to recall a wooden platform and steps along side.

[Dennis Cardy]

Dave D.
Would be most interested in seeing your "trucks in Kamloops" photo. But have to say that Kamloops has changed almost beyond recognition.

re. Communication Vans. Yes, the Sig's guy's were/are taught to be very secretive about all that fancy gear they get to play with.

Hacking into wireless communications is not a new phenomenon.
General Rommel used it to great effect in North Africa..

Dennis.

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Dave D.
Would be most interested in seeing your "trucks in Kamloops" photo. But have to say that Kamloops has changed almost beyond recognition.

re. Communication Vans. Yes, the Sig's guy's were/are taught to be very secretive about all that fancy gear they get to play with.

Hacking into wireless communications is not a new phenomenon.
General Rommel used it to great effect in North Africa..

Dennis.

Everybody should do themselves a favour and back-up your pictures to a portable hard-drive. We had a lightning strike take out a primary power line last year and it fried my computer. I didn't have everything backed up but did save a lot so get your photos and important info into back-up files...not plugged into a wall.

Finally found my Kamloops picture. It's either the M220 or M207 shopvan, an M37, what is likely an M216....unless this photo actually comes from south of the border as all the stars would indicate. Did the U.S. share Kamloops with our forces?

[Dave D.]

This is a barn find. It's name is Piglet, the modified M135 Pig farm manure transfer unit.... PFMTU ....This one has a rear view mirror and a convoy light.

After service life had to be hard on the deuces and this is an example of one that literally sucked.

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Another use for a Deuce.
Probably my favourite variant…(grin).

Not sure if this is an official kitchen truck or a field mod. Can anyone tell by looking at it?
Note the night lighting. Assume that would be plugged in to a nearby GenSet.

No points for guessing what Regt. it was.
BC Reserve Summer exercises...sometime in the early 80's. Seem to recall a wooden platform and steps along side.

I was given access to a few pictures and found a photo of the flying kitchen from the outside. Rumors are that our troops were real happy when they saw one of these trucks. Added a picture of the infamous Kosmos 954 Kitchen.

[Dennis Cardy]

Dave,
This Kamloops Army Truck pic you sent…is one very interesting photo.

Looking closely…the door crests on the Deuces could be CF…
(A higher rez scan could help us with that).

The white star on the M37 has me puzzled.

At the time this shot was taken not sure if the US Army still marked their vehicles that way…..and in answer to your question....Yes..small groups of US forces regularly train in Canada. (as do Canadian's in the States).

Think we need a more knowledgable forum member's input
about the correct time-line application of the white star.

[Dave D.]

The little lady is stepping off the side of Gracie, the 1954 M207 CDN delivered 30-4-54, stamped 120703002

One cool thing with this one besides 2 perfection heaters, is the triple sliding door assembly that is on the back door.

Why would we need sliding doors inside the main doors?

[Dave D.]

The hole pattern in the floor might tell more about what was inside the back of Gracie. She's almost complete with a metal shelf to the left, most of the electrical, the rear fan still mounted.

The typical floor and bottom body panel rot is evident but this Yellowknife Reserve truck is worth saving.

[Jes Andersen]

Its been some years since I lived in Kamloops but the picture may be from better times at the depot in the approximate area where the University and the current armoury is located. AT one time, Kamloops had a depot with storage bunkers in that whole area and also another north of town which, I think was a naval storage depot with rail access. As already mentioned, the one in town has been overtaken by the city and development. Another possibility, but I don't think the terrain behind looks right, could be the camp for the Mt Lolo Pinetree Line Radar site, located a ways to the north east of town. There was.is a road that passes through the camp area and ends at the top of Mt Lolo. This camp was featured in a movie called Cadence, if my memory serves me. By the time I moved to Kamloops in the early 90s, most of all of this was pretty much history or gone derelict. The depot north of town was being used as a corrections facility and some of the bunkers converted to barns.

[Ed Storey]

These two office bodies are still hanging around the 2 CER vehicle compound in Petawawa.

[Dave D.]

Those are great pictures Ed. The blue is interesting, almost the U.S. Civil Defence color....any backstory on them? The interior photos of the back are still illusive so I'd share a cold one if you come across any.

Let's nurse this into the M211. We put an offer on these trucks, lost...... and they went to a good home anyway. They were buried in the bush for a long time and unless these engines see some oiling and turning over the years they won't work. The new owner tried for a long time to get one going to tow the others a few miles home but it didn't happen. I hope to follow their progress as they go through the challenges of the G749.

[Dave D.]

These are 3 trucks out of the 1st Service Battalion.

We have 2 with data plates 4122 delivered, 14 / 3 / 55 and 3170 dated, 11 / 6 / 54.

One had a perfection heater, with controls.

[Frank v R]

to try and help Dan Jan, look into photos taken in Europe during the war and the dumps of Canadian vehicles , you may find what you are looking for, all the field mods would still be on vehicles in the dumps,

[Dave D.]

This truck is More, the Penhold M211 which came in a 3 truck deal along with 2 parts trucks, M135's called Larry and Curly.

We think we solved the "Attach Stuck White Knight Here" stenciled on the back with the possibility that this truck pulled the "White Knight" ambulance out of the mud....maybe.

This one also came with tailgate and tie-down mods. Being a civilian has its disadvantages so I've never seen what was on the back but it was clearly modified to carry something. Still hunting for pictures of duties the M211 had while it was in service.

I've spent some time checking out images of "Canadian WW11 junkyards", "Canadian WW11 dumps", "Canadian WW11 wreckers"....and so on. Finding a Diamond T with a gun ring is a tough find. There is one near the bottom of this page but not sure it's the right model. http://usautoindustryworldwartwo.com/diamondt.htm

Here is More, the M211.

[Dave D.]

After a bunch of pleading, begging and offers of pointless promises, I gave up and let her get in the deuce for pictures........and it got us thinking.

Canadian Military Vehicles Facebook site is holding some amazing historical Deuce pictures. If you're a facebook folk it's easy and you should join that group....... but if you're not a facebooker, you'll miss some wild history. I asked the loop de loop announcer/owner if I could use some of those pics, which is better than just taking them,,,,,and he said yes. He is just one of those guys.

We still haven't examined the M221 or M222, don't have a lot of pictures of that M218 or Canada's M216 vs. the U.S. M215....and the ever elusive CDN tractor, which needs to be found and brought to the G749 farm.

I did get a reply back from GM. They do not have records from any Deuce plant and have no idea how many of what model were produced. They did provide another possible lead for info so that was nice of them.

As a teaser, check out that fleet of Deuces! There is some discussion on Rob's build thread about the "pole setting truck", with 18 being made.......

[rob love]

There is one of the tractor version at a farmyard about a half hour from me. If I recall there was something different about the fuel tank due to the short wheelbase.

[Dave D.]

To reduce the mystery of Model type used for the "Line Truck", there is an M211 sitting on the East coast that was a Line truck. It's modified slightly now but some signs still remain.


There is one more sitting in Alberta and the wild dude that drove it after service passed some original photos to me. I'll hunt down the model type.

[Dave D.]

That poor pole truck out East has a nice view now but it's Bob Bob Bob, Bob Bobaran.

Is there only one left in museum, motor-pool quality?

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by rob love

There is one of the tractor version at a farmyard about a half hour from me. If I recall there was something different about the fuel tank due to the short wheelbase.

Did you kids see many of the M221 tractors in service? I've heard rumors of a few above Dawson but they seem rare. PM Coming.

[Ed Storey]

The Signal Line Maintenance Body did not have a specific M number but was listed as being on the M207.

Here is an image of a M217CDN.