Jeep crashes and accidents 1945-50

[Allan L]

Although the above relates to post war and (mostly) civvie accidents, the Aust military had problems with vehicle accidents during the war, on home soil!

They took a lead from the Yanks, awarding drivers for safe driving.

My dad, also Allan Layton, stayed on post war as a driver and having achieved the heady total of 5,000 miles without an accident received this plaque, which he was permitted to display on any military vehicle that he was driving. (Whatever had happened in New Guinea didn't count!)

The plaque is in pristine condition today (unlike dad who passed in 2006) with no marks or scratches which might suggest that it was never displayed.

[Owen Evans]

Not the M38's fault, but this one in the UK came off worse. The $42.60 repair bill made me chuckle; couldn't get a bag of bolts for that now!

Owen.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Allan L

Although the above relates to post war and (mostly) civvie accidents, the Aust military had problems with vehicle accidents during the war, on home soil!

They took a lead from the Yanks, awarding drivers for safe driving.

My dad, also Allan Layton, stayed on post war as a driver and having achieved the heady total of 5,000 miles without an accident received this plaque, which he was permitted to display on any military vehicle that he was driving. (Whatever had happened in New Guinea didn't count!)

The plaque is in pristine condition today (unlike dad who passed in 2006) with no marks or scratches which might suggest that it was ever displayed.

Yep have seen a few of the plaques around but never seen a certificate .. a nice and rare document

MELBOURNE, VIC. 1944-09. VX47758 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL H.B. BRAIN (1), PRESENTING A BADGE AND CERTIFICATE FOR SAFE DRIVING TO DRIVER G. HAZEL, AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S ARMY SERVICE (4). THE AWARD WAS MADE FROM THE ARMY INSPECTION DIVISION AT LONSDALE STREET. IDENTIFIED PERSONNEL ARE:- DRIVER W.D. BELL (2); DRIVER J. RALPH (3); DRIVER M. ROACH (5).

[Eric B]

There were a great deal Jeep collisions within the CDN military, both at home and overseas.

The Court Martials as well as the Collison Reports for the period are available from the National Archives of Canada.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Allan L

My dad, also Allan Layton, stayed on post war as a driver and having achieved the heady total of 5,000 miles without an accident received this plaque, which he was permitted to display on any military vehicle that he was driving. (Whatever had happened in New Guinea didn't count!)

The plaque is in pristine condition today (unlike dad who passed in 2006) with no marks or scratches which might suggest that it was ever displayed.

That's a great memento of your Dad and his skills, Allan!

[Allan L]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

That's a great memento of your Dad and his skills, Allan!

Not bad for a grocer! My dad Allan 'Tich' Layton qualified as a driver/ mechanic during WWII and took up driving as a career post war - as a heavy transport driver with the state electricity commission authorised to drive double-articulated combinations. I suppose what we now call road trains.

I have posted a photo of him on here before, but I may as well repeat it:post War with Blitz (3).jpg

[David Herbert]

That Chevy either has special front hubs or spacers to allow the fitting of offset wheels on the front. It evidently has a winch too. I wonder if it had a different engine as a 216 would be working rather hard pulling that trailer. Quite a rig though. Thanks for posting.

David

[Grant Bowker]

The Chev is certainly an interesting mixture of features.
The fairleads on the bumper suggest a winch. It's not immediately obvious why they would want to carry the weight of a winch on a heavily loaded truck.
The front wheels are offset to be common with dual rear wheels (also seen on Australian tippers).
I'm more used to seeing Ford as the tractor unit for semi-trailer (F60T variant, but I don't recall a C60T - but I wouldn't dare say it wasn't normal production without more checking).
My first impression is that the wheelbase may be longer than the F60T.
Overall, I wonder if this is a case of available components being mixed - cab and chassis from a C60 GS (with winch) and an available coupling and trailer. Speculation but a possibility.