driver wind screen

[Robert Bergeron]

Hi my friends . I improvised a windscreen for my Carrier because i enjoy winter outings . Sometimes even in minus 20 C it’s quite chilly so the wind screen helps . Were there any official attempts at making a wind screen available to the crews ? Are pictures available please ? Thanks and cheers . Bob

[stephen crowhurst]

This picture appeared on the net last week taken in Canada in 1942. Possibly a local design.

[Leon Hassing]

Hello Robert,

Do not think it is an official attempt, but it is a windscreen.


Hope it is usefull

All the best
Leon

[David Dunlop]

Hello Stephen.

That photo is a still shot taken from a National Film Board of Canada, or possibly a copy of a local newspaper photo, of an event done in Winnipeg to raise public awareness of what was happening in Europe during the war.

The convoy of Carriers were loaned from a local Regiment, but I do not know which one. Winnipeg was HQ for Military District 10 at that time. I have also seen photos of these carriers in a War Bond parade on Main Street in Winnipeg at another point in time during the war.

This photo was taken heading west on Portage Avenue, which intersects with Main Street in the far left corner. The large 9 story building in the centre back of the photo is the old T. Easton Company building. Torn down now and the MTS Centre Arena sits there now, home of the Winnipeg Jets. The smaller building just to the right of Eaton’s, with the lighter coloured ornate upper floors, is the Holt Renfrew Building and to the right of it, the top of the Kresge’s Building is just visible. Both those buildings still survive.

David

[Jordan Baker]

The Carrier in post #3 is a T16

[rob love]

The event in Winnipeg was "If Day". There is a lot on the internet about it, for example this wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_Day
And there is this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8scLEt70yIE


The event was towards the end of February, which in Winnipeg, is typically extremely cold.



Another good shot of winterization of carriers can be seen in the op-eskimo books. There they built plywood enclosures over the carriers, however it was noted that it resulted in overheating. Hard to heat the driver/gunner position when the entire cooling system is drawing it's air from that area.

[stephen crowhurst]

Thanks David
There is still a lot of bits still out there to be discovered, there seems to be more in Canada, New Zealand and Australia as the reporting restrictions in the UK during the War were quit strict over here.

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks a lot Stephen , Leon, Jordan,David and Rob . Fascinating pictures and stories to say the least . So much knowledge in this group !

[Ed Storey]

As Rob mentioned, makeshift enclosures were made for the exercise and here is an image of one mounted on a Universal Carrier.

[Michael R.]

Ford, Canada, 1940 factory test driving image of the early production U.C. MK-I* showing a windscreen installed. Does a part number appear in FUC-02, or possibly FUC-03?

Interesting to observe the rear upper engine cover not installed.
British supplied horn and headlamps, consistent with the period.

Is there an aperture block of some sort installed in the gunners loophole below the mantlet?

[Lynn Eades]

I believe there were some with Aero screens, but cant remember the details.
They were quite small compared to the ones above.

[Robert Bergeron]

Awesome pictures / info guys . Thanks . It is a very useful piece of kit if your Carrier is not a hangar queen and you use it in Winter / Fall / Spring .

[Lynn Eades]

The well known picture of the ambulance carrier that the Kiwis had in Italy had a small wind screen