Vehicle parks in Oz

[Mike Kelly]

Came across these pics of vehicle parks during WW2 ..here in OZ

You will spot a few 1938 Chevs with their distinctive GMH cabs .W/O would be 'written off ' , seen on the 38 chevy ute in 059841.

And Some D series Inters ...

Pic 40878 has a line of Bedford Mw's ... Now how did they get here ? They are early aero screen type too. I like the patchwork quilt effect top on the truck in 197827.

All pics are AWM .

Mike

[Mike Kelly]

When you think about it - the AWM pics do reveal that the Australian army grabbed just about anything that was available ... there was an element of desperation .. especially early on .

They had large numbers vehicles of: British, US, Canadian and local pattern. pre war types even ... civilian types aplenty. Varied makes too: Inter, Dodge , Chev, Ford .. and many more...Italian vehicles too, captured in the desert. Was this eclectic menagerie matched by any other army, maybe the Germans .

Mike

[Mike Kelly]

pic 197835 was a park in a Sydney suburb... Dodges and Inters again ... varied models . In the background there is a Jailbar Ford with a soft top cab ..very odd .

99519 ... Jeeps somewhere.
059840 ..... graveyard of cars : a salute to army drivers .
066658 ..... myriad jeeps resting in the aussie bush
027882 ...... more sad symbols of hard driving

[cliff]

I like this one as well from the AWM.

ID Number: 059833
Maker: Keam, Ronald Noel
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: BRISBANE, QLD. 1943-11-05. HEADQUARTERS 4TH AUSTRALIAN ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK AT MOUNT GRAVATT. THIS PARK CONTAINS AT LEAST 6000 VEHICLES, WHICH ARE CONCENTRATED HERE FOR REPAIR AND RE-ISSUE TO UNITS.

[cliff]

Another from the AWM showing how good our army drivers were.
ID Number: P00165.022
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: NORTH RYDE, NSW, WWII. DAMAGED VEHICLE AT 3RD AUSTRALIAN ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK, NORTH RYDE. TAKEN BY JOHN GARDENER WHILE HE WAS CAMP PHOTOGRAPHER, OCTOBER 1943 TO NOVEMBER 1945.

[cliff]

Maybe this is why there was so many damaged vehicles

ID Number: P00165.025
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: NORTH RYDE, NSW, WWII. MARCHPAST DURING INSPECTION OF THE 3RD AUSTRALIAN ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK, NORTH RYDE, BY MAJOR-LESLIE ELLIS BEAVIS, THE DIRECTOR OF ORDNANCE SERVICES AIF 1940-42. TAKEN BY JOHN GARDENER WHILE HE WAS CAMP PHOTOGRAPHER 1943-1945.

[cliff]

Another Morris with the caption.....

ID Number: 064534
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: TOLGA, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. 1944-02-24. NX110302 DRIVER M.G. DUNNETT (1) SX29354 DRIVER R. JOHNS (2) VX101143 DRIVER J.N. THOMPSON (3) AND WX3722 CORPORAL V.F. STRACHAN (4) OF THE 7TH DIVISION ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK, STRIPPING PARTS FROM AN UNSERVICEABLE MORRIS TRUCK WHICH WAS RETURNED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.

[cliff]

The vehicle is front is a rare Australian airborne GMC converted from GMC-CCKW352's by Holden in Melbourne for both the US Army and the Australian Forces. The US one's had tipper bodies on them whereas most or all of the Australian ones were just straight cargo bodies. If anyone has any information on these vehicles Please let me know.

Caption
ID Number: 114586
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: BALIKPAPAN, BORNEO. 1945-08-25. VIEW OF 10TH ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK SHOWING JEEPS AND TRUCKS PARKED AMONG WRECKED OIL TANKS.

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by cliff

The vehicle is front is a rare Australian airborne GMC converted from GMC-CCKW352's by Holden in Melbourne for both the US Army and the Australian Forces. The US one's had tipper bodies on them whereas most or all of the Australian ones were just straight cargo bodies. If anyone has any information on these vehicles Please let me know.

Caption
ID Number: 114586
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: BALIKPAPAN, BORNEO. 1945-08-25. VIEW OF 10TH ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK SHOWING JEEPS AND TRUCKS PARKED AMONG WRECKED OIL TANKS.

Cliff, I found the front half of one of those .. in a wrecking yard at Laurel Hill , near Batlow in NSW. The yard owner let me grab the Aust. brass ID plate from the cab. The cab had a crude pram top like folding bow set up.. it was very crude how they ( GMH ) cut the cabs down.. I believe that they were hard top cabs cut down. Silly me.. I gave the I.D. plate to somebody . My pic of it appeared in a W & T article years ago ..

Mike

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by cliff

Another Morris with the caption.....

ID Number: 064534
Physical description: Black & white
Summary: TOLGA, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA. 1944-02-24. NX110302 DRIVER M.G. DUNNETT (1) SX29354 DRIVER R. JOHNS (2) VX101143 DRIVER J.N. THOMPSON (3) AND WX3722 CORPORAL V.F. STRACHAN (4) OF THE 7TH DIVISION ORDNANCE VEHICLE PARK, STRIPPING PARTS FROM AN UNSERVICEABLE MORRIS TRUCK WHICH WAS RETURNED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST.

Cliff,

That is PU8 Morris they are dismantling. It looks to be a staged photo.. although in the same series I spotted a Morris engine sitting on the ground, so they actually did do some work ! Why did they bother doing that ? The capton should read " aquired from the middle east " .

Mike

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Cliff, I found the front half of one of those .. in a wrecking yard at Laurel Hill , near Batlow in NSW. The yard owner let me grab the Aust. brass ID plate from the cab. The cab had a crude pram top like folding bow set up.. it was very crude how they ( GMH ) cut the cabs down.. I believe that they were hard top cabs cut down. Silly me.. I gave the I.D. plate to somebody . My pic of it appeared in a W & T article years ago ..

Mike

Yes these Airborne GMC's were cut down full cabs and the rear deck also split in half as did the chassis behind the cab. One truck disassembled made up two C47 plane loads. This is one vehicle I am very interested in and I'd love to see a real one one day.

The photo below is of a 1/35 scale model I made at one stage.

[Keith Webb]

The AWM has quite a few pics of North Ryde such as these Wireless Signals and Portees:

[jim sewell]

Upon seeing the line up of these vans I feel a little sick as I have been trying to collect enough parts to make one , where did they all go to ?
Smaller wheels to be fitted next.
Regards
Jim S.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by jim sewell

Upon seeing the line up of these vans I feel a little sick as I have been trying to collect enough parts to make one , where did they all go to ?
Smaller wheels to be fitted next.
Regards
Jim S.

Nice work Jim! Looks like you have the WO73 as opposed to the WO12 version. I had a borrowed WO12 for about a year in 1976 which had 20" wheels. With the 6.5 diffs it was a pretty good highway truck although it ran out of puff on hills somewhat. It had the cab wall removed and another added near the rear wheel arch with a long range fuel tank and passenger seat similar to a gun tractor.
I've always been fond of that shape and have a No9 FGT now.

[jim sewell]

Thanks Kieth , yes it is a WO 73 , what is the difference between the WO 12 and the 73 ?
Have been getting this ready for Lang's trip overseas and will fit the 20'' rims wth the 8.25x20 tyres and coupled to the 6.2 diff to try and obtain the best ecomony as possible.
Regards
Jim S.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by jim sewell

Thanks Kieth , yes it is a WO 73 , what is the difference between the WO 12 and the 73 ?
Have been getting this ready for Lang's trip overseas and will fit the 20'' rims wth the 8.25x20 tyres and coupled to the 6.2 diff to try and obtain the best ecomony as possible.
Regards
Jim S.

The difference is the WO12 was 4X4 and 73 4X2.

[Lang]

Originally Posted by cliff

Yes these Airborne GMC's were cut down full cabs and the rear deck also split in half as did the chassis behind the cab. One truck disassembled made up two C47 plane loads. This is one vehicle I am very interested in and I'd love to see a real one one day.

The photo below is of a 1/35 scale model I made at one stage.

Cliff,

Jad Dennis in Brisbane has just collected the final bits for his airborne GMC and it is expected to be on the road next year. He has just about everything from a real original, not modified from a standard GMC to fit his project.

Lang

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Lang

Cliff,

Jad Dennis in Brisbane has just collected the final bits for his airborne GMC and it is expected to be on the road next year. He has just about everything from a real original, not modified from a standard GMC to fit his project.

Lang

Lang I'd love some photos especially of the chassis splice if possible. No hurry just want to add to the data I have here on them.

[Tony Smith]

Taken from this thread: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=27754

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

The Ryde vehicle park would have been a sight to behold.

The site was actually one of Sydney's oldest military landholdings, but by WW2 had been considerably reduced in size.

The land was selected in the early 1800's as a location well away from civilisation to exercise and train Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery units, and in honour of the ancient Roman establishment for the same purpose that was known as the "Field of Mars" (the God of War), the site in rural Sydney was called Marsfield.

The need to deploy troops on open fields had well and truly passed by the beginning of the 1900's, and most Corps in the newly established Australian Army had retreated to their own insular schools, so Marsfield was slowly subdivided into horticultural and cropping properties.

The Army still held approx 100ac, and it found use during WW2 as the Ryde Vehicle Ordnance Park (Ryde being the name of the area and the nearest township, some 2mi away. Today, this area is known as the suburb of Marsfield). Security would have been "in place", but not that secure that on any Sunday a 12yo boy with a slingshot and an apple in a brown paper bag couldn't have got in and wandered the rows and rows of vehicles. It's just a shame he didn't have a digital camera and notepad instead, as the vehicle types would have been amazing. And not just Dodges!

[Tony Smith]

I wonder if people in those houses have dug anything up in their backyards?

[Ron King]

The well known wreakers in Cooma had at least two air portable GMC chassis at one stage.
The last time I was there they were gone.
I do remember the jointing flanges and a quick release brake line near by.