As far as I know from reading, research and discussions with other M-H collectors here in Australia, Ford Australia (Geelong, Victoria) did not export to NEI.
I own (in Australia) a 1939 Australian Army 3 ton Ford M-H, and same for 1940 and 1941. All are open cab artillery tractors built to pull a gun limber and the 25 pdr. field cannon. I also own a 1942 Ford M-H 6x6 hardcab that was a crash recovery truck (a friend in NSW has same with soft cab to pull an AA gun). All these Aussie Army M-Hs are of course RHD.
Most if not all of the Aussie Army M-H Fords were I believe shipped from Canada as chassis and assembled by Ford at Geelong using local bodies, both hard and soft cab. The Ford archives here were, sadly, destroyed long ago, so little remains, but I've been through does still exist. I have photos (another source) of 1940 and 1941 M-H Ford army gun tractors on the assembly line at Geelong, and being given final checks before handover the Aussie Army for service. I am currently restoring my 1941 M-H gun tractor, and its chassis components have a "C" prefix, so it was shipped from Canada; it's powered by a a Canadian flathead.
I have read in histories of Ford Motor Co. that all North American exports to Commonwealth countries were handled by Ford Canada; nothing came out of Dearborn.
I also have a photo of a 1937 Ford with M-H conversion in field use by the Australian Army, so they were at least trialing these trucks well before the major purchases of 1939. I have come across nothing to suggest that the Australian Army ever used any M-H converted Fords smaller than 1.5 ton (American designation), and in fact I've never heard of even a 1 ton in military use. The only 1/2 ton wartime Ford M-H in Australia to my knowledge, owned by a collector in Queensland, is a diverted 1942 NEI truck, with much the same cowl and windshield treatment at the mystery truck in discussion here. It was bought from M-H direct in Indianapolis; M-H did huge orders for the Dutch Purchasing Commission in the early stages of the war.
In the US, I own a 1939 Ford M-H 1/2-ton pickup and a 1946 Ford M-H 1.5 ton (both civilian rigs).
You can forget about going to Marmon-Herrington for information because they trashed their archives when the moved from Indianapolis to Kentucky. I've been this route, researching material to write a history of the company. As far as I've been able to determine, the only extant, worthwhile body of M-H documentation and photos is held by the Detroit Public Library, and it is a goldmine. I have over 50 photos of various trucks, tanks and prototypes from the mid-30s on up.
Busy at work, so this is a little disjointed, but I feel several of you have got the story slightly wrong on Ford Australia and the Australian Army's use of M-H trucks. I'm still trying to piece this fragmented history together myself.
Robert Stafford
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