[horsa]

This is why I thought the number on the data plate and in paint on the vehicle was the British census number. They were built under contract in the USA for England and the "T" or "TD" number was painted while in the USA on the three designated locations as specified by the contract.

No USA vehicle has a T or TD code so this must have been done based on vehicle contract orders that had been placed already. And we've seen examples of the T-16 with the white vehicle numbers like mine had, in the same three locations. Some had TD prefix like mine and some only had T. Postwar examples the Swiss bought were painted over, but the original numbers are still etched into the hull under the paint.

My understanding is the Welbikes build in the UK had their numbers with the "C" prefix painted at the production factory based on contracts so it would stand to reason the same thing happened with the T-16. Since the U.S. army wasn't getting the vehicles, anyone doing record keeping could simply have gone by the vehicle's Ford serial number which is stamped with the date on the front armour. And that number has nothing to do with the sequence of the T or TD number.

In terms of your question on towing assignment Andrew, I have no idea. The towing assembly and wading skirt squares were definitely added after the vehicles got to the UK. My towing assembly and several others I've seen were welded directly over the rear vehicle markings. And the markings on the side were partially obscured by the front wading skirt squares and so got repainted lower down on the side after the modifications were done. Odds are there was some minor specification difference in a vehicle ordered as a tug, but so far we haven't identified a trend in the variations in parts encountered.

Shot attached has been posted before and shows a field of T-16s in the UK that have not been modified with towing assemblies or wading fixtures. Note the numbers and prefix on the rear lower armor of the vehicles that haven't been converted into tents. And the other shot has a T-16 with numbers in the same format as my carrier had with dots behind the vehicle prefix. It only has a "T." prefix but the space is there for a "D." before the number begins. And the third shot shows another T-16 with similar spacing. But they were not as conscientious about doing a good job of painting over the "D." which makes you wonder what else was going on back then.

Note: These are wartime shots and not surviving T-16s so it's a bit of overlap with the other old T-16 message thread. But they are needed for reference here I think.