Carrier restoration in Poland

[Adrian Mamzer]

Hello everyone,
I need help in restoation of my UC. Is it possible to identify the ID number of UC having only the engine number? I've got part of armor cut out.
I also need dimensions (width, height and depth) of plywood seats and backrest. And if they have sponge or seagrass inside (and their dimensions).
I want to make two silencers. Anyone can help me with dimensions of silencers for UC.

[Michael R.]

Welcome to MLU.
Good luck finding an I.D. number from an engine number. If the upper vertical armour in front of the driver has been replaced, and the data tag removed from the divisional wall, the possible three remaining numbers may provide some information for you.

The engine may have been replaced, but the upper and lower hull numbers are most likely original. The upper hull number is located on the upper facing, gunner side of the divisional wall angle iron. The number will appear about where the back of the gunners head would be when the gunner is seated. The lower hull number is located on the angle iron above the left track guard where the upper rear protection plate fastens. See your image.

Judging from the head lamp style, is your carrier a standard U.C. No.1 MK-I*, as made in Windsor, Ontario, Canada by Ford of Canada in late 1941 or early 1942? Note the fitting for a track adjusting crook on the glacis plate, and fastening hole for a horn.

The seat cushions are filled horse hair, covered in a cotton cover, then placed inside a leatherettecover with four or five domed snap fasteners. The seat back cushions are of similar material. The seat bottoms and backrest dimensions are available, as is the information for the silencers. Seat backrests measure 25-1/2" x 14-1/2 inch. E-mail sent.

[Adrian Mamzer]

Hello.
I found a number on the back of the vehicle- 4503c and the number of shooter range- CB 4756. Whether on the basis of these numbers can I determine the identyfication number, the month and year of production?

PS. Michael, thanks for your help. I send you some message, but I didn't get answer. Maybe my emails didn't reach.

Greetings, Adrian.

[Adrian Mamzer]

Photos to previous message.

[Michael R.]

A production month and year of March, 1942 is my best estimate. I am not aware of a document that connects Canadian used U.C.'s by serial number to WD number, beyond the one hundred or so as published in Nigel Watson's 'Universal Carriers, Volume 1'.

Interestingly, it is most likely your carrier was in service in Canada into the 1950's before being disposed of. The RCEME engine rebuild tag for the Korean war period, 18 Oct 1951 done with triple .000s suggests the carrier was in Canada at that time. Here is another rebuilt two days later, at RCEME Workshop 204. There are few MLU members who know that workshop quite well!

Note: the engine number on the rebuild tag is not the engine number assigned at the factory. Factory engine numbers are most commonly observed starting with the letters "TL", ending with the letter "F". The engine serial number is located on the engine block intake manifold deck.

How did your carrier end up in Poland?

[Rob Beale]

I have lower hull 4200 which I believe is a UC Mk 1*
The wheels and some other bits have 1941 on them.

I went through the Ford contract numbers in Nigel's book and came up with a possible T census number, assuming the lower hulls were assembled sequentially.

The recent posts elsewhere here of pics of hulls arriving at the Ford factory by rail probably make it unlikely that they were sequential, but it does give a ballpark figure.

Rob

[Michael R.]

Lower hull 4200, as a U.C. MK-I* production date about 20-26 February, 1942?