Identification Help

[Bill Murray]

Hi All:

While I am pretty good at identifying the various models of our beloved CMPs, once in a while I need help with a definitive ID on a given vehicle.

The photo below was taken in the then Netherlands East Indies in 1949 while being used by Dutch Forces.

A good friend of mine runs a blog on historic vehicles in NEI/Indonesia and I try to help him with ID questions as well as contributing once in a while.

I believe the vehicle is an 8 CWT, but it could also be a 15 CWT. I cannot determine if it is a Ford or a Chevrolet given the composition of the photo.

Can anyone here help me with a positive ID of the vehicle???

Bill

[rob love]

Cargo box says 15cwt and the hood says Cab11. It does look low though, so possibly a 2 wheel drive?

As to Ford or Chevy, I don't see an oil trail, so it may be a Ford, unless the chevy ran dry and has seized.

[Alex van de Wetering]

That's a lovely picture, Bill.

I agree with Rob....4x2 Cab 11 C15 or F15. Is that a hole to gain access to the rad filler cap? I have the top of a C15 radiator here, with a (second) filler cap in that location....so a Chev in Dutch service?

Also note the headlight has been replaced by a smaller example and the doors have been removed.

Alex

[cletrac (RIP)]

Fords had the filler cap sticking up through the radiator shroud but with Chevs you had to remove the hood to get at the cap. With a Ford you wouldn't need to make outside access to the cap but on Chevs it might be a nice addition, so I'm betting it would be a Chev.

[Bill Murray]

Thanks very much to all of you for the help.

I have passed the information on to my Indonesian friend.

Bill

[Maurice Donckers]

If i hold a picture from my C15 next to this picture , it looks higher , so I think it is a C15A . The "hole" in the radiator schroud could also be a shade , no chev or Ford have a hole in that position.

[rob love]

I was guessing at 2 wheel drive because the driver is sitting in the cab with what appears to be one foot resting on the ground. Either he has very long legs or it is a low truck.

[Keith Webb]

I think the thin steering wheel makes it a Ford. The Chev black steering wheels were noticeably thicker than the Ford ones.

[Maurice Donckers]

Keith .Yes you are right about the steering wheel , if I make the pictures the same size from my C15 ,and this picture , the steering is thicker on my C15.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Here is the radiator top I mentioned earlier. I know it's speculation, but to me the black spot in Bill's picture is too dark to just be a shadow (compare with shown on fender) and has to be an actual hole in the panel. A hole which could provide access to a filler cap as in the pic attached. Hole, not factory, but maybe field/post war mod(?)

The rad top in the picture attached came from a French C15. The complete rad is the original from my C8.

I am still betting on a 4x2; I agree with Rob's comment on the drivers leg, but what settles it for me is the position of the rear wheel when compared with the lower edge of the body. A 4x2 shows the top of the tyre about level with the lower edge of the body, or even slightly above the lower edge; A 4x4 shows the top line of the rear wheel below the lower edge of the body.

Alex

[Maurice Donckers]

Wy should a radiator need 2 filling points ? 11/12 cab uses the rear version , maybe the other is a 13 cab version converted for use in 11/12 cab

[Alex van de Wetering]

Wy should a radiator need 2 filling points

Your guess is as good as mine, Maurice. Maybe it's a cab13 rad retrofitted to a cab 11 as you say.


I put Bill's picture in Google picture search to see if it appears on other websites and found it here:

http://www.41afdva.net/Fotos_41%20RVA.htm

This site shows another picture of a (the same?) cab 11, although the picture is mirrored. I corrected the orientation of the picture and attached it to this thread. C15 Cab11.


Alex

[cletrac (RIP)]

That picture is definitely a Chev and it has that hole in the rad cover.

[Mike Cecil]

.... and the artillery piece is a 25-pdr fitted with a muzzle brake, so a British (or Canadian?) manufactured/supplied weapon, not Australian. Not sure if the Brits were using 25-pdrs with muzzle brakes in late 1941/early 1942, but if not (as I suspect), then this item must have been supplied to the Dutch later in the war or post-war. The Australian Government transferred a lot of equipment to the RNEIA in 1945-46, but this 25-pdr was not part of that, as Australia did not start fitting muzzle brakes to towed 25-pdrs until the early 1960s.

Mike

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

This site shows another picture of a (the same?) cab 11,

Alex

If it's the same truck, then it's at a different time. The truck shown in the second photo has it's superstructure.

[Maurice Donckers]

And it has a different length wiper blade

[Bill Murray]

Again, my friends, thanks for all of the help.

I have identified it as a C15 2WD based on what I read here, I hope it was correct for my Indonesian mate.

Bill