Jeeps in RCN and RCAF service

[Mike Cecil]

Gents,

Excuse my ignorance of Canadian matters, but I wonder just how many jeeps the RCN were officially allocated during the Second World War. The humble jeep was in great demand by all the allies, and I know that in Australia's case, very very few of them were acquired by the RAN during the war - it was not until the end of the war when the Army said 'we have enough for peacetime, thanks' that sufficient became available for official allocations to the RAN, who used them in the immediate post war period. There were some exceptions - all traceable to being allocated by local Army authorities to RAN staff serving on islands in the SWPA.

So in the case of the RCN, why would that arm of service have needed jeeps during the war years? Would that need have been sufficient to have been a greater priority for allocation than the RCAF and the Army? Is there actual proof available of jeeps being officially allocated to the RCN during WW2, as opposed to post-WW2?

I'm curious to compare the two countries in this respect.

Mike C (that Australian bloke....)