1937 Chevy ute, Aust. army

[Lang]

Mike,

No wonder the girls went for the yanks - is there a worse uniform than the Australian WW2 effort!

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Lang

Mike,

No wonder the girls went for the yanks - is there a worse uniform than the Australian WW2 effort!

A case of one size fits all

[Marc van Aalderen]

I do like the hats though!

Cheers,

[Mike K]

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemD...x?itemID=29950

[Mike Cecil]

Interesting, Mike.

The 15Cwt Chev ute appears to have a wireless in the back: do you recognise it? Same question applies to the 2 Div Sigs vehicle in the last image. (I think the caption '1 Field Cadre RAA' might actually be 'Cadre Staff, 1 Field Regiment, RAA', perhaps?)

The 'peacetime/pre-mobilisation' markings on the doors are interesting, as is the pre-uniform Commonwealth registration scheme number plate (D^D 117). The vehicle later transferred from the D^D scheme to the Commonwealth scheme when it commenced in early 1939, and became C-117.

The 3 tonners have rather strange (ie non standard for either the Commonwealth or AIF registration schemes) registration plates: wonder if they are impressed civilian lorries, yet to be 'militerised' with a thick coat of KG3 paint?


Mike C

[Mike K]

Yes Mike

The GMC 3 Tonners or 30 cwt or whatever would be civvy trucks impressed . At that stage they would have been grabbing near new civvy vehicles from disgruntled owners. I believe they took or prefered 1939 and 40 Ford and GM models excusively, being almost new trucks then. While buying parts years ago I met a old chap who related a few stories . He had just bought a new Chevy truck as the war began. He said it was taken from him , and he never saw it again.

I think the wireless set in the back of the staff car may be a British No. 1 set . It's too early to be a Australian AWA built 101 set , which were a somewhat similar set. We got a very small number of no. 1 sets pre-war, issued to each state. There is a pic of one in the AWM collection, in Hobart of all places.

Not sure what the device is in the ute . There is another pic ...

[Mike Cecil]

Mike,

The exclusive (near-exclusive) use of Ford and Chev powered vehicles in the late 30s and the early part of WW2 was a Defence dept policy called the 'two engine policy', which saw (1) the purchase of Ford and Chev vehicles by Army exclusively until the demand exceeded the supply, and it was relaxed and (2) impressment of Ford and Chev powered vehicles as the 'first round' of impressment. Again, when demand exceeded supply, the policy was relaxed.

Mike C

[Mike K]

The poor resolution pic is a No. 1 set in South Aust. 1938. Woodside barracks ? . They are wearing pre-war militia uniforms ? with leather bandoleers .

The British mounted them in tiny Austin 7's

[Lang]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Yes Mike

The GMC 3 Tonners or 30 cwt or whatever would be civvy trucks impressed . At that stage they would have been grabbing near new civvy vehicles from disgruntled owners. I believe they took or prefered 1939 and 40 Ford and GM models excusively, being almost new trucks then. While buying parts years ago I met a old chap who related a few stories . He had just bought a new Chevy truck as the war began. He said it was taken from him , and he never saw it again.

Mike,

I think a lot of people get the idea the government just knocked on your door, took the keys and drove off in your impressed vehicle. Impressed vehicles were paid for at above the average market price. Some vehicles (and other impressed items and property) which were useable were offered back to the owners when the government had finished with them.

They of course had a list of owners and took vehicles in priority (devised by bureacrats) of those least able to prove their use was in the wider national interest, hence impressed vehicles were allocated to government departments, farmers and manufacturers engaged in essential services to fill gaps in supply, not just the military. It would have p...d you off to see the bloke down the road using your truck because he had a contract with the government.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

A case of one size fits all

Last month a QM guy helpfully informed me that all uniforms are now available in size 2. Too big, too small and too bad.

[Mike Cecil]

That made me laugh!

Whole number plate: well, it's a Commonwealth reg plate (it has the red 'C' at the start), but is at some variance to the specs. Plates were issued by the Department of the Interior, so they are usually pretty uniform, but these are way off target! Always something new to learn.....

Mike C

[Local Chap]

There's guidelines, and then there's Local Practice! Pre-WW2, each State used number plates (enamelled, screenprinted, painted, stamped or cast) for local registration that differed in size, style and font from state to state. If each Military District was responsible for issuing plates that were painted, some sort of local style may have crept in from existing states practices. It wasn't until stamped metal plates came in throughout Aust that standardised fonts and plate sizes came into force.

You only have to look at some of the variations in Aust Jeep hood numbers to see some of the styles that flourished.

[Mike Cecil]

True, and I agree with you about State and Military District issed plates, but the UCRS was administered centrally, and plates were issued centrally by the Dept of the Interior. Army and Air Force later painted numbers onto vehicles, and discontinued plates (less steel, given the large numbers of vehs involved) but Navy (and other Govt Depts) continued to have plates issued by DofI for the entire war, and into the immediate Post war period. They were very uniform. But the plates pictured, which are very early registrations, depart from the 'norm', so I suspect were interim plates of some sort due to the heavy and unforseen demand for plates once the war started, and DofI were playing 'catch up' with the Defence plate applications.

Mike C