Jeeps in RCN and RCAF service

[Larry Hayward]

Returning to an old post I have a question for Hanno and other Jeep fans. In British service in WW2 the sidelights on many Jeeps were typically moved to the mudguards, so I'm told as these lights needed to match the width of the vehicle for our road laws

However in the photo of the 'RAF' Jeep you posted with the pilots and Spitfire to one side, the side lights are still in their factory built location and the same is seen in the later photo of the RCAF Jeep from 39R Wing / 400 Sqn.

Could this mean that both Jeeps are in fact RCAF Jeeps that have been allocated direct to the Canadians? Or did we get bored with moving sidelights in 1944/45. Perhaps the Jeep numbers might reveal the production batch and who got them?

Lastly Hanno I think I have seen this photo before in a book on the 2nd TAF. I wonder if Jim Fraser ever found out if its his Uncle and what Sqn he was on. Your photo looks like the Sqn was operating 'in the field'.

[Keith Orpin]

Larry,
Most, if not all jeeps in British service during WW2 did NOT move the front sidelights from the grill to the wing, this was , I beleive a postwar mod. This observation is based upon studying lots and lots of wartime pictures of jeeps in British service.
Hope this helps
Regards
Keith

[Robin Craig]

The markings as shown in post number 10 are very familiar.

They were reproduced by IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) Canada a good 15 to 20 years ago in 1/35 scale.

It was one of those non standard sets of decals that they strove to champion and make available long before people has laser printers and could make their own decals for models.

I still have my unused decal sheet, buried in a 20 ft sea can somewhere. If it interests anyone, ping me and I will add you to the list for when we empty the container in the spring.

R

[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....)

[servicepub (RIP)]

Navy, Army, Air Force jeeps on parade.

[Mike Cecil]

Clive,

Any idea of a date for this image, please?

Mike C

[servicepub (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

Any idea of a date for this image, please?

Mike,
No date on the photo or in the album from which it was harvested. However, the soldiers are wearing respirators on their chests and sporting STEN guns in their right hands so 1942-43 would be my educated guess.

Clive

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by servicepub (RIP)

Navy, Army, Air Force jeeps on parade.

If ever a photograph need colourizing it is this one. My humble attempt:

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Another Jeep next to a C60L in service with 126 wing 403 Squadron, RCAF:

42279495960_0c512f237b_o.jpg
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/britis...57688051774645

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Larry Hayward

Returning to an old post I have a question for Hanno and other Jeep fans. In British service in WW2 the sidelights on many Jeeps were typically moved to the mudguards, so I'm told as these lights needed to match the width of the vehicle for our road laws

However in the photo of the 'RAF' Jeep you posted with the pilots and Spitfire to one side, the side lights are still in their factory built location and the same is seen in the later photo of the RCAF Jeep from 39R Wing / 400 Sqn.

Could this mean that both Jeeps are in fact RCAF Jeeps that have been allocated direct to the Canadians? Or did we get bored with moving sidelights in 1944/45. Perhaps the Jeep numbers might reveal the production batch and who got them?

Larry,

In "The Wartime Jeep in British Service" by Gavin Birch lists the modifications carried out by the British to have them comply to their requirements. But due to the pressures of war only relatively few were converted as such. I would have to look up the details, but one cannot draw the conclusion those Jeeps were allocated direct to the Canadians because it does not have the British modifications.

[servicepub (RIP)]

Canadians obtained jeeps three ways; the majority via direct purchase from Ford and Willys, a significant number of used vehicles purchased from the US Army, and a small number obtained from the British War Office.
Eric Booth's booklet "The WWII Jeep in Canadian Service" describes these acquisitions.
Clive

[Colin Macgregor Stevens]

My 1944 Willys MB jeep came out of Norway surplus in the mid-1980s and appears to have been in British Airborne service before the Norwegians got it. I uncovered Norwegian service markings and the original USA Registration number (on the front bumper!) but as the hood (bonnet) had been changed in service there were no British markings. :-( None on the sides or rear either. I like to think that it was one of the many that were left behind in Norway after 1 Airborne Division & SAS Bde liberated Norway in May 1945. I say this because mine had some British features:
1. Four holes in the top of each fender (wing) for the airborne stowage racks
2. Sidelights/convoy lights had been moved to the wings/fenders, but later moved back into the grille and the holes in the fenders/wings were welded shut.
3. Oil dipstick cap painted red
4. British style hinged door mounts on side of windshield frame.

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Larry,

In "The Wartime Jeep in British Service" by Gavin Birch lists the modifications carried out by the British to have them comply to their requirements. But due to the pressures of war only relatively few were converted as such. I would have to look up the details, but one cannot draw the conclusion those Jeeps were allocated direct to the Canadians because it does not have the British modifications.

Hanno

[Hanno Spoelstra]

I know it is not a wartime photo. But you may be interested to see this Canadian Navy Jeep, as info on Jeeps in RCN service is so rare.

It looks this is a bog standard CJ-3A Universal Jeep, shiny paint and all. Big question: which colour would they have chosen from the catalogue? Ref. https://www.kaiserwillys.com/about_w..._history_specs

A Jeep that was destroyed during a 52 degree roll while HMCS Crusader was sailing to Hong Kong, 25 January 1954

13817_original.jpg
source: https://www.thememoryproject.com/sto...:donald-raven/

[Hanno Spoelstra]

From Rob Grieve, another RCN CJ-3A:

Here is a photo of a M38 (or CJ2) onboard the HMCS Assiniboine (DDE234) in the late 1950's. Note the civilian tires, large fender mounted turn signals and the white headlight rims without the headlight guards. I like the extra large rear window in the canvas top. The seaman is Andrew Macnaugton.

EF206C4A-FF88-4C41-9081-021CF69D25EF.jpg

Reply by Tom McLean:

"The Capt's Jeep - got my DND license driving that very jeep. Used to run errands around the dockyard and to get "walk-through" spare parts from the stores in Collwood. Carried on deck on the Assiniboine, covered by tarp, kept painted with red wheel wells. Only 2-wheel drive. Still in use in the early 1960's until the helo deck was fitted."

If it was 2WD, then it must have been a DJ-3A (D for Dispatcher) built from 1955 - 1965. Apparently the US Navy used DJ-3A's as well: http://www.ewillys.com/2018/06/19/19...unty-ca-12500/ - http://www.ewillys.com/2010/03/19/19...sant-il-12000/

[Barry Churcher]

Does anyone know the proper letters for BCATP Station Fort Macleod, #7 Service Flying Training School? I would guess FM but would like to know for sure.
Thanks Barry

[Grant Bowker]

The current ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) identifier for the Fort MacLeod airport is CEY3. Sorry, but I don't have information on the period identifier. ICAO is a postwar creation (1947) so there may not be any linkage between the airport designators then and now. But, if you are lucky, they might just have added the C at the beginning to identify Canada.

Looking at the satellite image at https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fo...4d-113.4147974 the current airport is clearly on the site of the BCATP airport.