15-cwt office truck in the desert

[Ilian Filipov]

On the left picture of Vic it is C15 but on the right the truck is F15, Z1326805 on the IWM picture (Cat. No. E 11097) is also Ford. Indeed, in the caption there it is Chevrolet.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Thanks Ilian, this proves both C15's and F15's were converted and it is not a one-off office variant cobbled together in the field.

Like I said, I have seen pictures of these trucks with the tubular frame hanging off the side before, will try to find them.

[David Dunlop]

The Chev is pulling a trailer. Could these have been Wireless Trucks with early pattern Penthouses?

David

[Ilian Filipov]

Would it be safe to say the bodies were 2C2?

Series_2_bodies_for_15cwt_chassis.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Ilian Filipov

Would it be safe to say the bodies were 2C2?

Thanks, good tip. But the one at the top of this thread has a 2B1 body, the same as the one depicted below. AFAIK, the 2B1 was not produced as an office variant, like the 2C2 you listed.

So the subject body may have been an in-theatre conversion, though not a one-off. As this filled an obvious need, this was later taken in production as a factory-fitted office body like the 2C2.

Royal_Air_Force-_Operations_in_the_Middle_East_and_North_Africa,_1940-1943._CM3619.jpg

[Hanno Spoelstra]

An Australian Army version:

Chevrolet 15cwt signals office (AUST) No 1

image.jpg

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

An Australian Army version:

Chevrolet 15cwt signals office (AUST) No 1

Attachment 83681

The original of that airbrushed photograph was taken in Melbourne at Wesley Grammar, taken over for the duration by the Army. New types were taken there to be photographed for the various publications.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

An Australian Army version:

Chevrolet 15cwt signals office (AUST) No 1

Attachment 83681

I'll bet it never looked so taut and tidy like that in the field.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

The Chev is pulling a trailer. Could these have been Wireless Trucks with early pattern Penthouses?

That's what I thought, but not necessarily for wireless use only: the caption above refers to it being in use by AFPU cameramen.

We know there was a HUP with penthouse - see below.

So the idea developed earlier on during the war may have been the trigger to develop the penthouse. Note how the canvas was rolled up on the roof when not in use. The version depicted below used tent poles to keep the penthouse upright. The one pictured at the top of this thread had a tubular frame plus poles.

CZ4214008.jpg CZ4228552.jpg

Originally Posted by cliff

The penthouse is a lean-to canvas awning making more office space as shown in the first photo attached to a HUP.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Ilian Filipov

Z1326805 on the IWM picture (Cat. No. E 11097) is also Ford.

Downloaded & cropped the file from the IWM site: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ject/205203770
"Object description: A CMP Chevrolet truck in use by AFPU cameramen in the Western Desert, 28 April 1942."

As Ilian said, it is not a Chevrolet but a Ford F15 with WD census number Z1326805.

Note that it has sand channels fitted on top of the roof, just behind the hatch.

IWM E 11097.jpg

IWM E 11097 F15 Z1326805.jpg