Info needed: ARN stencils- Size and style

[Tony Wheeler]

Regarding ARN font question raised by Jacques: The ARN font, and the position of the ARN on the front shell panel, varied between production plants according to local practice. The plant can usually be determined from the ARN record, which gives the State or Military District where the vehicle was first issued. Unfortunately it's often given as 'VB' for Victoria Barracks, which is rather confusing because there are Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It's a particular problem in the 52xxx - 555xx range, which is what we're dealing with in this case. Perhaps Mike can shed some light on this question.

Comparing VB ARN 53166 to NSW ARN 55936: the 3, 5, 6 digits look virtually identical to me, possibly reflecting an individual Ticketwriter's 'signature' as described by Tony. The WA ARN 59877 looks like a different 'signature' to me, ie. fatter and flatter, with a pointed upswept tail on the 9 digit. Two of these ARNs are centrally placed, leaving insufficient room for the Formation sign and TAC sign if required.

Ford ARN font.jpg


Other States including VIC and QLD used stencils, and placed the ARN along the top of the panel, leaving plenty of room for the Formation sign. However these stencilled digits were quite large and well spaced, which meant 6-digit ARN barely fitted across Cab 13 panel, unless it contained another '1' digit. This seems to have led to diagonal placement occasionally - Keith's gun tractor ARN 134855 may be an example of this practice. Postwar stencils were somewhat narrower, perhaps deliberately so for this reason.

Ford ARN font (2).jpg


Interestingly, just like Ford practice, Chev ARNs were stencilled in VIC but handwritten in NSW. In both plants however the placement was along the inner side of the panel.

Chev ARN font.jpeg


These are just my own observations over time, not based on any proper study of the matter. In the interests of authenticity it would be worth conducting an investigation of ARN fonts and placement on CMPs, perhaps using this thread commenced by Jacques to post examples and discuss.

Cheers,
Tony

[Keith Webb]

The latest painting of an ARN on my No.9 (134855) was done diagonally -I think one of Tony's No.8 FGTs may have been done the same way.
Attached are some which may be of interest - No.9 ARN 132141 when factory fresh with a stencilled ARN then one of it in CMF use after being repainted deep bronze green with a hand painted ARN lower down, finally a ticket writer hard at work on a WO38 C60S from the SLSA.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

a ticket writer hard at work on a WO38 C60S

Hi Keith,

That photo is at GMH Pagewood NSW, where for some reason a ticket writer was employed instead of stencils used at other GMH plants. Note the sideways ARN, also unique to GMH Pagewood. This practice continued through 71xxx range as seen below, and presumably into 6-digit range, although I don't have any 6-digit examples to confirm. Interestingly this C60L has the USN 49463 visible on the bumper, something I hadn't recognized until Mike's info on USNs in this thread.

B-59807-3-17A.jpeg


132141 font is the standard stencil used by Ford VIC throughout the war. It can be seen in both 5-digit and 6-digit ARN ranges. Evidently Ford QLD used the same stencil, as seen on my F60L ARN 134579. This is the font we need for our No.9 FGTs. I have several examples from which I'll make tracings in due course. However I may not have all 10 digits. I wonder if anyone else has reproduced this font previously...?

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Tony,

I am sure I am not the only long time "Blitz" owner who has learnt a bit more about these vehicles thanks to you, Mike, and all the others who have contributed.

Based on your information 55166 would have had an ARN applied at the factory so its absence can only mean it was removed at some time.
At your suggestion I sanded a section of its mudguard and can see at least 3 different colours applied to it so perhaps it was removed and not reapplied at one of these times.
It looks like Canadian KG3 (originally covered over at the wheel arch), then Australian KG3 (darker) then a much darker (Olive Drab?) New Guinea service?

I am 99.9% convinced the cowl is original and not a swap from another vehicle. As 55166 was an ex Bush Fire Brigade truck it would have been better taken care of than a lot of other vehicles that were sold after the war.
Just a pity it sat out in a salt air environment after it was pensioned off from the Bush Fire Brigade.

Assuming it is original, then the USN gives it something at least that is not always known about ones vehicle and that is the unit to which it was assigned.

It would be good to see photos posted here of other CMP's with extant ARN's and USN's and bar codes no matter how faded or damaged the paintwork.

Cheers,

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

Based on your information 55166 would have had an ARN applied at the factory so its absence can only mean it was removed at some time. At your suggestion I sanded a section of its mudguard and can see at least 3 different colours applied to it so perhaps it was removed and not reapplied at one of these times.

Hi Jacques,

It's very difficult to remove the ARN completely without disturbing underlying paintwork, particularly Light Tone disruptive coat applied in production, which is extremely thin and easily rubbed through. I've found no such evidence of ARN removal on this cowl, which leads me to wonder if it was ever applied in the first place. You'll see what I mean when you inspect for yourself.

ARN 55166 camo pattern.jpg

ARN 55166 paint history.jpg

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

It looks like Canadian KG3 (originally covered over at the wheel arch), then Australian KG3 (darker) then a much darker (Olive Drab?) New Guinea service?

Unfortunately the mudguards suffer corrosion due to lack of primer, which attacks the paintwork from underneath and eventually bubbles through. This makes it difficult to ascertain paint history. It's possible to get results but you need the right technique. If you bring the mudguard up I can demonstrate. There should be only two colours under the red paint: KG3 applied in Canadian production, which remained in the 2-tone factory camo scheme, but was overpainted with something darker in service - probably US OD applied in NG Force service, although other possibilites exist, e.g. Vehicle Dark Green or Australian KG3.

Thankfully the cowl received primer in Canadian production, which helps immensely to preserve paint history, by providing a barrier to moisture reaching the metal. You can see the difference here, with a ring of corrosion instead of primer!

ARN 134579 paint history.jpeg

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

Assuming it is original, then the USN gives it something at least that is not always known about ones vehicle and that is the unit to which it was assigned.

Not only that, but the unit actually served in New Guinea. Not many CMP owners can claim that sort of provenance, let alone prove it. I notice this unit has an active Facebook group, apparently based in Melbourne, which gives a brief unit history. Perhaps you could get in touch and ask about photo albums - you never know your luck!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/categ...8462727235571/

The 106th Tank Attack Regiment was formed in early 1942 from units of the 2nd Field Regiment, part of the 3rd Australian Division. From the beginning the 106th was made up of four batteries - 21, 22, 23 and 24. They trained at camp 17, Seymour. The 106th were sent to Queensland for more training in jungle conditions.

In late 1943 the 106th sailed for New Guinea on the ship ‘Hangang’ (built in Hong Kong in 1940) and after a short stay in Milne Bay embarked for Buna where they were welcomed with a message from Tokyo Rose: “Australian soldiers, you listen Australian soldiers-the beaches of Buna they run with Australian blood, Australian soldiers.”
At Buna the 106th were taken off the Hangang at Cape Endaiadere, and later moved to Dobodura. Amid rumours the Japanese may try to retake Buna, they were subjected to a number of air raids.
In late 1943 the Batteries of the 106th were split up, being sent to Lae, Finschhafen, Buna and Madang.
As the Japanese did not use tanks as much as the Germans, the 106th batteries were deployed on beach defence with 25-pounders in case the Japanese tried to re-land in these areas.
In September 1944 the three remaining batteries went back to Australia to be disbanded-many members were placed in other units, some of which went to Borneo and Bougainville until their return home to Australia and their families.

[Alastair Thomas]

My Lynx has a No19 Set but does not have the required W/T markings on the sides.
Would these be the same font and size as the ARN?
Alastair

[Tony Smith]

Did anyone progress to producing the correct font stencil for the ARN?

I like a set of the style used by Ford in NSW and Vic.