Otter LRC CM4647296 comes home

[David Dunlop]

Hi Jordan.

Is it possible you are dealing with an Early/Late design change?

If you look at your Magazine Rack, there are slots for three Bren Mags forward of the seat hanger slot and four mags aft.

In the drawing from the manual, there are four mags fore and aft of the two seat hangers.

The drawing suggests an open storage bin under the front of the seat between the mag racks. Your assembly seems to have been modified with two wooden runners or guides to hold or support something. This ‘something’ appears to be more important/valuable than the items stowed in the drawing, thereby requiring a locking cover.

Interesting mystery.

David

[Jordan Baker]

It very well could be an early vs late design change. Unfortunately the period documentation and photos are severely lacking. With only 25ish Otters left and most of them missing the turrets and seats it’s hard to track down originality/purpose.

There is no corresponding part of the hasp on the seat tray. Also this basket was installed reversed in my Otter compared to the drawing and other Otters I’ve looked at. Mine shows no holes or markings on the floor for the Boyes magazine box trays either.

Interestingly the metal basket shows remains of white paint whereas the wood appears to be in khaki green #3.

The Overloon Museum Otter turret basket also has the signal pistol bracket.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Jordan, I'm assuming the hasp swings vertical and down so can't swing up towards the seat? If so it suggests something stowed below the pan obviously. I also think those two rivets may be for a tab spring instead of a web strap. Would the driver's glass insert fit there? The Fox stowage diagram shows greatcoats on top of the battery box (to the right of the driver) in one place, and the visor insert (with wooden blocks, although smaller) in another, so there were two versions.

[Jordan Baker]

In the first picture there is the welds visible for the flare pistol bracket. A few pictures and some mystery holes along the back panel. There is a pair near the top and then five uniformly spaced along bottom corner. The hasp is riveted on

[Jordan Baker]

Last two pictures with the dimensions between the wood blocks. The tray is 12” deep with the wood blocks being closer to 10”.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

In the first picture there is the welds visible for the flare pistol bracket. A few pictures and some mystery holes along the back panel. There is a pair near the top and then five uniformly spaced along bottom corner. The hasp is riveted on

Photo 3 is a '37 pattern 1" brass web strap end. They used the holes in the usual eyelets for rivets that held the end of the strap to the vehicle bin. Safe to say there was a web strap attached there and a reciprocal one someplace on the other side.

[David Dunlop]

Jordan.

If I understand the turret of the Otter correctly, it was manually operated by the gunner, using the Foot Ring mounted on the floor below the basket seat to leverage the basket left or right. If so, how much clearance is there below the top of the Foot Rest and the pan under the seat? Later Otter production may have taken advantage of this space for storage by adding another metal 4-sided shelf. This could even have been designed as a bolt on retro kit.

For the five holes you found along the lower rear edge, take a close look at the spacing in relation to the two wooden blocks. Is it symmetrical, or is it possible a sixth hole existed at one end once upon a time. That might be the hole line for attaching the upper rear tab of the new shelf.

If an item like Bruce suggested was stowed there, you would not want a standard padlock fastener getting in the way of sliding something in and out of that shelf. Perhaps the slot in the hasp was used to engage a spring tab retainer that was fitted underneath the floor of the new shelf assembly?

Just odd thoughts but thought I would put them out there.

I wonder if the set of Design Branch Reference Books list any Otter upgrades.

David

[Jordan Baker]

Tonight I started in on making the new tray.


Yes David, the turret was rotated by pressing your feet on the foot ring on the floor. There is quite a bit of clearance between the bottom of the tray and the foot ring. I believe it’s easily 10-12 inches. This Otter is on the earlier end of things. There very well may have been a kit but when looking over the Overloon Otter (it’s a later made one) there was no sign of these holes and wood blocks from what I remember.

There was only 5 holes. The wood blocks are off centre whereas the hasp is centred.

The armoured glass blocks have their own bins beside the driver and commander seats. The wet weather windows do not show up at all on the stowage diagrams. I thought about them going there but they don’t really fit between the wood blocks.