French Navy reserve CMP trucks

[Alex van de Wetering]

Two tankers, Chevrolets this time.....the "desert" coloured one, I think, is from the Saumur tank museum, but currently displayed at the "Mémorial du Général De Gaulle". It shows French navy number "641 895" on the bumper.
source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65005481@N06/6895502370 | https://servimg.com/view/18800623/6213#

The other is one we have seen on the forum before: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...951#post294951
It's for sale on MilWeb, apparently in Belgium.
Door number "82 058" (?) with a maple leaf and number 2065 (?) on the bumper, same style as the Ford Machinery in the Overlord Museum.
source: https://milweb.net/webvert/a3239/93877

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[Alex van de Wetering]

A couple of CMP pictures from the French Defence Archive: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/

First F60L shows "86 097" on the door and some weird telescope thing in the back. I guess this pictures also shows where the low mileage on these trucks came from.....only used for parades(?)
source: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/nem...litaire-5.html

Two more pictures of a pair of 60CWT's. The front one a F60L with stirrup step. the one behind it seems to have a roof painted white or yellow. No other markings visible.
source: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/dep...terarmees.html
source: https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/dep...rarmees-1.html

Last picture shows that life didn't end well for all CMPs in french service.
source:https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/

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[David Dunlop]

It does seem odd all these vehicles were under French Navy control on some form of long term basis. Also seems odd such a high number of them were essentially field support vehicles and the larger GS CMP's.

If we look at the immediate 20 postwar years, many countries that emerged from World War Two were desperately trying to reassert their colonial interests. France was one of them. So is it possible at that point in time, the French Navy/Marines would have been the service tasked with getting combat troops into their former colonies not only equipped for fighting but equipped for maintenance of their equipment and large scale casualty clearing, knowing the normal military infrastructures for dealing with these issues on the ground in their former colonies were badly damaged, or none existent after the war?

Perhaps the situations in their various colonies unfolded faster than they could effectively respond to, fast enough, so the vehicles ended up just sitting in storage un til sold off.

David