Royal Navy vehicles

[Les Freathy]

Sod it i forgot
number on the Ford is 10054 RN
""""""""""""""" trailer RN21725
strange how they the opposite way round, the Crossley Q 3 tonner and Eagle trailer are identical to the RAF types

[rewdco]

Originally Posted by Les Freathy

Sod it i forgot
number on the Ford is 10054 RN
""""""""""""""" trailer RN21725
strange how they the opposite way round, the Crossley Q 3 tonner and Eagle trailer are identical to the RAF types

It looks as if the old numbers (pre 10.000?) had a "RN" prefix, whereas the later numbers (post 10.000?) used the RN abbreviation as a suffix, with this trailer as an odd exception. Here is a picture of a Royal Navy BSA M20 with RN6919 number. (source: The Classic Motorcycle Feb 1987)

Jan

[rewdco]

Here's an other early one, same source. RN7119 is a Norton 16H with box sidecar. I have some more pictures of WRENS with motorcycles, and many of these bikes still had a civilian registration: either SHX (Central London) or PMP (North East London).

Jan

[rewdco]

Another PMP registered motorcycle, an (impressed?) AJS this time. Just in front of it is an unregistered Ariel W/NG, with number 10886RN.

Jan

[rewdco]

Close up of the same picture. See tilly and bus in the background!

Jan

[rewdco]

Another Ariel W/NG, again from "The Classic Motorcycle", with number 10872RN. Has anybody ever noticed that the vehicles on the pictures RN008.jpg and RN014.jpg (both posted by Alan Brock), have very close RN numbers? The mobile workshop is 41677RN, the mobile crane is 41675RN. Would this mean that these RN numbers were not allocated in blocks, as in the army? It seems to me that there are many completely different Royal Navy vehicles with very close RN numbers... (OK, the Navy used lessvehicles than the army, but still... Just a thought...)

Jan

[rewdco]

To prove my point: this is a Norton 16H, number 26938RN. I also have a picture of an Ariel with number 26254RN, and previous postings contain pictures of a tilly with number 25256RN, and a lorry with number 25440RN. All quite close or not?

Jan

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by rewdco

Here is a picture of a Royal Navy BSA M20 with RN6919 number. (source: The Classic Motorcycle Feb 1987)

Jan,

My eye was drawn to the tappet cover on the BSA, not like an M20 part, too shallow. Also, motorcycles used by women in the Services, were generally smaller machines.

It is in fact, a BSA C10 250cc.An IWM photo in Chris Orchard's book, British Forces Motorcycles, shows another WREN, riding C10 with RN6914 on the tank, and civil reg. no. SHX129.

[rewdco]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

My eye was drawn to the tappet cover on the BSA, not like an M20 part, too shallow. Also, motorcycles used by women in the Services, were generally smaller machines.

It is in fact, a BSA C10 250cc.An IWM photo in Chris Orchard's book, British Forces Motorcycles, shows another WREN, riding C10 with RN6914 on the tank, and civil reg. no. SHX129.

Indeed Richard, you're right! Never trust the captions in a magazine!
Thanks for the correction,

Jan