Kiwi Chev portee

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Is that a S/M 2028 # 42 Cab Portee? One answer, as stated before, is that when new these were assembled in the UK and also it seems by General Motors Near East Ltd, Alexandria, or rather the WD in the leased GM Near East facility. They were then issued to the British Army, AIF and NZEF, and possibly Indian Army though I have never found any evidence that any of these "issued" trucks were ever loaned to the IA.

In due course, starting mid-1941, the UK and Commonwealth Governments agreed to the sale of the vehicles loaned to the various forces, and subsequently they retained their domestic (if shipped out from the UK) and Mid-East theatre Census Numbers, albeit having been loaned then sold to the various Governments with settlements made in London. After all we needed the £! The survivors were then shipped back to Australasia for further service; after all they had been sold!

The other answer is that in 1943-4 219 surviving Portees, MCC C8/MG and the Chevrolet equivalents, were sold/donated to the New Zealand Government and then shipped to NZ. I conject that these were ex-North African ones and the remainders as we have discussed before were rebuilt (Chevs by GM Near East or GM Ltd, England; MCC by Adderley Park) to G/S trucks (Chevs) or FATs.