Carrier stencilling

[Lynn Eades]

David, are you talking about the "oilboard" paper for the stencil cutter machines?

[motto (RIP)]

I've not heard it called that Lynn but that would be it. Most of it's in rolls 20" diameter and 10 " or so wide. Each roll weighs in at around 60lb.

David

[David Dunlop]

I finally located the photos from Ford Canada and will start cropping the decals information for you. The original photos are all 8 x 10 glossy format. If I leave them as is, they will grind the forum to a halt and Hanno will be travelling over here in short order to KMA! If I compress the photos, the details will be completely lost.

Interestingly, one of the photos Ford sent me is a full right side shot of their Windsor prototype, which they created by stretching a standard UC. It shows where the extensions were installed, what sections of the UC remained original and the dimensions of same. Possibly enough information to create a working "Windsor" chassis assembly.

Back later,


David

[David Dunlop]

The only stencil Ford applied to the Carrier at the factory was the "SLING HERE" markings by the front and rear lifting rings. These are in white Gothic lettering.

At the front, the word "SLING" is centred over the word "HERE" with a 0.050 inch space between the words. The stencil is located one inch above the front edge of the lower hull plate and 6 inches in from either inside fender surface.

At the rear of the carrier "SLING HERE" forms a single line on both sides of the rear top axle cover plate, inboard of the rear lifting rings. Curiously, they have the same orientation, in that they are both readable from the right side of the vehicle.

Available decals to follow shortly.

David

[David Dunlop]

This will by no means be a complete and definitive work, as not all the photos I obtained from Ford of Canada show all stowage locations, or show them clearly without kit in place. I get a sense from all of them that Ford worked pretty closely with the military to work out where various items could best be stowed and this was likely a continuous process throughout the war, as equipment and needs changed.

The decals are all the same font size. White, Gothic Lettering, 0.50 inches high and 7/16ths of an inch wide. The individual lines of the letters are 0.125 inches thick.

The first decal is for the Bren Tripod. Sorry for the blur but it was at the closest point to the camera which was focused more on the top engine cover items.

The other two decals show the Pouches Decal noticed on two locations. All such pouch stowage bars probably had this decal. The one inside the upper left rear of the vehicle is a bit hard to spot due to the vertical orientation of the camera.

As an aside, I will post a photo from Ford on a separate thread of these pouches.

David

[David Dunlop]

My apologies for this photo as I cannot get the detail of these decals due to the distance from the camera and the resolution limits.

"SPARE WHEEL" just shows at 11 o'clock under the spare wheel on the deck.

"BREN M/G" is applied to the upper triangular face of the grab handle bracket where the gun rest and canvas hold down strap are located.

"2" MORTAR" is applied to the mortar mounting bracket at the apex of the mortar barrel and the angled side armour.

Inboard of each fire extinguisher, either side of the gun port is the decal "FIRE EXTINGUISHER" reading from bottom to top.

David

[David Dunlop]

Again, it is hard to nail the detail, and Ford was clearly playing with all of their toys with these shots, but there are six decals in total on the top of the engine cover.

In the first photo there are four decals that can be read from the left side of the vehicle. The first three, from the bottom up, are under the two Enfields. They are equally spaced apart and read as follows:

"SERVICE RIFLE"
"SERVICE RIFLE"
"FIRE EXTINGUISHER"

Underneath the Sten Mag is:

"BOYS RIFLE"

On top of the fan shroud, just aft of the partition plate and read front the back of the vehicle is:

"AERIAL ROD CASES & FLAGS SIGNALLING"

Centered on the Rad Cap Cover, and read from the front of the vehicle for some reason is"

"BOYS RIFLE BIPOD"

The second photo shows parts of these decals from rear angle.

David

[David Dunlop]

The forward end of the track sponson in this compartment has two decals, both read from the rear of the vehicle. The first one, by the trailing edge of the fan shroud, reads:

"SIGNAL SATCHEL"

The second decal, roughly at the midpoint of the folding seat assembly reads:

"W/T SET Nos 11, 18, 19 OR 22"

The first photo is an overhead shot and the second taken at an angle from the rear of the vehicle.

That covers all of the visible decals I have from the Ford of Canada photos.

Best regards,

David

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Again, it is hard to nail the detail, and Ford was clearly playing with all of their toys with these shots, but there are six decals in total on the top of the engine cover.

In the first photo there are four decals that can be read from the left side of the vehicle. The first three, from the bottom up, are under the two Enfields. They are equally spaced apart and read as follows:

"SERVICE RIFLE"
"SERVICE RIFLE"
"FIRE EXTINGUISHER"

Underneath the Sten Mag is:

"BOYS RIFLE"

On top of the fan shroud, just aft of the partition plate and read front the back of the vehicle is:

"AERIAL ROD CASES & FLAGS SIGNALLING"

Centered on the Rad Cap Cover, and read from the front of the vehicle for some reason is"

"BOYS RIFLE BIPOD"

The second photo shows parts of these decals from rear angle.

David

I thought I knew my way around WW2 kit when it came to Bren carriers but this item has me stumped. What the heck is it? A very poor mock-up of a Boys rifle? Mocked up PIAT?

[Michael R.]

A brief look before I delete this, no stencils, but perhaps what Dave D refers?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Michael R.

A brief look before I delete this

Hello Michael,

Why would you delete it?

Hanno