Canadian contract jeeps (was: CDLV 505 Jeep Serial numbers...)

[Colin Macgregor Stevens]

David Moore

Unfortunately you have the DND number information incorrect. I found actual wartime explanation in a manual. Summarized here:

42-1-1234 = 1942 vehicle accepted into Canadian Army, ; -1- = meant that it was NOT an R.C.A.S.C. vehicle ; 1,234th vehicle taken on strength that year, excluding motorcycles and excluding R.C.A.S.C. vehicles.

42-1352 would be the 1,532nd vehicle accepted into the R.C.A.S.C. that year.

About January 1943 the DND number system changed. Pre-existing vehicles were renumbered by units and were NOT sequential. R.C.A.S.C. were no longer separately numbered. Motorcycles started at 2,000 e.g. 2-123 and other army vehicles at 50,000 range e.g. 61-261. R.C.A.F. had 20,000 and 30,000 number ranges.



Colin

Originally Posted by david moore

Jason

Me again! Your jeep almost certainly did not go overseas unless it was bought back recently from Norway, UK or similar. Those staying in Canada never had the Brit-style census numbers. Rather it would originally have had 42-xxx (or 42-1-xxx if RCASC) in small numerals probably on the body side not the hood and then in 1943 this would have been changed to xx-xxx in much larger numerals depending on where it was located, the first xx NOT being the year.
Hope this makes sense!

If it was RCN as mine was or RCAF then the numbers are a whole different story!

David