M38CDN Ambulance

[Ed Storey]

There appears to be some confusion over artillery vehicle markings. The red over blue marking found on the M38CDN windshield is the arm of service sign and it signifies an artillery unit. The white number in the middle of this sign would have been assigned to the specific artillery unit based on the brigade or division order of battle and the number did not usually relate specifically to the unit it represented, so 15 would not necessarily have been assigned to 15th Fd RCA in Vancouver.

The red over blue RHQ marking you have talked about is the tactical sign and was part of a system employed by artillery units to identify the various vehicles and guns within an artillery unit. These smaller tactical signs would have been painted on the sides of vehicles, such as the doors.

If your intent is to replicate a 15 RCA vehicle and its markings from the 1960s era, then your best bet is to research a photograph of a vehicle from that particular unit and replicate it rather than trying to fabricate ficticious markings.