Truck Identity?

[Ausmick]

My grandfather was in the RAAF during WW2. He was posted from his squadron in Townsville QLD to Darwin and his diary showed the trip. Townsville to Darwin today is 2500km on a sealed road and a 30 hour trip. Their trip was on the ‘road’ in the picture during the wet season taking 11 days. I added in brackets their daily km. Anyone sort of have a guess at what sort of truck it was?

January 11 1942
Left Townsville 11AM lunch Reid River Tea Charters Towers. Have averaged 12 miles per hour. (138km)
January 12
Breakfast 4AM Hughenden Dinner 9.30 Richmond Tea 4PM Julia Creek. (516km)
January 13
Arrived Mt Isa, Frank and I to town. Landed a couple of beers. Town and country like Broken Hill. (258km)
January 14
Spine Bashed and played cards all day.
January 15
Left Mt Isa 12 noon arrived Camooweal 6PM. Looked the village over. Had sing song – no beer. (190km)
January 16
Crossed Qld NT boarder 530AM. Lunch at number 4 bore. Dinner and slept at 6A bore. (340km)
January 17
Lunch at Banka Banka. Plenty of Plain Turkys to eat. Slept at Elliott. (332km)
January 18
Lunch at A640 Bore slept at Larrimah. (238km)
January 19
Left Larrimah 2.20PM on sprit of protest. Tea at Mataranka, never dirtier. (75km)
January 20
Arrived Adelaide River to 2RPP. (309km)
January 21
Arrived Darwin. Went visiting saw lots of boys I knew. (114km)

[Max Hedges]

your sescond photo could be of a chev like what Robert Farmer has

I was going on the fuel tank spout and the tray looks like a 9 foot Aussie made one
Max

[Ausmick]

Was a slow start to the trip average 12 mile / hour. Had picked up by Mt isa to Camooweal to 31km/hr! Wet season heat and roads would have been quite bad.

When he was posted to Darwin heading into the Pacific Zone he was due to fly up from Townsville but was told ".....flight cancelled due to rough seas....." make sense of that.

Would love to identify the truck near the antbed as I would make it my next project and then drive the trip. After the war they flew him back to Darwin and told him he had to get a truck home to NSW via Alice Springs.

[cliff]

Probably an amphibian plane was being used. Below are some photos of what the truck could have been. I tried to enhance the photo but with no luck but like Max think it was a Chevrolet but with standard civilian wheels rather then combat rims.

Photos are from the AWM and NT Libarary Service via the net.

[Ausmick]

Thanks cliff........that does make sense about the plane as he was attached to a Catalina Flying boat Squadron.......I didn't click as I thought it was typical military situation being not able to fly due to rough seas. Now I understand.

I think you both are on the money with the truck identity. Any RAAF wizards on here with restorations. Wish I had a better picture to show.
Mick

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's three views from the factory photos CD.

[cliff]

Originally Posted by cletrac

Here's three views from the factory photos CD.

This is the Canadian model known as the "Lend Lease Chev". The one in the original photo has an LP rear body so more likely to be a Holden assembled truck with Holden built cab.

Here is three photos of Roberts truck that Max mentioned. I think photos 1 & 2 are photos from Max the other is not and I can't remember where I got it from.

Even though you say it was an RAAF truck it was likely to look exactly like this except for RAAF replacing the ARMY at the start of the bonnet serial number.

[Max Hedges]

Mick also the one in your photo to me looks like a short wheel base the same as Robert Farmer's
Max

[Bill Murray]

I claim little knowledge of some of these conventional vehicles, but is the original photo not a 30 cwt rather than a 3 tonner as most of the following photos show??

Very short wheelbase, a slightly different slope of what little one can see of the cab with the door off and what seem to me to be smaller wheels/tyres.

Just wondering.

Bill

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Bill Murray

I claim little knowledge of some of these conventional vehicles, but is the original photo not a 30 cwt rather than a 3 tonner as most of the following photos show??

Just wondering.

Bill

Yes Bill you are correct but the Holden Built Chev's whether 30cwt or 3 ton looked almost the same except for the wheelbase which is probably the 133inch wheelbase instead of the 158 inch 3 tonner in the original photo thus had a short 9 foot LP body fitted. The restored example of Robert Farmers I show is a 30cwt short wheelbase model with the 9 foot LP GS body. Most Holden Assembled Chev's usually had the 20 inch rims fitted as well to my knowledge but 16in were used.

[Ausmick]

IS this close you think Cliff? has the same fuel fill set up with the bend like the green army truck above.

[cliff]

did the doors have the Quarter vent windows in them? This may be one of the Lend Lease Chev's otherwise. But other then that yes it is probably the same model as we think your Grandfathers truck was depending on the wheelbase.

[Ausmick]

Got ya.....just checked the picture in post 7 above and noticed the quarter vent windows. I suspose this would be more to what I should be hunting down, what is the model/make of that army truck?

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Ausmick

Got ya.....just checked the picture in post 7 above and noticed the quarter vent windows. I suspose this would be more to what I should be hunting down, what is the model/make of that army truck?

Mick the 1941 was model YR and the 1942 was model MR. Both were similar and both were 1.5 ton (30cwt) conventional closed cabs and had a 132.5 inch wheelbase. BUT the one you want is the Holden Assembled and Holden built cab model. Main differences in the Holden built cabs were vents on the side of the cowl and the Quarterlite windows in the doors. The 1 ton models had the same wheelbase but were probably on 16inch wheels.

Hope this helps