G749 Picture and info thread

[Ed Storey]

Here is an example of an early Operator's Manual from 1951. 52-50000 was the first Canadian production M135CDN.

CDN-0M9-819A Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian) Cargo Truck M135CDN, Dump Truck M216C.jpg

[Dave D.]

Originally Posted by Ed Storey

Here is an example of an early Operator's Manual from 1951. 52-50000 was the first Canadian production M135CDN.

Attachment 92086

That is remarkable Ed. Book # 1 essentially. Thank you!

The data plate for 52-50000, if authentic, would reveal the 1st Date of delivery so .....who wants a race to the museum?

[Dave D.]

There's an old thread on BATUS here somewhere where I outright stole a photo from so I could add it to the story of George and Gracie.

The M207 radio van, Gracie... and George, the BATUS coloured M135 came to me in a 5 truck deal. A neighbour started naming the trucks after comedians so the pattern stuck.

There are public details online about BATUS but in general, the British trained in Alberta, nabbed some of our CDN gear, painted them odd colours and said WE have funny accents in Canada.

....and I'm real proud to own the 1956 July 7, 56-54341 Ser, 113505503
BATUS M135

[Wayne Hingley]

It seems there were many runs of the Operator's Manual. My copy is dated June 1954.

Dave: sounds like you are due for a road trip to revisit the WV Saloon. Every Wednesday is wing night!

[rob love]

Notable that on Wayne's, the reference to a medium wrecker is gone.

At that point in time, the CF was still using the Diamond T, and I believe continued to do so as the main wrecker until about 1960 when the M62 was introduced. So perhaps somebody in Ottawa realized that a SMP medium wrecker would be fairly useless.

I had a Sgt in MooseJaw who related drawing a Diamond T out of Edmonton depot as late as the early 70s for some operation.

[Ed Storey]

There were indeed several print runs of the Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian), which makes sense as the fleet was very big and they were handed out during driver training. I believe the light buff coloured cover version was the final print edition of this manual. I have yet to find one in French.

C-30-340-000 MB-000 Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian) Chassis and Cab M133CDN, Cargo T.jpg

7610-21-102-2088 Operator's Manual 2½ Ton 6x6 GMC (Canadian) Chassis and Cab M133CDN, Cargo Truc.jpg

Regarding the M62 5 ton Wrecker, they were introduced in 1953; the earliest vehicles were Korean War vintage machines that had been shipped back to Canada following the end of hostilities.

[DanJahn]

I have a Diamond T Wrecker ( 969B ) that came out of Alberta. The research I have done indicated it came from an auto wrecker in Calgary. Some Alberta MLU members may recall it sitting in Kananaskis Alberta beside highway 1 at a now abandoned gas station. My own research does tell me it served with Canadian forces as it had a distinctive cab conversion that we believe was done while in Canadian service. Another member of MLU George McKenzie also has a Diamond T with the same cab modification. I have restored mine to the original open cab design as used by Canada in Korea. The main exception is I have added a gun ring. I haven't been able to locate any pictures of Canadian using an open cab DT with a gun ring on it.If anyone knows anything about my DTs history I would sure be interested in hearing from you.

Thank you

Dan Jahn