Jeep mounted 19 set?

[Steve Guthrie]

Hi there

Working on a model of one of the early Willys MB jeeps built for the Canadian Government and was wondering if, or how, a 19 set was mounted in it. It could fit across the back if the rear seat was taken out, but where would the batteries go and how would the antennae be mounted?

Any ideas?

Steve

[servicepub (RIP)]

If you are doing a Second World War era montage then I believe that a #19 WS was more appropriately transported in an 8- or 15-cwt or Signals HUP and not in a jeep.
That said I have sent you two images; one is an RCA Airborne FOO's jeep with #19WS replacing the seat - no idea where the batteries are.



The second one is an experimental 'mobile office' which was never adopted. The #19WS can be seen inside but no details.

[Brian Gough]

Hi Steve,

I have a couple of diagrams showing the following mounting locations for Jeeps:

the 19 set, variometer and aerial base No. 10 were on the left side,
the batteries were across the back,
the chorehorse and aerial base No. 9 were on the right side.

If you pm me your email address I will send them to you.

Brian

[scale-modeller]

Are there any more photo's of the "mobile office"-jeep, because this is great subject to try and replicate in 1/35th scale....

[servicepub (RIP)]

Originally Posted by scale-modeller

Are there any more photo's of the "mobile office"-jeep, because this is great subject to try and replicate in 1/35th scale....

s-m
I have 2-3 more which I will post later. If you want hi-res images that will allow you to zoom in on details then PM me your address and I will mail you a CD.

[scale-modeller]

Clive,
You've got PM.

[Eric B]

Hello

Other than the 19 radio set high power (British 1950's) i have not seen any official installation instructions for the WW2 era jeep.

I have seen photos of the set installed across the rear, across the top of thw back seat as in Clives Photo. Sometimes the seat was removed, other times just folded down or left in place.

The radio operated off of 2 x 6 volt batteries.

I have also seen these installed on the left or right rear wheel well.

Quite a while back Colin Steven indicated that he had the plans for a special Z bracket for the rear antennea, which was mounted on the spare tire carrier.
I have never seen this but would be very interested to see these plans.

Eric

[sapper740]

Originally Posted by Steve Guthrie

Hi there

Working on a model of one of the early Willys MB jeeps built for the Canadian Government and was wondering if, or how, a 19 set was mounted in it. It could fit across the back if the rear seat was taken out, but where would the batteries go and how would the antennae be mounted?

Any ideas?

Steve

On the British Airborne Jeeps there was a spare battery mounted on each fender and one mounted at the back of the tub where the jerry can carrier would have been. David Gordon (Horsa) has an early Airborne MB (1941)with lots of pictures at: http://horsa.bizland.com/OBLI/JeepSignals.htm
I don't know if this would have been the same for wireless sets mounted in other than Airborne Jeeps. Derek.

[scale-modeller]

Hereby some pics of the model "under construction" and the endresult.

Barry

[Jon Skagfeld]

Originally Posted by Steve Guthrie

Hi there

Working on a model of one of the early Willys MB jeeps built for the Canadian Government and was wondering if, or how, a 19 set was mounted in it. It could fit across the back if the rear seat was taken out, but where would the batteries go and how would the antennae be mounted?

Any ideas?

Steve

If you have access to Louis Meulstee's "Wireless for the Warrior", Vol 2,go to p. WS19-65, Fig 19-96, Fig 19-97.

One shows the 19 set mounted on the left sponson, batteries in rear, chorehorse on right sponson.

The latter shows the 19 set mounted across the back, chorehorse between the two front seats.

[m606paz]

Same jeep?

[Robert Bergeron]

Wow wow wow Mariano what a great picture !!!

[David Dunlop]

Back in the 1980's, the owner of a local cabinet makers here in town owned a very nice condition Canadian Contract MB, painted red. Between the front seats was a pulley driven generator linked to the PTO that was original to the jeep. There were signs of wireless equipment having been fitted to it all over the insides, but we had no idea what equipment had been installed. The generator set up still in the MB several years later when the owner relocated in the city and I lost touch with him.


David

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by m606paz

Same jeep?

Yes, that is "Maj.-Gen. F. F. Worthington in Jeep", the experimental mobile office to be precise (source).

Here are two more pictures of him in that jeep (source #2 and #3)

[Hanno Spoelstra]

And a side view:



Colin McGregor Stevens wrote:
"W-LU GOC_4th Canadian Armoured Division (Canadian Army PA211629_jpeg) This is the same jeep as in the colour photo above, just after it was customized for the General Officer Commanding 4 Canadian Armoured Division. They added roof, doors, flag staff and light and extension on rear of vehicle. It is carrying at least one wireless set."

[Chris Suslowicz]

That jeep has been 'stretched' with probably a couple of feet of overhang at the rear. Not knowing the internal layout, I'd expect the central 'table' to double as the wireless operator's seat and be fitted over a pair of 6V batteries (probably 125 Ah) to power the set. That would give at least 10 hours operation, probably a lot more, and remove the need to carry a charging set. The rest of the space could be office and personal kit, but the vehicle would be very unlikely to work alone, so a support vehicle with escort and spare batteries, charging set, etc. would mean the mobile office could be full of map boards and so on.

Driver and officer up front, wireless operator in the back?

Chris.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Chris,

IIRC this Jeep conversion was described in Wheels & Tracks magazine.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

The two pages from the article “Jeep Enclosures” in Wheels & Tracks issue no. 27 (April 1989).

From what I read in W&T magazine, this "mobile office" Jeep was basically a field conversion by 4CAD. It could have been used during training in the UK, but was not converted in any numbers nor used in action.