The GMC CCKW

Yesterday the engine compartment hatch came off the DUKW as it was time to sandblast and repaint the underside -- call it a bonnet or a hood, I would guess. Mine is currently white. While blasting away, I noticed the white paint sheathed off very easily leaving green underneath. The green is fighting much harder, and once again the light green primer is so tough that it just plain requires a slow blasting to get anywhere. Then I uncovered stencils in yellow describing the front and rear brake hose and breather hose storage locations, along with part numbers. That surprised me a little as I was under the assumption that the underside of the hatch was supposed to be white, not green. Yet now I seem to have "proof" that the underside should be green. The yellow paint stenciling really put me off, as I didn't think the Army used yellow in that manner. BTW, my red plastic "gasoline fumes" plate came through intact and readable (!) after I lightly blasted it off.

So, repaint in OD, or repaint in white? Mine obviously came out of the factory green and was later repainted white, most at the direction of a motor pool sergeant in the Canadian Army's Western Command. How were DUKW hoods supposed to be painted in WWII? My front and rear hatches were painted in white.

PART II: As I have mentioned earlier, I found my DUKW's serial number stamped on the outboard side of my rear hatch opening last Spring. When blasting yesterday, I found it again at the very front of the hood in the center, with the number stamped perpendicular to the front edge. Any one else run across this?