Picture of the Week 11/7/2011

[Bill_Wolf]

[Cat Man]

Very Nice Navy GMC.

The USN Port Chicago bumper ID and "EXPLOSIVES" placard make it a real conversation starter. The "Port Chicago incident" is well worth remembering event as part of WWII history.

The Navy probably had International M5-6's rather than GMC's. But who cares? The restoration and its tie to important events in history is just great.

Great job and nice family photo. I'll bet that young lad knows the Port Chicago history that goes with Dad's truck.

Cat Man

[Vulture]

Hi guys

Must confess my knowledge about the history of the truck is pretty sparse.

What I do know is that it’s a 352b1 with a metal cargo body with a chassis serial number of CCKW352 315834, which equates to a Jan 1944 production date (I think). Imported into the UK it was first registered on 1 Oct 1989. At some stage one of the previous owners prior to 2007 re-sprayed the truck in US navy colours and stencilled it as operating in Port Chicago, as a tribute I understand to the men who lost their lives in the explosion there. From the various fittings on the truck we can tell it was in NATO service for part of its life, probably with the French army, but I can’t say that for certain. The engine has had a rebuild at some stage, as underneath the grey is a light green. It’s still a 6v machine, although the original wiper motors have been replaced with electric ones (which don’t work that well it has to be said).

Since acquiring the vehicle in July 2011 I’ve re-painted it and am part-way through a comprehensive service.

The photo was taken on 2 Oct 2011 whilst my son (Alex) and I went along for a couple of hours to a 1940s weekend at the local village of Holme. There is a posting on my Blog about the event, with a couple of extra photos. http://vultureswargamingblog.blogspot.c ... ekend.html

Kind regards to all

Ian