The GMC CCKW

In sandblasting my Ben Hur trailer. I stumbled across the following unit ID numbers.

Anyone have any idea what this configuration would indicate?

Centered on the front of the trailer is

ZI - 704 or Z1 - 704

COD



The Z number was on it twice (painted over). The deeper in WWII font and this in post war font.

It also has the Bridge plate and an "X" of the right front panel of the trailer.

Bill,

ZI usually stands for Zone of Interior (ZI) it is listed in AR850-5 (1943)

The WWII 4th Infantry Division included the 704th Ordnance Light Maint Company. After WWII the 4th ID remained in Europe on occupation duty in the 1950's.

Is the trailer a European return? I have to think some more on COD?

Cat Man

Jeff,

Thank you for the reply.

I obtained the trailer from a Nursery on the Massachusetts - New Hampshire border. I assumed that it would not be a return but a release from a WWII base locally. There was no id on the badly rusted and damaged tail gate.

Additional input from the G503 site and direct emails have indicated that there were domestic units of the 704 MP battalion and the 704 AAA company. The MP company was formed in the early 40's and stationed at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod. It was later moved to Houlton Maine and stationed at a POW Camp (near where Loring AFB is located). The 704th AAA was assigned to the Boston area and had multiple bases on the Eastern end of Massachusetts.

So I am surmising that both of these units would have had Ben Hur trailers to accompany their trucks. This would make sense in disposal of the trailer to a local farmer.

I am having difficultly establishing whether the MP company had a "D" company. Which may explain the CO D on the trailer. The space between the O and the D is a little wider than the one between the C and the O

Also on the trailer is C-12 on the upper right corner. Which may have stood for C company unit 13.

Differences in fonts, paint application (stencil vs free hand), and paint color and texture is all adding to this mystery.

Thank you for your input. My quest continues.

What do you think COD stands for.

Bill

Great detective work. If it was the Ordnance company I was thinking
COD would be something Ordnance Detachment. Composite Ord Detachment maybe?

But your New England based units make more sense. The "D" could still be "Detachment".

How many Ben Hur trailers are in your fleet now?

Cat Man

I have 4 Ben Hur trailers.

A steel bodied Cargo carrier.

A Wood bodied Cargo done in Medical id

The latest is a steel bodied trailer which carries my PE-95. Orange just does not go good with OD

And a rusty rotted out wood trailer as a parts source.

Thanks for the comments.

Bill