Mystery Page

Can anyone help with this vehicle.

The picture was taken in the river at Yazagyo in Burma during WW2, just over the border with Manipur at the mouth of the notorious Kabaw Valley, on the road to Kalemyo from Imphal. It was used by the joint Army/RAF unit involved in air support over Burma. For years the photographer thought it was a Chevy, but just recently a number of people have suggested to him that this type of vehicle was actually referred to as a snub-nosed Dodge. They were favoured in this terrain over their larger Chevrolet predecessor mainly due to having four wheel drive. The two wheel drive Chevrolets were officially phased out and replaced with this type of vehicle. This particular model is a right hand drive version.

The style is exactly the same as one owned by one of our group members - see photo elsewhere on this site. His is a Canadian built Chevrolet. Does anyone know the history of this type of vehicle; could the same style have been built by both Chevrolet and Dodge? Answers please to the contact address on the home page.

Answer

There were no Dodges that looked like this. The style was shared between Ford and Chevrolet.

The following details were supplied by Christopher Brook who subscribes to the MLU Forum (Maple Leaf Up) that can be found at www.mapleleafup.org

"Paul, looking at the picture in the mystery vehicle section it is obvious
that it is a Canadian CMP 3 tonner. (CMP standing for Canadian Military
Pattern) These were standardised vehicles built by both Ford and Chevrolet
for the Canadian forces.
I suspect that this version is a 3 tonner and built by Chevrolet. If you
look very closely at the radiator you can I think just make out the Chev
"bow tie" logo. The vehicle also carries the CMP no13 cab.

If it is a Chev then it will be powered by a straight 6, if a Ford then by
the flat head V8."

The website supports discussions on all manner of military vehicles, but was set up initially to pay respects to the volunteers who served in the Canadian Army Overseas during WWII. The site does tend to specialise in discussions on vehicles manufactured for the Canadian Armed Forces.

And now for a newcomer to this section. Tony Martin has passed me this part shot of a truck he is working on. Can you guess what it is? Answers to me, and I'll ask Tony as I've no idea.

John Holland returned from holiday with a photo of a truck spotted while scuba diving. It is in the hold of a ship called the Thistlegorm, apparently sunk by German bombers during ww2 in the Red Sea. The hold contains other vehicles including Matadors and M20s. John thinks it may be a Bedford; any ideas? The site http://www.touregypt.net/vdc/Thistle.htm probably contains the answers, and a similar photo to John's.