fv1609

£10 (it wouldn't let me post just £10 as the message was too short so hopefully now it will accept it!)

Thanks Chris, no I haven't got it. The logic of WO/Army Coded publications is amazing that puts it between a batch of Servicing Schedules & COSAs. Although there is an overall logic, it is not immediately apparent!

Chris, what is the Army Code No. of the book then I can see if I've got it?

Yes, ERM = Equipment Registration Mark, although this is not exclusive to vehicles. Such things as concrete mixers, outboard motors etc also have ERMs.

Nice diagrams, judging by the image codes they look to come from a Provisional User Handbook, wonder what date that is? Interesting that recent date on the canvas. Don't recognise the manufacturer originally made my Wickham D & Co Stevenage Ltd with their part no 13510F there is a design no FV462749. Came across some NSNs that might be BDR trailer. 8340-99-802-401 Shelter, canvas, mobile repair shop, canopy, top section, cloth, flax, olive drab. 8340-99-802-402 Shelter, canvas, mobile repair shop, canopy, end section, cloth, flax, olive drab. 8340-99-802-403 Shelter, canvas, mobile repair shop, canopy, end section, cloth, flax, olive drab. 8340-99-802-404 Shelter, canvas, mobile repair shop, canopy, top section, cloth, flax, olive drab. Possibly top & end sections are sided, hence different NSNs.

Dougy, 8310 would make it "Yarn & Thread" so the NSN you gave makes sense. It comes up as "Shelter, Canvas" made by GKN Defence which is not very helpful. I have a 1973 catalogue of tents & shelters in service & under development but curiously it is not mentioned in there. Looking in another source it is just listed as "Canvas" but gives the DMC as MT13 which are B & C vehicle components : coach materials, body fitments, covers, waterproof. Afraid that adds nothing to identify it further. I have the User Handbooks for a range of those FV2308 trailers a lot of the items are identified by NSN, but not alas the tentage. Maybe because it says "Penthouse frames & fabric, these items form part of the vehicle issue". So presumably it would not appear in the trailer CES.

Be careful about the colour. Mk1 drivers seat material was crinkley & very dark green. Most of the seats got replaced in the Mk2 with newly manufactured versions with a smoother finish & a horrible lime green colour. Adam I have a spare Mk2 seat but the internal foam is Mk1.

Are there markings on the nose above the radiator? Usually there would be Unit & Divisional badges there. Above those at the "apex" a small white square with a red circle - signifying antifreeze in the radiator. If you've not done so, worth slowly rubbing down that area to see what you can unearth. Got any rear shots to see if there are any unusual features?

Oh so you don't want to piped aboard then? I'll probably have got there with the cipher trailer Fri pm. Provided it's not too wet or too cold, yes I know its says chill out but I only do metaphorical of that. At least with no public I hope nobody will ask me if my Wolf is a real one, as Alf Garnet would say "It ain't a bl**dy replica!". The current irritation for the pig is "Is it based on a Land Rover?":argh:

14 BK 78 entered service as a FV1601B on 14/1/54 with Engine No.6378. It was delivered to 21st ‘B’ Vehicle Depot Feltham, Middlesex with Receipt Voucher No. FTM/R/6319 It was made into a Pig APC ie FV1611B between 1958-1960. It was struck off at OSDD Ruddington 2/1/70. This is very curious because there were no sales on this date. Sales took place on 6, 7 & 8 January. On 7th 9 Pigs were sold & on 8th 2 Pigs were sold. None of these were your vehicle, nor does yours appear in the sales catalogue. The previous sale was held on 14, 15 & 16 October 1969. On 15th 28 Pigs were sold & on the 16th 9 Pigs were sold. Again none of these included your vehicle. The sale prior to that was held on 19, 20, 21 & 22 August. On 21st 2 Pigs were sold on 22nd 7 Pigs were sold. Again none of these included your vehicle. Unusually no price was recorded & the transaction was not in an auction. I would need to go back to see if it was ever listed in a Ruddington catalogue to see whether it was left over as unsold. So I can only conclude that for some reason it was sold off by some private arrangement or it was struck off to some Unit for some training purposes. But on the other hand why train soldiers with a vehicle that was virtually obsolete. A hard target seems unlikely given the existence of it still today! It is ironic that Pigs were still being sold off well into the 1970s with Op Banner underway. When in 1972 appx 200 Pigs were repurchased & having been assessed under Op Marble then most became part of Op Bracelet. Would be nice to see some pictures when you get a chance.

Richard, it was only on charge for 10 mins. No volts & no inclination to draw any charge whatsoever having been discharging since May. I assumed I had cooked my goose. So if you think that it might be inclined to start to draw something just left for a few days I've got nothing to lose by leaving it on. Tony I wasn't aware that there were chargers with clever devices that could do that. I was not impressed with an 'intelligent' (?) charger I used on my wife's Hilux Surf. These vehicles seem to drain 75ma continuously & the intelligent charger seemed incapable of coping with that unless the battery was disconnected. Going off topic now, but the Surf forum is full of people who have this problem & blame it on the battery as a 'new battery cures the problem'. But after about a year not getting fully charged on short runs, come winter time that fails & a new battery is needed again. I can't understand these owners who just accept. Not like us lot here who want to get things properly sorted out in our vehicles!

Richard, yes whenever I do a mains charge I do it individually to each battery. It is surprising that even identical batteries fitted at the same time can behave differently & of course when in use charging them at 24 volts. The behaviour of the system is dragged to the level of the poorer battery, which is what you were getting at. I found that on the Wolf earlier in the year one battery failed but the other would charge fine & give a good reading with a discharge voltmeter. And no I was not tapping off 12v to run the CD player, I have a 24v one. But I replaced both as a pair. Actually that good battery is now in the Hornet together with one I had earmarked for the Shorland so it is at least running. Not ideal but as long I can get it running I can do servicing & Tapley brake efficiency tests prior to GDSF, which is what started this all off.

That's the problem KB. The other problem is the refilling with acid. A few years ago I bought 'dry charged' (whatever that means) MOD batteries of the type that go in Ferret, Pig etc. Lots of dealers were selling them you may know of one. Trouble is it proved very difficult getting the acid & lots of head shaking that 'you didn't buy the batteries from us' routine. So the batteries worked out no cheaper in the end than buying new ones off the shelf unfortunately.

Hmm the Halfords tablets were a bit thin on information. A bit like these things sold in health food shops, take these they are 'good for you', but no real explanation why & how. Curiously Halfords recommend the tablets for older vehicles. Well I have old vehicles but with pretty new batteries. Amps going in & coming out aren't concerned whether they flow around new wires or old wires! Richard I'm sure there must be household products that could do the job. In the past in times of desperation (don't try this at home boys & girls) I have switched the battery charger to START for 15 seconds or so & that has then encouraged a grudging charge current to be drawn. I get nervous doing that in case it all goes bang & there is acid all over the place. I confess to trying that today but to no avail. But I have got an extra year out of batteries doing that if they won't accept a charge initially. So what could I put in their to revive them? Must be something that someone has discovered by chance. Like if you want some paintwork to fade in a particular place, cover it with the inside of a banana skin for a day. Found that out by mistake!

Yes some interesting stuff there. Once I've read it a bit more I might make a desuphator. I think I've got some 555 somewhere. But I hate sourcing inductances, I object to buying them. I don't mind winding my own if the wire gauge, turns etc are specified. But its all time fiddling around doing something that might only be a half measure. I just feel sour that this year I have forked out for 24v batteries for two vehicles & I thought I had taken taken care of this vehicle's batteries last year. I suspect the IR headlights switch got knocked on accidentally as it is in a vulnerable place & then I failed to turn the isolator switch off. I need a little alka-seltzer type tablet to drop in each cell & magically revive them!

I'm hopping made to find that I forgot to use the battery isolator switch on the Hornet & I have two dead batteries. So they have been discharging since May, both are now duff, even individually they won't accept a charge.:argh::argh: The sickening thing is that these are not old batteries, I bought them at the start of last season. Is there anything that can sensibly be done to revive them or are the changes irreversible? Each cell unit has its own filler plug & the levels are well over the plates.

:rofl::rofl::rofl: Well in view of the stated last entry date, I have now committed myself to Evesham. So will be there this time, looks as if it could be interesting. Thanks anyway.

Thank you. If you want more detail including the tentage & various shots of the set up have a look in Windscreen Summer 2003 Issue 99. I was very lucky to have the close co-operation of the designer, without which this bit of history would have just fizzled away. I always hope at shows to interface with people who can shed some light on the history of your vehicle type. I am always ready with my address cards to try to follow up on photos or documents which are promised. Of the strength of such promises I have given out 30-40 such cards this season. As yet I have had no response at all. Usually the response rate is about 10%, but some gems have turned up eventually. Although this particular Humber contact was the result of an advert in Pegasus that put me in contact with the EME of the trials unit for Malkara.

Phil. Thank you for the offer. I had no reply from Peter Slater, but someone from another forum sent one. But the closing date was today, so missed it. But I would have to be convinced there were than a handful of MVs going to do the 125 miles given the cost of fuel. Maybe next year if there's a bit more publicity?

You are both correct that it is described in W&T as FV1622 Malkara Missile Test. But the article is incorrect it is not a FV1622; the giveaway is the raised roof which can be raised further. It is described as a metal roof but is in fact merely a metal frame supporting a translucent fibreglass roof to give light through to a workshop beneath. I spoke to Mike Goodman about 12 years ago & he was fascinated to learn its true designation & purpose. As an aside the FV1622 is often improperly described as the Test vehicle. Officially it is Truck, Power Supply, Electrical & Pneumatic, Malkara the test facilities are actually towed behind in the FV2308® Trailer,Test Equipment, Guided Missile. The Humber here started as a FV1601(A) 00 BK 36 together with 18 BK 90 they were modified under Design Spec BV618 to become FV1623 Truck, Guided Missile Repair, Malkara. Work started on 22 May 1962 & after trials further modifications started on 28 March 1963. All this work was done at 18 Command Workshops at Bovington. The roof when fully raised gave a working height inside of 6ft. Large penthouses at the side were erected to give a dust free environment which included an integral canvas floor. The electrical supply from the engine was the same as the Hornet ie 100A alternator driving a rotary converter delivering 115V at 400Hz. This supplied identical guidance units that were in the Hornet. As a last resort the vehicle could be stripped of its engine & guidance control units & fitted into a damaged Hornet. Once in service the vehicle adopted the designation Truck, Equipment Electronic Repair Malkara. This reflected the fact that repair facilities it provided were also for the guidance system and not just for the missile. The Humber then assumed the designation FV1624, to distinguish to it from FV1623, which was used during development. The man who designed all this is still alive & I have known him for 14 years. I have been very lucky to have had sight of minutes of meetings deliberating over this project. Although I have some photos unfortunately the design drawings have been destroyed. 00 BK 36 was sold of in 1971 for £90.

I think is was Duxford. But as that very irritating M&S advert goes "This isn't just an ordinary Humber, this Humber......." Any ideas?

So much easier with the engine out!

Can anyone identify this Humber? It was last seen at a show 20+ years ago. Has anyone got any other pictures of it please?

Telephone D Mk V British WW2 I think I have the EMER somewhere. Trouble was with the vast expansion of equipment an awful lot of EMER TELECOMMUNICATIONS were redsignated or moved into other EMERs like INSTRUMENTS & SEARCHLIGHTS, TEST & MEASUREMENT and COMMUNICATION INSTALLATIONS to make room for more space in TELECOMMUNICATIONS. Even so stuff in the got redesignated several times. So it makes it difficult searching because usually only the front page of the EMER chapter was redesignated & if that is missing you don't know where you are. I feel better for that a bit of EMERing! I used to have a pair of them. Yes there was the bell powered by the handle which I think gave about 50volts. The morse key was either for calling or morse comms. I remember that the buzzer incorporated windings to raise the voltage from the nominal 3volt supply as an induction coil would. The instructions to test this I recall were to WET! two fingers & place them on the output terminal to the telephone cables. Whereupon you would be greatly reassured by a horrifying jolt into your arm.

Where there any signs of leather dust excluders on the axletrees, which would be the other clue to an upgrade to Mark X*. I imagine that it has this if the dust caps were fitted?