ted angus

Hi Clive, I recall back in the day ! we used to use various colours on bowsers or small storage tanks, red Civgas or combat gas, yellow diesel, Black & white Avtur, and blue for both ground and air use coolants- looking at the current JSP 317 there are now dozens of different coloured labels, & marking for all manner of POL products. I am wondering if the marking my lad had found under many layers of paint on his Lightweight are a throw back to those days, where use of the colours was extended to vehicles & equipment regards TED

I struggled to think of a title ? radiator filler caps , expansion tank caps were often painted blue with white AL 39 lettering, can anyone tell me - was this official and secondly if yes which colour blue ? TED

Gents thanks for your inputs up to now, a final request - the abbreviations in the TXN columns- SO is obviously Struck Off Charge, can any one help with the others please regards TED

Hi RUXY I think we can discount a F & K conection with Aston Down, Aston was an ADT auction oover that period.

Hi Fulltilt, yes coming from Arbroath would tie in with KInross, but it was on charge to 42 at Plymouth , not 45 at Arbroath. So its possible that it was sold in the south west if F & K had a satellite site ? Yes it was winterised , some of the heater kit remained . I am mid way between Arbroath and Kinross and caught the last of HMG disposals thru F & K when I was posted here TED

Thanks Gents, I have managed to find a period location for each user unit. another mystery is the fact its last unit 42 Cdo was Plymouth and it was sold via Fife & Kinross when regional sales were taking place much further south ? He has unearthed a marking on the front edge of the bonnet 3 Cdo/8 which I presume is 3 Cdo Brigade sub unit ?? look forward to hearing more thanks TED

My son is currently doing a chassis up rebuild on a Lightweight Landie. Attached is the record card; I can follow its history by unit but I would be grateful for some help with the abbreviations- and such things as the 3 dates on arrival at Hilton. Many thanks TED

This is from a period advert showing another Ministry example, prior to kitting. Many carried an extension ladder. They appeared in reg blocks NGY, PGK anf RGX TED

I have the original operating locations for a handful of RGX registered Land Rover Light fire appliances but although I have the reg number lgged afraid no further details. Do you have a picture you could share ? TED

In addition to the car and van the RAF used the pickup, I understand some had a canvas full hieght tilt , but the ones I saw in Cyprus had a flat canvas cover accross the top of the pickup cargo space; Most were in standard RAF colours and markings but The RAF Provost and Security SIB investigators had black un marked saloons with civvy reg numbers.

Hi Bryan , no its a Mobile floodlight for illuminating runway, the Aerial lighthouse was similar but gave out a single letter morse signal and were sited on high ground features and on the coastline to aid returning aircraft, the 3rd type of light was the "Pundit" landmark beacon which gave out a 2 letter morse ID to identify individual airfields, in peacetime sited on the airfield - but in wartime each airfield had 3 off base sites around which the light was sited. TED

Hi Martyn, firstly happy new year, secondly my new year's resolution is to pay more attention to threads on HMVF; In 1997 I acquired a trailer load of grey scrap that was a 1943 Coventry Climax FSM trailer pump- the baby brother to your FF500. My aim was to finish it in military colours as there was plenty of of both grey and red ones even on the Scottish circuit. To my surprise when I started going through the box of papers and photos that came with it I found it was ex army and there was a picture of it and another being removed (by the guy I bought it from ) from a Perth scrappies still bearing its Army reg plate. One of my contacts in the fire history world held a copy of a report- running to hundreds of pages and dozens of annexes, commissioned by HMG post WW2 to identify the good and bad points of our wartime fire service including our preparations in the mid to late 1930s to more operational things such as fire ground control etc etc. A chapter explained the classes of "Emergency Fire Appliances" why they were chosen, who utilised the different types and how procurement took place. So here is the crunch re your pump's original colour. The Home Office was the Ministry responsible for Emergency Fire measures and it was to be the major procurer/user of the appliances initially via the AFS and then in the National Fire Service. However they did not have a R & D or engineering organisation, did not have stores/warehouses ( beyond those that were opened for gas masks) and most importantly did not have a purchasing organisation. To this end and to save duplication, they asked the Office( later Ministry )of WORKS to act as their agents for R & D , engineering and procurement. In addition it was decided that the Home Office would be the focal point for all requirements of Emergency Appliances and consequently all such requirements would be placed by the requiring Ministry or government Dept on the Home Office who would add them to the contracts placed on their behalf via the Office of WORKS. All such appliances would be manufactured in HO emergency grey ( BS 32 now BS 632 dk ad grey). So your pump would have been delivered to the WD in grey , repaint would only normally take place as necessary . I have a couple of pictures showing RAF Trps in service in grey and one army example which unfortunately is a Dennis not a CC. So the answer to your question is grey. How long it would have remained grey is the thousand dollar question, if allocated to a garrison or depot possibly for a good while but in many units the Camo Officer would have decreed get the paint brush out. Post WW2 Some army appliances took on the colour of the theatre it was based in eg gloss deep bronze green or Lt Stone- even the Army's first 2 batches of Green Goddess lookalikes were delivered in these colours, whilst some would have been red. Your lucky yours remained in DBG , mine was in IRR Green when it resided at the scrappies in Perth. The guy who rescued it restored it to NFS and grey but later ripped it apart again and then lost interest in it for several years. regards TED

I found a couple of pictures, I have just scanned the full vehicle shot from the tiny photo that you used to get in addition to the 6x4s when you got a film printed up. 17KJ49. the water trap was somewhere in the goose green area, the track disappeared between 2 banks that got higher and higher; I chickened out when the water was pouring in through all three doors- and we got stuck; so reverse out was the only answer into low clutch out and feet off the good old wagon did the rest, The second picture was some other beauty spot whose name I neither can or want to recall TED ps the RAF police at Leuchars had 17 KJ50.

I was also at Mt Pleasant in 1995, As O.C. General Engineering Flt , my established vehicle was also a 110 V8, it was fitted with a hard top and full rear door. both sides in the back had longitudinal seating. It was possibly the best Landie I have driven, only equalled by the 127/130 V8 Rapier tractor. When I arrived back at my UK unit the RAF police had been allocated an identically configured vehicle- it was actually the next in the registration sequence. I have a photo somewhere of mine ; when I find it I will resurrect this thread !!

Googling this afternoon led me to some documents at the IWM, The REs in the film are 693 Road Construction Co TED

I originally posted a link to the film elsewhere a week or so ago and in that forum gave a guess it was a towed grader. Each RE airfield construction group comprised a HQ plus 2 Road Construction Companies. Each R. C. Co had 2 motor graders and 2 towed graders on its AF G 1098. My understanding is on the construction of an ALG : the RAF ACB made the runway including laying the surface, the RE did the dispersal areas, dumps, taxiway and roads, The R Sigs did wire comms on the site. Seems the number in the equipment title is related to the blade size, so a Cat No 12 is a 12 ft blade ? TED

Bryan, is it worth me purchasing a copy ? how many pages. regards TED

Morning mate . long time no speak- dam PCS !! there are a handful of pictures on the IWM showing DUKWS being loaded/carrying RAF stores under RAF beach group supervision. When I put up the link to this film on another site I had a dual interest as my Dad was an RE. Is there a data book of ACB plant please ? regards TED

Gentlemen, at message 15 there was a picture of an Albion tank transporter carrying a small landing craft, in one of my many pc problems this year I have lost the picture; Can anyone help please thank TED

Steve, many thanks, Well that blew my theory out of the water. fancy Edinburgh/Dundee area down to Plymouth then up to Kinross for auction . I checked 42 and it seems they too have done several Artic warfare stints. thanks again for your help regards TED

Thanks for sharing Wally regards TED

Can anyone help please and tell me if UIN N10104A is 42 or 45 Commando RM ; My son recently bought a series 3 Lightweight the record card shows 105 AD Regt which was Edinburgh / Dundee TA unit, then 42 CDO RM , then sold Fife and Kinross auction ; 42 CDO are Plymouth based 45 are Arbroath Nr Dundee- I am wondering if a clerk made an error ; The vehicle has the Artic heater etc 45 are the Artic unit ?? hence I would like to find out who is the above UIN thanks TED

Dave , it would take that long to get from Ashchurch to 431 MU. I would guess into a container then from Marchwood to Antwerp docks, then either directly to 431 or via Monchengladbach or another freight hub. and in between was Christmas bank holidays !! TED

Maybe the whole post WW2 paint scene could be a good winter project for you. I was involved closely with paint for the last 20 years of my 39 year RAF career - in terms of green we were just half a pace behind the army ; Often in conversation and even some official publications words to describe paints are wrongly used; although DRAB was used in the title of some colours, the word Drab was often wrongly used instead of the descriptor Matt. Matt being a reflection level (matt, semi -matt, eggshell, satin, semi- gloss, gloss, hi gloss, v hi gloss). We started the widespread use of Matt Green in jan 1970, among the first users were 2 of our Germany stations. this was an Alkyd based paint to BS 381c colour tint 285. Through the 1970s the tone-down programme was expanded across the RAF, with paint with IRR properties coming into use in the mid 1970s. By March 1978 all users were to apply IRR Matt Green again to BSC 285. I left in 2003 and this colour ( BSC 285 ) was still in use then for tactical vehicles. Tracing the timeline is difficult, instructions on the application of paints was promulgated by various means- signal, formal letter, Defence Council Instructions, Command Routine Orders, Air Publication amendment lists, EMERS etc etc i am sure we weren't alone and the Army sufferred in a similar way.. Dick Taylors books are great but in some instances I do not agree with his timelines- eg I have copies of pictures of REs vehicles in Gloss DBG in 1953.this predates his quote. The term NATO green is again misleading , although officially used , it (BSC 285 in UK ) does not match the equivalent used by several NATO countries. Finally, during the late 1970s and 1980s I frequently visited the BAOR vehicle disposal site at Ayrshire Bks, the different shades of green visible were unbelievable, some as light as a pea- green ; the result of years of standing outside, with bad paint application in the first instance. hope this gives an insight into the complex world of military painting. TED

Thanks for that, brushing spraying roller, undecided yet. When he is back in UK I will pass all thios good info to him then no doubt we will have a brew and a pow wow ! regards TED