Sherlock Holmes and ARN 18EA56

[Gunner]

The detective work involved in this hobby can be a lot of fun and introduce you to all sorts of interesting new friends. We HMV enthusiasts frequently comment on the charity and helpfulness of our fellow collectors. I suspect that the ROT (rusty old truck) and the creeping olive drab disease must affect us all in a similar way. I have met some very friendly and helpful folks on all sorts of military vehicle fora as I have tried to track down the ARN for my Ferret over the past month and a half.

 

As this is an international audience please forgive me for going into lecture mode on a topic familiar to my British and Australian brethren but not so clear to Canadians, Americans and Europeans. For those not familiar with it, the ARN is the British equivalent of the CAR/CFR number used in Canada. Unlike our seven digit code (year year-type type sequential number sequential number sequential number ie 54-77321) system, the ARN is a digit digit letter letter digit digit system ie 01AA23. Up until the eighties it had some coding assigned to combinations as they were assigned in blocks to purchasing contracts and certain letter codes were reserved for specific things such as "RN" was Royal Navy. After some point in the eighties it became purely sequential as vehicles were accepted into service so you could have a firetruck have an ARN one digit different from say a new tank. Thankfully my Ferret predates the change in the system.

 

The British Army did not record hull numbers in cross reference to ARNs so if your data plate is missing, as is mine, all you have is a hull number and, depending on when it was built, a rough date of manufacture (it seems that early Ferrets had no date on the hull number plate which is permanently welded to the hull). Adding to the confusion is that the ARNs were only painted on and not stamped anywhere permanently so if there is no ARN under the layers of paint... yer screwed!

 

All this to say that on several sites on the 'interweb' I was able to track down the block of ARNs assigned to Ferrets produced in 1963 (mine is 8/63). Some chatting with the chap who runs the Ferret Registry, Matt Taylor, revealed that there were a few with hull numbers close to mine which might give a hint as to the ARN I was seeking. I met another great guy named Paul on HMVF who has a hull number close to mine. Then Matt sent me an email last night with some new data he tracked down from another Ferret owner. What I have so far is:

 

Hull 3323 ARN 18EA36 is a gent named Paul on the HMVF (griff66);

Hull 3327 ARN 18EA40 is a friend, Jeff, here in Ottawa. His and Paul's hull number and ARN are four apart;

Hull 3343 ARN 18EA56? is me and 20 more than Paul and 16 more than Jeff making me sure I'm 18EA56!;

Hull 3347 ARN 18EA60 is the info Matt tracked down yesterday;

Hull 3651 ARN 18EA64 is in Matt’s registry so there must have been a break between mine and this one somewhere to account for the big change in hull numbers vs ARNs. There is also the strong chance that 3651 is actually 3351 which fits the sequence exactly. Matt is hoping to puzzle this out as the registry gains more details.

 

I did some sanding on the rear hull plate and can make out an E and A and a 5. Without the detective work I would never have been able to recognize the symbols as the whole rear plate was painted with a layer of thick white paint at some time in the past.

 

Paul tells me mine is likely one of 67 Mk 1/2s built to contract 6/FV/2146 in 1963. I expect the modification to Mk2/3 came later in the 60's or 70's.

 

Interesting that Jeff's and mine are 16 apart and both ended up far from home but both are now in Ottawa.

 

There is a chap in the USA who is planning to run off a batch of repop data plates so I hope to stamp 18EA56 and the contract number onto a new plate fairly soon.

 

Until told otherwise, mine will be 18EA56 and I'd like to give many thumbs up to Matt Taylor and the dedicated guys who run the various registries around the world. Without their databases anyone missing bits of important info for titling and registration would be lost. I encourage us all to register any old beasties we have on the appropriate registry... it pays off!

 

Tub thumping done... sherlock holmesing continues!

 

Cheers! Mike

[griff66]

hi mike glad to have helped a bit with your investigations post a pic of your wee beastie. paul.

[Toolman]

Glad to be of Help :-)

 

MT