question Vehicle Completion of Manufacture to Arriving in Europe?

[Jessie The Jeep]

My Dodge build card has the Date Built as August 11th, 1944. How long after manufacture would it have likely arrived in the UK/Europe? and were there theatre modification centres after manufacture, like there were for aircraft, to equip a vehicle to suit the theatre it was going to operate in?

[Pete Ashby]

My Dodge build card has the Date Built as August 11th, 1944. How long after manufacture would it have likely arrived in the UK/Europe? and were there theatre modification centres after manufacture, like there were for aircraft, to equip a vehicle to suit the theatre it was going to operate in?

 

That's a difficult question to answer, as you know there is now masses of information available on jeeps regarding matching build date to frame number to contract number and thus to where and when certain contracts were dispatched.

 

In short I think you would need to know what contract your Weapons carrier was built on, Iv'e not seen any information but then Iv'e not particularly searched for it, it may be available on Gordon's Dodge site.

 

Regarding time for shipping assuming it came off the line and into a crate and don't think many did at this point in the war, then I guess between 1 and 2 months.

 

At the time your Dodge was produced the urgent need for vehicles for the build up to D Day had passed and losses during the summer campaign had be lighter that anticipated, this changed with the heavy winter losses of 44/45 so it may well have sat State side for a while.

 

I'd ask the question on Gordon's Dodge site

 

Pete

[Jessie The Jeep]

Thanks. I've tried asking the same question on ww2dodge.com. I'll report back if I get any results.

[Tony B]

My WC54 was built 4th February 1944, and allegedley landed on D +9 so I'd reckon ^ to 12 weeks after manufacture would be a resonable guess.

[Gordon_M]

Eight to twelve weeks at a guess.

 

Another interesting comparison would be the difference between the Build Card date, and the Date of Delivery on the glovebox plate.

 

Early on there could be substantial differences in those two times, but by August 44 I'd expect ordnance inspectors were checking the vehicles down the line and accepting / stamping them virtually the same day.

[Jessie The Jeep]

Date of Delivery on the glove box is 8 44, or August '44.

[Gordon_M]

Interesting it doesn't have the day, but I expect it didn't stop moving all the way from the line till the time it was issued.