WW2 Reg.no's

[Rick W]

Were the registration numbers of British vehicles in WW2 different to the yank ones. For example on Brit vehicles it seems to be 2numbers followed by 2 letters, followed by 2 numbers.

[Degsy]

Rick if you do a search you will find I listed all the Yank reg no's on here awhile back. I think it might have been in answer to a question by Mark.

[sirhc]

Rick,

 

The 2 numbers 2 letters 2 numbers is a post war registration number, this scheme was introduced in the late 1940s and all wartime vehicles still in service were renumbered. YH and YJ were used for jeeps.

 

Chris

[woa2]

I think you are looking at Post WW2 British numbers, such as 17BF88, which started in 1947. Wartime numbers were a letter followed by numbers, such as Z5344037. Wartime vehicles were renumbered in the late 1940s to the new number system, and this started at the end of the alphabet unless the vehicle had been rebuilt, in which case the first letter was an R, as in 12RA34. Please note that all Royal Navy vehicles were RN, as in 12RN34, however.

With wartime British numbering, the first letter referred to the size or type of vehicle (Z=15cwt truck, L=3 ton truck) and the number was one of a set issued to that contract number. For Example, my Ford WOT2 truck is numbered Z5344037, and the contract was for 5000 trucks, numbered Z5340144 to Z5345143.

Please note that Canadian Army vehicles had the same numbering system, but included an extra C before the number.

I hope this helps, but vehicle numbering is a bit complicated with the numbering system changing.

[Rick W]

So a jeep with a reg no with a YH in it come be US or Brit? Or is the YH a post war reg?

[Rick W]

Tried finding Degsys article but couldnt. Could someone point me in the right directio. Thanks

[woa2]

So a jeep with a reg no with a YH in it come be US or Brit? Or is the YH a post war reg?

 

Any vehicle with a YH in the number would be a pre-1949 vehicle, re-registered, and British owned. If you have the YH number from the MoS plate (Minirstry of Supply) on a vehicle, you can find the Wartime serial number, for a fee, from the RLC museum at Deepcut.

[Degsy]

Hi Rick ,search in American vehicles for Bonnet no's/prestone

[ashley]

Any vehicle with a YH in the number would be a pre-1949 vehicle, re-registered, and British owned. If you have the YH number from the MoS plate (Minirstry of Supply) on a vehicle, you can find the Wartime serial number, for a fee, from the RLC museum at Deepcut.

 

 

Hi,

the YH is a postwar number, mine is 46 YJ 36 several years ago i spoke to one of the guys at RLC he told me that all the documentation for this period had been destroyed years ago ?

 

Ashley

[Rick W]

I'll apply for any records for mine from Deepcut, if I have any joy will let you know. Did you apply in writing for yours Ashley?

[Richard Farrant]

Hi,

the YH is a postwar number, mine is 46 YJ 36 several years ago i spoke to one of the guys at RLC he told me that all the documentation for this period had been destroyed years ago ?

 

 

 

In the latest copy of the MVT magazine, Windscreen, there is an article by Geoff Fletcher on researching history of British vehicles, a photo of a Key Card for a group of Jeeps in the YJ grouping is shown, I have seen these cards for other vehicles, so there is a good chance they may still exist.

[Chrisg]

the search fee for the RLC is 25.00. I tried for the champ but no records existed

[john fox]

Rick

 

are you talking about the history for your Morris?

 

If so I asked the RLC museum for the history of my Morris giving them the 6 digit post war registration you refer to (taken from the chassis plate by the fuel tank)

 

All I got back was a page listing 12 vehicles (including my registration no) showing the date they were disposed of and nothing else. The museum said there were no other records held under that 6 digit ref no and that all such early records had been destroyed

 

Regarding the wartime history I cannot find out how to get my actual wartime registration no (ie the Z number) and I have also been unable to find out who holds the Morris Commercial wartime production records which list chassis and contract numbers. The MCC club say they do not hold wartime records (they hold all the civilian production records however) and they could not say who else might have them.

 

Consequently I do not know if the RLC Museum would have any records under the wartine z registration number.

[Rick W]

Hello John, To start with I was referring to the jeep.

Ive got the key card history for the Morris, which Im assuming is the card you are on about.Key Card no. 2 from the RLC museum, with date of disposal. On the column " converted from" I assumed, mistakenly perhaps that this was the Z number.

But you are right, it would be nice to find out where those records went, my guessing is they were probably destroyed.

[morris c8 fat]

When I sent off to Beverly before it closed I was also sent Key card No2 with a list of 16 vehicls WD No 81RD20-35 some have YZ numbers but a few still only show the war time serials as mine was pensioned off in 1958 12 december I have the opposet problem of finding its correct post war number

[ashley]

I'll apply for any records for mine from Deepcut, if I have any joy will let you know. Did you apply in writing for yours Ashley?

 

 

No a couple of years ago at beltring i met a chap who was involved with RLC museum and chatted to him and he told me it was virtualy impossible to trace the histories.

 

Ashley

[Richard Farrant]

Just to explain the Key Card No.2,

1st column; Post War WD number

2nd column; headed engine no. "AFY" chassis "B" vehicle - this is the Chassis No.

3rd column; Tech. type or mark - an example - "Lorry 3 ton 4x4 Cargo"

4th column; Converted To / from - This is the Wartime Census No., prefix letter would be Z up to 1 ton, then L for Lorries of 1 ton upwards, etc.

5th column; Location Unit from - This is the Contract No.

 

Also penciled in will be disposal details, ie date, where disposed and sometimes last known unit as in the last vehicle I traced.

 

I believe that the Tank Museum may have Contract cards for "B" vehicles, having seen a few examples, these show delivery dates of vehicles for a specified contract, cost price and minor details. Other than that there is not much else, unless you can find a photo of your actual vehicle in service!

[AlienFTM]

15/19H and 13/18H both got rid of their horses during the summer of '39, though they didn't get tanks until they deployed with the BEF. (The BEF was 100% mechanised at outbreak as all the horses had gone. At its peak of mechanisation in 1943, the Wehrmacht was about 50% mechanised. Amazing what you can do with statistics, isn't it?)

 

They spent the Sitzkrieg learning to use tanks. "Light Dragoons" by Allan Mallinson has a handful of pictures of these tanks: they bore VRNs in the format (IIRC) ABC123, just like civvy vehicles.

[Richard Farrant]

 

They spent the Sitzkrieg learning to use tanks. "Light Dragoons" by Allan Mallinson has a handful of pictures of these tanks: they bore VRNs in the format (IIRC) ABC123, just like civvy vehicles.

 

 

WD vehicles of that period did bear civilian registation plates, using letters allocated to Middlesex County Council. But, they also bore Census Numbers on the sides of the vehicles, in the case of tanks, it would have been T****.