Humber Pig Data Plate?

[Terra1936]

Does the Humber Pig usually have a data plate? If so, anyone have a photo? I am looking at one right now and no data plate? Thanks! 

[fv1609]

There should be two main data plates & sometimes a third on a Mk 2 Pig.

The chassis plate is 6in x 3in, put your head in front of the front wheel on passenger's side & it should be vertically in front of you on the chassis.

The contract plate for the body is 6in x 1in is inside the cab on the passenger's side attached to the body just below the windscreen. With a Mk 2, if the scuttle armour is still present, you will not be able to see this as it relates to when it was converted from a GS truck to armoured truck 1959-60. There may be an additional plate somewhere on the driver's side 6in x 3in that relates to its conversion to Mk 2 June 1972 -Sept 1973.

Depending on the contract & whether the Pig conversion was done by Sankey or Royal Ordnance Factories it may say Mk2 , but this predates the uparmoured conversion into the so called Mk2. This is because the real Mk1 Pig were those 20 prototypes built in 1956, the production Pig was the real Mk2, so some plates are marked Mk2 & some are left blank on the Mk space.

The Army forgot that the production Pig was the real Mk 2 and incorrectly took it to be the Mk 1. So when they were uparmoured they called them Mk2 but should really have called them Mk3 !!

There is sometimes a chassis number visible stamped into the chassis when you look down into the engine bay in the vicinity of the chassis plate when you look down onto the chassis. It is quite unusual to see this as time, grot, rust, paint & oil can obscure it.

[fv1609]

This is the type of chassis plate you should see. It was removed from a "Mk2" Pig that was being cut up, but the plate has nothing whatever to do with its up-armouring & conversion to "Mk2"

This is the original plate when it was converted 1959-60 to a Pig as a real Mk2. I know this because the Asset Code given is 310119-01-777 but in 1966 the Asset Code became 1765-0501. This new code or VESPER Code was to make it manageable by ADP (Automatic Data Processing) systems. If you had the record card it would be stamped "ADP CON" meaning that the coding had been converted for this new management system.

When it was up-armoured to so called "Mk2" the Asset Code changed to 1765-2501 if it was retained as FFR, but many were converted to APC role & became 1760-2501.

This 4-digit + 4-digit coding system persists to this day, although the MOD seem unaware that the present method of coding is quite different from the original structuring. Up until recently there were still some Sankey trailers on census, by using current MOD coding system they would seem to be LHD diesel powered trucks!!

I would be interested to see your chassis or cab plates. Incidentally "A" suffix indicates not fitted with a winch, "B" indicates fitted with a winch.

[fv1609]

This is a very accurate copy of a plate fitted inside the cab on a "Mk2". We had ten of these made & they formed the basis of an award at W&P for the best Humber 1 Ton (of any variant) The award was in memory of my friend & prolific Humber owner, Dale Prior who died in 2010 & is commemorated on the reverse of the brass plate. 

Something unusual about this award it was not necessarily for the prettiest example, but one that had the greatest originality AND showed evidence of being serviced correctly and regularly. The paint finish, number of accoutrements, flags etc were irrelevant!