Those pics from Okinawa have been up many times in the past. It is a shame but worse than that a lot more than those were loaded on LST's and driven off the ramps into the Pacific in 1945 thru 49.
Note the single odd D Day Europe invasion star on that one hood! It also has a much earlier hood registration number.
Joined: May 06, 2012 Posts: 19 Location: Harris, Minnesota
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 12:17 pm Post subject: What a shame
90 day life expectancy, the downside of the war machine. It was not just Jeeps, My dads cousin a SeaBee vet of Okinawa told me thay ran many dozers,draglines and other equipment into the sea and most were unused,unneeded and to costly in manpower and fuel to relocate.
Yes a shame, Lee _________________ MVPA 14131
Red Bull HMVA
Red Arrow HMVA
Spooner Yacht Club
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:50 pm Post subject: I worked with a fellow
I worked with a fellow who went into the army just as WWII ended - his job was running a dozer pushing brand new jeeps by the hundreds off an island into the Pacific - Eddie DeHaven was his name. _________________ 1952 M38
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 2:07 pm Post subject: M38 - the Korean War Jeep
Look at the 1960 scrap yard in Korea - notice there aren't any M38s - I wonder how many M38s made it into the fighting - very few pictures of the war show a M38 - nearly all are old WWII MBs. My guess is some came over as duty vehicles after the war (fighting - I know the war isn't officially over) but I venture to guess most M38s went to bases in Europe and stateside posts - It would be interesting to see what units here, stateside, in Asia and in Europe were issued M38s and who was issued M38A1s _________________ 1952 M38
Joined: Jul 18, 2008 Posts: 639 Location: Melrose, MA and Santa Fe, NM
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 2:54 pm Post subject:
We're leaving a lot of equipment behind in Iraq and Kuwait - some turned over to Iraq for pennies and other equipment left in Kuwait for possible future use.
I wonder how many M38s made it into the fighting - very few pictures of the war show a M38
The earliest dated photo of an M38 in Korea is August 1952. So for the first two years and 2 months of the three year and two month shooting war was fought with MB's and GPW's with a small group of M38's most likely based at company HQ or higher from Aug 52 thru the armistice Sep 53.
The earliest dated photo of an M38A1 in Korea is Jun/Jul 1953. By 1954 most motor pool photos show only M38A1's in their yards in Korea.
Logistics in wartime were a tough job for all involved. You just did not introduce a new vehicle into a combat area unless it was clearly going to expedite winning the conflict. The logisitics liability of a new 24 volt jeep in the middle of thousands of 6 volt jeeps with different trannies, transfers, axles, tire sizes & wheel and on and on made absolutely no sense. Those few early M series arrivals in Korea were more a test than any effort to replace the MB's & GPW's on the line. By the end of 1952 the war was stale and DMZ was pretty much the main line until the armistice. With the stalemate the Army took their time and replaced the MB/GPW's with the M38A1 almost entirely. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:47 pm Post subject: So where were the M38s used?
Wes - so you are saying what I guessed looking at photos - now the question - where were M38s issued - stateside, Europe? Or were many sold off the to allies with the US preference being the M38A1?
If you ever come across a 46th Engineer Battalion photo from the 1950s (likely Ft Polk or Ft Hood) I'd like to see a copy.
Ho - Eddie DeHaven was in the Sea-Bees, not the Army - I remember now.
I tried to sign up for the Sea-Bee reserves in Wilmington De, but got drafted into the Army at age 25 - I lucked out, got in the engineer corps, construction engineers. Was in Vietnam in 1969. _________________ 1952 M38
Since you did your time in the Army then you certainly know Crap rolls downhill. When you look at the time line for the M38 and M38A1 production and service life it will become obvious the M38 was issued to all active units as soon as it became available. In typical Army fashion as the stateside units got the M38 they gave their MB's to guard and reserve units. When USAFE got their M38's their MB's went on the European surplus market. The M38 was produced from Sep 1950 through Jul 1952 and appeared during that time and on up to the late 50's at just about all theaters and CONUS. The M38A1's were produced from Jul 1952 thru Oct 54 in great numbers. Production after that thru 1968 was sporadic and low numbers. Most 57-60 production went to the Dutch. 60-63 production for the most part went to the USMC. During this period there were a few small contracts to Saudi, Argentina, Brazil and Greece. As the first units got their M38A1's their M38's either were released to the MAP (Military Assistance Program) for third world countries or turned over to Reserve & Guard units. I believe most of the M38's that had a strong presence in Germany thru 1960 ended up in Greece. In 1964 the M151 came on line and the Army moved quickly to relieve their M38A1 fleet with the M151. The Marines hung on to their A1's for another 10 years. They even took several thousand A1's off the Army's hands in 65 and ran everyone of them thru their depots (Barstow & Albany) and updated them to the same standard as their 1960 thru 64 Kaiser contract A1's. Those A1's that didn't go to the MAP and Marines ended up in Reserve and Guard units. We still saw M38A1's at the DRMO's thru the mid to late 80's. _________________ Wes K
45 MB, 51 M38, 54 M37, 66 M101A1, 60 CJ5, 76 DJ5D, 47Bantam T3-C & 5? M100
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