im looking for info, and hopefully, history on my newly aquired restoration project.
its a 1953 m38a1, the ownership says VIN# 48903 and it says "R34021" on the sides under the door opening but i dont think its an origional number. after checking a paint chip it seems that it was origionally black, thep a navy blue, then the olive drab you see in the picture...
also there is a plate located left of the steering wheel in the lower part of the dash which says : "Department of Munitions and Supply Ottawa" "British Government Property" "Contract #18 Item #21"
What an interesting find! In the UK there are several British military vehicle clubs that are great resource for the British Army vehicles and of course here for the Willy's M jeeps.
It may be wrong but here is what I have picked up over the years...
The British Army had several bases in the remote northern areas of Canada. Not sure of the dates. Some bases, if not all, had classified purposes and because of that little is known about them. They used British vehicles like Series 1 Land Rovers, Austin Champs and other British military vehicles of this era and apparently Willy's M38A1's too. Who knew? The British military vehicles found in Canada and the USA from the 1950's are often from these bases.
There is not alot known about these British military vehicles in Canada from the '50's but across the pond there is alot of interest in learning more about them as they seem to be an unresearched area.
I own a vehicle, 1950, that may have been used at one of these bases too so I would be interested if you find out anything. It seems to be a tough nut to crack but I am sure there is someone out there who really is knowledgable beyond hearsay.
wesk wrote:What data is on the dash serial plate? Is the CAR/CAF number stamped on the top front of the left frame rail?
all of the data plates are there except for the bottom right one with the stamped numbers on it....as for the frame rail number, i have to scrape off 3 layers of paint to get to it...does anybody have a pic of the exact location of this number...i know approximatly where it is but an exact location would be very helpful....its cold in sudbury and i dont want to spend much time outside scraping
Just recently in Toronto an M38A1 with a complete Arctic kit and gas fired heater came up for sale. It was apparently fully documented as being a US Army vehicle that had been used at a USA base within the Arctic Circle of Canada.
I did some research on the base. It was once a highly classified location but has since been decommissioned and now has a blossoming tourist industry. It has one of the only operational air bases within the Arctic Circle that can handle modern aircraft so it is still greatly needed. Interesting thing is that it is so far north there are no real shipping lanes to get to it. So just like years ago everything has to be flown in and out... including the jeeps they used.
another thing to...there are "billy bishop heritage" stickers on the front fender and on one of the rear bumperets....i emailed the museum in owen sound and they messaged back asking for pics....im waiting to hear back from them. a friend of mine suggested that it could have been in a display or used at the museum for another reason....also, the jeep was plated till 2000....and b4 you ask, i havent had time to go to the mto for a previous owner check yet.
Looks like you have a 53 M38A1 CDN that originally belonged to the Canadian Armed Forces and at some point in it's career was loaned or assigned to a British unit. Perhaps you can borrow a higher resolution capable camera.
The Feb thru April 53 M38A1 CDN's in our data base all have 53-32XXX CAR/CAF numbers.
I would agree with Wes on the jeeps origins. I am not aware of any M38A1's being a regular fielded vehicle with the British forces.
However, if it is a British Army vehicle, and it appears it was at some point, there should be a record for it in England. I forget which military museum it is that keeps records but, unlike USA military vehicles which seem to be forgotten about over time, in regard to record keeping, the British military vehicles have extensive record keeping, more like British civilian vehicles.
The records for military vehicles were kept on cards that look like a library card in a record depository. Recently the old records were shipped to a military museum where you can pay a fee and have the vehicle history transcript sent to you.
If they have the record you will get its entire history within the British Army from aquisition to demob including dates and places of use and the military units too.
You will probably make a bunch of new friends quickly in the British military vehicle clubs as I believe you have found a rare use of a M38A1 by the British Army.
You might want to check out British Army photographs of their vehicles in Post War West Berlin. I believe that some British Army vehicles in the British secter where actually painted black.
Some of the early urban disruptive painting camouflage was invented in West Berlin on tanks, trucks, Land Rovers and possibly your jeep...
thanks for the info bullrun...im starting as the mto this friday getting a used vehicle package for $20....that will either tell me the government owned it or hopefully more detailed info.
i purcased the used vehicle package and the previous owner was the only record on it...he owned it since 1985....so i might just have to contact him somehow
