From: Richard Lathrop (lathrrs@snip.net)
Date: Thu May 27 2004 - 05:15:48 PDT
Sounds like a Ford GTB "Burma Jeep"
Check this and see if this is what it was.
http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_gtb.php3
Rick
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: "Mitch Drumm" <LaFong@cox.net>
Date: Thu, 27 May 2004 04:31:56 -0700
>hi everyone.
>
>this is my first post. i joined in hopes someone can help me ID a particular
>pair of weapons carriers that i spent a lot of time in during the early
>1950s thru the mid 1960s.
>
>i have spent several hours on the web trying to find pictures of similar
>vehicles with no luck. during that time i discovered this list and joined it
>hoping someone can ID these vehicles.
>
>i have not seen them in about 40 years and have no pictures. what follows is
>from memory:
>
>general description: 4 wheels, 4 wheel drive, totally open and exposed to
>the elements. high center of gravity, wide track. wheelbase probably a foot
>or two longer than a typical modern pickup. i was around two of these, one
>of which was painted red and i suspect that is how it was purchased and is
>presumably a "factory" color. these vehicles were used as all purpose
>transports on a large nevada ranch. i can't recall the color of the other
>lesser used vehicle, but don't think it was OD. in general stature, width,
>and ground clearance, these vehicles were closer to a HUMVEE than, say, a
>WW2 ambulance, but were not enclosed.
>
>i cannot specifically recall if the vehicle could be operated in both 2WD
>and 4WD. certainly possible it was 4WD only. nor do i recall anything about
>low/high range.
>
>seating for two in buckets, on either side of a console. not a bench seat.
>no doors of any kind. you sat down pretty low in the buckets.
>
>snub nosed, with a very short hood. this is unlike any weapons carrier
>vehicle i have seen in pictures. the hood was no more than 30 inches long,
>if not shorter.
>
>gearshift lever was bent and angled forward rather than rearward. as i
>recall, it was a 4 speed gearbox, but may have been 3 speed. because of the
>angle of the lever, the shifting motion was more of a lifting up than the
>pulling back that might be found in an ordinary passenger car. because of
>the depth of the bucket seat and the height of the console/drivetrain
>tunnel, the lever was probably not far from waist high at the mounting point
>and chest high at the knob. you reached out for it, rather than down.
>
>boom: one of the two vehicles had a boom extending out to the rear that was
>equipped with a cable and hook to hoist something--such as a deer (often
>used for deer hunting). the tip of the boom was probably 8 feet above the
>ground and extended at that height over the bed area. i can't recall how the
>hoist was operated but i am sure it was mechanized rather than hand
>cranked.
>
>the area to the rear of the bucket seats was open to the elements, as was
>the entire vehicle. i can't recall detail, other than it was not completely
>flat as a flatbed truck would be. there were compartments along the
>perimeter if i recall correctly, but i can't recall if they were covered.
>
>windshield: not sure, but i think it may have folded down to the front if
>desired.
>
>engine: i have no details, presumably 6 or 8 cylinder.
>
>i always thought these were ford products, but it seems that most weapons
>carriers were dodge manufactured. i did find some brief references to fords,
>but no pictures or descriptions.
>
>both vehicles were simply called "weapons carriers" around the ranch. it is
>theoretically possible they were not weapons carriers, but i do recall
>certain military-esque nameplates around the cockpit. so best guess is that
>they were weapons carriers and were certainly of US military origin--or at
>least north american.
>
>considering where and how they were used, it is highly likely that both were
>unmodified by the civilian owner--i assume the boom, color, etc, were as
>purchased military surplus. they did not have that "antique" look that i
>associate with certain WW2 vehicles, so may have been from slightly after
>the war???
>
>the best clues are the snub nose, boom, bucket seating, gearshift lever,
>unenclosed, and era.
>
>please, can anyone ID these and most of all point me to some high quality
>pictures, either online or in a published book?
>
>regards
>
>mitch
>
>
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>
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