Star on hood

1941 - 1945, MB, GPW Technical questions and discussions, regarding anything related to the WWII jeep.
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GI.
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Star on hood

Post by GI. » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:46 pm

Was the broken circle star put on all jeep hoods, or just the ones that were used in the invasion ?
I was looking at some pic's of some jeeps in England with the 8th AAF used to transport crew's too and from their B-17's that had a broken circle star on their hood, was all jeeps and vech's required to have it just in case the invasion went bad ?
Any idea's ?
67 M-151A1


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Michael O.
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Re: Star on hood

Post by Michael O. » Wed Feb 14, 2018 12:58 pm

The circle simply made the National Emblem easier to recognize from the air. I’ve seen both the closed and broken circle used on jeeps in the ETO...and not just the ones taking part in the Normandy landings but those belonging to units which landed post-June 6 1944. I don’t know if there was any specific directive to paint the circle broken or not....maybe a Regimental or Division Commander’s preference or predicated on what type of stencils were available to the servicing unit?
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dinof
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Re: Star on hood

Post by dinof » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:22 pm

Or whatever group or regimen had the time to do it. These vehicles were every where in service, so I bet many got finished and some didn't. I did what the TM specifies, the 1 1/2" from the edge of the top of the cowl.
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Chuck Lutz
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Re: Star on hood

Post by Chuck Lutz » Wed Feb 14, 2018 1:25 pm

If you had access to a paint mask to apply the star and the circle at the same time, then an unbroken circle is possible. If you are using a stencil, then the circle and star can be applied at the same time, but the circle will be broken. Since the circle was not a factory applied paint item, it would be done when the jeep was delivered to its unit or the facility responsible for assembling a crated jeep.

Use what ya got to apply the "Invasion Star"....but keep 'em rolling...
Chuck Lutz

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Re: Star on hood

Post by GSS » Wed Feb 14, 2018 2:57 pm

All allied forces had stars on Jeeps, tanks and trucks......there are some photos of British and Indian army vehicles where the white stars were painted inside a dark circular background.
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1942 MB 113037, "Slat Grill"
1945 MB 431740, 20698289-S


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