Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

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Wingnutt
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Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:09 pm

An eBay auction just concluded for a "Vintage Military HAM. MET. PRODUCTS CO 41-B-1840 toolbox with tray". Link to eBay auction here. The box has two FSN's stenciled on it. 41-T-3361-250 and 41-T-3528-75. The seller had no idea what the stenciled FSN's were. The sale description did not even mention them. The reason the toolbox has two FSN's stenciled on it? Every 41-T-3361-250 Armored Force Special Separate Battalion tool-set included one (1) 41-T-3528-75 Carburetor Mechanics' toolset! So the box was for the carb mechanic, and contained a carb mechanic tool-set, but he belonged to the separate battalion of a sepcial armored force, and his particular tool-set belonged to the separate battalion's tool-set. The Carb tool-set is a specialists' kit, like the general mechanics' kit, the welder's kit, the machinists' kit, the blacksmith's kit, the sheet metal mech's kit, etc. The Special Armorer Force set is a unit set, like the 2nd Echelon Set No. 1, 3rd Echelon Set No. 2, etc. But issued to Special Armored Forces. This one to a Separate Battalion.

I have a special interest in this box because it's a Hamilton and stenciled exactly like my Hamilton 41-T-3534-75 GMTS, link to G503 thread here,
on a field of (now faded) white paint, in accordance with export regulations, including the weight and volume (cubic inches) on a field of (now faded) white on the other side.

Here are some photos.

The Carb Mech FSN on the side

Carb Mech SAF Toolbox_Carb FSN.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox_Carb FSN.jpg (103.73 KiB) Viewed 1768 times

The Separate AFS Bn Set FSN on the end

Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 2_SAF FSN.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 2_SAF FSN.jpg (116.95 KiB) Viewed 1768 times

And the weight (looks like "45") and volume (looks like "1.5" probably in reference to cubic yards) on the other side

Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 3_WtCub.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 3_WtCub.jpg (61.87 KiB) Viewed 1768 times

Here are two excerpts from the Table of Contents in the April 1945 ORD 6 SNL G-27

Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 6_TOCCarb.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 6_TOCCarb.jpg (119.29 KiB) Viewed 1768 times
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 5_TOCSAF.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 5_TOCSAF.jpg (103.38 KiB) Viewed 1768 times

And here is an excerpt from the April 1945 ORD 6 SNL G-27 from the Special Armored Force section showing one (1) Carb Mech tool-set issued to every Separate Bn Tool-Set

Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 4_SNL.jpg
Carb Mech SAF Toolbox 4_SNL.jpg (92.88 KiB) Viewed 1768 times
Last edited by Wingnutt on Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Tue Feb 20, 2018 7:21 pm

I wonder if anyone from the G got it?!?!?!?! Hoping so if only to see more and better photos! Green with envy for someone! :mrgreen:
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by d42jeep » Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:00 am

A gentleman from Tennessee was just one bid away from getting it, unfortunately. I wasn't even aware of it until the auction was over. The Carburetor set would be an easy one to complete, made up primarily of the same tools used in the GMTK. It would also be a chance to use a wartime 4" adjustable wrench.
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Wed Feb 21, 2018 8:51 am

d42jeep wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:00 am
The Carburetor set would be an easy one to complete, made up primarily of the same tools used in the GMTK. It would also be a chance to use a wartime 4" adjustable wrench.
Yup. And if not, just really cool to have a box with that much indisputable provenance.
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Hartofoak » Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:14 am

Thanks Greg for sharing this. A stencilled, FSN embossed Hamilton box no less. I hope it was acquired by someone we know. We could add it to my list of stencilled boxes which now stands at nine examples:
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=198454&hilit=stenc ... 5#p1663895
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Thu Feb 22, 2018 5:16 am

Hartofoak wrote:
Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:14 am
We could add it to my list of stencilled boxes which now stands at nine examples:
viewtopic.php?f=48&t=198454&hilit=stenc ... 5#p1663895
I think you should add it, Cliff. We may not know who owns it, but it would be part of the record we have of them. The box matters more than the owner. :) Again, it's no small matter for me that it is stenciled very much like mine, on a now faded white background. The more data we have the more we can be confident in our analysis of the sequencing of them.
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by lt.luke » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:02 am

Would it definitively be wartime?

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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Silly's MB » Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:00 am

Out of interest Chads photo shows the early war 2nd echelon tool sets (Complete with tools), Electrical and Carburetor Mechanics 41-T-3533 pictured on the left hand side.

http://g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f= ... 7#p1625355
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:14 pm

Thanks, Silly! Good catch.

Not sure what you're thinking is less than definitive, Luke. Technically, the wartime format FSN's were in place through 1952 (replaced by the 11-digit 5120-xxx-xxxx FSN's), but the box itself has wartime construction features. I don't know if a KW era box would have the feet/corner supports. Maybe. The possibility of it potentially being post-war certainly wouldn't trouble me.
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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by lt.luke » Thu Feb 22, 2018 7:49 pm

Wingnutt wrote:
Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:14 pm

Not sure what you're thinking is less than definitive, Luke. Technically, the wartime format FSN's were in place through 1952 (replaced by the 11-digit 5120-xxx-xxxx FSN's), but the box itself has wartime construction features. I don't know if a KW era box would have the feet/corner supports. Maybe. The possibility of it potentially being post-war certainly wouldn't trouble me.
I guess I’m behind on discussions, but you’ve answered. I have never seen anything definitive that says FSN markings occurred during the war.

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Re: Original Special Armored Force Carb Mech Toolbox

Post by Wingnutt » Thu Feb 22, 2018 10:11 pm

You're not behind. It's still not definitive, they were used up to c.1952, as I just said. I think the stenciled tool-set FSN's on this box help the embossed toolbox FSN on this box and all others tremendously. My Hamilton with the stenciled GMTS FSN is a non embossed 41-B-1840 Hamilton box, which hurt the cause (for embossed FSN Ham's being wartime). This box helps it.
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