Where Slat Grille Served

Nov. 18, 1941 - MB100001 thru Mar. 6, 1942 - MB125809 NO EBAY or COMMERCIAL SALES.
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LouVita
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Where Slat Grille Served

Post by LouVita » Mon Oct 28, 2013 3:52 pm

Hello:

Does anyone out there know where I can find information on where a Slat Grille, delivered on 2 February 1942, would have served? The original bumpers were removed before I bought the Jeep leaving no clue about the bumper markings.

Thanks for any assistance.

Lou Vita


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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Chuck Lutz » Mon Oct 28, 2013 4:53 pm

Records were kept but were destroyed years ago. The jeep would have been inventoried by the USA number anyway once it left Willys. You can search all the Signal Corp photos, the photos of Units stationed in the US and the personal websites of GIs along with Life mag and others to see if a jeep with YOUR USA number is among them. No one I know of has tracked all that yet so it would be a monumental task at best.

Clues such as a rebuild tag on the dash or on individual components of the jeep may be helpful....have you checked with the War Assets Administration brochures from the post war era to see if your USA number is among them? Even then you only know where it was sold off and have no idea if it was based there or sent there for sale.

Aside from that, you could check with the owners of jeeps with USA numbers close to yours to see if they have discovered anything that might lead to knowing where THEIR jeep served although that is still no guarantee they were motorpool buddies.
Chuck Lutz

GPW 17963 4/24/42 Chester, PA. USA 20113473 (USA est./Tom W.)
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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by gidad » Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:15 am

My MB, DOD 2/2/42 (115777) has a couple of tags on it from a rebuild at Moore Equipment in Modesto, CA in 1945. That indicates service on the West Coast, more than likely California. Might be a starting point for your search.

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by LouVita » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:57 pm

Chuck and Gidad:

This quest is showing some signs of hope. I started with the body (gusset #18628) number, and by interpolation and support from other G503 members, was able to arrive at good guess for the serial number (115994). The hood (registration) #2047078 was generated in a similar manner using the G503 data list and the serial number That still leaves the Herculean task of searching all the Signal Corp photos, the photos of Units stationed in the US and the personal websites of GIs along with Life mag and others to see if the registration number is among them. I would appear that a War Assets Administration brochure search would be the next step.

But Gidad's post offers another, possibly less grueling, approach; a search of post and installation records for Slat Grille service data. If you rule out coincidence, then here's the logic:

The Gidad Jeep is separated by only 200 units from mine, and my Jeep engine was reconditioned by Harrington in California in 1978 (unfortunately it's a GPW engine, but that's an issue for next year). So, you're looking at two Jeeps with the same DOD, both with California connections. Perhaps the most effective search is one that attempts to find what post and installation data is still available and see if that turns up anything useful.

Gidad - any bumber markings on your Jeep?

Your thoughts?

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Chuck Lutz » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:14 am

That would be interesting if you can turn up any existing service records for the maintenance shops on US bases except for one thing....they would list the jeep by the USA number, not the Serial Number or Frame Number....and yours is estimated.

Here is another; while GIDADs jeep has a DASH tag from Moore dated 1945.....your jeep has the "wrong" motor in it and there is no way to know if that motor was installed in your jeep during WWII on a base in California or if that motor got reconditioned by Harrington in 1978 and it was put into your jeep in 1985 from a different jeep.

In looking at the "SISTER JEEPS" thread, you will see one pair of sisters are separated by the Atlantic Ocean and another set are Alabama/California sisters. Those last two are SEQUENTIAL GPWs which may or may not have both come from the same factory. Jeeps that are some 200 apart stretches that a bit further with the only connection being a 1945 California connection to one and a 1978 California connection to the "wrong" motor...that is a separation of 33 years.....and the motor from another jeep.

The connection may be coincidental but worth some investigation.

I hate to say it, but the LIFE mag photos, unit historys from outfits that were stationed or trained in the US and the oral histories from those who served in some of those outfits are even better...but again, you need the EXACT USA NUMBER to be sure as you just can't read the serial number on the data plate in 99.99999% of period photos.
Chuck Lutz

GPW 17963 4/24/42 Chester, PA. USA 20113473 (USA est./Tom W.)
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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by LouVita » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:54 am

Chuck:

Ah ! Just when I thought I had a handle on this.

I forgot to mention 'rust'. If lack of rust is a factor common to both (Gidad's and mine) Jeeps, then that might be another 'breadcrumb' leading to a low humidity operating/storage environment (SW US). Gidad - any significant rust on your Jeep?

I'm currently researching WWII posts, camps and installations to see what Army bases existed in early 1942; I assume that most Slat Grilles stayed in the US? After that, it's WAA brchures, etc.

Thanks, Chuck.

Lou Vita

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by gidad » Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:47 am

Lou, I was a stupid kid and when I got it in '72 I rented a trailer mounted sandblaster and took it all down to bare metal. No remaining history except the rebuild tags. Russ Rice

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Joe Gopan » Fri Nov 01, 2013 8:32 am

The Maintenance records were kept in DA-478, these records followed the Jeep thru its military career and were destroyed by regulation once it left the custody of the military. There were no duplicates.
There are photos of the slat grill MB serving in Korea. JEEP, JEEP, JEEP, may be a good reference.
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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by 1945Willys6202 » Sat Nov 02, 2013 1:01 pm

My Slat Grill, 115707 (DoD 2/7/42), was sold off in California in 1962. The story goes that it was brought from Belgium back to California, but who knows if that is true....
One thing I do know is that underneath all the layers of paint is Air Force Blue (Here was my post awhile back viewtopic.php?f=84&t=199570). If you are able to track any other information about where your slat served let me know... I assume mine might have gone to the same place(s)!
1942 Willys MB Slat Grill 115707
1945 Willys MB 424285
1945 Bantam T3 Trailer
1944 MBT 1/4 Ton Trailer
1943 M5 Generator
1942 Ford GPW 42969

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Farrell Fox » Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:40 pm

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by LouVita » Fri Nov 08, 2013 1:47 pm

Chuck, Russ, Ben, Willys6062 & Farrell:

After some reflection, it appears that there are two approaches to determining where a Jeep served and the associated bumper markings:
1. the rigorous method requiring the exact hood registration number and a record search for where that exact number appears (or not) in the archives
2. the ‘circumstantial’ method which pulls together a bunch of unrelated facts to come up with a probable service location and unit designation

In my Jeep’s case, only having a body (gusset) number, and with the serial and registration number calculated, approach #1 can’t be used. However, I believe that there is sufficient evidence to allow the use of the ‘circumstantial’ method to identify where, and with what unit the Slat Grille served.

Consider the following:
The engine was replaced/reconditioned by Harrington in CA
The body and frame show little corrosion (low humidity or dry environment)
Little body damage (probably didn’t see combat/wasn’t shipped back from Africa or Korea)
There’s another ‘sister’ Slat Grille, with the same DOD, with California connections
It would appear that it spent most of its life in the western part of the US.

Jeep Jeep Jeep and an internet review of military base archives show that Fort Ord, in California, was in the possession of multiple Slat Grille jeeps prior to May, 1942. In fact, Fort Ord was in the process of changing from a horse to a mechanized cavalry regiment in early 1942; just in time to make good use of Slat Grilles coming off the assembly line. The time line appears to support the delivery of DOD 2/2/42 to Fort Ord since Jeeps produced in 1941 might been delivered before the change-over driven requirement was generated.

So, there you have it – the recipient of some of the 2/2/42 Slat Grilles (probably including mine) was the newly formed 107th Mechanized Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron at Fort Ord, CA.. Those lucky souls with actual Jeep serial and hood (registration) numbers may get more verifiable results; I’d like to hear of any sister Jeeps that did wind up at Fort Ord.

Thanks for your imput.

Lou Vita

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Chuck Lutz » Fri Nov 08, 2013 2:54 pm

Lou...

I would suggest you try to nail down the USA numbers used on the days preceeding and following your DOD at Willys. That will give you a range of them. Check with the Willys gurus here who can probably do that. Once you have a range of USA numbers, then you can check that against any records or photos you find of jeeps with the same range of USA numbers.

Here is an article on the 107th....
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.anc ... ftord.html

Note that the author states that after they had horses, they were issued motorcycles and scout cars. Most of that occured AFTER they left Ft. Ord.

This is one of the pics with a hood number visible...looks like "2052279" but the third digit (5?) is not too clear.....

Good Luck with the research!

PS....checking the slat registry...
Contact the owners of these jeeps to see if anyone has a hood number or contact Rene Rovai or Jim Kilbourne...
115466
115935
116027
116182
116198
116396
118049
118650

These are 2/2 through 2/6 slats...
Chuck Lutz

GPW 17963 4/24/42 Chester, PA. USA 20113473 (USA est./Tom W.)
Bantam T3-C 1947

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Re: Where Slat Grille Served

Post by Escort » Sat Nov 09, 2013 6:02 am

F. R. Fox wrote:There is a G member who goes by Escort, who's been compiling a photographic list of USA numbers in sequential order. The web site is mostly in Portuguese, but the important page is easy to navigate. Check it out, you may get lucky.

http://www.ww2jeep.gportal.hu/gindex.php?pg=28806986
Fox,
Just a little correction. My web site is in Hungarian language :) :wink:
regards,
Tibor


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