Diamond-T markings - help needed

[Adg105200]

I have a few pictures of the Diamond-T 969a wrecker my grandfather drove while in service in 1946 as a engineer. I'm not sure what the bumper marking means and when I looked it up, nothing came up.

 

 

I'll probably be posting other pictures/questions on vehicle markings here later.

 

Thanks in advance for any help/input!

 

Andrew

[robinb]

Any idea where he served? That might help break it down.

[Adg105200]

Sorry, forgot to add that info. He was in the 1253d in France. Delta base I believe

 

Andrew

[robinb]

Any idea where he served? That might help break it down.

[Adg105200]

Im not sure if the whole area was designated Delta Base, but it looks like it was named Callas Staging Area in southern France near Marseilles.

 

So far my info is somewhat limited on my grandfather, but if there is any other information you that might help ID the letters on the truck let me know and I'll try.

 

Thanks again

 

Andrew

[Adg105200]

Edit- oops that's Calas (one L)

 

Andrew

[Indexred]

When and why did the U.S. Army begin painting vehicle bumpers white during WWII? The practice doesnt seem to have been universal or much in evidence before 1945. And Ive only seen it on vehicles in the ETO.

[Indexred]

 

 

Hi, I'm more interested in the stateside stuff (since it is overlooked now), but as far as I know, white first showed up on the vehicles sent to the UK. Usually the white painted areas were limited to bumper ends, and sometimes bumperettes. This was as far as I know, done in large part due to the strict blackout regulations in force in the UK. British cars for example, usually had a strip of white paint along the fenders to help pedestrians and other drivers see their vehicles in the low light levels (thanks to blackout preparations, street lighting was heavily reduced and blackout headlights not very good). Now in a real blackout (such as an air raid) all traffic was to stop (except certain emergency/official/military type vehicles). I think there is a document online someplace (someone posted it on one of the WWII forums I think) that discusses markings in the European theater. It may be on Fold3, they have a lot of that stuff.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject. I searched Fold3 but found nothing. I'd love to read that document. Anyhow, thanks again.

[Adg105200]

Do you know what branch of the army he was in? Was he in an Ordnance company, or a QM company?

 

The markings are difficult to decipher, but usually "SF" in a bumper marking meant 'Service Force'.

He was an Engineer. He ran, transported, and fixed heavy equipment: cranes, D7 dozer, 5 and 10 ton trucks etc. We don't have a ton of any specific information on his service other than his driver's licenses, small discharge paper, engineering and language manuals etc.

 

He has been gone for some years now and he never would talk about his service years much. I wish we would have asked more questions.

 

Thanks for replying.

 

Andrew