Warbird Information Exchange

Not sure where to put this, so move it it's in the wrong thread.
My buddy in Terre Haute has aircraft tug that he's looking for information or photos of the correct period paint scheme. It was originally OD so he wants to keep it WWII. The info I have is that it's 1942 Clark, Clarktor 6, Mill-44. It's first duty assignment was the USAAF supply depot in Utica, NY, in March, 1942.

Any help would be appreciated. They are planning on having it ready to use at Oshkosh.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Original paint would have been yellow, no?

You might want to ask here:

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Clarktugs/

They sanded it down and it's last scheme was yellow with the US Navy. The deepest paint was OD before the primer and they have the info on it's history, just not sure about the makings etc.
Thanks for the lead.
Jerry

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"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

Nearly all WWII USAAF wheeled equipment was painted a shade of Olive Drab except in some cases if it was used by the USN. Some airbase commanders ordered that yellow was to be used at some training bases for equipment which was used on the line to make it easier to avoid by student pilots, but this was not common. After WWII, the USN across the board painted line equipment bright yellow- I had a WWII jeep and still have a Ford GTB bomb truck painted that way over their original WWII OD and ocean blue. The USAF followed in late 1949. Other than that, crash trucks, tugs, aircraft wrecker trucks, engine cranes, bomb dollies, etc, were painted Olive Drab. I would recommend calling a miliitary vehicle restoration company called Milspec and speaking with a person named Jim Gilmore. He has done very relevant research on WWII military vehicle paints, has restored a WWII Clark tug recently, and is a wealth of information.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

I think Aervoe is the brand of military vehicle paint to avoid because it fades in the sun.

Go to the clark tug group on yahoo Joe knows just about everything on the site. Also give him your'e serial # and he might come up with some history. pappy

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PAPPY ch-46 phrog,endangerd species 40 years and still flying

Either very late in the war or shortly after the end of hostilities the Second Air Force sent out a directive to the training fields to paint all line vehicles yellow. This was supposed to apply to all vehicles that were used in the aircraft operations areas. Since everything was in a state of flux at that time the order probably only saw partial implementation.

Scott

I had a Dodge WC-22 (1/2-ton pickup) that was overpainted yellow and had faded to the point that you could see the original paint and markings underneath. The USN record card for the truck indicated that it had served at NAS Mojave during the war.

We have decent history on the tug. I have some information gleaned from the Clark tug group on Yahoo. And Joe did in fact post a Product ID card for the tug. Cool that Clark still has records back into the 30s. Know it entered service March 16, 1942. Also know it was refurbished 4/4/51 at the JQMD. We think that's when it was re-engined and painted yellow, as was the paint scheme it seems for some ground equipment in the 50s.

At any rate, OD is the color of choice. The big question is on markings. Frankly, I don't think there were many. Serial number on the engine covers and maybe on the bumpers. Don't think it's like an aircraft with stencils all over the place. But it's hard to tell. It's not like tugs are in the forefront of military history. Every once in a while, though, we do see them in photos and videos.

We're also trying to track more history on the tug. Dunno if the military still has, or even kept, records of support equipment throughout it's government service. Anyone offering ideas on where to search for such information would be greatly appreciated.

This whole project started because we didn't seem to have enough tugs on the Warbird Jet Ramp at OSH to move everything in a timely fashion. We were all over the place, show center, WIR, and all over the north end. So I bought another heavy tug to assist.

Anyway, hoping some of you will get an opportunity to have your WARBIRD tugged by H-1583 beginning this Spring. We were hoping to debut at the Doolittle Reunion, but getting our foot in the door there seems nearly impossible. But we should be at OSH and TOM.

The work in progress:

Maybe you can take it to Reading WW2 Weekend. That sure isn't a recent picture in Terre Haute.


PJ
PV-2 Harpoon "Hot Stuff"
www.amhf.org

No, that was taken in September when we brought the tug home. I don't have a picture of it with all the parts on it since then. Mt. Comfort is probably piled with snow, too... just like we are.

Here's one from December, before the snows set in:



Waiting for a new starter ring gear/flywheel assembly so we can get the thing running again. We're trying to get it mechanically sound so we can pull heavy birds around. All those C-47s coming to OSH and the B17s at TOM have us a bit concerned. Hope we're not dragging those on the grass!

From looking at a number of wartime photos and consulting the Army manual on vehicle markings for the period:

Serial number on both sides of the hood, above the engine side covers. Some examples also had the serial repeated across the top of the front guard.
White star centred on each engine side cover, and centred on the front guard in many cases. I'll have to check what size.
Rear wheelarches, Air Force or equivelant command number/letters followed by a white star on left arch, unit number and letters identifer on right arch.
The same markings are repeated on the lower section of the front guard.
If you know the unit it was originally assigned to it would be pretty easy to work these out correctly. If not, then pick an appropriate wartime AAF unit and I can work the codes out for that instead.

All the best,
PB

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Paul Bellamy

401BG Association Historian & Honorary Life Member
401BG Historical Society (UK) Member
1st Air Division HQ Historical Society (UK) Founder Member
Director of Archives & Collections, Airfield Research Group Archive, Alconbury
RAF Alconbury Base Historian

Thank you Paul! That's the information we were looking for!

Would be great to see some examples, if anyone runs across a picture of a Warbird being towed, even if it's not a Clark! Saw a couple Clarktors on IWO in those fantastic photos linked recently. No markings noted, though.

As far as the assigned units, well, that's also what we're trying to figure out. Dunno if the tug stayed at Rome near Utica, or went overseas or what. Really would like to know where to research for that information.

Otherwise would be open to suggestions for "units".

I've found the list of all AAF units stationed at Rome Air Depot during WWII, will get it typed up and post it later.

All the best,
PB

_________________
Paul Bellamy

401BG Association Historian & Honorary Life Member
401BG Historical Society (UK) Member
1st Air Division HQ Historical Society (UK) Founder Member
Director of Archives & Collections, Airfield Research Group Archive, Alconbury
RAF Alconbury Base Historian

This photo was taken at a 2AF B-29 training station, probably in the summer of '45. This tug was used by the propeller crew, hence the modifications.


Scott