Canadian Wings Forum

The Comox Base Military Museum is in the process of restoring a 1944 Chev 3 ton truck that was retrieved from Northern BC five years ago. This truck was painted yellow and had the Air Force crest on the LH door and "RCAF Comox" on the driver's door (it's a right hand drive CMP). To date the Museum has had no luck in determining when the truck was based at Comox or what it was used for.

We know the vehicle was part of an Army contract given to Research Enterprises Ltd. (REL) of Toronto in early 1944 to convert a number of trucks off the GM assembly line to be part of mobile anti-aircraft Gun Laying Radar units. These units were issued FWD heavy trucks to pull the radar trailers and modified CMP 3 tonners as utility/winch trucks. A number of these complete rigs - trucks and trailers - were sent to Australia. What we don't know is how the Air Force got involved in this program.

The Comox restoration has been a frame-off one, with all original paint stripped, so it's clear that the Air Force yellow paint was applied over the usual khaki, either at REL or sometime later. Several more of these trucks have turned up recently (see the Maple Leaf Up website, Soft Skin Vehicle forums) and they were all painted yellow.

The REL modifications included the heavy frame mounted winch (as used on the 25 pounder gun tractors), which was in keeping with their use by the Army AA units (40 mm Bofors equipped) but the Air Force trucks are further differentiated by having highway pattern tires (with "RCAF" branded into the sidewalls), instead of the heavy lug off-road patterns and also, it seems, trafficator type turn signals. It seems clear by this, plus the yellow colour, that they were intended for use on the civilian road system and their purpose had nothing to do with radar gun-laying. A bright yellow truck wouldn't be the wisest choice in a war zone.

The best guess we can come up with is that somehow a number of the REL converted trucks (they have a supplementary data plate with project serial number fastened inside the cab, behind the passenger seat) were re-allocated to the Air Force as utility vehicles. To date no hard information has surfaced concerning this program, in spite of appeals through "Legion" magazine and postings on various forums. There is no wartime information on site at CFB Comox and nobody here in Comox has had the opportunity to research the National Archives files in Ottawa. Any and all information will be much appreciated.