I didn't see a place to advise others that there is a truck for sale..not on ebay..hope this is OK..if not, advise and I'll just put up the pic's here and no mention of it for sale..see post #189.. The guy says best offer as he needs to move it soon.. original ad from 2008 is here: scroll down..its in Mt Shasta off I5 in Northern California..
1. It originally did not have a cab, just a soft canvas top. The cab then is after market some years later.
2. The truck is equipped with what appears to be a factory installed, front bumper mounted winch. That it is factory installed is attested to by the sheet metal work in the cab floor. Note the winch engagement lever slot is professionally done, not jut a hole hack-sawed in the panel. This suggests the truck started life after May 1943 as a Long Wheel Base 2-1/2 ton 6x6 GMC cargo or dump truck, not a fire truck.
3. The wheels and tires on your truck appeared on only 3 GMC vehicles in WW II"
a. The "Duck or DUKW" the amphibious version of the 2-1/2 ton 6x6 GMC.
b. What was known as the "Bolster Truck" or what we westerners would call a logging truck.
c. The first models of the CLASS 530 Army Engineer Fire Truck - see attachment.
d. They did not appear on any other of the GMC or like vehicles.
4. That your truck has a fire truck body is not to be questioned, It does. But is it Army of WW II vintage? I do not think so.
Lets talk about your pictures: (edit: does not apply to pic's below-some info same)
1. Pix 0006. at he bottom right corner of the rear of the fire truck body is what appears to be a builder's tag. What does it say?
2. Pix 0011.In the cab on the dashboard are a number of plates containing a variety of data and information. If any tag identifies this vehicle as fire truck and/or its CLASS I would like to know. If possible can you give me a photo of that tag and all of them if it can be done?
3. Pix 0012.The left front fender shows no holes where the siren/red light combo would have been mounted. This was standard on all WW II Army Engineer fire trucks.
4. Pix 0018. Looking down on the cab floor from above and left to right are:
a. the transmission shift lever.
b. the parking brake.
c. the transfer case shift lever.
d. the front wheel drive shift lever.
e. between this row of levers and the front of the seat cushion are two levers. The left hand lever's function is unknown and does not appear in the literature. The right hand level is the winch engagement lever.
5.Pixs 0008 and 0015. The fire truck body shown here goes not resemble any body, produced or used by the US Army in WW II. It is possible it is a surplus WW II Navy/Marine Corps body.
With all of the above said, what are my thoughts on your truck?
1. It is a WW II Army truck, probably a "Bolster Truck", on which has been installed a fire truck body of unknown origin.
2. The non Army fire truck body and the lack of a front bumper mounted (FBR) mounted pump and the presence of a FBR mounted winch rules out the truck being either a CLASS 335 or CLASS 530.
3. The lever (function unknown) on the cab floor suggests a mid-ship mounted pump of unknown make, capacity and drive.
In late March 1945 the Army Corps of engineers (COE) ordered 50 Conversion kits to create 50 CLASS 335 fire trucks. At the same time they ordered 24 CLASS 530s. Your truck is neither of these and so cannot be one of the last 50.
Last edited by tamangel; 08-30-2009 at 17:27..
The Following User Says Thank You to tamangel For This Useful Post:
There are numerous Military Firefighting Vehicles on display at Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, TX. Goodfellow is the home of the US Military Joint Services (land based) Firefighting Training Center. Along the troopwalk are covered pavilions so that the students can see their history up close and personal.
Here's a link to the Foundation's Gallery.... Check out their links for more about what can be found here. (NOTE: Goodfellow is also home for Joint Military Intelligence Training and therefore is a "Closed Base". You've got to have proper I.D. & "need to know" to access the Base.)
a 2 year old article but nice pic that I hadn't seen before:
"Fire truck comes to Goodfellow display
Posted 2/12/2007 y
by Dr. Paul Garrett
17th Training Wing Historian
2/12/2007 - GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- On Saturday, a C-130 Hercules from the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown, Ohio, landed at Mathis Field and came to a stop just north of the terminal. As the ramp came down, a signature chrome bulldog became visible. Inside was a 1942 Mack Model 125 fire truck.
The Mack was part and parcel of what was going on in the world at the time. When it rolled off the assembly line in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1942, Franklin Roosevelt was in his third term as President and the United States was at war. Aircraft production soared to meet the war effort, creating an immediate demand for specialized vehicles designed to fight aircraft crash fires and rescue aircrews. Carrying three high-pressure hoses plus on-board foam and carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, the six-cylinder Mack crash truck brought just such state-of-the-art fire protection to Army Air Fields across the United States.
Sixty-five years later, the Mack comes to Goodfellow from the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where it served before retiring to the museum in the 1950s. Here, at Goodfellow, it will join the world's largest exhibit of military firefighting vehicles, becoming the thirteenth vehicle in our Military Firefighter Heritage Display. It will also become the oldest, though it will hold that distinction only until Goodfellow receives a second antique fire truck from the National Museum, a 1941 Ford structural pumper scheduled to arrive at Mathis Field in a few weeks.
Goodfellow will exhibit both World War II trucks beneath the new pavilion going up next to the Fallen Military Firefighter Memorial, near the center of the display on East Vance Street. To make that happen, volunteers from the Military Firefighter Heritage Foundation will donate their time and resources over the next several months to restore both trucks to their original luster. Goodfellow hopes to have them on display later this summer. "
caption under picture:
"A 1942 Mack Model 125 fire truck on the flightline at Mathis Field San Angelo Regional Airport. The fire truck, to be used as a static display at the outdoor museum on Goodfellow, was transported by a C-130 Hercules from the 910th Airlift Wing, Youngstown, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Angela Malek.)"
Captions with each photo,
photo #1:
Kaiser Jeep Model 530 6x6 Firetruck manufactured in 1966 with both foam and water capability
photo#2:
USAF 437th Military Airlift Wing firefighter in a proximity suit with P-4 fire/rescue truck, Melville Hall Airport during exercise Camille, 3 May 1987
photo #3:
Truck, Fire WWII
photo #4:
M-series trucks equipped with fire appararatus, Fire Station #1, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL, July 1958
photo #5:
A firefighter wearing a proximity suit operateds a high pressure water cannon on the top of a US Navy P-15 fire truck, NAS, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, Dec 1986
photo #6:
Firefighters aboard a P-15 fire truck prepare to spray foam onto a fire caused by the explosion of a 40,000 gallon JP-4 storage tank, 5 Apr 1986
photo #7:
USMC P-19 Crash Fire Rescue truck from Marine Wing Support Squadron 272 (MWSS-272), rushes toward the flight line at an undisclosed location in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, 23 Apr 2003
photo #8:
P-15 fire truck offloaded from a C-5 Galaxy aircraft, Ramstein AFB, Germany, 23 May 1980
photo #9:
USAF 437th Military Airlift Wing firefighters check over their P-4 aircraft fire/rescue truck, Melville Hall Airport during exercise Camille, 3 may 1987
Mike
The Following User Says Thank You to tamangel For This Useful Post:
dear sir
i hope you get this im not formilure with this site yet but its a good one i will say that im a ex army firefighter/combat medic and im from a community just north of Abilene TX which has never had a fire truck and I know could never give you what this truck is worth to you considering the great care that has been put into it but I would like to make a offer of $4,500
thanks Vic
dear sir
i hope you get this im not formilure with this site yet but its a good one i will say that im a ex army firefighter/combat medic and im from a community just north of Abilene TX which has never had a fire truck and I know could never give you what this truck is worth to you considering the great care that has been put into it but I would like to make a offer of $4,500
thanks Vic
The west Texas Detachment of the SS (just down the road in San Angelo) welcomes the new guy from Abilene, TX aboard Find a bunk, stow your gear and prepare to get underway You'll find this site to be AWESOME
fire truck needed
Find a bunk, stow your gear and prepare to get underway
You'll find this site to be AWESOME
