Posted by Gordon on March 11, 19100 at 10:36:57:
In Reply to: Signal Corps posted by Mike on March 10, 19100 at 10:02:08:
They didn't make a 3/4 ton WC Radio Panel because they had upped the WC 53 Carryall to 12 volts and made provision for radio use.
Although us Brits got WC 42 radio panels they were just leftover WC 11 and WC 19 panel van type bodies made specially for us. The reason you see WC 54 radio trucks is that the ambulance and weapons carrier were numerically the most common 3/4 ton WCs (half of production between them) so post war the Norwegians and the French just upped them to 12 volts and pulled out the ambulance gear to make it a signals vehicle. It's very unlikely that any were converted during WW2 as there were a rake of WC 53 Carryall and Command available for radio use, and with a typical lack of taste the Signal Corps preferred their 1.5 ton Chevrolet panel van conversions 'cause they would tow the necessary Ben Hur 1 ton trailer with the (jeep-engined) generating set in.
Gives me another excuse to link to one of the Signal corps site pier shots showing Command Cars and those Signal Corps Chev and trailer combinations. This site also has a pile of images of Weapons Carriers (4 x 4 and 6 x 6), Command Cars, and Carryalls, all in the '42 to '44 period.
Gordon