Blue drab... lets just make stuff up!

[pfarber]

"Postby joel gopan » Wed Feb 08, 2006 8:35 am
There are many takes on when Blue Drab was discontinued, but seeing is believing, and the 2" registration markings on CCKW were blue drab as late as 45. The "W" prefix was not used with the 2" CCKW registration. The "W" prefix was discontinued in early 42, but many vehicles that were repainted continued with them, possibly to not all organizations being familiar with the latest marking bulletins.
Joel"

Blue drab was the factory applied color for the registration number. It was required by AR 850-15. If the registration number included the a 'W', it would have been carried over when repainted. But such a low percentage of CCKWs had the 'W' registration number (approx 10%) that they are underrepresented simply due ti that fact.. there never were a lot to begin with.

The official cut off date for the low visibility blue drab to be repainted semi gloss white was August 15th, 1945 ( but the 15 February 1945 AR850-5 directed that registration numbers be white from the factory). This has nothing to do with the end of the war (which was, coincidentally, 15AUG45) they had no way to know in FEB45 that the war would be over by then

But it DOES mean that EVERY FACTORY PRODUCED CCKW was delivered to the Army with BLUE DRAB until FEB45. The are only three exceptions to the blue drab rule:
1. SUP/TUP crated vehicles assembled overseas
2. the very first contract of CCKWX's (approx 7500 trucks)
3. trucks repainted by maintenance as needed
Those registration numbers were white.

But as usual, GOPAN/DOVER/WWIITRUCK has little real idea what he is talking about.

[pfarber]

To clarify the SIZE of the registration numbers:

4inch numbers were used from Jan 42 through mid 43 (May/June)

2inch numbers from mid 43 on.

Regardless of size factory registration numbers would still be blue-drab until FEB45 (except for the above noted exceptions ). Then they would have been white.

[pfarber]

I added the bold to the first post because it was unclear as to when FACTORY trucks were white. The AR850-15 states that date.