a generic question. When did pallets become commonplace? Specifically who used them in WW II?

These are Europaletten or Euro pallets. They were standardized in the 1960`s, so no way to use them in WWII. The pallet mea-sures 1200mm by 800mm or 47,5 inch by 31,5 inch.

I in no way know this as fact but I've always believed pallets like these to be post-WW2 so of no use to those of us caught up in that conflict. Makes you wonder what they did use back then before this type of pallet became universal...

Thanks guys on the WW II question. This is why I love this forum!

That was my first guess by looking at them and I agree with you US pallets would be nice as well. They did use pallets in WW2, just probably not that configuration. LINK LINK LINK

I like the fact that they supplied decals for EURO pallets. They could have gone a step further and done some for SNCF, DDR, DB, DR, etc. Those would have been good for cold war era pallets. Then there are the ones of less robust design called "einweg" pallets that had not markings. They were of considerably less quality and were designed to just write off.

So from the greatly appreciated photos the US used pallets, did any of the allies or axis countries do so in WW II?

Out of curiosity I Google-imaged “Monuments Men” and searched in vain for a palette anywhere, whether the stashes were German or Allied. Apart from maybe one on its side in a church crammed with stuff. Wiki indicates the fork-lift evolved solely in the USA pre-WW2 & therefore must have first entered Europe after D-Day. There are images of wartime models at the Clark Museum. So unless you’re depicting a U.S. base in France or Germany ’44-’45, logic suggests no Euro forklifts in WW2 = no pallettes. Maybe Frenchy knows different...?

I guess I'm just not that imaginative when it comes to Googling. I just searched "Wooden Pallet History." LINK