1939 Ford Maultier

a photo feature by Delbert Davis
17
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This is a Walk Around of a 1939 Ford Maultier (Mule). I took these photos at the 2013 WWII Weekend in Reading Pa.
I talked to the owner a bit and asked about the vehicles history, and was informed that this vehicle was captured in Russia, shipped to Canada for trials and evaluation, and was kept in a small collection for a while, until it was auctioned off to private collectors.
The owner said it was a pre-production vehicle that was built using existing trucks and parts on hand that came from captured equipment. On this vehicle the tracks to me look like they were taken from a Bren Carrier.
This Maultier is operated by the 11. SS Panzergrenadier Division Nordland Re-enactment group. http://nordland.us/
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About the Author

About Delbert (Delbert)
FROM: PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

I'm 51. I've been model building since Dec 2001 and I build everything from wingy things to ground hugger's. esp WWII era. also built a car or two. Some people think my stuff isn't too bad.


Comments

165thspc
I think Delbert (and I ) are saying we are not so sure the split windscreen is the end all and be all of determining continent of manufacture on these Ford trucks. One thing I wanted to add was that I was told at the Lowell event (second hand) that this vehicle could be traced back as far as 1949 in Alaska. I have always been tempted to model this vehicle and now that the Ford truck is finally available in 1/35 that just might become a reality.
AUG 07, 2013 - 08:37 AM
Hohenstaufen
Yeah, I kind of expected having stuck my neck out to get it chopped off! Wonder if the top photo shows captured French stock, registration plate doesn't look German, could almost even be British. I'm just reading a book about Hitler's Tank Heist - German use of captured equipment. The French Ford subsidiary carried on producing trucks for the Wehrmacht after the end of the French campaign. Did French Fords have split screens?
AUG 08, 2013 - 05:45 AM
Delbert
I've been reading that along with the Ford plant in Cologne Germany there were Ford plants in occupied Belgium, Holland and Vichy France and that they were all used to make trucks for the Germans.
AUG 08, 2013 - 12:00 PM
panzerconor
I'm a bit pressed for time so I only briefly skimmed the comments but I just want to point out that there were some Ford plants in Germany during WWII and they did in fact use Ford trucks. Of course, the production numbers in the German factories are modest at best when you compare them to the US factory output.
AUG 09, 2013 - 03:36 PM
panzerconor
If all of that has already been said I apologize hahaha
AUG 09, 2013 - 03:37 PM
GregCloseCombat
It looks like the universal carrier suspension as it has the single wheel among the track
AUG 09, 2013 - 05:22 PM
mat
Here is a rare wooden cab version I photographed during Militracks 2013:
AUG 09, 2013 - 06:29 PM
jrutman
Very cool pics here. Now that I have seen the Mule with the wooden cab and ford front end I just have to assemble the stuff for it and build one. Way cool. J
AUG 10, 2013 - 06:24 AM
165thspc
Just a reminder, the Ford with the wooden cab is a true production Maultier whereas the other Ford is a chop shop fabrication. Not to say either is any less correct as the Russians chopped together a lot of odd combos. The first vehicle came by way of Alaska so I think it is fair to say it was a Russian wartime creation.
AUG 10, 2013 - 02:14 PM
165thspc
Interesting related build - Can be viewed at: LINK If ICM is smart they will be comming out with the Maultier version in no time but if not then this would certainly be an interesting conversion!
AUG 12, 2013 - 01:20 AM
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Copyright ©2021 by Delbert Davis. Images and/or videos also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely the views and opinions of the authors and/or contributors to this Web site and do not necessarily represent the views and/or opinions of Armorama, KitMaker Network, or Silver Star Enterrpises. All rights reserved. Originally published on: 2013-08-06 16:51:39. Unique Reads: 11746