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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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British desert Willys Jeep question
ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 12:33 AM UTC
G'Day Folks,

Does anyone know whether the camouflage and the markings on this restored Willys are historically correct? Can anyone identify the unit?

https://youtu.be/cfvA5xEKGQQ

TIA
petbat
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 11:31 AM UTC
Hi

I can't comment on the specific RAF vehicle depicted, however the LRDG used both Jeeps and trucks and had different camo schemes, one of which is said to include blue. A web article here

http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/lrdgvehicles.html

Colourised truck pics:
http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/color/index.html

Model Military International issue 43 has a quite interesting article on LRDG Chevy's and the camo.
JohnTapsell
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 08:46 PM UTC

Quoted Text

G'Day Folks,

Does anyone know whether the camouflage and the markings on this restored Willys are historically correct? Can anyone identify the unit?

https://youtu.be/cfvA5xEKGQQ

TIA


Since they can't even get the RAF roundel on the bonnet/hood correct (wrong colour sequence), I would suggest the rest of the colour scheme is also inaccurate. Also never seen registration plates picked out in maroon.

John
ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 09:10 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Since they can't even get the RAF roundel on the bonnet/hood correct (wrong colour sequence), I would suggest the rest of the colour scheme is also inaccurate. Also never seen registration plates picked out in maroon.


That's what I think as well. I've only seen this kind of camouflage on LRDG vehicles. Also, the only official camel marking used by the British I'm aware of is the one used by GHQ Middle East and it looks like this:



Anyhow, I'm looking for an interesting scheme for a Willys, preferably not featuring OD.


Frenchy
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 09:33 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Anyhow, I'm looking for an interesting scheme for a Willys, preferably not featuring OD.


You have all the Air Force "Follow Me" variants, with checkerboard schemes or without like this one :



H.P.
ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 09:50 PM UTC
Yeah, I know. Also the RAF, RN and USN have some interesting, non OD schemes, but I'm kinda hooked on the desert colors like this one:




Frenchy
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Posted: Sunday, May 24, 2020 - 11:34 PM UTC
Just convert a Willys MB into a French Army Hotchkiss-built M201 one :









(from http://www.m201.com/access/tchad.htm )

H.P.

ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Monday, May 25, 2020 - 12:46 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Just convert a Willys MB into a French Army Hotchkiss-built M201 one


Thanks HP, but I'm eying a 1:1 restoration project and I would like to keep it in its original WW2 form.

barkingdigger
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Posted: Monday, May 25, 2020 - 04:51 AM UTC
Gotta say I like the confused collapsible canvas bucket on that "restoration" that seems to have been marked with the Afrika Korps palm-and-swastika as well as the British W^D symbol! Talk about hedging your bets...
petbat
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Posted: Monday, May 25, 2020 - 08:23 AM UTC
Colour pics of WW2 era jeeps are hard to find, so colours are subjective.

Mickey Mouse green and black seems a popular choice for restorers, so as Israel says, Med based vehicles have options and likely you will find colour pics if you look:

Then there are some one offs:


and probably colourised ones:



https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?t=163277

ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Tuesday, May 26, 2020 - 09:11 PM UTC
Thanks, Peter. Apart from the last one, I haven't seen these before. From top to bottom looks like Tunisia, Iwo Jima and one of the US Navy greys (medium grey no.123?) with OD.
m4sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 02:21 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Just convert a Willys MB into a French Army Hotchkiss-built M201 one


Thanks HP, but I'm eying a 1:1 restoration project and I would like to keep it in its original WW2 form.


Jeeps can be a lot of fun. What year of Jeep are you looking at? Follow Me Jeeps were the most colorful, yellow or red squares over OD. Googling comes up with some nice examples.

That Jeep in the link has some strange details.
ReluctantRenegade
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Posted: Wednesday, May 27, 2020 - 06:57 PM UTC

Quoted Text

What year of Jeep are you looking at?


A 1943 Willys MB. The car is unrestored and it's in pieces. All existing parts are either original or NOS.
m4sherman
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Posted: Friday, May 29, 2020 - 11:26 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

What year of Jeep are you looking at?


A 1943 Willys MB. The car is unrestored and it's in pieces. All existing parts are either original or NOS.


My Jeep was also in pieces when I got it. It's a simple vehicle to assemble, and fun to drive. If you get it, get the reprints of the manuals, and the part listing. Those have all the information you'll need if you decide to assemble it yourself. Take a good look at the frame. Willys didn't partially box the frame like Ford did. Mine had some cracks I had to repair.
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