Readers' Photos # 91: Ford Blitz Truck

This is what's commonly referred to as a "Blitz Truck" or a "Blitz Buggy," a World War Two military four-wheel drive that was concurrently produced by Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Reference to wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Military_Pattern_truck) reveals its official title to be a Canadian Military Pattern Truck, or CMP for short.

In precis, CMPs were produced in Canada and supplied to the militaries of other Commonwealth countries and saw action throughout the world, especially as one Anglophile friend of mine puts it, when "half the globe was pink." (Back in the days when pink in an atlas denoted lands "belonging to" the British Empire and had nothing to do with people of the same gender frolicking together and having a cheery old time!). The wiki-entry is highly recommended should you wish to know more about WWII vehicles and less of the hijinx of confirmed bachelors.

We digress! This CMP - going by the sobriquet of The Beast - was photographed in suburban Canberra and has been fitted out as a rather imposing-looking camper van. It's a Ford but I believe that interchangeability was a military imperative, meaning that parts from each of the three manufacturers could be swapped between the three versions.

U M P H

(uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.)

iPhone images supplied by the Canberra Correspondent.

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