Posted: 11/12/2014 9:07:24 AM EDT
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My great uncle was killed in action at the Battle of El Guettar in 1943 - all we know is that he was a radio operator and mentions in one of his letters home about his buddy driving while he was writing the letter on a table that was built into the front of the inside of the vehicle. My question is, in March of 1943 in North Africa, what kind of vehicle would an Army radio operator be operating out of? Some sort of half track? Or were there specific vehicles designed solely for radio communications? Any details at all would be appreciated - just trying to get more details about his last days on this earth - I've always been curious as to what kind of vehicle he would have been operating in during this battle. NOTE: To be more specific, he was in the 18th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division (Big Red One) and died of wounds received in action on 23 March 1943. That's about all we know - really no details as to how specifically he died, though I suspect shrapnel and/or burns from German artillery or Panzer shells if I had to take a wild guess.
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| Could be any number of vehicles. Ones that come to mind that were equipped as radio vehicles from time to time were Dodge WC51/WC52 weapons carriers, Dodge Command Cars, GMC CCKW Command trucks, M3 Scout Cars, M20 Armored Cars, Half Tracks, some Chevy G506 trucks, and a lot of Chevy and Dodge Panel trucks. Not 100% sure as I typically only deal in WW2 Jeeps. |
