Hi all,
(Im new to posting having followed and got lots out of ML thanks to all). Ive got a couple of requests for help on US combat vehicle markings:
1. Bumper codes/tactical markings various source follow e.g.http://www.lonesentry.com/panzer/jeep-markings.html ,http://olive-drab.com/od_mvg_markings.php , or Terence Wises WW2 Military Vehicle markings (p. 60-2) for bumper codes and give examples and ways of deriving the included vehicle numbers e.g. for the last two character groups A 12 would be the twelfth vehicle in A company; however Ive seen it mentioned that the 12 is a structured numbers, representing the second vehicle of the first platoon of A company. Wises D-Day to Berlin tends to support this, saying (p32) ... assigned a number in the sequence in which that vehicle would normally appear in the order of march. Thus ... 11 20 to vehicles of first platoon, 21-30 to second platoon .... Below this para there is a photo of an M10 that notes the C 32 visible is a local tactical sign.

Question: is the last bumper code groups structured in this way, and does it then become/is the same as the larger tactical codes carried by many US tanks?

2. Can anyone help me with more detail on 4th US Armored div tactical signs? I know they were not recorded at the time for security reasons which complicates things, but somewhere I recall seeing that the 4th AD, or maybe just the 8th tank Bn, used a system of vertical white stripes/dashes, as used for the 8th Tank Bn M4 Sherman Paris 1944 in Steve Zalogas book on modelling the M4 Sherman. Similarly there are transfers in a Dragon 105mm VVSS showing three white dasheshttp://www.172shermans.com/kitreviews/Dragon/M4A3_105prev.htm . Notes to this other sethttp://www.172shermans.com/kitreviews/Trumpeter/M4-Midprev.htm mention three dashes as the 3rd platoon markings.

Question: Assuming these stripes represent the platoon inside a company, what are the combinations for the 1,2, 4, and 5 platoons, and and was it just the 8th Bn who used them?


Thanks
Rob Burnside

1. US Army vehicle markings including bumper codes in WW2 were governed by Army regulation AR-850-5; there were various editions during the war years. This established the basic rules, but it did not establish numbering practices. AR-850-5 also gave theater commanders discretion in the use of tactical markings. So AR-850-5 practices were more closely followed in CONUS than overseas.

In the European Theater of Operations, markings practices were established under Operation Memos issued by SHAEF G-3. Operation Memo No. 20 (various editions) established national ID insignia (the Allied Star) but left formation signs (including US bumper codes, British AoS, etc) to the discretion of their commands (US 12th Army Group, British 21st Army Group).

Bumper code practice varied from unit and were presumably established by the relevant G-3. Some units numbered vehicles in a company in sequential order (sometimes in march order) while other units used distinctive patterns (e.g. A-1x, A-2x, A-3x for the three platoons of Co. A). So for example, the tank battalions of 2nd Armored Division in Normandy appear to have followed the sequential pattern, while 3rd Armored Division used 1/2/3. I don't remember what pattern was followed by 4th Armored Division, but it maybe could be determined by pulling the After-Action-Reports of the three tank battalions in RG407 at NARA II.

2. There were only 3 tank platoons in a tank company, so the platoon markings for 8th Tank Battalion were 1, 2, or 3 vertical bars. According to unit veterans I interviewed, they were supposed to be 6 inches high, but I think that they actually varied to take up roughly the same height when stacked (about 18 inches). This markings practice was peculiar to 8th Tank Battalion. 37th Tank Battalion used elaborate cartoons painted on the side of their tanks; 35th Tank Battalion AFAIK had no distinctive markings.