TRANSPORT REFIT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 December 1943, Page 3

TRANSPORT REFIT

SECOND NEW ZEALAND DIVISION ARMY SERVICE CORPS WORKSHOPS SECTION. SOME VEHICLES ALMOST RECONSTRUCTED. (Official f War Correspondent, N.Z.E.F.) By Air Mail. CAIRO, November 24. When the 2nd N.Z. Division, takes the field again, many of its trucks and staff cars will be the regroomed veterans of previous campaigns. This will be no reflection on their efficiency to do the job, however. Thanks to an extensive programme, every vehicle will have had a thorough overhaul and refit. Men of the A.S.C. workshops sections are working magnificently on a task which has meant the virtual reconstruction of many vehicles. On the return of the Division from Tunisia early in June, the A.S.C.

trucks had been in the field since September, 1941, without a complete re- • fit. At that time, replacements were not easy to get, but it was obvious that a big job had to be done. Accordingly a start was made on June 9, with the formation of a group workshops from elements of the company' workshop sections. Soon vehicles were pouring through the group area as through the assembly lines of a factory, and the area was the scene of tremendous activity as trucks of the R.M.T., supply, ammunition, and'petrol companies, staff cars and trucks of Div. H.Q., ambulances, and other vehicles of the casualty clearing stations and attached units, flowed in with the dust of Tunisia and Libya still on them. Each new arrival has first to undergo an inspection by an expert, after which work continues on overhaul, the repair of the canopy, painting and retiring. When the truck has passed its final inspection there may be little left of the original vehicle except the cab, tray, and wheels. As a matter of course, each vehicle is retyred and has its springs dealt with. New springs are fitted where necessary, and old ones are carefully reset and rebuilt. All engines have to be completely overhauled at the workshops, which has meant a great deal of extra work and not a little improvisation. Some of the achievements, particularly in the supply of urgently-needed parts, have been quite remarkable, and certain officers have acquired reputations akin to that of a magician. To complete the programme an average of 269 men has been employed in the heat of an Egyptian summer, when work in the afternoon has been virtually impossible. This has meant a dawn start, and a continuation in the late afternoon and evening. Early in the programme a large number of men experienced in working under Middle East conditions were returned to New Zealand on furlough. Their places were taken by reinforcements, whose work, under conditions completely new to them, has been up to the exacting standard required. Seventy went straight to Middle East base wprkshops, where they are acquitting themselves well. The' paint shop plays an important part' in the scheme, and has already dealt with some 1200 vehicles at the rate of 30 per day. It handles, in addition to the trucks being refitted, a considerable overflow from ordnance workshops, and in between times is available for special tasks such as the painting of the front of the new “El Djem” theatre. Within their powers, Middle East and base units have given every assistance. Among some of the equipment willingly lent have been engine reconditioning gear, sewing machines for repairing canopies, and air compressors for the paint shop. A problem of the first magnitude was created from the first day. When the trucks arrived and their drivers marched out on leave, it was found that they had given full rein to the “jacking up’’ proclivities of the Kiwi. All manner of gear, accumulated in the course of two years in the desert, had to be unloaded. No doubt the drivers had a use for everything, but after a minor fire had occurred in the pile it was thought

wise to turn the lot over to the salvage people. Added, to the usual necessary litter attendant on the repair of vehicles, there are usually over 300 three-ton loads of spare parts. Technicians from a famous American motor company who visited the workshops were amazed at the condition of the vehicles after such long service under the most arduous conditions. Since the last refit the trucks of one company have covered an average of 38,000 miles, while the average R.M.T. truck has done 34,000, mostly in the desert. Inspection shows that the great majority of these vehicles have a long life yet. In every case, wear has been evenly distributed, no one part having been allowed to bear the brunt of heavy going. The visiting technicians commented that this fact was as much a tribute to the drivers themselves as to the vehicles they maintained.