Bantam Trailer Serial Number

The French army obtained most of its 1/4 ton jeep trailers, both Willys MB-T and Bantam T-3, as war surplus from the Americans. The fact that there is a relatively plentiful supply of WW2 trailers today for jeep owners that want them is due in no small measure to the French Army and the fact that they repaired and rebuilt them as they wore out and also modified and improved the overall design. Trailers, like jeeps, were maintained and modified in various workshops including a rebuilding programme by the Etablissement de Réserve Générale du Matériel Automobile (E.R.G.M) at La Maltournee.

The above photos are pre-digital and getting rather tired now but they are the only record of how it looked after the restoration where I decided to mark it as it had been during service in the 1950s / 60s with the flaming grenade. It is worth mentioning that in the French army trailers havetheir own unique registration number, a cunning idea as they were towed behind various vehicles. The trailer had been converted to 24 volts complete with additional NATO hook-up cable but still had one of the two rear light units as a blackout marker / stop light in WW2 style which had to be replaced for road legality and safety.

I’ve created a database where I'd like to be able to track exactly when Bantam modified existing Military Model T3 amphibious trailers which had stopped production around July 1945, and began selling a Civilian Model T3-C to the general public as a utility trailer that could be towed by the family automobile around September 1945. This video goes through the main features of a 1947 T3-C (civilian) trailer with description of the key differences between the T3-C and its military counter.

The lighting system on French army trailers remained pretty much unchanged from the WW2 configuration until the mid 1980s when a specification was published to modify the rear lighting systems of both jeeps and trailers to conform with civilian requirements in France. Both jeeps and trailers regularly used on the road system were fitted with pretty much the same lighting clusters fitted to the Peugeot P4 jeep and trailers also had the standard trailer reflective triangles fitted to replace the WW2 reflector discs.

As part of this upgrade the original WW2style lead with four-pole plug was finally removed leaving onlythe NATO style cable and multi-pin connector. When not in use theNATO plug was stored in a cylindrical bracket on the oppositeside to the original L shaped WW2 bracket. It is worth mentioning that only trailers and jeeps that were in regular active use on the road were modified in this way; reserve stock was not upgraded.

The photos below (from JLM) show an unusual in-house modification made at the ETAMAT workshops at Metz for 1er RHP. The mounting rack fitted inside the trailer is to carry a generator for large High Frequency transmitters used by the transmissions section of 1 RHP. The hole in the side of the trailer is for the exhaust outlet. Instructions for carrying out the modification were given in the Fiche Technique bulletin FT12179 published in 1996.

A final 'upgrade' modification to what was by now a sixty year old trailer design took the form of lifting handles fitted to the front A frame. No doubt these resulted from health and safety 'manual handling' considerations and the specifications were given in the 'Fiche Technique' publication FT12485 dated August 2000.

I don't know exactly how many trailers the army had but it was certainly a lot and they were still being sold by Domaines at auction last year (2009). There can't be many left now but the fact that they remained in service until the end of the 20th century says something about the usefulness and practicality of a design dating back to 1942! They could be used, or adapted to be used, to carry all sorts of things from chocks to shells as the photos below taken by Jean-Louis Martin at 35e RA, Tarbes in 2007 show.


Service de Santé des armées
I spotted this trailer at the Overlord Show 2011. According to MAT 2601 four different conversions were made for the Service de Santé des armées: 'douches et désinfection', 'stérilisation', 'buanderie', and 'conservation du sang'. As there are no photos in the technical document it is difficult to say which one this is. The trailer has a rear drop down tailgate and an aluminium top that lifts off. Note also the towing hitch which can be adjusted to suit almost any towing vehicle.

How To Identify A Bantam T3-C Trailer - G503 Military Vehicle ...

The same towing hitch was also used on a trailer converted as a 'chaudière de production d'eau chaude' (boiler to provide hot water). Photo sent by JLM.

A brief history of WW2jeep trailers

Bantam

In late 1941 Willys werecommissioned to produce a dozen 'jeep' trailers for evaluation,nine conventional and three flat-bed design. They were deliveredand tested in early 1942 and from these trials the standardwelded steel amphibious trailer evolved. Orders for thestandardised trailer were quickly placed with two companies,Willys - who's product was designated MB-T, and the AmericanBantam Car Company who had failed to secure a contract forproducing the standard jeep. The Bantam made trailer wasdesignated T3 and the contract basically kept the company inbusiness. Jeep design was changed at this point to include thefamiliar electrical socket for the trailer.

The two makes of trailer were identical apartfrom the identification plates and a few basic details. EarlyBantam trailers had three chassis cross-members whereas theWillys had four and the Bantam's Gabriel shock absorbers weresecured by nuts unlike the Willys which used Munroe units securedwith split pins as found on the jeep. Bearing in mind that during1944-45 nearly 20,000 trailers were re-manufactured by twomilitary facilities at Lima & Richmond and a further eightcivilian companies, alterations occurred that mean that thesedifferences cannot be taken as definitive in the case of allgenuine WW2 trailers.

By the end of the warBantam and Willys had produced over 133,000 T3 / MB-T trailerswhich, together with orders placed with 10 other companies in1944 and delivered in 1945 produced a grand total of 143,357 WW2style jeep trailers. The basic design was so good that after thewar it evolved into the M-100 post-war US trailer for the M38-A1and was also copied by other manufacturers for armies around theworld.

Later trailers oftenmistaken for WW2 units include:

Bantam Trailer Serial Numbers

  • The 1950's M100 trailer for the M38-A1 jeep which was built by a number of different companies and looks almost identical to a WW2 trailer but has a different hand brake lever and the body tub is fitted with a grab handle at each corner.

  • The 1960's M416 trailer was built to go with the M151 Mutt jeep and has the same WW2 body tub design but with grab handles and easily distinguishable flat angular mud guards.

  • Trailers built in the 1950's & 60's for the French, Dutch and Swiss armies by various manufacturers in each country including some by Willys. These were very much WW2 copies but with variations to lights, brakes etc.

G529.com

Bantam also produced a civilian trailer based onthe WW2 design. The example opposite is of the model T3-C and hasthe serial no. 13853. It was restored by Mark Harpootlian,Southfield, Michigan USA and he would love to hear from you ifyou can offer any further information about Bantam trailersincluding when this one would have been built. His e-mail addressis harpo@majormicro.com

You can find out moreabout trailers by
visiting the jeep trailer spotters guide

See Full List On Bantamt3c.com

If you own a Bantamtrailer complete with original
dataplate then Chuck Lutzwould love to hear
from you. He's compiling an important database.