Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
Kind of related.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geFxqVj3AAw
Some of these manual might have maintenance details, etc.
http://www.delbertsscalemodels.com/DSM/i...vehicle-manuals
Excellent.
Thankyou for posting that.
I personally have an active interest in these things, as my father was in WW II and grew up with people of that era.
As a generation, they were naturally resourceful.
Add to that the mechanical nature of things in the main weren't complicated for land based forces.
The Air force and Navy had more complex and larger scale systems to deal with.
A lot had to do with the resources available
Obviously if you were loosing the war, it was not a high priority to keep things in tip top condition.
If you were winning the war, then it depended upon how well established the forces were in the area.
With regard to the army. I don't think anything other that water was used as coolant.(It was cost effective)
They did some of their own maintenance in the field as required, and there was some training in that regard.
There were basic tools provided with the vehicles, in order to keep them going In the event of a breakdown, also for routine maintenance if the facilities and resources were available. (Time permitting, otherwise it just didn't get done at all)
Everything was mobile and had to be kept in that state to be effective, and that's all.
Everything had a basic manual. Even for how to hang toilet paper.
In forward areas they mostly drove the vehicles until they were US (unserviceable) for what ever reason.
Remember everything wasn't necessarily made to last as it was expendable and expected to be destroyed in action. Also it made it cheaper to produce.
Naturally It did depend upon the size and cost and role of the vehicle.
Small vehicles like a GP (Jeep) obviously were more expendable than a larger truck or tank.
In the rear areas there were mechanical workshops dedicated to all manner of repairs.
A generals jeep would be superbly maintained by mechanics, and a jeep in the front line probably only get running repairs as required to just keep it going.
Then there was everything in between including the mobile w/shops.
The Air force was different, and unlike the Army it depended upon the size and location of the air field. Maintenance was only performed by qualified personnel.
General maintenance at the bigger bomber bases, which were located by necessity in the rearward areas. Was mostly performed out on the hardstand regardless of the weather. The ground crews really earned their pay in winter in England.
They also had large hangers for heavy maintenance/extensive repairs, but the bulk of the work on all the aircraft was done outside on the hardstand.
They would also cannibalize US aircraft in the outer areas of the airfields, where the written off aircraft were kept.
Airfields dedicated to fighter Aircraft had similar capabilities, unless they were in a forward area.
Then things were more rudimentary.
REGARDING COOLANT.
Ethylene Glycol was deemed to be a top secret by the Allied forces during the war.
It was added to the water in aircraft to prevent freezing in the winter and help provide stable coolant temps at high altitude and under a wide range of operating conditions.
I think from memory, some aircraft even had coolant pumped out to the guns in the wings to prevent the guns from freezing at high altitude.
The Navy was in a similar situation to the Air Force.
It all depended upon the size and complexity of the ship.
Maintenance and repairs were only performed by qualified personnel.
Smaller ships had at least a fully qualified engineer, and there were small workshops on board for running maintenance.
Larger ships like Battle ships obviously had entire teams of engineers.
Air Craft carriers naturally had a mixture of Marine Engineers and Aircraft Engineers with dedicated w/shops.
Boats like PT/MTB boats had a qualified engineer on board.
Submarines were and are deemed to be a boat, and had an engineer with support crew.
There were small facilities in the rearward areas.
And larger dry docks at the nearest country that could provide them.
The navy didn't use special coolant.
Everything was either raw water cooled or keel cooled.
Some smaller boats like PT boats, were perhaps cooled by a heat exchanger with fresh water.
I don't think anything special like Ethylene Glycol would be added due to cost, and it wasn't necessary for effective operation. Also they wouldn't want the secret to fall into enemy hands in the event of capture of the vessel.
At the end of the day everything, absolutely everything came down to cost.
To put things into perspective.
The US Navy even pushed scores of perfectly good aircraft over the side of Air Craft Carriers off the east coast of Australia, simply because it was deemed to be cheaper to dump them overboard, than to take them home to the USA.
