bulldogboy

I always wondered that, too. Ford was always, and still is, big in the fire apparatus business. Why not showcase some of them in the recent ads about Ford commercial trucks. "C" models were everywhere back in the day and "Super Dutys" are today. I'm waiting to see the "F-600", that should be a popular fire apparatus chassis.

Litchfield, NH Fire Department's former 1941 Autocar tanker, former US Navy. It's working at a school fire in September 1974. Credit to the photographer.

               Yes, the Miami was at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Repair costs were estimated to be between $450 million and

               $700 million. The Navy decided to scrap the ship and it was towed to Washington state for dismantling.

     Duplex built cabs and chassis for use by fire truck manufacturers that did not have their own chassis.

I always watched "Newhart" but I don't remember this episode. The show was supposedly set in an inn that Bob Newhart owned in Vermont. Tom Poston

was the maintenance man. TV shows are not real life, a Mack "L" model fire engine did not have keys, there were two pull knobs and two starter buttons.

NFPA regulations may be "recommendations" and "not law" but good luck explaining that to a jury during a lawsuit. A sharp lawyer will ask , " if these

regulations were approved by your peers why didn't you follow them?" Many cases have been lost by not following the NFPA. 

 In 1919, the United States War Department sponsored a transcontinental convoy of 72 trucks from New York City to San Francisco, CA. The intent of the convoy was to show the importance of motor vehicles to defense. The convoy followed the new Lincoln Highway but there were many obstacles and poor roads along the way. It took two months to reach San Francisco. One of the Army participants was Lt. Dwight D. Eisenhower. Perhaps it was his participation in this event that led him to sponsor the new Interstate Highway System that was started while he was president in the 1950s. Information from "Mack" by John B. Montville.

           Looks well equipped for any emergency.

Hoot: Nice looking engine. The Chrysler engines were installed in the Macks for a military contract, although a few were sold to civilian departments. Most Mack "B" models used Mack "707" gas engines. 

My department in New Hampshire had five "B"s, all with the "707" engine. The first Mack diesels in fire apparatus were installed in three "B"s purchased by the Hamilton, Bermuda Fire Brigade in 1960. Enjoy your unique 

engine.

A photo of a 1940s Mack fire pumper from the New South Wales Fire Brigade was posted on Facebook. The chassis was an "E" model. The poster

said that the chassis was built in the USA but the cab and body were locally built. My question is, When did Mack start building trucks in Australia?

                 Looks like one of J.P. Noonan's old tankers.

           Merrimack Concrete Products, right up the road in the Thornton's Ferry section of Merrimack, NH. Long gone.

                 Is that a Mack chassis or is it an "MR" cab mounted on a TOR chassis? I don't see a Bulldog.

    Thanks for the info, I knew that you would have the right answer. I wasn't sure whether it is an RM or not. There is a discussion on SPAAMFAA's Facebook page about what model it is. 

    Most thought that it is a DM but I knew it wasn't due to the normal cab placement.     

            Red Ford Ranger used by Security at South of the Border in Dillon, SC.

    So, what model is this, RM? Thanks.

Is an "RM" the same as a "DM" but without the offset cab?

A good book on the subject, "The Arsenal of Democracy" by A.J Baine. Interesting that Henry Ford was opposed to the war but agreed to let his son, Edsel Ford, and right hand man, "Cast Iron" Charlie Sorensen proceed with building Willow Run and the B-24s. In the end, their bold declaration to build "a bomber an hour" was successful but not without many obstacles along the way, both in manufacturing and dealing with the lives of the thousands of workers hired to run the plant.

                        A sharp looking red Ford F-450 wrecker.

The Plymouth, MA Fire Department has a tanker built on the same F-900 6X6 chassis.

Until recently, the Jaffrey, NH Fire Department operated a 1942 U.S. Army Class 325 Chevrolet 4X4 as a brush truck. The Class 325 was similar to the Class 110 but the 325

had a front mount pump. During WW II military fire apparatus was built by many different manufacturers on different chassis so it wasn't unusual to see Mack bodies on Chevy or

Brockway chassis. Everyone pitched in to do what was needed to win the war.

World War II U.S. Army, Class 110 fire truck. Chevrolet 4X4 chassis with a body built by the Army's Quartermaster Corp at Fort Holabird, MD.

1 hour ago, h67st said:

That brings up a good question...what's with all the "kills" in NY and PA? I've heard of several towns with "kill" in the name.

"Kill" is from the Dutch language, it refers to a body of water such as a creek, tidal basin, or small river. You will see the word used in places where many Dutch settled such as 

New York and Pennsylvania. 

         In 1975 I visited the Mack World Headquarters in Allentown and purchased this sweatshirt. No way does it fit anymore but I've held on to it all these years.

                       "The F.D.N.Y. Super Pumper System" by John A. Calderone may still be available. A good book on the subject.