Equipment that saw service in Alaska?

Morian Miner · Post by **Morian Miner** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 8:48 am

Since I'm not good at what equipment was used when - which of the XD ground vehicles we've gotten so far in 1/18 did the US deploy to Alaska in 1942 and 1943? I have the Shermans, WCs, and Halftracks - did any of those get shipped up north? Also, would the troops in Alaska have the same coats and such that came with the BOB figures?

Just a little background - in all my research on the Army railroads in WWII, I've ignored that the first deployment was when the Army took over the White Pass and Yukon in Alaska. What's nice about that is if you can live with 1/18 and 1/20.3 mixing (11% undersized equipment), there is a bunch of WP&Y equipment out there. This engine in particular, aside from lettering on the tender and a few minor details, was one purchased by the Army to upgrade the line in 1942.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bachmann-Engine-Ten ... dZViewItem

So, with all my BOB figs, and equipment, I'm thinking of putting together a train heading out of Skagway loaded with trucks and tanks, and wondering how accurate this would be (haven't found any pics of WPY moving military equipment, but for some reason train folks don't post many pics of the two together).

Quixote511 · Post by **Quixote511** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:37 am

Basically, anything that is cold weather gear from the ETO would be applicable. The P-40 did see service in the Aluetian Campaign as well.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:59 am

Quixote511 wrote:Basically, anything that is cold weather gear from the ETO would be applicable. The P-40 did see service in the Aluetian Campaign as well.

An "Aluetian Tiger" P-40 repaint - even with the old mould - would look really COOL! The BoB soldiers would work great for Aluetian campaign figures, and we've got the Japanese troops as well, though they're not in cold weather gear

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 10:12 am

The P-38 was used in the Aluetians. Earlier models than the 21st version I believe. There are still well preserved wrecks all over the place.

chunks · Post by **chunks** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:05 pm

There's a series of 3 pictorial books called "The Forgotten War" by, I believe, Ben Cohen, that covers the war effort in Alaska. They're about 15 dollars each. Might be a good source.

krieglok · Post by **krieglok** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 4:26 pm

Lots of 3/4 ton Dodges and winterized jeeps. Look for a book about the building of the AlCan highway, as it was built during the war. I dont recall the title of the book I saw, but they had tons of pictures of vehicles. It was a softcover...

TJ

Threetoughtrucks · Post by **Threetoughtrucks** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:05 pm

Don't forget the workhorse of the U.S. Army, the 2 1/2 ton truck. Hundreds were used in Alaska. Besides the 3/4 ton Dodges, the mainstay was the 1/2 ton Dodges.

Too bad we haven't seen any 1/2 or 2 1/2 trucks., in 1/18.....yet.

When talking about the Alcan Hiighway, don't forget dozers, big ones and small ones. There has to be some dozers around close to 1/18.

TTT

chunks · Post by **chunks** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:11 pm

There's a WWII era dozer in 1/16, metal including tracks, in US Army markings located here>

http://www.3000toys.com/catalog/item_de ... STCUST-790

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:11 pm

I have seen some dozers in 1/16 scale at tractor shows, but most seem to be more modern... I am sure there are some old ones out there though! Those tractor collectors make us XD guys look mellow in comparison!

chunks · Post by **chunks** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:18 pm

More info on the dozer here.

http://www.tractordata.com/td/td3319.html

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Tue Dec 05, 2006 9:59 pm

Here is a bulldozer that was built in my local area, and was primarily used for air-drop engineering missions...

Morian Miner · Post by **Morian Miner** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 6:54 am

Thanks, guys. I'll have to look into some of those books.