Regulations and Manuals for the WWII Jeep

United States Army regulations and manuals can be very helpful to the jeep restorer and historian. It is best to start with Army Regulations such as AR 1-5, Index to Army Regulations; AR 850-5 Marking of Clothing, Equipment, Vehicles and Property; AR 850-10 Registration of Motor Vehicles; and AR 850-15 Motor Vehicles (“the bible of motor vehicles”), among others.

Field Manuals such as FM 21-6, List of Training Publications; FM 21-7 List of training films, filmstrips and film bulletins; FM 25-10 Basic Field Manual: Motor Transport Technical Manuals]TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles (ah, a drool book); TM 9-2810 Motor Vehicle Inspections and Preventive Maintenance Services; TM 21-300 Selection and Training of Drivers; and one of my favorites… TM 31-200 Maintenance and care of pneumatic tires and rubber treads; Basic Maintenance Manual TM 38-250; then there are the Vehicle Technical Manuals or TMs.

And there were War Department Circulars

• Training Circulars (“such as TC 117 on the marking of bridges and vehicles”)
• Technical bulletins – this would cover changes to your vehicle
• TM and would be incorporated with the next TM change
• Organization and Equipment Tables: How many jeeps and machine guns are there supposed to be in an infantry division?

There are artillery field service publications

• Standard Nomenclature Lists – Provides part identification and assignments
• SNL “H” Common Stock
• SNL “K” includes materials for cleaning, maintenance, welding and lubrication
• SNL N-19 Motorized Transport Tool Sets!
• SNL G-19 Interchangeability Table of Special Organizational Tools for Combat Vehicles

Don’t Forget… Field Service Modification Work Orders (so you can install favorite modifications they’ve come up with, like winterization kits). FSMWOs have been replaced by MWOs.

Ordinance Field Service Bulletins

• OFSB 1-1 Ordnance Publications Index
• OFSB 2-16 Storage and Shipping of Rubber, Tube and Camelback Tires
• OFSB 2-18 Requisition and Issue of Spare Parts, Equipment, and Supplies
• OFSB 2-25 Automotive Equipment Winterization Kits
• OFSB 4-21 Weapon Mounts for General Purpose Vehicles

This is not all that appears in the WWII article, but it would be a good start for any collector. There are many jeep specific posts out there and most of them seem to be missing from the general jeep collectors library. Maybe someone is looking at these and thinking about publishing them “someday”. Maybe they will show up. And as mentioned before, there are original articles from private and public service publications that are interesting reading and collecting. Many are still available. Happy hunting.