Dear Powdermonkey Those DUKWs are displaying both the Beach Group Anchor and a (I assume the RASC - red/green diagonal) AoS square, overlaid with the diagonal Army Group bar. I would assume that Ordnance detachments would carry a RAOC square, overlaid with the Army Group bar. Though the number displayed might be the BOD's own number or that of a larger unit of which the BOD formed part. Chris
Hi chrisgrove , thanks very much! Yes, I was trying to work out whether or not the AoS Square was the red and green of the RASC or one colour, in that photo. It's hard to tell in B&W!! So, in theory, RAOC Beach Group vehicles would likely carry the Beach Group Anchor on one side and the Blue, Red, Blue horizontal stripes of the RAOC overlayed with the Army Group Troops diagonal white bar on the other side - as the RASC DUKWs have?? I'm still trying to work out what command the RAOC units would have come under and the appropriate position of the White Bar. Would all troops in the Beach Groups come under the Army Group control, in which case they would all have the diagonal white bar as on the RASC DUKWs? If so, according to Peter Hodges' British Military Markings book I think the number would either be 657 or 658 as these are the ones listed in the table for RAOC units under 'GHQ, Army Group and Army Troops NW Europe - June 1944' - however these are both listed against the 21 Army Group Formation Sign and not the Beach Groups Formation Sign...! However, if the RAOC units within the Beach Groups displayed a Corps white bar then I believe the number should be 75 for the Beach Ordnance Detachments (this is the number Hodges lists as for Corps Troops Ordnance Field Parks) or 13, 15 or 16 for an Ordnance Ammunition Coy (for example 45 OAC on Juno Beach). In my understanding the OAC came under the control of the BODs which in turn were detached from the Base Ammunition Depots in the UK. I would like my Jeep to represent a Jeep used by an Officer of 15 Beach Ordnance Detachment so am wondering whether it should be the diagonal Army Group white stripe with 657 or 658, or the flat Corps white stripe at the top of the square with a 75?? How to know which number is the correct one out of the options once I know if they were Army Group or Corps Troops I'm not sure!! Interestingly in Hodges' tables for the 'GHQ, Army Group and Army Troops NW Europe - June 1944' he lists serial number 1346 (as seen on the DUKWs) against the Beach Groups Formation Sign. However, he only lists two RAOC serial numbers (657 and 658) but these are against the 21st Army Group Formation Sign. As this book was compiled in the 1970s do you think it is likely that the Beach Group affiliation of the RAOC units might have been missed out and these two units are more likely to be the Base Ammunition Depots which deployed in the days following D-Day?? Grateful for all and any advice and help with this!
