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It never rains, it pours. MG 145182

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So a bit of light paint stripping and scraping has revealed this marking on the rear fender.
IMG_20240711_195034.jpg
 
I'd say it's 3217
Nice work on revealing the fender markings!

Cursory research of '3217' leads to a tail number for "Georgia Rebel" B-17 Flying Fortress (MS-T, serial number 42-3217) of the 535th Bomb Squadron, 381st Bomb Group. The plane was damaged on mission and crash landed in Vännacka, Sweden in July of 1943 before it could reach base in England.

I am not saying these numbers are for sure a match to that, but it might be interesting to research. https://www.historynet.com/american-aircrew-sweden/
 
Considering the date of manufacture for the bike is July 43, the markings wouldn't be for that B-17. It might not correspond to an aircraft but some form of unit marking or Motor Pool.
 
Considering the date of manufacture for the bike is July 43, the markings wouldn't be for that B-17. It might not correspond to an aircraft but some form of unit marking or Motor Pool.
Ah, you are correct in that being too tight a window for that specific plane. A neat thought.

The reason I want to believe this bike could be tied to a plane is because of the 4 digits. I don't think I've ever seen 4 digits corresponding with any ground unit vehicles. The highest digit unit markings I've seen was on Jeeps tied to 999th Signal Service Company.

Seeing 4 digits in the 3k range stands out as not being a unit designator but a number.

I am no guru on WWII aviation but the three horizontal lines as a tac marking could match those used by the 11th bomb group?

Once again I am spitballing but with markings so clear it would be great to find the history of your bike!

Aaron




S13 USAAF Bomber Markings & Camo 1941-1945 Vol_1_Page_40-960 (1).jpg

 
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I’m not sure if you made any progress with identifying the relevance of the number, but many support units had four digits. I did a quick search and found the 3217th Signal Service Battalion, which was stationed in England for a time.

The three bars certainly remind me of Preparation for Overseas Movement (P.O.M.) markings which were used to mark individual/unit equipment and vehicles to identify it during shipping. A groundbreaking new book was just published on this subject called “Destination: Victory” www.pomcodes.com and some cursory information can be found at www.questmasters.us/POM.html

-Paul
 
I’m not sure if you made any progress with identifying the relevance of the number, but many support units had four digits. I did a quick search and found the 3217th Signal Service Battalion, which was stationed in England for a time.

The three bars certainly remind me of Preparation for Overseas Movement (P.O.M.) markings which were used to mark individual/unit equipment and vehicles to identify it during shipping. A groundbreaking new book was just published on this subject called “Destination: Victory” www.pomcodes.com and some cursory information can be found at www.questmasters.us/POM.html

-Paul
This is a fantastic link. It's like the secret shipping code right there in front of me, and I never even noticed.
Wonder how many pieces I had and sold without giving it a second thought.
 
Thanks all. I supplied a few photos to the author, Ben Major to use in the book.

3217th Signal Service Battalion is a good shout which I'll explore. Not much info out there though.
 
Personally I dont think the three bars are a POM code at all…
POM code for the 3217th Signal Sv Bataljon’s Companies were 35550-35552-35553-35551
POM code for the 3217th QM Sv Company was 47029

White bars indicate #9, but none of the above numbers end in 99

Plus, no sources confirm the above units were actually issued G519s
 
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