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Pirates in Pink

A Chevrolet 30 CWT painted overall desert pink. Pink was a common color among LRDG colors because it was effective at hiding the vehicle in the haze of the sun, especially at daybreak and during the twilight hours. Sources say the pink was quite vibrant when first applied but quickly faded in the harsh sun to a more subtle shade. In the case of this vehicle, the front tire is probably a spare as the paint doesn't match the rest of the vehicle. The Lewis gun has had its barrel painted to help camouflage it. The.30 Browning air pattern (AP) has been locally modified in a typical LRDG method. A metal tube has been fabricated as a butt stock. This tube presses against the hydraulic system used to fire the AP machinegun. A crude but effective way to fire the weapon. The truck has had its original windscreen removed but has not been fitted with the small aviator screens. The flimsys are marked with "T10" suggesting this is a vehicle of "T Patrol". Crews would often mark small items with a vehicle number just to keep everything on the right truck.

Pirates in Pink
Pirates in Pink

Note the red fire extinguisher on the truck bed. Note also the pith helmets, an uncommon head wear among the LRDG. Note also the undercarriage of the vehicle is painted a dark yellow, perhaps Canadian sand.

According to Jack Valenti of the LRDG Preservation Society, The crew members in this photo are from T1 Patrol:

  • Manning the Lewis Gun is Trooper Ewan Hay
  • Driver is Gerry Gerrard
  • Corporal Merlyn Craw is on the Browning

The Browning was salvaged from from a wrecked fighter — Thanks Jack.

(In this image, the sky has been modified from the original image which was too washed out from the desert sun to produce anything but a white background. This is a common problem among the B&W photos.)

Updated on Wed, 02/16/2022 - 11:31.