WX12378 John Cecil SWIFT and WX11472 Ronald FredericK MANTHORPE were both motor mechanics with AAOC. When they finished working on Burma-Thai Railway with ‘D’ Force V Battalion they were sent to IJA Truck Depot just outside of Bangkok to repair/maintain Japanese trucks.
Wally Bow also got a job although he was not a trained mechanic, with Swift and Manthorpe. This placement was far better than being sent on work parties throughout Thailand.
Below: Ron Manthorpe and Swift.
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WX7253 Walter ‘Wally’ Verdun Bow had worked on the Burma-Thai Railway with D Force V Battalion which had a torrid time with many deaths. Please read further
Following Wally’s enlistment Aug 1940 he joined ‘D’ Company 15 Platoon as a driver under CO Lt Meiklejohn. Meiklejohn was KIA as was 15 Platoon 2 I.C. Sgt Solly. The Platoon suffered many deaths and wounded during the first days of the Japanese invasion of Singapore. Wally was WIA at Buona Vista on the last day of fighting before the surrender. He was admitted to 2/13th Australian General Hospital on 16 Feb 1942 with shrapnel wounds to his left and right buttocks and discharged to uinit on 22 Feb 1942.
WX12378 John Cecil SWIFT and WX11472 Ronald FredericK MANTHORPE were both motor mechanics with AAOC. When they finished working on Burma-Thai Railway with ‘D’ Force V Battalion they were sent to IJA Truck Depot just out of Bangkok to repair Japanese trucks.
Before WWII, Japanese commercial trucks were very poor and IJA could not rely on them for military service. So, IJA supported private motorcar companies and made them develop a military 6-wheeled truck. It was the Type 94 6-Wheeled Truck. Type 94 Truck was reliable and had a good performance. Type 94 was produced in the largest numbers among the Japanese trucks and used widely until the WWII ended.
Japan began motorising its army and create motorised infantry regiments to go with its newly formed armoured regiments. Gradually, and especially until the end of the 1930s for operations in China, the Army purchased a variety of trucks to carry troops and supplies. This increased in WW2 with a variety of lorries and trucks built by mostly by Toyota, Nissan and Isuzu. These were the Type 94 6-Wheeled Truck, Type 95 Mini-truck, Type 97 4-Wheeled Truck, Type 1 6-Wheeled Truck and Type 2 Heavy Truck for the latter, and Toyota KB/KC Truck, Nissan 80 and 180 Trucks, plus the Amphibious Truck Toyota “Su-Ki”
Development of the Type 94
The Type 94 was initially developed in 1933 as part of the Imperial Japanese Army’s program to sponsor independent motor companies, in order to provide the army with a reliable truck platform. This was to counter the already tested existing civilian lorries which had poor performance in the field. Isuzu showed their design and a prototype was tested and eventually accepted in 1934. This sturdy 6×6 configuration gave all satisfaction in terms of range, reliability, and most important, off-road capabilities.
The Type 94 was a 6×6 army truck design, fitted with an Otsu diesel engine that was capable of propelling it at speeds of up to 60 km/h while preserving range. The vehicle itself neither unarmed and unarmored, but carried two spare tires on the side for maintenance. The crew comprised single driver and the practical payload was 1,300 kgs of cargo, or and infantry platoon. Total weight was around 4,800 kilograms, total length 5.3 metres. Its army requirements design made it, unlike its civilian-based predecessors, highly reliable in the field and very capable of traveling cross country, helped also by a high clearance, to traverse the rough jungle terrain where it mostly served. Variants built during the war included an optional gasoline engine, a soft top and hard top conversions for the driver cabin roof.
Below. I.J.A.-ISUZU-6-wheeled-Truck
Below: Photo Taken Manchuria.
Unfortunately we can find no information on the Japanese Transport Brigade location near Bangkok, nor details of POW accommodation.