Clarkair CA-1 Discussion Board

Looking at the serial number base already started, I see a trend already that parralles MV trends I have seen in the past.

That is, state side machines, being it wheeled or in this case, a dozer, all seem to be later production.

I beleive, as past discussions like this on wheeled vehicles, that all earlier machinery, that is, 42-43 machines, were all sent overseas for the buildup up the invasions. Earlier 42 or 41 stuff stayed here in the states, being used for training and were probably worn out.

THis would be true of the ETO. Buildup in England in late 42 thru 43 , training, stockpiling, etc

But, what of the PTO? THat was still in full swing in 44-45. Wouldnt even more of these airborne machines be needed nearer the end of the war, to rebuild and re-claim island bases in the Pacific on the way to the Japanese island invasion buildup?

Yet, a lot of the later stuff, even 44 dated material, with the war still in full swing, never left the states.

Why? Did the military feel they had enough in stock in oversea storage yards that the later stuff wasnt neccessary?
I would think not.. ETO stuff was there, yes, and they probably stayed there. After victory of Europe, now we began concentration on Japan, and the plans to invade it.

So, I assume they needed even more for the reclamoation of landing strips en route to Japan.

So, why so many late models left? Let me pose this:

Did the military, by this point, realize that, in the case of the Clark CA-1 dozer, their effectiveLESS ness (poor English I know) was realized?

I mean... Look at videos of soldiers trying to get these peices of equipment in and out of C47 aircraft.
THe aircraft of the day just wasnt ready for the handling, loading or unloading of this stuff. decent ramps didnt eist. Most loading ramps and methods where developed and designed and made by the individual troops.

Hence the real reason these machines are so small to begin with. to fit into the doorway of a C47 or be able to be loaded onto a glider with a max payload, in which the dozer pretty much took up all of that allowed weight.

Being so small, lets face it, they arent really that useful.. (Did I say that about our beloved machines?!!)

Seriousy.. THese dozers are pretty small and they are limited...

So, the question, not that I expect an answer to, but more for one to consider:

Are there more CA-1 units, with higher serial numbers left in the states because the military felt they had enough of the earlier ones sent over, OR, did they discover that the small dozer wasnt all that effective, was hard to handle and load and unload onto planes avaiable at the time?

Dave,
This is a very interesting thread. It will probably evoke a lot of discussion amongst the viewers and owners who are interested in cracking the code. I am glad you started it. We have a few data points, and once Bill gets everyone's SNs for the spreadsheet we might see some things develop. We should probably add a column on the data such as where found, and another for markings (Unit ID etc)

We have to consider that Clark only built 14 in MI and sent all the parts to Moline where American Machine and Metals (AMM) finished them under a subcontract. That was in in Sept 43 Clark when they shipped all their parts to Moline, where AMM finished the construction. AMM completed internal retooling to build the parts themselves by Jan 44. AMM built everything in Moline after Jan 44 except the transmission and final drive housing.I suspect Jan 44 is where the data tags switched over to AMM.

I had to go back to Mikes post on the G where he posted his data: Dated Nov 10 1942, US registration No: 953536, manufactured serial No: CA14374. If I did the calculation correctly, his was the 127th one built. That was Nov 1942. That tells me that they built parts for complete Clarks from the fall of 42 all the way through Sep 43 without "assembling" more than 14 of them. I suspect the data plates were stamped and dated when they had a pile or box of parts ready for another clark, but never actually assembled them. They were assembled in Moline after Sep 43, but the Nov 42 data tag for Mike's was fixed to the radiator shroud probably in Oct or Nov of 43 even though it was built in Nov 42. His went to the ETO with an Airborne Aviation Engineer unit.

According to Clark's records, they had a proposed schedule to produce 800 machines in 1943. That was the bulk of the contract, and they were shipped to AMM. I have no idea how many AMM machines were made. I'm still looking for their records, but doubt I'll find them.

Back to your original questions about where the machines ended up being sent. I think we can safely say that none were sent out prior to Sep 43, unless the 14 that were assembled by Clark were delivered...but where? The photos taken of CA-1s in the CBI theater are dated I think March of 1944 where the CG-4 gliders landed with the Clarks on board to build a runway. The other data point is the Glider with the Name OPAL on it I think s from Operation Torch when the Allies landed in Africa. That would have been Nov 42, but the data has not been confirmed by me with regard to the Clark. The other piece of research would be to find out about the Table of Org and Equipment for the Airborne Aviation Companies that built runways. I'm not sure how many Ca-1s they were assigned. The Airborne Division only got 4 per division, and that was reduced to 3 in Dec 44. That means only 15 went to the 5 Airborne Division 11th, 13th, 17th, 82nd, 101st. If they actually received the 4 that would mean 20. What did they do with the other 1?
So if the Airborne Aviation Engineer units had a handful and so did the airborne divisions, where did they all go? Hard to say. Perhaps the govt thought they would need a bunch and then did not know what to do with them. On Ray's site there is a document which shown one delivered to the Corps of Engineer Office in Rock Island IL. That is dated Jun 44. What's up with that.

What a great mystery, but we can get some more data points by asking everyone to flow the info to BIll.