1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

and other stuff up in the air
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TNYankee
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1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by TNYankee » Thu Sep 14, 2017 7:44 am

I just though I would share a recent acquisition. A 1943 CASE VAI Army Air Corps mower. Still pretty original, but been sitting a long time. Missing the mower arm. I did some looking and found hood numbers under the yellow paint, along with the numbers "431" down both sides of the grill and "TP28" at the bottom of the grill. I cleaned the wheels and painted them so I could move it around easier. I'm hoping to get it into my shop in the next month or so and do a complete rebuild! You can still see the OD green paint under the yellow. The VAI was used as an airfield mower and aircraft tug. This one was purchased by a WWII vet after the war and used on his farm in Northeast Tennessee.
Attachments
IMG_4023.JPG
IMG_4023.JPG (54.18 KiB) Viewed 1906 times
IMG_4022.JPG
IMG_4022.JPG (59.13 KiB) Viewed 1906 times
IMG_4021.JPG
IMG_4021.JPG (59.36 KiB) Viewed 1906 times
Tony DiMaiolo
1967 M715 Kaiser
1967 M101 Trailer
1951 Willys M38
1952 M100 Trailer


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twinflyer17
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by twinflyer17 » Fri Sep 15, 2017 4:54 am

Awesome find, Tony!
Sean

GPW 108175 viewtopic.php?t=267732
DOD 4/14/43 Louisville, KY USA20371070

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Kevin Lockwood
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by Kevin Lockwood » Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:05 am

Great!
I am slowly working on mine. Do you think it was case yellow then painted OD? Mine seems to have a yellow paint under a lot of hard to reach places?
42 Ford GPW
42 Oshkosh AAF Snowblower
41 White M2 halftrack
42 Autocar M2A1 was M2 halftrack
42 Autocar M3-75 halftrack
42 White M4A1 was M4 halftrack
43 Diamond T M3A1 halftrack
43 White M16 was M13 halftrack
44 LVT-3 Landing Vehicle Tracked

TNYankee
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by TNYankee » Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:07 am

It seems to have been painted yellow from the factory, then 2 different shades of OD green. Then about 4 more layers of yellow over that!
Tony DiMaiolo
1967 M715 Kaiser
1967 M101 Trailer
1951 Willys M38
1952 M100 Trailer

airborne-53
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by airborne-53 » Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:02 am

hello
great found
l have military case amperemeter , came from tractor ?

Image

Image

thanks
olivier

Kevin Lockwood
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by Kevin Lockwood » Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:41 pm

TNbluebelly :D
Thanks your findings confirm what I was seeing. Seemed as though they painted them yellow in production. I have tried to find airfield / flightline photos but no luck.
Last edited by Kevin Lockwood on Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
42 Ford GPW
42 Oshkosh AAF Snowblower
41 White M2 halftrack
42 Autocar M2A1 was M2 halftrack
42 Autocar M3-75 halftrack
42 White M4A1 was M4 halftrack
43 Diamond T M3A1 halftrack
43 White M16 was M13 halftrack
44 LVT-3 Landing Vehicle Tracked

vj
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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by vj » Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:54 pm

Looks great, That should be a fun resto. I am working on a m2 high speed tractor,I am looking for parts, We got a side cutter mower for a tractor, but it might not fit or be correct.
I have got four running halftracks,plus 5 ton ww2 semi-truck,1943 willys jeep and other ww2 vehicles,plus a lot of parts to trade on. Wendell in Tn.

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Re: 1943 CASE VAI Airfield Mower

Post by Rustman » Mon Dec 18, 2017 8:57 am

Neat stuff! I suspect it was Case yellow from the factory. Then Olive Drab. Then late war or post war the USAAF painted it airfield equipment yellow to make it easier/harder to hit with an airplane. Just my guess.

Matt
1970 Kaiser Jeep DJ-5A Left Hand Drive
1945 Corps of Engineers Welder & Trailer
1943 G518 "Ben Hur" Trailer Steel Body
194* G518 "Ben Hur" Trailer Composite Body
http://g518parts.com/


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