[Milsurplus] ID plate questions

[Mike Morrow]

From: Robert Goff


>I just picked up a RAL-7 ... It's been repainted gray, ...  The original
>ID plates were apparently removed and replaced with plastic plates that
look
>like some form of acrylic -almost like lamination material.  ... Was this
>common practice?  In all other respects the plates are the same except
>for the SN. The SN on the plate is 79-SF... Could the SN have been
>reassigned when the receiver went through "remanufacture"?

Robert,

Yes, I think it is common.

I've got a couple of WW2 vintage Navy sets (one is an RBS-2) that were
repainted gray and re-serialized with a number and a letter set, where the
letter set indicated the re-work facility.  I guess yours was re-worked in
San Francisco.

The Army Signal Corps re-work facilities often did something similar.  I've
got BC-603, BC-683, RT-70/GRC, RT-841/PRC-77, and other units which have
been completely overhauled and have had the old nomenclature tag removed and
replaced with a new metal tag with a new serial number and the name of the
re-work facility.  I'd prefer to have had the original tag with order and
contract numbers, but sometimes one takes what one can get.  At least these
are better than the abomination of fake ID plates that so many people are
sticking on old military gear now-a-days.

73,
Mike / KK5F