Vehicles of the U.S. Forest Service

 

Part 2 Colors and markings 1905-1965

By Aaron Woods

 

Before getting into specifics it should be explained that from the very beginning the USFS has been run as a decentralized organization allowing the individual regions and forests much autonomy in their operations. As a result there are a lot of exceptions to the rule when it comes to the vehicles used by the agency.  

 

In the early days of the agency, vehicles were often the personal property of the employee and were marked at the discretion of the local forest. Most simply had a removable sign on the front and / or sides to identify it as an official vehicle.

 

(Pierce Arrow truck, Sierra National Forest)

 

In the late teens the USFS adopted a dark green paint scheme with a large (12-14”) agency shield, and a 3 or 4 digit vehicle ID number in gold on the doors. Additional wooden plaques or hand painted signs to identify the forest and /or station were a common addition, a practice that only ended in the 1990s, when “more professional” decal lettering was adopted to identify the forest.

 

 

(1937 Chevrolet truck, Shasta -Trinity National Forest)

 

 

Since vehicles were often acquired locally, as needs, funding and opportunity allowed, there was quite a bit of variation in the colors used prior to WW2. It was not uncommon to see non-standard colors used; beige, tan, and cream seem to have been particularly common alternatives. The light colored vehicles usually had a dark colored agency seal, probably brown or black. Another common variation was a two tone dark green and black scheme, with green on the body and black on the fenders.

Firefighting vehicles generally had additional markings or a plaque identifying them as a fire vehicle. Most were also equipped with basic emergency lights and a siren. On several occasions fire vehicles have been painted red, but this never become a common practice.    

 

 

(Cream colored 1939 Chevrolet patrol truck, San Bernardino National Forest)

 

 

In the early 1940s, there was a change in the markings. Instead of the gold agency shield, a smaller (6”) generic red, white and blue flag themed shield was used. Below the shield was white lettering for the agency and the vehicles ID number. The National Park Service and some other Federal agencies also used a similar style of marking during this period. 

In the late 1940s tanker trucks in California began to receive additional markings to indicate the water capacity in gallons, home forest # and the letter N or S to indicate if it was from Northern California or Southern California. These markings were usually painted on the pumper body close to the cab or directly on the tank if it was visible. This continued into the mid 80s. The pumper unit had a separate ID # which was usually located below this. As an example 280-1-S would indicate a truck with a 280 gallon tank, from the Angeles National Forest (#1 alphabetically) which is a south zone forest.

 

 

 (1952 Ford “Marmon Harrington” tanker truck, San Bernardino National Forest)

 

In the late 50s a new color scheme was adopted, using light green on the body and grey on the upper cab and roof, sometimes extending to the upper fenders and hood. The use of non-standard colors was rare from this point on. Along with the color change there was a slight modification to the markings, the agency lettering was now enclosed inside a box shaped outline, the vehicle ID # was outside and below this box.

 

 

(1961 International, Model 56 tanker truck, Sierra National Forest)